The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1892-07-01
THEY WANT WILDCATS.

There are some good things, and some
very bad in the platform of the National
Democratic Convention. By far the
worst and most rotten plank in that
platform is the cool proposition to crush
out all National Banks and to substitute
in their place Wild Cat Banks chartered
by virtue of the various State Legis-
latures. This innocent looking little
plank is contained in a three line para
graph that reads as follows:
Section S-We recommend that the
prohibitive ten per cent. tax on State
bank issues be repealed.
The only thing that stands between the
utter extinction of National Banks as
banks that may issue notes or bills and
the substitution therefor of Wild Cat
State Banks possessing the power of
issuing bank bills in any desired quanti-
ty is the provision in the National Bank
ing law compelling State banks of issue
to pay ten per cent. tax to the National
Government on all bank bills issued by
State banks. The U. S. Supreme Court
holds that the National Government has
no power to prevent the establishment
by the State of State banks, but it has
the power of taxing their bills or notes
when issued for general circulation as
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Government has imposed tax of ten
per cent. upon State bank notes, and this
has effectually prevented their issue, and
the establishment of Wild Cat banks of
issue, as would the strongest prOhibitory
law had Congress the power to pass such
law. Now a National Bank may deposit
U. S. bonds and receive back therefor
ninety per cent. of their face value in
bank bills bearing the name of the bank,
and issue and use such bills in its
business. Besides the bank is entitled to
receive the interest on the bonds which
are so deposited, and which bonds are
held for the redemption of the bills or
notes which have been so issued to such
banks. The Government is to furnish
the notes or bills to such bank, paying
all the expense for the engraving, print
ing, and making the bank note plates,
for all of which the bank is to pay one
per cent. per annum of the face value of
all such notes as the bank keeps in
circulation. Thus the entire tax on
National banks for the notes furnished
by the Government and for the privilege
of issuing them is only one per cent. on
the amount in circulation. The bank
does not pay the one per cent or any
thing for the notes issued to it which it
does not issue, use, or keep in circu-
lation. This is all the tax of any sort
which is imposed on National banks by
the general Government. Our National
Banking system is the best which human
wisdom has ever invented since the
world began. No billholder has ever
lost single dollar by failure to have the
notes which he held redeemed at their
full face value in case the bank failed.
The security for the full redemption of
bank notes in coin is absolute and sOlidly
adamantine. The protection from coun-
terfeits of the notes is also nearly abso-
lutely perfect. Thus our National Bank
ing system has furnished paper money
as good as gold all the time and as nearly
perfect as it is possible for human
ingenuity to approach perfection. The
Democratic platform proposes to strike
down at single blow the only thing
that stands as preventative to the en-
tire destruction Of all National Banks
and the substitution of Wild Cat State
Banks and the issue of their unsecured
bank notes. This would be an absolute
death blow to the business of the
country, and six months after the repeal
of the ten per cent. tax on State bank
issues it is certain that the spectacle
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waste of ruin laid'' throughout the
whole country. 1t was bad enough that
the Convention should adopt free trade
doctrines as its rallying cry. 1t was bad
enough that the red flag of the anarchist
should be planted before the assembled
convention unrebuked. 1t was bad
enough that all rich men should be at
tackled and held up to obloquy, bad
enough that the demagogic appeals to
the prejudices of the worst classes should
be uttered, bad enough that stereotyped
lies should be sanctimoniously reiterated
with "holier than thou" JUNCTION, but
worse than all is the threat to deal a
death blow at the prosperity of the
whole Nation by the destruction of the
National Banking system and the substi-
tuition therefor of the Wild Cat Banking
system with all its train of attendant
evils. 1t was Gen. Grant who said "give
theI Democrats rope enough and they
will hang themselves" Gen. Grant was
both prophet and warrior, and spoke
truly.-Sunddy Budget.