The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1882-08-10
THE STRENGTH OF A NATION.

The Power - The ss0vcrnsAcMs and
the Wcakmcss oe tho lsanks.
The Grsenback papers arc taking 10
ransacking the public records for the
opinions and sayings Of prominent men
in times gone by, on the questions de-
Tended by them. Here is M extract u
speech Of ex-senator Howe. Of Wis.,
consin, now Postmaster General under
President Arthur. 1t Was delivered in
the Senate of the United States, Feb.
IL, 1861.
Taken from appendix to Congressional
Globe, Thirty-seventh Congress, second
session, page 53.
Senator Howe said Mr.. President
We are excluded from borrowing in for
eign markets for the present.
To continue borrowing from our
banks, aud borrowing coin is impossi-
bic.
They have not tho coin to lend.
In their efforts to lerd to the Govern
ment they have been forced to suspend
the payment Of specie upon their own
notes.
The entire sum Of specie in all the
hanks in the United States, in May last.
was only 81. 75l ,627. OF that sum
81, IL. 900 was in the vaults u banks
within the seeded States. aud not Just
now available for the purposes Of this
Government. Thus the specie capital
which the hanks Of the loyal States
place at the disposal Of the Government
was but little more than 81. OO0, 900.
That sum would not defray the ex-
penses II the Government for fifty days.
II il borrows anything from them, il
must borrow, not their money, but their
promises to pay money.
Nothing il more certain than that.
Whatever our wishes may be, il is inn
possible to command the revenues for
war in coin. We must rely mainly upon
| a paper currency and there is another
thing equally certain, which is. that
that paper, whoever issues it, must he
irredeemable.
/ All paper currencies have been and
will ever he irreieemable. Ii il pleas
ant fiction 10 call them redeemable ; IL il
an agreeable fancy to think them 80 l
would not expose that fiction, only that
the great emergency which il upon us
seems to render il more than usually
il pLolN1 TAG uNtlOu cllOulu tSkAh M
speak truth to itself, TO have done with,
shams, and to deal with realities.
The fact il that no paper ever WAS on
ever will he redeemable in specie. No
man ever did or ever will loan his note
for SO il he is compelled 10 keep gold
eagle to redeem it with, for the simple
reason that it is cheaper, 10 loan the coin.
and no man who loans two $40 notes,
and has but one gold eagle, can pay
specie on demand for both u them. No
bank would loan its notes instead of III
coin. but for the privilege il enjoys ol
loaning more paper than il has coin, and
no bank which issues it's notes in exces.
Of its coin can ON demand redeem il,
notes in specie. Every attempt that wa.
ever made, here or elsewhere, 10 conver1
paper circulation into metallic cur
rency proves this. So every bank not4
therefore in circulation, although il pur
ports to be an unconditional undertaking
TO pay the sum mentioned upon its fac.
in specie on demand, yet it hes annexed
to it this implied condition, that th,
holder must not demand the specie an,
faster than the maker gets il. The tota
circulation Of the banks Of the Unite,
States il May last (la6l) was &l95. a49.
00l. Their total deposits at the sam,
time amounted 10 but $50, 752, 6s7. I,