Morning journal and courier., 1881-01-21
AGAINST NATIONAL BANKS.


 Fortunately, the Senate will not pass tn, refunding bill so fearfully and wonderful, made by the House, and if it should tn, president would not sign it. Among tht most ingenious provisions of this bill ar. those which affect the national banks an6 which are, as the Boston AdUertiser says calculated to abolish every bank having l. board of directors possessed of common sense and to ruin every other
 On the first of November 1880, the ma tional banks owned and had deposited to se cure their circulating notes United States bonds to the amount of $199, 565, 300, face value, of those classes which have already matured, or which will mature on the first of July proximo. This amount was five ninths of all the bonds owned and deposited in the Treasury for that purpose. The bill provides that the banks shall present these bonds for payment within thirty days after interest has ceased. The bonds cannot be accepted or continued on deposit, :" either as security for bank issues or for govern ment deposit after that time. Bank notes issued against them will be illegal. And, in case they are not actually presented for pay ment, the banks are to be proceeded against under section 5, ,234 of the Revised Statutes, which provides for the appointment of re- ceiver and the enforced liquidation of the ac- counts of the bank.
 Section of the National Bank act is re- pealed. This is the section which provides that bank may reduce it's circulation by de. posting greenbacks, and take up it's bonds. It confers the only authority to reduce cir culation which has been bestowed upon the banks, except what is contained in section 5, ,160 of the Revised Statutes (which is also to be repealed), where the reduction may be by the deliveryto the Treasury of the bank notes themselves.
 Section g. 159 of the Revised Statutes is re- pealed-the section which allows banks to deposit any registered bonds of the United States-and it is provided that the three per cent. bonds shall alone be received as securi- ty for circulation or public deposits
 The enemies of the national banks could not desire any more thorough work than this. The AdUertiser forcibly says:
 There is but one thing for the banks so un- lOfLunaJe as GO own nVe and SIX per cent bonds to do if they would continue in busi- ness. They must take three per cents and take them at par. After they have taken them they must keep tbem until they are called in for redemption, when they will be forced to buy four -and-a-half per cents or four per cents at such price as may be neces- 'ary, to substitute for the threes called in. The bill says they ''shall have the right" to make the substitution, but inasmuch as they cannot reduce their circulation nor their folding of bonds, and as these will be the 'nly bonds outstanding, the right resem- ,les that of the condemned man to put his lead under the moose.
 Neither regard for the interests of the gov nor consistency stood in the way of he adoption of this measure. If a bank hooses to leave on deposit bonds upon which interest has ceased rather than to take three er cents, who is the loser? Certainly the ank. which gets no interest when it might ave three per cent. and not the govern lent, which pays nothing instead of three CT cent And it is wildly absurd for a party mich has over and over again demanded the l xtinction of all bank issues, now to repeal 1 very fragment of Jaw which permits the 'ithdrawal of even a single dollar of bank l  The refunding bill that is finally adopted aay not be in all respects satisfactory and 1 ise, but it will be very different affair l 'om the monstrosity passed by the House. 1