The daily gazette., 1882-04-04
TUESDAY,. APRIL A. Iss2.


TUESDAY, APRIL A, Iss2.
THE Nav FINANCIAL sCHEME.--
On all Questions Of finance and com.
merce The Democrats can well afford
to bo. conservative. Democrats are
never abstractionists. Their policy is
always to do the best they can--to have
the BLESSINGS of government like the
dews Of heaven fall alike upon the
rich and the poor" 1t Is, therefore,
pleasant to find any movement that is
calculated to tighten the burdens Of
taxation. 1t is in this sense that we
approach the new question now raised
in Eastern financial circles, that is
foreshad0wed in the following para.
graph:
"The Boston Transcript says that a
scheme is being quietly agitated in
banking and political circles in New
I Ork and Boston, 'and is before the
Cabinet circles at Washington,
which will have an important effect
upon business and speculation in the
country. 1t is proposed, according
to the Transcript, to replace the out
standing Government 81 per cent.
bonds which are now payable at the
option OF the Government, with an
issue OF &200, 600, 900 of legal tender
notes bearing 2 per cent. interest per
annum, which the National Banks
may count among their assets as legal
reserve"
We really cannot see why tho people
should pay 2 per cent. for circulating
greenbacks. We believe the above
proposition is at once confession of
the propriety' Of substituting $780,
O0O, 900 of greenbacks for the $780,
0OO, 900 bank notes now in circulation.
The banks are clamoring to be re-
lieved of the small tax they now pay,
and yet want to hold on to the mon.
opoly Of their bank note circulation.
This is unfair and unreasonable. The
government took from the States a
valuable franchise when it robbed the
Legislatures of the right to charter
banks and the State banks the right
to issue notes. That franchise be-
longed to the people Of the States and
had existed since the formation and
adoption of the constitution. The
people reapsd large amount of money
from its exercise in each of the States.
The United States banking system is
failure. 1t is good in principle SO
far as 1t relates to States. But it car
ries with it as applied to government
\ principle of debt to which the
American system is aVerse. We can
not have National banks and have
no National debt. All honest men
prefer TO "owe no man anything"
The National Bank system does not
owe its origin to the Government
Mr.. Chase stole the system from New
York and Massachusetts, where 1t ex.
listed before the late war, and from
which 1t would have spread in time
to all the States.
The fact that the State Banks in
Delaware and elsewhere have flour
ished as they never did before. is evi.
dence that the banks can get along
without the debt system.
But they would be enabled to pay a
large sum to be free to issue notes as
In iormer times, and at the same time
place in the Stale Treasury such bonds
as would guarantee the payment of all
notes, in case of failure of the Bank.
This was the New York system, as
many readers of the GAzETTE will re-
member.
The people now pay interest on the
Bank note circulation. This is an.
premely ridiculous. They pay br
their own faith. They used to sci,
this circulation. 1t was of great value
under the old State Bank system
under which these States in infanc,
grew to be powerful enough to wbir
the greatest nation on earth, ON land
or sea; and they did it we'll, and we
were about to say did it twice, which
would have been a little inaccurate
But it is in glaring contrast with the
fact that the party in power now COW
ers before that nation, under the pres.
ent system and allows American o,ti-
zenS to languish in English jails.
We believe the proposed finanoia,
scheme might prove little easier on
the people, and save perhaps Il per
cent. of taxes, did the scheme mot
carry with it the abolition of The tar
on Bank capital. But if the peonle
could save $2o,OOO,OOO year by sub.
stituting greenbacks for Bank notes
why not do that.P And save also ali
that is made by the loss OF greenbacks
that are burned or destroyed.