The Labor enquirer., 1883-12-01

| IN gfoon64ck6, W0ulo nA@ 4y0Q the
enormous cot % plainly st forth The
marvellous expense Of the a3ionAl bank
system has been robbery delibeFate,
merciless, and ruinous to Ia pfoducers.
It Is curse, moro to b deprecated than
the civil war, with al ihIwAstes and
woes, II is wholly gratituitAs there Is
absolutely no need Of Il. NV, it il the
settled purpose Of the authors Of this
iniquity to greatly enlarge itby retiring
the greenbacks and making it I com
plet6 and perpetual monoHnly. What
would be the TesHltof such sconsumma-
ton !? Not to 10 into precise calculations
which would swell to such proportions.
no mind can grasp, we ny 4imply, for
every dollar issued double interest
Unjust be paid one for the bcpi1s and q
larger one for the currency IA drain
which absorbs faster than the ePeople can
produce, and causes frequent general
bankruptcy.
There is still worse phase of this in
famous system. It makes tie bankers
absolute dictators Of the 6n1ncial and
business aaafrs Of the wholo people. It
gives them power to vary q viii the
laAfsiy lKaAflAiYe dfsctsts fs f6s prics St fisbor and
property. 1t enthrones over the Repub-
liic sordid, selfish, irresponsible oil
garchy, q tyranny most odious and rapa-
cious.
The Venetian Republic was far wiser
in its financial legislation and furnishes
aprecedent q our legislators would do well
to study. We viii present the salient
points of the Venetian system by quot.-
| tiOns from the celebrated work of
Stephen Colwell on "The Credit System" |"
THE DEBT OF THE REPUBLIC, LIKE OUR OWN,
| THE BASIS OF THE CURRENCY.
"The public loan of Venice, which
gave origin to the bank, was forced but
the whole subsequent history of the
bank and the public credit is one of en-
tire confidence on the part of the peo-
pie, and admirable prudence on the part
Of the government. Venice made the
public debt the chief currency or medi-
um ofexchange In all the large opera
tions of trade, and; the public debt was
wisely kept at that amo1nt. which not
only preserved its value, but furnished
the full quanty of currency required for
trade, with the means of increasing or
| diminishing the amount according to the
properdemand. This mutual confidence
and prudent management are creditable
alike to the financial skill and intelli-
gence of all concerned. The government
enjoyed q loan, free of interest, equal to
the whole capital of the bank. without
having given any special guarantee or
any evidence of the debt, except an in
4 Al IS I'll he, hor ta
people enjoyed currency which for cen
turtles stood at high premium over
gold and silver. .,...iss
| THE DEBT SUBSTITUTED FOR CURRENCY. V
"The facility of payment furnished by
| the bank, which made it the admiration
of Europe, honorable at once TO the gov
ernment and merchants of Venice, and
a support to the pride and power Of its
people, consisted in substituting as a
medium of payment the debt of the re-
public, for current coin. ~
| THE DEBT MADE A LEGAL TENDER. T..
at was established by solemn edict of
tie republic that all payments of mer-
cbandise in gross, and of bills of ex,
change should be made only in bank
and that all debtors should carry this
specie to the bank to receive credits IN
bank therefor and that creditors should
receive payment in bank by simple
transfer from their debtors. ~
SUCCESS OF THE SYSTEM. ls.E
"This system of payments was 80 well
adapted to the exigencies of commerce
that it was maintained in full yigor in
| A. al lnitx of fOr
almost four hundred years.
"The Bank of Venice enjoyed repu-
tation throughout the commercial world
| which greatly promoted the success Of
Venetian trade. 1t was tower of finan-
cial strength to the republic in the long
and expensive wars, and of course con-
tributed no small share to the celebrity
of the city, as well as to its power. and
wealth, There is no evidence extant
that the Bank of Venice ever caused
any arrangements of the social economy.
The voice of the best authorities Is all
the other way. =,
DEBTS GAVE IT SUCCESS. as.
ITO comprehend this extraordinary
fact of credit on the books of bank,
with no money in its vaults, and not
bound to make that credit good in later
times, even by the payment of interest,
or to redeem it in any way, having been
| for hundreds of years at high pre-
MUM over gold and silver. we need only
| remember that these credits were the
funds in which debts were chiefly paid.
If credits had been convertible at will
into the precious metals, the agio could
never have originated, much less attained
so high point, for the moment the
holders of credits advanced the price,
specie, if legal tender, would have be-
come the medium of payment as the
cheaper medium.
ALLTHE BULLION NEEDED EASILY OBTAINED.
Those who had occasion for gold or
silver purchased with their deposits
what was required and, with slight ex-
ception, for more than four hundred
years the precious metals were at dis
count compared with the bank funds,
the demand for that which would pay
bills of exchange being greater than for
gold or silver for any special use to
| which they could be applied.
These quotations from an unquestioned
authority, exhibit q system of finance
in all essentials, such as we need. They
answer every objection urged by the de-
tenders of the national bank system.
| The Venetians used all their specie
for foreign exchange. They took their
gold and silver to the bank and received
credit therefor, which credit they used
for home exchanges. The government
used the specie whenever needed to pay
it's obligations to other peoples, and did
not keep it locked and guarded and
drawing no interest for fear the people
would cheat themselves, on the plan o.
the specie basis for currency. The cred.