Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1885-05-08
NATIONAL BANKS
k,ss Thousand Of Them in This
Country Now, And
6 SYSTEM STEADILY GROWING.
Problem of Their ESistence---The Days
e the National Bank System
are Numbered.
,1E NEWS FROM The CAPITAL CITY.


U,,HIyGroy, May The fiscal year
.r ,,,sa with the total number Of National
4 rEs reaching to three thousand. The e1-
f.,rrps are not yet made up, but the
,sI will not be much above and not oelo"
J, figure. The steady growth of this sys-
/. : i something remarkable. Even now
n dissolution staring it in the face, 1t
.hD,ipues 10 grow. For unless the ingenu-
I Of the national fnanciers shall enable
sr 70 invent a new system, it Is easy to
TIA, the DAYS Of the National Banking
stem are numbered. There are but little
sra billion Of dollars of national bonds
lv outstanding. We have been reducing
! 3eb, This year at the rate Of sixty mil
ms Of dollars year, so that at this rate 1t
m take only l. years to call in every bond
4 3,stsnding. In some former years the re-
c,;on OF the debt has been much more
L. 5u. supposing that it may run on at
H. rate il will be but II years before the
q, yss-ige Of foundation foe the system will
4 csl'gf in. Of course the holders Of the
Spis iced not tender them when they are
- for if they choose to keep them,
q, rhav will lone the interest from the
re Of the call. So Of course they
IN have 10 give them up and give up their
i rks unless some other means is found
q ctrtinuing their existence. The banks
I cv hold about one-third of the bonds now
] kr,,audiug, securing their circulation oy
4 : means So that there remains about
q or even hundred million dollars OF the
- q a, can be taken up before the foun.
49, OF tle banks must 60. This IS 40
4. Il in ten years at the present rate Of
I rim, Il he national debt. Even now, at
I rery bond call some of the bonds held by
kanEs srr b,iDg called for, but at present
s b,rLs NAV replace those called with
S,bars frugh; on the market. But oy and
Il the Iun. Der left over will be so small
Eat ri,rs will be nothing to be bought to
Il boz r., 10 take the place OF those called.
I u With a possible life of but little over
1 4, ,csde the number of banks goes steadily
sD Increasing until it reaches three thous'
kEd With capital of between live and SIX
hundred millions.
The number OF banks organized this year
,siu not be quite so large as last year.
Those of last year Outnumbered those OF
sny preceding year. The growth in amount
os capital in the las. two or three years IS
b., so noticeable as in some other years,
kor the privilege given them some two or
hhree years ago Of organizing with a capital
b low as $50, 900 has lessened the aggre-
gate capital put into the new banks. Prob
s5ly three.fourths of the new banks organ
ized now have capital not exceeding S5O'-
COO
New York and Pennsylvania are the
great States for National banks, as they are
Tor Cigarmakers and political bosses. New
York has about 300 Of them, and Penusyl
yania something like 25O. Of all the cities
Of the country however, Pittsburgh removes
The dilauidated linen from the shrubbery a5
5 location for National banks There are
twenty five Of them, or half as many for
this city OF lT5.OOO as for New York city
With It's million and half Of people. There
sre only three cities in the country whose
banks reach as large q number as those oi
.Pius5urgh, and ye. there are eleven With
larger population.