Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1886-10-09
THE NATIONAL BANKS AND THE
BONDS.

leave their called three per cent. bonds
in the treasury as a basis for their cir
culation, the interest to cease on the
day the call natures. This would, OF
course, be.a good arrangement for the
banks, but would not accomplish the
end in view by the people, the calling in
of the non-taxable bonds, and the forcing
out of the treasury the useless surplus
now on deposit there. Ii the
bonds should be allowed to remain the
treasury officials would claim that d
money set apart for their payment
could not be used for the purchase OF
other bonds, as the banks might change
their minds and demand payment when
the department was not prepared
to pay, thus forcing the govern
ment into protest, OIL placing it in
the position OF not being able to meet
its called obligations. This would, no
doubt, be the only absolutely safe view
to take of the matter and for which
they could not be blamed, as it is their
duty to protect the credit of the gov
eminent and not subject it to any such
contingency.
About $500, OOO, 900 of these bonds
are required as a basis for the national
bank circulation, and the result OF COM
pliance throughout with the request OF
the banks would be to lock up .perma-
uently the same amount OF money in the
treasury, while only ninety per cent. OF
the amount at most could be issued
to the banks for circulation in its
stead.
The banks claim that they cannot re-
alize any profit upon their circulation
if the government forces them to re-
place their called three per cents with
| other bonds which command a premium
of about twenty per cent at the present
| time, and threaten to withdraw their
| entire circulation if compelled to do 90,
thus causing more s%tringency in the
money market. Let the people listen
to no such cry. The national bank
can afford, if anybody can, to pay the
premium asked for the four and four
and a-half bonds, and they will do SO
rather than surrender their circulation,
for they we'll know that large quantities
of their bills have been lost or destroy
ed and will never be presented for re-
demption, and they cannot get their
bonds now on deposit until they do call
them in and present them tor cancella-
ton at the treasury department. 1t Is
this which is troubling them more than
ANYTHING else, and they wish for time to
! get some law through congress which
will allow them to get possession OF
their bonds without surrendering the
entire amount of circulation required
by law, after the lapse OF a certain
time, to be fixed in the measure to be
passed through congress. This would
result in a tremendous profit to the
banks and a corresponding loss to the
people, Who are the government, or at
least supposed to be.
No! Let the government a up the
bonds as fast as the surplus will ad-
nit, and should the payment OF the
bonds interfere with the national bank
circulation, and thus cause q scarcity
in currency, give US free coinage OF ell
YER, with certificates for all silver de.
posted in the treasury, and we will
then not only have the best currency in
the world, but no n~on-taxable bonds,
aud no money locked up In the treasury
vaults awaiting the pleasure Of national
banks to present their bonds for pay
ment.
For these measures, or similar onet
in the interest of the producing, money
, borrowing west, the country must lool
to the democratic party, and to th'
8 democratic party alone. In order II
? prove that this is true we have only t.
e recall the course of the republicans ii
congress a lew years ago, when TIT
q democratic house first endeavored t.
n reduce the interest on government bond
v to 81 per cent, and the banks tried t
e create a panic in the money market b.
suddenly surrenderlng a large part g
d their circulation, a bulldozing schem
that had Senator Sherman's approval
because, as he said, the governmer
!. could not float 81 per cents. Experienc
and democratic craftsmanship prove
the falsity of his position then, an
even Missouri has since then borrowe
, money at as low a rate. That is tt
. great evil of the national banks-the
ability to combine to bully the govern
:. ment into terms-but in the democra
= in congress they will find men who
=, they cannot influence or intimidate, ar
=, one of these will be John F. Philips,
man who is intelligent enough to hay
convictions, and brave enough to stan
by them.
NN~r1