The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1890-07-18
The National Bank Conspiracy to
Rob the People.


National banking system, and especially 10
our condemnation Of that feature of the law
which permits these banks to borrow money
from the government at one er cent inter-
est, declaring that there is no inducement
for them to borrow currency from the gov
eminent at that rate, and that they only
comply with the privilege so far az they are
compelled to in order TO secure their
charters. And to prove this point-that
there is no profit in receiving one per cent
loans from the U. S. Treasurer-the July
statement of "Importers' and Traders
National Bank of New York" is offered as
evidence. The capital of that bank is
81 1000, and if the bank chose it might
receive 90 per cent of this amount in
National Bank notes for the nominal inter-
es, of one per cent. In place of this, how
ever, the Bank deposits only $4,000 four
per cent bonds with the Treasurer and
draws $40, 900 in notes, or circulation, which
amount is the minimum required to fit the
bank out with National charter. The
statements" of the large banks of N. Y.
show that this practice is general with them
Our cent per cent friend offers this as rebuff
ting evidence that our charges against the
National banking system are unjust. May
be they are. We will see. The first point
in dispute is, can the banks borrow 90 per
cent of their capital from the government at
the low rate of one per cent interest if they
desire to do so? Undoubtedly they can.
That is the main feature of the law. But
we see that this big New York bank with a
million and half capital and four and one
half millions more of surplus, which it has
earned. making its real capital six millions,
only avails itself of the privilege of recev-
ing $4,000 in national notes in order to
equip itself with National charter.
When money loaning institution can do
better than borrow at one per cent to loan
again, it must have a mighty soft snap
somewhere else. Let US examine this I'm
porters' and Traders National Bank state
ment further and see if we can discover the
reason it had rather not borrow circulation
from the government. Its deposits are
$22,767, 1893. and its discounts $l5, 232, 592.
Why should the bank borrow even at the
low rate of one per cent when business men
supply it with deposits more than it can
loan, for nothing? That is the reason why
the bank does not avail itself of the priv
ilege the law offers. The charter which
the government grants is worth more as a
franchise than money at nominal interest.
And why is that charter so valuable to
National banks? Simply because the
national banking system enables the money
monopoly to control the finances of the
nation. The following confidential circular
known as ''The Hazard Circular" will
throw some light on this point In 1862 an
agent of European capitalists sent the fol-
lowing "confdential" circular TO American
bankers:
"Slavery is likely to be abolished by the
war power and chattel slavery destroyed
This, [ and my European friends are in
favor of, for slavery is but the owning Of
labor, and carries with it the care of the
laborer; while the European plan, led on by
England, is capital control of labor, by
controlling wages. This can be done by
controlling the money. The great debt that
capitalists will see TO il is made out of the
war, must be used as measure to control
the volume of money. To accomplish this
the bonds must be. used as banking basis.
We are now whiting to get the secretary Of
the treasury to make this recommendation
to congress. 1t will not do to allow the
'greenback,' as it is called, to circulate as
money any length Of time, for we cannot
control them. But we can control the bonds,
and through them the bank ISSUE"
This circular contains the pith of the
national banking scheme, which was concoct-
ed by clan Of European Jew bankers. In
order 10 control the currency the bonds
must be made the basis Of bank circulation,
which enables the banks to increase or de-
crease at pleasure the money of the country,
and the government and the people are
powerless in their hands. The banks can
deposit bonds with the Treasurer and Jorrou
80 per cent of their face at one per cent
interest from the government, and they can
return the notes (circulatlon) and take up
their bonds at pleasure. They are now
doing the latter, and for the following rea-
son It is not to the interest of these mil
lionaire bankers to have copious volume
Of money in circulation and they have been
steadily curtailing it. They hold those
bonds, and the smaller the volume of money
in circulation the lower prices of all kinds
of produce will be and also realestate and
for every dollar property falls the value OF
the national debt rises. So many dollars is
written on the face of the bond and so many
on the interest coupon. The government
binds and interest they carry will buy twice
as much property as they would in '62
when that Hazard Circular was sent over
and distributed among our bankers. And
those large banks which do not purchase
more than minimum circulation from the
government find it more profitable to in
crease the purchasing power of their interest
crop by forcing down the price of all other
property, and it is not the bank law which
estops them from borrowing bills at one
per cent. They could not control the
"greenbacks," Hazard points out but they
could, through the bonds, control the bank
,,o,oe ond thay hove 10naj on Vaarlu