The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1892-10-14
THE WILDCAT IN THE DEMOCRATIC
PLATFORM,

The Democratic platform demands the
abolition of the ten per cent tax on the
currency issues of the state banks. This
is said to be perfectly satisfactory to the
fiat money advocates and free silverites
of the South and West who want more
money with which to pay their debts, the
poorer and cheaper the better OF course
there would be no limit to this money in
those States which have repudiated their
debts and where financial honesty is at a
discount and held in contempt. There
were enough of the wildcat order of
statesmen in the Chicago convention to
put the resolution through ON their own
account, either because they had debts to
pay or wished to engage in a sort of
banking that involves no responsibility
and leaves the note-helpers helpless when
the bank bursts up. How business can
be transacted was made apparent by
gentleman who went to Chicago from
this State before the war and set up a
bank. After issuing notes by hundreds
of thousands of dollars he suddenly
failed, and upon an investigation of his
affairs it was found that all the capital
that he had ever controlled was $4,000
that he had borrowed from his mother
The laws of Illinois provided no penalty
for the enterpTising gentleman who suf-
fered this misfortune" and he was al
lowed to escape with his lawful but dis
honest gains. The defenders of the plank
profess great faith in the integrity of the
Legislatures of the several States and
their ability and readiness to enact laws
that would make this sort of banking
safe to the creditors or note holders; but
what if dozen Legislatures were made
up of men of the character and calibre of
the Chicago convention? We have Ma
tional banking system now, that is safe,
thanks to the wisdom, integrity and pa
triotism of the men who were sent to
Congress during the war, and the only
course of safety is to demand that that
system be let alone. Repeal the tax, and
a thousand thieves would launch out as
bankers under old State laws that have
never been repealed but have been held in
a condition of innocuous desuetude by
the Federal tax upon the issues.
Mr.. Cleveland advised in his letter Of
acceptance that it would not be wise to
act hastily in this matter, and Democrat.
ic newspapers have tried to conceal or
explain away the partys attitude; but
the Democratic National committee does
not try to dodge the question. In the
campaign text book just issued by that
committee and intended for Democratic
reading only. occurs this statement:
1.-THE State bank tax was imposed in an
emergency. This unconstitutional step
was taken under the guise of a scheme to
raise revenue. The taxing power was
simply perverted. Before that time no
one had seriously denied the constitu-
tional right of state to decide for itself
whether it ould charter banks or not.
No one had entertained the thought that
Congress could interfere with the States
in that direction. Should not the States
be restored to their constitutional
rights?"
Here the unconstitutionality of the
bank tax is declared, just as protective
tariff was pronounced unconstitutional
by the Democratic platform. 1t is COM
ing to this, that everything is to be pro-
nounced unconstitutional that the Re-
publican party ever did or ever proposes
to do, including of course the suppression
of the rebellion, the overthrow and de-
struction of the confederacy, the freeing
of the slaves, etc. "Unconstitutionality''
is the last Democratic argument, and is
supposed to be unanswerable. 1t stops
all debate upon the wisdom or expedien-
cy of a measure, and leaves nothing to be
said.
This wildcat threat is actually the most
villainous and dangerous part of the
Democratic programme. 1t contains pos
sibilities for plumber and robbery that
the widest free silverites never dreamed
of. According to an old copy of Thomp
sons Bank Note Reporter, there were in
1858 ,422 state banks with notes in cir
culatiOn, and of these banks the notes of
1853 or more than one-half were worth
less. Even the bills of the soundest
banks were at par only in the States in
which they were issued, the rate of dis
count increasing as the square of the dis
lance that they wandered from home. A
gentleman who went southwest just after
the close of the war with a quantity of
Pennsylvania bills in his pocket, found
discount Of five per cent. upon them
in Ohio, ten per cent in Indiana and fif-
teen per cent in Kentucky. These bills
were received at par in Pennsylvania,
and their depreciation was due to no
other cause Than lack Of knowledge of
the reliability of the men who conducted
the banks. "We don't know this bank,