The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1884-12-06
Bank Notes Disappearing and Coin aud
Coin Certificates Increasing.
SILVER COINAGE A FIXED FACT.
Our Government Bonds Must Soon be
Known Only In History, the Na-
tional Bank Currency Must
Go, and then whate
OUR FuTuRElMEDIuMA A PROBLEM

New YORK, Dec. 5,--The Sun, In no
table double.leaded editorial, discusses
the question or our coming national
currency, and reaches the conclusion
that the national bank currency must
go and give place to a government cur
rency of coin end paper money. The
article notes carefully the rapid decrease
of national bank circulation and the
more rapid increase in coin and coin
eertific ates, and says: "This will give
us by 1871 grand total of 81, l35, ,0O0, 600
OF government currency, against not
more than $1,000 900, and probably less,
supplied by the banks. Ofcourse, much
may happen to modify or prevent this
result. The conduct of men cannot be
predicted so confidently "a that of in
animate things. The legal tenders may
be redeemed and withdrawn, the coin
age of silver dollars may be suspended.
and the supplyof gold may be dimin-
lshed at the mines, or he drained awav
to foreign countries. The decrease Of
national bank circulation may, on the
other hand, be checked by favOring
legislation, but the probabilities, are
greatly against these events, and, M we
said at the outset, IL Is much more likely
that national bank notes will bo driven
out OF use altogether aud their place
taken by an exclusively government
currency. The exi,tence Of national
bank circulation, it must be remem-
bered, depends entirely upon the profit
1t yields the banks. These institutions
are, conducted upon commercial, not
philanthropic principles. So long
as the bonds required as
security for their circulation bear a
sufficiently high rate of interest they
Will issue the notes; but so soon as tho
rate falls below the paying point, the
circulation will 10 Withdrawn. AT pres
ent there are enough . per cents TO he
mad at about par 10 MAKE 1t worth while
10 take out circulation upon them; but
those bonds, AZ we know, win all soon
be paid of, and tho comptroller Of tho
currency tells us that the AS and 4x's
are already too high TO make them a
profitable basis for ci culation. The
AIS will surely be redeemed at their
maturity, in 1901 and the AZ are rising In
price continually under the competition
Tor them by executors, trustees, savings
institutions and timid investors. That
the people of the United States will, for
the sake OF the banks, sanction any leg
islation by which either the national
debt shall be prolonged or the interest
upon IL ho increased, IL is idle to sup
pose. That they will permit the banks
10 Issue circulation ON any less secure a
basis than United States bonds, Is
equally incredible. There is no escape
that we can ses from the hard logic OF
facts. The
NATIONAL RANK CuRRENcY MUST 90,
and that pretty soon. or the possibility
Anf ~ -
notes by redemption and cancellation,
there Is no indication. The contracting
OF them In this way was stnpped In 1873,
by the popular clsInor, aud as we have
already remarked, they have remained
hxed at their present amount ever since
without efforts by either political party
TO reduce it. The same may be said of
the coinage of silver dollars, every at
tempt to check or suspend IL has hith-
erto been abortive. The west almost
unanimously favors Il and will suppor,
II to the last. AS to the
danger that the withdrawal
OF bank circulation may cause mo-
lnentary stringency, concerning which
so much s0licitudo has hoen expressed
IN various quarters, Il need only be re-
marked chat the coinage of gol and
silver alone will Anoro than fill any
vacuum thus accustomed. Whether the
coin goes into circulation as coin or ~
government roceipts for coin deliverable
on demand il inmeteriai. There IL
sure To DO circulating medium
enough for tho needs Of tho COM
munity at the worst, supposing
the amount of IL to be reduced by An
unusual foreign demand, exceeding the
product OF our minos. We shall have
always, as we had during tho war, the
resource of legal tender notes, especially
since the Issue OF thou has been de-
elared By tho supiome court TO bo ~ con
stitutional exercise OF government
power. We shall always do well 10 re-
member that the natural fOrcos are
often stronger than legislation, aud that
the common sense Of events constantly
sets aside the tralsscendentnl roasonlngs
OF theorists and philosophers.