Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-10-11
BANKERS OF THE NATION.
ABOUT 100 PRESENT AT THE,
LOUISVILLE CONVENTION.

Business Transactions.
LOUISVILLE, KY, Oct. 10.-The Bank
! ers' Association met here this morning IN
Masonic Temple. About 100 members
were present. President George ;. Coe.
Of New York, called the convention to
order and announced prayer bv Rev.
| Charles Craik, of Christ Church, Louis
vile. After the prayer President Coe
came forward to read the annual address.
being received with applause by the con-
ventiOn. Mr.. COe was followed bv Conn.,
troller of the Currency Knox, and letter
from Mr. Knox to Secretary Maisland was
read. Other papers were read by J. H..
Hindenberger and E. G. BOhne, of Louis
vile.
The following are the most important
topics treated in the address of the Presi-
dent Of the conventions:
AS we meet here in convention, each
one of us the pilst of his own independent
craft, and all freighted with the industry
OF the nation, it may be well to take an
observation as to the common position and
! course OF the whole fleet. and to consult
upon the prospect before us.
We are confronted with the fact that
not only the paper circulation and cur
rency Of the country, but also its coined
money is subject to early and radical
change and revolution. The crisis NAV
not be immediate, but it is sufficiently i'm
minent to awaken attention, and we are
none too early for its serious cOnsidera-
ton. The national currency act, passed
in 1863 permitted banks to organize for 20
years. Many of them have reached the
limit Of their life-and about One-half the
existing institutions (9S3), representing
IN h1 "a hul tIo i
ing national bank circulation, will eX-
pire in 1884 and 80, and it is a coincidence
Of great significance that more than
half this amount of circulation is
secured by Der cent. bonds $202, 900, ,000),
which can be, and is being, paid off at
the pleasure of government, and which
will to a great extent be called in within
the intervening period, under the neces-
Sary operation OF existing revenue laws.
viii these banks renew their existence
under the national system, with the neces-
sity of investing capital to protect Circu-
lating notes under their new life at the
rate OF 20 to 30 per cent. premium for per
cent. bonds, or will they to large extent
prefer to relinquish their currency and
retire from the system: And if so, with
what commercial results to the country,
or what substitute will be permitted for
such purpose? The idea of nationality
throughout this broad land has been
strengthened by the eventful history of
the last few years, and much more so bv
the immense extension of railways and
telegraphs, which, paying no respect
whatever to State lines, and traversing
them in all directions, have woven diverse
parts of the nation inseparably together
INTO Social, commercial and financial unity.
This national sentiment, now so potent
and all-prevailing, will make it forever
difficult, if not impossible, to remove the
existing restriction upon private cur
rency issues, and will prevent a return to
the ancient and heterogeneous State sys-
TENS, and it is hoped the people of this great
country have irreVocably pronounced
against the greenback heresy which crept
in during the agOnies of a dismembered
nation, when its Constitution was strained
and tortured by civil war. The danger
lies in delaying the subject until necessity
cOmpels some hasty and rash legislation.
1t is well, ALSO to bear in mind, that
the thread of affiliatiOn so ingeniOusly in
trOduced into the national system,
whereby banks in the country at large
are bound by interest to those in the re-
demptiOn cities, when once weakened by
many retiring members, may suddenly
dismember the whole organization. If
SO, what Will take its place? The pres
ent indication points to an adherance to
the national system by establishing
banks of smaller capitals and limited is
sues, but this does not meet the public
demand for currency.
The question involved in these brief
suggestions are of the utmost gravity, and
may well invite the earnest counsel Of
men who can appreciate their Importance.
If a system of circulating notes is an
absolute necessity Of trade and commerce,
it is equally certain that commerce con-
tains within itself the powers, guards and
checks, and all the essential requisites
for the perfect protection of such notes,
as it does for the protection of its opera
tions of greater magnitude, without
wandering for eXpedients far away into
other forms of security. Otherwise,
1t is an exception to the general per-
fection of natural law, which is not
admissible. The power is certainly there.
1t is for trained and sagaciOus bankers to
develop it.. 1t must be admitted that the
existing paper currency of the country is
not the result of a deliberately formed
plan. One-half of it is the remainder of
legal tender notes, the amount of which
happened to be arrested by Congress when
the public tendency was strongly towards
greater expansion, and the other half is
that of national bsnks, now fast tending
towards dissolution. The Importance of
the subject demands the most careful in
YCstigatiOn, and the combined attention
But equally, if not the more important
financial question before this nation, is
the silent progress Of the Congressional
mandate by which two millions OF dollars,
containing each 4l21% grains of silver bull
lion, are minted every month and buried
in the vaults of the Treasury as cash in
hand. These dollars are not created in
response to any commercial demand. In
fact. commerce repels them. Yet the
mandate is imperative and ineXOrable.
They must be produced in defiance of all
rules which govern supply and demand.
Congress has sOlemnly decreed that
commerce shall want, at least, two mil
lion silver dollars Il month. These coins
have accumulated, and are accumulating,
in overwhelming quantity, until new
vaults OF extraordinary capacity, like
artificial silver mines, have had to be con-
structed to contain them. They lie side
by side with gold dollars, under the
reign of law commanding them to be of
equal value. Yet the Treasury, which
executes the law, declares that they are
not, because it is daily purchasing
the contents of one of them for 81 to S3
cents, with that of the other for 100 cents.
and with seven dollars of the one, it is
making more than eight of the other. And
the newspapers all over the land daily de-
clare this to be the difference in the COM
mercial value of the two coins. So patent
is the absurdity of the claim, that two
pieces of metal of such confessedlv un-
equal intrinsic value can, by any miracu-
lOus force of government stamp. be in
stantly endowed with equal power for
paying Just debts. Here, then, are two
coins of the same denomination, vet of
such varying inherent power, cOntendlng
for supremacy, the weaker one sheItering
its acknowledged defect under the strong
arm of this great nation. The American
eagle against justice and against the
world. Can such an anomaly constitu-
tiOnally exist in this free government?
Here are two weights of different pom
derOsity, two measures Of varying length,
both legally required to mete out equal
Justice; two chrOnOmeters keeping differ
ent time, both legally appointed to regu-
late the hours of labor, and this most re-
markabe act is done before the world. in
the nineteenth century, by a nation over
flowing in wealth, and holding CONNER
cial relations of vast magnitude with
other nations of the earth! The change
was inaugurated under the assumption
that by launching boldly into the expe-
riment these two, once equal, but now
differing values, would return again to
their ancient unity; but they do not. On
the contrary, they ObstInately further
separate and refuse to obey the mandate
even of the American Congress. # was
an open question whether the somewhat
sudden change in the commercial value
of silver bullion was brought about bv
natural events, such as the cost Of pro-
ductiOn, or by the restrictive legislation
of European States. But there can be no
doubt that if the relative value of the
two precious metals to each other