The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1892-09-15

G issued, which meanwhile woult
: have served its purpose of expendi
n lures in the place, and been returned
to its issurers tor payment"
What have we actually got? Says Z
| writer: "With what is left of tn,
0 National Bank notes and our vas
: increased and ever increasing Govern
{ ment issues, we have as far as elasticity
K is concerned sodden, unyielding
+. mass. There is not one first princi
: pie of elasticity in it. Our presen,
, system is vast financial cyclone
. breeder. Under it, when confidence is
7 felt, the excess Of money provokes
! speculation and imitation. But when
the clouds spread. there is no National
. relief, no resort, no hope; confidence
, shrinks, there is financial agony, a
shlvering of credit, a crash, panic. :"
The present congested condition of
the Banks in the moneyed centres
most forcibly illustrates this defect in
the National Banking Act.
The Banks of New York City have
on deposit, say $50 millions of which
23o millions come from out of town
Banks. Their capital is only about 4S
millions. What are these Banks doing
with this large amount of money on
deposit? quote from recent report
of one of the Banks:
Capital, $ 100000.
Deposits, "a. 7OO. 900.
Demand Loans, l3,4OO. 900.
Specie on hand, 100000.
Stocks and Bonds, 13,7OO,OOO.
1t thus appears from this statement
that this Bank has deposits of more
than sixty times its capital. That
more than 15 of these deposits it has
out on demand loans liable to be
called in at any day, and that more
than 15 Of its deposits are invested in
stocks and bonds.
If the condition of this Bank is that
of the other Banks in New York City,
there must be from s1oo, 900, 900 to
$4,000, 900 loaned out in that city
on call. 1t must be presumed that
the Bankers in the other money CEN
tiers, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia,
st. Louis, &c., are pursuing a similar
policy, and we are confronted with this
alarming condition, that the Banks
have out on demand loans, hundreds
of millions of their deposits, which if
suddenly called in as they might be
from any domestic or foreign catas-
trophe such as the failure of a Barring
Bros, or the stoppage of foreign cred
its by general European war, would
prcclpitate an unavoidable and ruin
Gus panic. The situation becomes
still more grave when we consider the
condition Of the United States Treas
ury pledged practically to the redemp-
ton of all its silver issues in gold.
How does the Government stand? ?
On July 1st, last, there were in cir
Culation
Silver dollars, S556. 700. 900.
Silver certificates, 326,SOO,OO
Treasury notes, 9S,OOO,OOO.
Total, 5s1 100000.
And there was less than 111z mil
lions of net gold in the Treasury that !
can be used to redeem or hold up
these silver dollars to gold standard.
There is also only 100 millions of
gold with which to redeem the 346 |
millions of Greenbacks. And while this
little gold reserve tends to decrease,
the liability is increasing at the rate of
4 millions per month under the Silver
Act OF 1890. A Bank holding only
that proportion of cash reserve to liabil-
ity could not stand up day after its
became known. We are
like a General who brings into the
fight his entire force with no reserve
to cover a repulse. Like Napoleon at
Waterloo with his Young Guard de-
featcd, or the Confederate Army at
Shiloh after Albert Sidney Johnstsn's
d cath.
PER CAPITA CIRCULATION.
Before we consider a remedy for
this condition of things, let us glance
at the per capita circulation of the
Nation in 1860, 1865 and 1891, and
its distribution SO as to ascertain
what effect, if any, the amount of
money in circulation has upon the
of the people. Just a year
ago the Secretary of the Treasury pub
ished certain tables showing the
of the various kinds of money
in circulation in the United States for
Zach year since 1860 up to the present.
We will conhne ourselves to the years
1860, 1865 and 1891.
specie, $22s, s,3Oi,775,
st bk nts POI, ,102, AT, 142 919,63S,
fractional currency, 21,72s,755,
=. 5; notes, 37s,916.742 345, ,O79 .272
Natl b notes, l46, IS. 800, 162 ,272 800
,pe9 on Pacific est, $500 ',ooO
iold coin, 4os, ,o7S, ,sO6
Silver dollars, -. .6S3 OIL
silver, 58 2aO o24
IOld certificates, 12O $40 39o
silver certificates 3O7 364 14S
Treasury notes 1890, 40, 463, ,l65
Total, 4s5, ,4o7 252, IA 7O2 995, 500, ,O67 500
Population, 81. .A5, ,s21, 81 .74s, 900, 63,e75 900
Per capita
,ls.s5, ,ao.5e. s2s.45
In the above table the Secretary ex-
;ludes from the money circulation, the
money in the United States Treasury
Also, the gold coin and gold certifi-
;atcs from the tables for 1862 to 1878,
md also the $50 millions of 7-,o
notes negotiated in 1864 and 1865.
He makes these exclusions because
yold at said time was at a premium
md was sold and bought as a COM
modify, and because the seven-thirty
notes, Is they bore ! per cent. inter
st, were boarded by the people as an