National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1885-12-26
NATIONAL BANK MONEY.
a citizen who Believes IL Is the Bane
of Our Circulation.

A Citizen Who Believes it Is the Bane
of Our Circulation.
EDITOR NATIONAL REPUBLICAN,: ! re.
spectfully submit the following through
your valuable paper for the consideration
Of Congress and trutn-seeking citizens.
The facts that 215,T50,491 silver dollars
have been coined under the compulsory
silver coinage act Of February, 1878; that
only about 50,0O0,OO0 Of these silver dol
lars have actually found their way into cir
culation; that more than 16j000,O0O of
these dollars are In the possession Of the
government, the custody Of which has en-
tailed a considerable expense for the con-
struction of vaults for their deposit; that
against these $165, $1,000 there are out
standing silver certificates amounting to
about S93 600, 000-would seem to justify the
Presidents recommendation to Congress
that the coinage of these silver dollars un-
der said compulsory law Of 1873 be sus-
pended.
But will this suspension bring relief to
the country Is IL really the right thing to
be done? Is Il the remedy?
Is not the present illness Of the country
attributable to quite another cause than the
coinage of these silver dollars2
Is not the trouble, the fact that we have
two sovereigns-2,T27 national banks and
the United States-both engaged at one
and the same time In emitting money and
trying to determine Just what amount
and Kind of money shall be In circulation?
That the United States are sovereign, no
one will be foolhardy enough to deny.
Being sovereign, that government has the
power to say out of what material money
shall be fashioned-to stop its manufacture
one day and recommence II the next.
That is, II Is possessed Of the power to
determine the Rink Of money we shall have,
what shall be the amount Of money in ex-
istence, the amount Of our circulating me-
dium.
National banks are organized to make
gain for the shareholders. The interests Of
the shareholders is with them the matter Of
first consideration.
When II comes to making gain, these
banks know no difference between the gov
eminent and the individual citizens Of the
government.
The government and the individual citi-
zens are all like so many geese for their
plucking.
To the 2,127 national banks the United
States have transferred part Of their SOW
eregnty, the right to issue greeubacks,
paper money, and to say what shall be the
amount of IL in circulation each day Of the
year.
To this extcnt-or perhaps better, In this
particular matter-the national banks are
sovereign equo pcde with the United States.
1t is to the interest OF the national banks
to have no other money In circulation than
the greenbaek paper money they have the
The coinage Of the silver dollars and the
attempt to put them In circulation does not
accord with the interests OF the national
banks.
Who is foolish enough to imagine that
the national banks are not going TO look
out and work for their interestsg
That is just what they are doing.
The war that is being waged against the
silver dollar-the dollar Of our daddies--is
their war, not ours.
We are friend to silver.
But we do insist toat there be either
stop Of the monkeying business of spending
100000 of gold each month In the pur-
chase Of silver and of the fashioning of this
silver into coins at no inconsiderable ex-
pense only to have them lie inert in the
vaults of the treasury, or that proper steps
be taken to have these silver coins in circu-
lation and be really and truly what 1t was
contemplated they should be-money.
The government was created TO be the
defender of our, the whole people, inter-
ests.
Its first step should be to recall to itself
that portion Of its sovereignty IL has shorn
itself Of in the interest of the national
banks. 1t should withdraw from them the
power of issuing paper money and make
them to be strictly banks Of deposit and dis
count.
They should no longer have the power of
determining what kind and amount of
money shall be In circulation ON any partic-
ular day.
We have seen them use this power mer-
cilessly to our detriment and to coerce the
government itself. We would have no
more Of II.
The banks WILL no doubt, object to this
as DANGEROUSLY and vigorously us the self
willed boys do to impending parental chas-
tisement, and will squeal as Justify as so
many swine caught In fence cracks. But
when they are made to realize that they can
either accept the situation or quit the bust
ness of banking, they will be as tractable
as the Cheyenne and Arapahoe lessees were
In August last when they discovered that
the President had backbone and that when
he issued o proclamation he meant that 1t
should be obeyed. The divided sovereignty
Of the government is our sorrow.
Let us have the banks madeto call in their
paper money and take up their bonds. Let
us have the government call IN the silver
certificates and give us the silver itself; for
why really demonetize the silver dollar by
the issuance Of certificates In lieu Of them?
If banking operations need paper money
a thing we do not concede-let the gov
eminent be the issuer Of 1t. Let 1t be
money by being made full legal tender, and
let no piece of 1t be less than SIS, so that 1t
shall interfere as little as possible with the
free circulation Of the silver among us-the
people.
We are quite patriotic enough to accept
silver in payment of any and all labor we
perform, and are perfectly willingto assume
the burden of carrying and guarding SO
much Of 1t as we can possibly secure by
means of our labor.
Our life for it, If our government will but
test the matter, 1t will find that full fifty
millions Of Its citizens will prove themselves
inst ne patriotic M we lpplarp Oursplvps