The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-10-13

annual tax OF par cent z per cent. per annum)
| upon the average amount Of its notes In CIR
cuIstfon.
The present United States tax upon the cir
culsting notes of state banks shall cease, pro-
vided such notes are secured In precisely the
same manner as national bank notes, by bonds
deposited with the auditor or treasurer OF the
state and provided also, that the state In which
said bank is located shall guarantee the pay
ment Of its circulating notes State banks
shall pay the same taxes on their notes. ana IN
the same manner, national banks
The amount of the notes issued by any state
bank shall be under the control OF the state In
which il Is located. and nothing In this law
shall restrict the circulating notes OF any state
bank TO 90 per cent of the capital paid In; but
no bank shall issue notes In excess OF 20 per
cent of the par value OF the bonds deposited by
IL TO secure the payment Of said notes.
State banks shall not be compelled to redeem
their notes anywhere but at their own counters.
All state bank notes issued under this law
10 be, like national bank notes, redeemable In
United States legal tender coin or notes.
Amy president, vice president, manager, secre-
tary, treasurer, auditor, or other officer of any
interstate railroad (any of whose bonds are on
deposit under this law) who shall knowingly Is
sue or permit to be issued any false statement of
the earnings, expenses, or condition of said rail-
road, shall be considered guilty OF felony, and
be subject to trial in any court OF the United
imprisonment at hard labor for term OF not less
than ten nor more than twenty years, and may
De fined in addition, at the discretion Of the
court, in any sum not exceeding 100000
With the security provided under this
plan as basis for the national bank note
circulation of the United States, neither
lost penny during the last twenty-five
years. When the responsibility of the stock
holders back of it is taken into account,
and the average money reserves of the
banks are added, no other bank notes in
the world will be as perfectly secured as
these.
The increase of currency this plan pro-
vides for will not, as unlimited silver coin
age would, drive other nancy of any kind
out of circulation, but every dollar would
be distinct and positive addition to the
circulation of the country. The tax
on circulation for which it provides is
equal to the entire interest which the
Farmers Alliance feather-headed finan-
ciers propose to have paid the government
as interest upon the loans they demand it
shall make the farmers. Mr.. Harter's
plan proposes to make the banks pay
literally for privilege of issuing perfectly
secured notes by providing for the highest
tax on circulation paid by any banks in
the world, being about twice what the
national banks now pay, and ten times as
much as is paid by the Imperial Bank of
Germany.
The provisions of this plan permit the
location of banks in any and every section
of the country. And any citizen can be-
come stockholder, for, If desired, the
shares of the banks could be reduced to 81,
IS, or any other fraction of 500. The plan
also proposes to permit the establish
ment of local or state banks along
side the national banks in all states
where they are desired, and provides for
state bank circulation as amply secured
and as free from the faint of irredeem-
ability as the national bank notes now in
circulation. 1t also provides, through
these state banks. the facilities for rapid
increase in the volume of their notes, and
therefore adds another elastic element to
the money supply of the country. The
state banks would contribute at the same
rate to the public treasury as would the
national.