The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1882-02-09


! To them the franchise of issuing the cir
culatinp medium of the country upon a
| basis of that kind. a clean, free, undi-
minished, untaxabie basis, furnishing
| them wear by wear quarterly or semi
annually 3 per cent, they will not 90
| ont of existence. They understand the
value of their franchise and their busi-
ness. They know well that to-day tiuty
enjoy the benefits Of "a system which 40
| other banking system has ever al any
| time or at any place had, and that he
| advantages which they enjoy are a bur
| den upon the people; and as long a.
! those advantages and that burden exist
! they will not 90 out of existence.
Mr.. Huwley Would the Senator have
any objection to telling me about how
much the banks make by reason of TIL
| privilege of their circulatiUn-about
| what percentage on their capital?
| Mr.. PeudletOn. / quoted from the
statistics of my fri, n :, the Senator
! from Missouri, Mr.. Vest who stated
/ that upon "a basis of $lJOOUOOGO Of cap
| ital these banks had within twelve
years divided S5JO.OOp.OO and had re-
tained a surplus fund of S12S,OOQOOO.
| think he stated, land he will subStan-
tiate the statement, if am not in err
ror) that these banks during twelve
wears had cleared percentage of S.4
per cent. upon their capital annually.
Mr.. Hawley. The gentleman will al
low me to say that chat does not quite
answer my question. / can point him
i'm my own State, for example, to State
banks that have never taken advantage
of the national circulation, and to pri-
yate bankers side by side with them.
who likewise have made and $ and 10
per cent. The object of my question
was to know how much was due to this
national circulation of which they had
| the advantage. My impression is that a
| great many of them would throw il
aside if there should be very much more
| bother about it, and that they would
| make lust about as much money with
| ont il,
Mr.. PendletOn. There is on page 24S
of the Appendix to the Congressional
Record of the last regular session of
Congress a statement of the benefits of
the Circulation to the various banks of
the United States, and | commend the
raeding of that page to nv honorable
friend from Connecticut as the answer
| would give him to the question he has
asked.
Mr. HaWley. That is the COmptrOl-
ler's statement.
Mr.. PendletOn. 1t is not the Comp
troller's statement, but il is taken from
him.
Mr.. IaWley. | have seen the Comp
trOller'S statement, and that was one
reason why asked my question
Mr.. PeudletOn. I have only one word
to say about the Treasury-Hotp circula-
tiOn. Those notes were issued in 1862
in the strain of the Government They
wer, put out with bran upuu them.
While II was said that they were gOUd
enough lur all the transactions of Orui-
nary life between the citizens Of the
country. they had not the value which
would Justify their reception for Gus
toms or for the payment of the interest
upon the public debt. The law under
which they were issued provided that
| they should be fundable in the . per
! cent bonds of the United States-the
| 42O bonds which afterward became so
| popular. They were sent out with this
| provision for funding the one hand
| and this stigma upon them on the other;
and yet in two or three years, think
| in 1864, the provision for their being
! funded in the bonds of the United
| States was repealed and they were al
| lowed to stand upon their own basis.
| Because they fell in the market, because
they went below the par of gold under
| this treatment from the Republican
party which had put them into exist
ence, they were derided and decried, and
for years we had them called in tones Of
deTisiOn the rag-mOney, the diShOnOred
currency; and gentlemen went so far as
to say that their existence was a stain
upon the financial honor of the country,
that they were the one melancholy re
prOach on the financial virtue of the
country.
Now they have grown up, they have
strengthened, they have become hOnOred
members of the financial household, un-
til to-day it is true that they are better
than bank notes, better than silver,
better in many respects even than gold,
because they circulate, as we were told
exultingIy here in the Senate the other
day, wherever the gold coin clrculates;
and they are somewhere at a premium.
When they were derided and decried,
when they were called rag-mOney in
terms of derisiOn, they sustained wonder
fully the fabric of our domestic COM
merce; and now they aid to sustain
wonderfully the fabric of our foreign
commerce,
Mr.. President. am very inexpert in
all these matters. | compete with no.
body in a knowledge of finance. | am
no prophet. but I wish to state now and
here that the time will come, in nv
opinion. when. by reason of our faults
OF our misfOrtunes. when. by reason of
I