New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-08-13
THE NATIONAL CURRENCY.

The papers issued from time to time by Con-
troller Knox rarely receive the public consd-
Grafton to which they are fairly entitled
Crowded with information and bristling with
figures they are apt to cause sort of mental
indigestion to those who read without the pa
tience or the opportunity for thorough inves-
tlgatiOn, while they repel altogether the
greater number of readers. The address de-
livered at the Niagara Convention on Thurs
day was one of the most valuable and inter
esting of these papers, and it perhaps contains
more novel and striking information regarding
the banking and currency systems than any
other document yet published.
For the first time we are able to get an APP
proximate idea of the amount of business done
in this country. On June 80, it appears from
returns made to Controller Knox, the receipts
of 1,966 National banks amounted to
$2S4,714,016. Of this amount $l67, 1879
was at New-York, and the average daily ex-
changes at this city have been about
$166,O0O,000 for the past year, so
that it may be inferred that the payments on
the 30th of June were not far from the daily
average since August /, 1850. But if so, the
receipts of the 1866 National banks during a
year must be about $50, 900 100000. Vast as
this amount seems, there is evidence in the
exchanges of the clearing houses that it is not
an over statement. For the exchanges at
twenty-three cities, for the twelve months
ending July 81, amount to 800, S74, 439, 943,
and large proportion of payments were made
through banks not of the clearing house cities
while very large amount also appears in the
clearing house returns as balances paid daily.
| Indeed it is evident that the aggregate of
payments through banks is larger than the
| n Ia G
the payments are made through banks not of
| the National system.
| Counting the transactions of these banks also.
and the payments to savings banks we may
probably say with safety that the aggregate is
not far from 100000, OOO,O 900 yearly. The
| researches of Mr.. Knox show in what proper
| ton these payments are made to the National
| banks in checks and drafts. In New-York the
| proportion is 98.7 per cent, and is larger there
| than anywhere else. In Philadelphia it is &C. o
| per cent; in Boston, 96.5 per cent; in Chi
cago, 91.9 per cent, and in the twelve reserve
| cities outside of New York, 94.4 per cent. At
| Washington alone the ratio falls below so Der
| cent, and Washington is not a commercial CITY,
| The lowest average at any of the commercial
| cities is 1913 per cent at st. Louis Thus il
| appears that the proportion of actual money
required in payments at the reserve cities other
than New York is only SO per cent; at New
| York it is only 1.3 per cent; and at the other
places, where ], 731 National banks are located,
| it is only 1873 per cent. The aggregate for all
the banks reporting is only 40 per cent, and
this means that out of 800, 900, OOO 900 paid
yearly through the banks about $95, 200, OOO,-
600 is paid without the use of money
The importance of this statement in any
discussion concerning the amount of currency
required for the ready and safe transaction of
business, is obvious. Substantially, we use
! $40 in checks and drafts where we use 81 in
money. Other tables given by Mr. Knox show
that about a per cent of the aggregate pay
meDts are made in paper currency about .65
of~One per cent in gold coin, and about .16
! OF one per cent in silver coin. The payments
not made through banks are smaller in AMOUNT
than the careless observer would imagine.
| For instance, payments to retail dealers, in
cities and towns where there are banks of
deposit, usually appear in the payments of
those dealers to the banks Nevertheless, a
considerable amount of payments, in the
| aggregate, is made without the intervention of
banks, and therefore escapes any record.
| Nearly the whole of this is made in paper
| money or in small coin.
Generally, we may safely say that in this
Couhlly there Is necucu, lor inc transaction OF
years business through banks, about 81 on
the 800 in paper, and about 81 on the 500
in coin, while somewhere from SIS to $40 more
per 800 is required for payments not made
through banks. AT least nine-tenths of our
business is done without any use of money
Perhaps four-fifths of the remainder is done
with paper money. The problem to the cur
rency has ever been to find that form which
could be most safely and conveniently used
with the least use of coin. AS matters stand
| little more than one dollar in fifty seems to be
In coin, and yet the existing system seems to
| be In every respect the safest and the most
convenient ever devised. In truth, no other