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

holders Of the Banks notes. There
should. in addition, be imposed a
small tax on each Bank which would
form q sinking fund to be called upon
in case any of the securities should de-
preCiate IN value.
This money ought to be, here and
elsewhere, as good as money can
be. But we may not be able to
| make people out of the State think 50,
and it is not material that we should;
for it Will not be necessary for this
money to leave the State or the coun-
try. 1t Will be good enough for home
or domestic use it may not be SO
| good as 10 wander or stray tar away
| from the place Of issue and redemp-
ton, thereby like the tax gatherer,
will ever abide with us and never for
sake US. 1t may be called g stay at
home money"
As has been we'll said: No people
ever had a letter opportunity to build
up a good and strong financial and
Banking system. We need more money,
that is certain, and the State Bank
system properly regulated would give
it to US, letting what we have remain.
Tear down nothing, but build up every
thing"
Says Rh0Ats' Journal Of Barking:
"The return to currency composed
of State Bank notes, has recently been
seriously proposed. 1t is no doubt
true that a great proportion of the
loss incurred by the public from State
Bank notes during the time they occu-
pied the field was due to the primitive
condition of the Governments of the
States and Territories in which many
banks were established, as
we'll as TO the difficulty of communl-
cation between the different parts of
the country; most of these unfavorable
conditions having been removed. In
fact, in 1861, 1862 and 1868, just be-
fore the National Banking system sup
pressed the currency issuing functions
of the State Banks, they were, as
rule, furnishing safe and useful
medium of exchange. They
were issued in every locality wher-
ever there was any business call
ing for money, and they encouraged
true enterprise and productive energy.
When used for the purpose which had
called them forth, they were redeemed.
They never, as the unredeemed notes
OF the Government now do, aCcumu-
lated in the financial centres for the
encouragement of an excessive specu
lation, that often reacts upon and
causes loss to the productive indus
tries of the whole country. 1t may be
questioned whether the losses oCca-
stoned by the inelasticity Of Govern
ment paper money have not greatly
exceeded all that ever was paid by the
public i'll the way OF discounts upon
the notes of State Banks
THE SOUTH NEEDS GOOD COLLAT-
ERALS.
As stated above, empowering State
Banks to issue their notes as money,
will not alone give US relief. The
South needs good collaterals. For
good cOllateraiS means good credit, and
good credit means abundance Of money
Let the South. or any State i'll the
South, or any individual in any State
in the South provide itself or himself
with good collateral, and money will
flow to seel, it at rates Of interest pro-
portonate to its goodness. For money
itself, that is coin or currency, is non
productive. 1t only earns interest
when it is lent out, and it will seek
the rcmotest corner of the earth where
Good collateral and fair rate Of inter-
est can be found. 1t is not only the
money in the United States that the
South can draw from, but the money
of all the financial centres of the world,
when once her credit is established.
eXander in discus sing the question of
" Uow to provide capital for the
South" In answer to the question, he
says. as published in the Manufacture
cfs' Record. OF Baltimore, June 3rd.
IS92
'''Ihc Souths best collateral, almost
her only collateral, is her land with
their fertility and their forests and their
mines. 1t is to these alone that she is
indebted for the wonderful progress she
has made, since the war left her practi-
cHlly with nothing else. Their value
has now been demonstrated by practical
test, and every year the need of the rest
OF the world fOrwh are in a position
to supply cheaper than any other section
Is increasing.
Our lands are therefore becoming more
valuable every year and are intrinsicallv
excellent collateral. But there is one
difficulty connected with their use as
collateral. which is so serious that we
can rarely use them even with our own
banks, and almost never with distant or
foreign lenders, or if at ALL only at
cXOrbItant rates.
The difficulty lies in our antiuuated.
complicated, cumbersome, unnecessary
and vtNatiOus laws governing he titles
to and the transfers of land. We have
inherited from the English an idea that
landed property is so peculiarly sacred
that its owners cannot be trusted to
handle it as they do other property, but
that there must be Il special set of laws
to regulate every transaction in il. The
result Is that no man, especially no
foreigner. dare loan or invest in real
eStat" with expert or expensive invcsti-
CATION OF titles, running back for genera
tons and by some local lawyer The
foreigner cannot employ his own lawyer,
III whom he has confidence, but must
rely upon IL stranger who knows the ms
and outs OF all the laws. decisions and
traditions OF theparticu]ar locality. The
Older the State the more risk, time and
expense necessary to make the searches.
In these days OF many opportunities
very slight increase in the time, risk and
expense OF making loans practically bars
them, and the result is that as whole
orr lands are valuelcss as collateral.
But that is not all the harm. nor half
OF it. Property which is not good col
lateral Will never command its fair mar
ket value when either choice or necessity
puts il up for sale. The result is IL lower
scale of values all around. low quota
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