Middletown transcript., 1892-09-29

expenditure Vi pHoV,VVv,vVV, 40 0.J
fair price to pay for that GLORIOUS
institution" the National Bank.
Now, when you read this, take cut
your pocket-book, look at the circuia-
ting notes, and see how very fewof the
notes Of these banks of great bless
ing" you have in your possession.
When Mr.. Blaine penned that brilliant
declaration, had he opened his pocket
book and looked at the charaeter eof
the note withla | fancy that he would
have found nearly, if not quite all Of
them, under the denomination of ten
dollars, to be treasury notes of eithex
gold, silver rgreenback issue, The
truth of the matter IL, that the National
Bank note blessing is equal in bench.
cence to protection, and with it, is dis
honest, a sham. and a snare for the
unwily.
am willing to admit that there
are greater conveniences to those who
travel over the United States, in the
use ofa national currency, than in the
use of State bank issue, but there is
lot of humbuggary in this "conven-
ience" business. How many of the
farmers and farm-workers of the Del
aware and Maryland Peninsula expect
10 use the circulating medium for pay
ing travelling expenses? And if a
few of them should feel themselves
rich enough tn travel as far as Chicago,
during the continuance Of the great
fair next summer, what little trouble
it would be to provide themselves with
sufficient Chicago bank money for use
while there, and with greenback and
silver currency bills for intermediate
points. This convenience in travel
ling" argument of Mr.. Blaine's and
the Republicans, is at par with their
"pauper labor" humbuggary. They
know better but resort to duplicity
from a failure to find an honest argu-
ment to uphold their cause. They
know quite we'll that the repeating of
the war tax on banking, and restoring
that much more freedom to the States
and the people Of the States, will not
of necessity destroy the National
Banks, and they also know that it
only bresk their power for harm and
in no wise interfere with their useful
ness. They know that the government
greenback, and the gold and silver
notes will still remain as circulating
medium for the people. They also
know, q fully believe) that free banks
will enable those who produce to re-
tain for their own comforts more Of
the products of labor and will prevent
the miliionaires and monopolists from
reaping such great rewards as have
fallen to them under the national
bank system.
But the advantage of State or free
banks to country districts can be made
to be of enduring benefit to any com
inunity in which such bank isalo-
Gated, if the officers of that bank are
men known to be honest and of good
business methods and habits. and these
banks will give to the public an abso-
lutely elastic currency. The very
faults of which Mr.. Blaine complains
constitute their merit, and that Ehich
alone makes them commercial bless.
ing. No set of money sharks can lock
up State bank notes. No stringency
of the money market in New York
and Philadelphia will draw from
MiddIetown its circulating medium
Why is this ? It is because the State
bank notes of a Middletown bank
would be used only to settle balances
in trade, in the vicinity of the bank
the settlement of balances is the only
use that money has-and were q lot Of
State bank notes of Middletown senI
by a merchant Of that city to man
in Chester County, Pa, to settle bal
ance, the Chester Comfy man would
deposit those notes in his home bank
and that bank, if there was only a
shadow of distrust, would send those
notes to Middletown for collection, al
once, and within forty eight hours after
a Middletown bank note left the com.
munity of Middletown to pay debt in
Chester County, it would be back
again in the bank of Middletown, or
circulating among those who had conf
denee in the bank management; and
this is as it should be-. 1t was for the
benefit of the people of Middletown
that the bank was organized.
Again take out your roll ofbills, and
see how many Delaware bank bills You
have in your possession, and learn q
losson from your pocket-book. The
banks of Middletown often part with
their bills for months when they first
pay them out, and they do not come
back to them again until too filthy fol
use and are sent back that new. ones
may be issued in their stead, and those
new bills are frequently sent hundreds
of miles away, and never put into circu-
lation in the town or vicinity of Mid
dletown.
Again, State banks give the public
an elastic currency which lessons the
} chances of the bank officers being
forced to destroy growing business
which was frequently the case under
the national bBnking system. Conse-
, nnentlv. under State banks. indus.