Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1881-09-01

.hHl'' 'aH TNhi9s
"They sat apart and reasoned, and
have permitted the public, TO know
some of the conclusions to which they
came; of course not the most import
ant-those must be guessed at-but
fortunately the guesses have already
been made by the men best prepared to
know that they are guessing right.
Mr. Controller Knox sends us through
his highly applauded letter a very fun
ny story designed to show how very
little is known of the deep and incOm-
prehensiblc mysteries of banking.
"a leading Senator Of the United
States said: This whole subject of IL
nance is to me incOmprchersible. !
cannot understand it, and if asked for
my views upon financial subject |
would reply by giving the well-known
answer of the ScOtchman who when
asked for a definition of metaphysics
said: When the chiel villa listens dnna
ken what the chiel wha speaks means,
and when the chiel wha speaks dinna
kin wha he means himscl, that's meta
pheeSics,"
If banking were the straightforward
honest business ii should be, there
would be no occasion to tell that story
or any other to show how difficult it is
to understand it. The whole subject
would he plain and simple; 50 much
so, that its elementary principles
might be taught in our common schools.
Nor would it, in that case, be necessary
TO refer, as these gentlemen do, to the
popular prejudice against banking; for
against legitimate banking there is no
such prejudice nor any cause for it on
the part of any intelligent man who
has thought the matter over. 1t is
because banking, as now conducted, is
to a great extent wrong TO the public
that this feeling in regard to it exists
ut all.
But the most important part Of the
whole affair is that on which the gaze
of the people who are finally to bear
the burden, is not to fall until tie
work is 50 far complete that they can
only submit lhc New / OK lrlouHe
on the 18th instant, which fayors these
bankers, draws the curtain aside just
tar enough 10 lct IN moihehlaIy ray
of light upon the hidden work going
on, and reveal It's true chlrac'e"
"AlthOugh. as has already been said,
the work Of the Convention on its face
has not amounted to great deal in
practical result, much has been done
by the executive council which Eis
members assert will 90 far toward aC-
complishing the most cherished wishes
of the bankers of the country. The
executive council was, during the
days of the convention, in almost con-
stant session, and its proceedings were
surrounded with great secrecy. The
convention was regarded by the active
workers of the association more as a
social than business meeting, and
care was taken to allow nothing to 90
before it but that which had been fully
considered by the executive council.
Bankers hold widely different views on
financial questions, and it was felt
safer to smother discussion on certain
points rather than to take the chance
of the utterance of some ill-considcred
words in the convention which might
subsequently he used to the dSadym-
tage Of the association. 1t was fer
this reason probably that the all-im.
portant question of bank taxation was
not discussed in the open meeting; but
every member of the convention knew
that the executive council had the
matter in hand, and that it was talked
over in all its aspects in its secret se3-
sion. = Another subject which
was not discussed in the convention
was the question about the expiring