The Labor enquirer., 1883-12-01
DENVER ooLoRADo SATURDAY.

a LEN 1A, WIN
gencies Of war. It has . monopoly .
furnishing paper currency based upoI
interest bearing national bonds. lThi
was the first bank that issued . pApe
currency in the form of promise t.
pay" At first its notes were based solely
upon the debt Of the nation. The cur
rency it issued was its credits agains
the nation. It drew interest on its cred
| its, paid by the government, and issuet
| It's own notes, based on its credits, and
received interest from the people. No
until large amount of coin had beer
received BY sale of its own notes, which
were made receivable for all government
dues and for bills OF exchange, wert
their notes even professedly payable II
coin. From the establishment of thii
great monopoly, permitted to drain 9
double interest out of the products o
labor for currency, commenced the accu
mutation OF debt, and impoverishmenl
of he'producers.
TIE national debt Of England hai
steadily grown from that time, till it hat
reached the ominous sum of s., zoo, 900,
600. At 8 per cent the interest on this
debt taxes labor Sill, 100000 annually
Compound this interest for forty years
the sins sss ef s slnSb qsaRad
0OO, ,OO0, 600. In one generation labor
must be taxed to pay tribute of more
than Sc, ,0OO, 900 900 interest to support an
idle, naughty and yoluptuous class. This
enormous tribute added to the other
necessary burdens of labor inevitably
dooms the toiling masses to helpless
drudgery and squalid, degrading pov,
erty.
Such is the present condition of the
producers in Great Britain. The class n
whom interest is paid has absorbed the
soil, and all other sources of wealth, and
collect tribute from every stroke of toll
No marvel that Ireland starves, and on
the verge of despair, revolts. The op.
pressors of the poor asow the wind" and
are sure to reap the whirlwind." The
harvest ripens fast. s
Ihaye analized the English system oi
double usury drained out ofthe products
Of toll, for currency. and hinted at the
nearly ripe fruits of terrible .retribution
to support the measureless folly of oql
statesmen, who with open eyes have
copied it. (
Our banking system before the war
with its great imperfections, was step
in the advance of civilization. We have
passed on from it. Only those, who
''learn nothing and forget nothing" think
of going back to it. !, It is a graveyard
out of which there is to be no resurrec.
ton. We shall never return to q cur.
rency supplied BY State authority. We
have learned the value of paper currency
resting on the credit of the nation, and
therefore, alike good in every State Of
the Union. es
THE COST OF ISSUING CURRENCY ON THE
NATIONAL BANKING SYSTEM.
The national bank bill Was passed
February, 1868, and modified in 1854
This system is copied from that of the
Bank of England. The bank buys ol
the government interest bearing bonds
deposits them with the treasurer, and re
celves 80 per cent of the deposit in notes
to issue to the people at the rate
of interest allowed by State laws. Thus
the bank receives interest on its cap
ital and also on its notes. r.
/ ask careful attention to what this
plan has already cost us, as revealed in
the bookssof the treasury. To ascertain
this cost, we must find how much, in
bonds, the government paid the bankers
for the loan secured from them, what
amount of interest paid upon their
bonds and on the currency given them
to issue, and other sources of income to
them as bankers. IL
The first national bank notes were is
sued under the law of 1854
[Section 13, statutes, page 49, have
carefully taken from the books of the
treasury the amounts issued each year up
to 1880, 16 years, and the average was
over $500, 100000. I figure only on this
amount. Thissum required $3.50, ,O00. .0N
in bonds. These bonds we're paid for in
legal tender notes, when they were at
such discount that the bonds cost in
specie about fifty cents on the dollar
The buyers had a corner on specie and
controlled it. These bonds we're mainly
purchased in '64, '65, '66, 81 and '68. For
loan of S165, 100000 of specie, the gov
ernment gave its bonds for $3.50, 600 600.
The bankers thus cleared $l65, 900, 900.
The interest on these bonds at 6 per
cent is SIS, 100000 annually. This was
paid in gold for sixteen years. The av-
erage premium on gold for that time was
% per cent, making in one year, $5,742,-
600. This added, increases the amount
to $25 542,0 QUO annually. Multiply this
by 16, thenumber of years, and we have
$4OS,672,O0O. =
Next, they received as free gift an
average of $3OO, 100000, to issue at any
rate Of interest allowed by the States up
to 10 per cent. On this they have averaged
at least 8 per cent, making $24, ,0OC
annually, or in 16 wears, 1884. 900 900.
Again, we must add to this, interest on
deposit of government funds which have
averaged 100000. This at per cent
has produced Sis, 800 600 in 16 years.
Once more, the banks have drawn in
terest on bonds held to secure these de
posits, $l5,36O,000. Summing these
items Of interest drained from the peo'
pie by the national bank system we have
the enormouse sum of $823. .392, 900 paid
in simple interest.
For 1--WE years the interest on the bonds
was paid in advance annually. The in
terest on the currency was all paid il
advance. If we should compound thi'
interest at the rates they received by
| loanine it, it would nearly double thil
almost incredible amount. -
Individual deposits in these bank,
have averaged $500, ,0O0, 900, upon which
has been realized at least 8 per cent, I
large sum which properly belongs II
this cost, but we pass it without furthe'
comment.
From this enormous sum must be de
Quoted the per cent tax on their circu
lation, which these banks paid NOR
i thon nr;yote hanks This would b,