Weekly Chillicothe crisis., 1885-05-21

Three months ago Z business man
borrowed this piece Of paper of the I'm
Mon National bank,agroeing to give for
the use thereof the rate of eight per
cent. interest.
Tomorrow, after getting it Of us
again in exchange for the products of
his labor, the same business man who
borrowed it,returnS it TO the Union Ma
tional bank with ten cents in addition
for the use of it.
Now then, ten cents is exactly what
the Union National bank has drawn in
interest money upon--what?
Upon frc doilarS whirh il has dciually
JcCH owiHg Jor the lust three months.
This piece of paper, commonly called
4 national bank note, is not the only |
one which the Union National Bank of |
Chicago has loaned out during the last |
three months. 1t has probably loaned |
ont nearer Il quarter Of million dol |
lars of them, upon which it has drawn
eight per ccnt.interest--cight per cent.
interest upon two hundred and fifty
thousand dollars of its own indebted |
ness.
In short, the Union National Bank is
an association of individuals who are
living upon the interest ON what they
owe,
The $500 national banks in the Unit
ed States are 50 many associations OF
individuals who are drawing interest, nj
various rates. ranging all the way up to
as high as % per cent per annum, upon
what they owe.
These national hanks have out up
wards of 1850, 900, 600 Of these promises
to pay. In other words they owe the
great multitude of holders Of these
notes upwards of $3jO,OOO.OOO, upon
all of which they are drawing inter-
est.
The total interest which thoy draw
would, at an average rate of ten per
cent, simple interest amount to $50
600, 900 per year.
They have annually drawn thirty-iive
millions upon what they owe!
They live in reality as the worthless
vagabond affects TO live when he in a
careless, rollicking mood tells you that
he is ''liying upon the interest OF what
he owGs!'
Their total circulation during the
twenty years of their existence has
amounted to $500 900, IN aver
age Of upwards of S3j,OGO,O per an
mum.
In twenty years they have drawn
from the people in the shape of interest
money upon what they owed the cnor-
nous sum Of S7OO, 100000.
Not only have they drawn this amount
upon what they owed, but they have
been during all this time, drawing in
tercst upon the people, through the
government upon upwards of $780,
OOO,OOO of bondS,amounting to not less
than S37j, j,OOO,OOO more.
From the people direct, and through
the government they have drawn as in
tereSt from their untaXcd bonds and rs
interest upon what they owed the sum
of not less than Sl,O7j,OOO, 600.
In addition to this they have loaned
out on average "dcposits,n (moncy
which business men have temporarily
deposited with thcm) to the amount of
$40, 900, 600 per annum, the interest
upon which has amounted to S47,jOO,-
600 year, or S9jO,OOO,OOO in twenty
years!
From interest upon what they owed,
S7OO,OOO,OOO.
From interest upon mtaXcd bonds,
. 1870, 900.
From interest on other peoples mon.
, ey, $3.50, 1000!
, 4 grand total of 22,O2j, ,OOO, 900!
: This is the tribute which the nationa
t bank system has cXtOrted from the pro-
} duclive enterprises Of this country il
twenty years.
The above are the rcasons-posslbll
not all, but at least cnough-w ma
A tional bank notes should he retired ant
, grcenbacks issued in their place.
To do so would enable the Govern
mcnt to take up m equal amount o
= government bonds, and thus reduce til,
: / NNuN anu NNt WI lllill llluCll annual III
: tercSt. In other words, it would rcduc,
L taxation. Had the government issucC
} grecnbacks instead of national banl
notes, it would have saved, in roun,
: numbers, not less than SiOO,OOO,OO
of taxation during the last twenty
q years
= Why not have S7O0,OOO,OO of Green
, backs instead of mixture of $780, 900.
600 Of mixed grccnbacks and nationa.
= bank notes2 1t would be no imitation
that bugbear which the people hav,
q been made to fear! 1t would add no
. one iota more to Uncle Sans presen
liabilities, for he stands behind bOtl
! the Grecnbacks and national banl
: notes.
To recapitulate in brief, the Green
backs are every way preferable to Il
currency of bank notes; TO substitute
: greenbacks for bank notes would save
so, 100000 to S20,0O0,0 in taxes; il
would be benefit to the people, ant
unjustly injure no onc-thcrefore, why
not have grecnbacks instead of banl
notes?
Next week we will discuss the rela
tions in which the three different politi
cal parties stand to the three dill'eren
kinds of paper money herein mention
: cd.