Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-06-30
NATIONAL BANKS.
NO COUNTRY EVER HAD A BET
TER SYSTEM THAN OURS.
Why Not Perpetuate It?-A System OF
Well Organized Savings Banks
Would be of Vast Importance
to the State.
JEFFERSON, TEX, June Is, 1891.

JEFFERSON, TEX, June 10, 1891.
To the Gazette:
In submitting my plan for increasing tn
circulating medium of the country, l know
that my position will be condemned b
many, but not being a politician 1 hav
nothing to apprehend
| Ii 1t IS true that the business of the coun
try requires more circulation, then tn
better plan Is to have circulation tina
| Will at once carry confidence with it. An
new departure from the well defined path
of business causes uneasiness, an,
especially is it so with regard to finance
am rather of the opinion that if, as
certain writer has said, the country hat
| more confidence it would not require S,
large circulating medium. And it matter
not how large the circulation any one t
handle part of it must have something t.
dispose of. If, as said before, that The
! country requires larger per capita cir
| culatlon, then l would suggest the follow
ing plan as one that would increase the
| circulation, at the same time the circula
| tion would have the credit and confidence
| no other plan yet suggested can have. The
| national banking law now requires banks
with Sl5O,0O0 capital, and less, to deposit
not less than 25 per cent in United
| States bonds, while no national bank
can have less than $50, 900 in bonds. The
present law is not compulsory on any ma
l l.
| The law now requires deposit by such ma
| tlonai banks OF 5 per cent of the circulation
| to be used for redemption of its circulation,
and remains as credit to the banks. To re-
| duce this would increase the circulation. 1t
| is suggested that this be reduced to ~ per
cent. The law not compelling the issuing
of any amount of circulation combined with
the high premium the bonds have reached
has in part caused the withdrawal of the
| national bank circulation. If the govern
ment will issue fifty-year bonds, bearing
not more than 2 per centsQ is better) these
bonds to take the place of the bonds now
held by the national banks, and the new
bonds not to be used for any other purpose
than for the banks, thus preventing any
speculation, the banks would always get
them at par Make it compulsory on
the part of the banks to invest their capital
in these bonds, and to issue not less than 80
per cent (95 would be better) of circula-
ton. In consideration of the banks doing
this, the government to repeal the law as
seSsing per cent tax on circulation. The
life of the charter of the banks should cor
respond with the life of the bond. No pro-
vision should be made for reduction of
the circulation, thus keeping the circula-
ting medium up to a fixed amount. thus
preventing any contraction.
October g. 1870, with 1915 national banks,
the combined circulation of these1banks was
1921, 1885, $40. October q 1890, tAaaseNears
afterwards, we find the circulation reduced
to Sl22 92S ,0S4, reduction ofESl6S, SIC, k56,
with 3540 national banks il 1891 against t615
in 1870. The individual deposits of khe
same banks increased from SOL, 4O7 Ssh go
to 81, 564, S45, 174.67, showing a very h}aN
increase in the wealth of the cou&SH
The capital of the same banks ncf)asedj
from s435, 1899, 3Ol to S642 073, 676, II Under
the plan suggested, instead ot<1 circ2
1nf of hat, Il ~
have increased. Instead 81 hating SlM,
92S, 0S4 bank circulation Wswould have
1855, 402, 512, or nearly IS per capita increase
in circulation. In addition to the increase
of circulation by adopting the plan sug-
gested, the country would save largely in
interest. On October 2, $780, the national
banks held of per cent and AZ per cent
bonds S139, 959, $50 to secure circulation, and
to secure government deposits, SOS, 1856, 5OOs
Let all these bonds be retired and issue 9
per cent bonds. 1t is true the per cents
have some years to run yet. With proper
inducement no doubt the banks would
make the exchange. The AIS mature next
September. 1t is a well-known fact that
out of 1855 national banks organized since
1868 only 139, or about 81 per cent have
been placed in the hands of receivers Of
the 4455 national banks organized since
February 25 1868, 5S4 have gone into vol
untary liquidation, eighty have gone into
liquidation for the purpose of reorganiz-
ing, forty-four in liquidation upon expira-
ton of charter, and 139 IN hands of re-
ceivers. Thus one who will take the ma
tional banking system and carefully
study it, can but admit that this nor any
other country ever had a better one; then
why not perpetuate it! 1t gives the best
protection to the depositor, they are paid
first in case of disaster oyertaking Il bank,
and would here suggest that the sooner the
state throws a protection around the de-
positors money, similar to Kansas and
other states that have such laws and such
protection as the national banking law
gives, the better it will be for the state A
system of well organized savings banks
throughout the state, with a protection that
would gain for them the confidence of the
people, would be Of vast Importance to the
state. The sooner we appreciate this the
better it will be for the prosperity of the
state. 1t would seem that the more sta
bility given the circulating medium of the.l
country the less liable we are tQ<Aave
monetary panics. Under the PHI sug-
gested, if the circulation of the (6mbined
national banks to-day was S6OqOOO, 900, il
would not be any less for at &ast fifty |
years, for it is submitted that thu increase
in banks would be as many as thoA diSe on7
tinuing business. And to prevent a 4ssV
ance so as to create a possibility of eptG
citation, it is suggested that this cSu}6& be-
obyiated this way. Say this law went into |
effect January l, 1892, and the circulation /
of the national banks was 5000, 600, 600, |
and combined with the other circulat1n
was as much as the business of the c0lhtry
demanded, then let the department only 4
grant charters in states whee ma
tional bank goes out IF exisNl
ence. To illustrate, suppo)e Texs |
should lose three national bSGks
during the year, then only threA naSonaG
banks with the same capital stock s4Ga4a6e Il
started. And whenever the busineSSUf the 4
country demands an increased circulation,
ascertain about the volume required, issue
charters for as many banks as the combined 1
circulation will give the needed increase,
giving the larger number of banks to the
section of the country showing the largest |,
increase in wealth and the greatest demand
Tor banking capital.
We thus perpetuate a banking system |
by any yet suggested, one with L
which the country is familiar and Ill ain N
which every one should have confidence.
f an experience of twenty eight years does
lot give confidence in q system that has |
proved SO beneficial to the country, then |
line will not do it. Why not shear the ills
We have than fly to others we know not |.
If" w. T. ATKINS. IS
AN AGED LADY BURNED.S51
Hrs. Doolen of Hardeman County, Aged |
Seventy-Five, Fatally Burned.