St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-11-24

| tute safety, or guaranty fund, for
the redemption of the notes, of such
banks as might fail. He demonstrated
that such a fund would have secured
the notes of all the banks which have
suspended since the establishment of
the national system. 1t certainly has
the merit of greater simplicity and of
/ providing wider basis for our paper
currency than does the bond basis. uec-
eessarily limited as that is. If to it are
added precautions which will insure
tie solyency OF the notes so that theyl
will pass as free from inspection as toi
their location or the bank OF issue as
are the present bank notes, it would
seem to be the better plan of the two
But the plan is not so important as
the principle underlying either. We.
said some time since, in writing on this
question Of a currency, that the nation
had evidently reached point where 1T
must choose between two opposite sys4
TENS OF paper currency. 1t must drop!
the system, or want of system, which is
the result of Republican empiricism,I
and which is neither fish. flesh nor
good red herring" and have the paper
either issued exclusively by the nation,
or by those of the people who cared to
engage in the occupation of supplying
these representatives of money. We
have seen no reason advanced why the
position taken then by Us should be
changed, and either the plan outlined
by Mr. Springer or that of Mr.. Whites
is based On the principle that the fur
nishing OF currency should be left to
private enterprise under rigid gov
ernmental supervision, inSuring its
solvency.
With such measure we do not share
at all the gloomy apprehensionS which
some OF Our contemporaries indulge
themselves in of the repeal of the tax
on the issues of banks chartered by the
states. There are some assumptions
underlying these forebodings which ap-
pear to us to have no foundation what
ever. The CHER one is that people are
SO gullible and simple that they are in
different to the quality of the money or
its representative which they take in
exchange for their products. 1t is as
sumed that if they were offered pay
ment in money issued under national
supervision with either the actual guar
anty of it or the implied guaranty which
follows such control, or if they were
offered payment in bills issued by a
state bank with no state guaranty, that
they would be just as apt to take the
latter as the former We appreciate
that the people of this country have not
yet reached that condition of imbecility,
ana may be safely left to see that they
get the best money in their exchanges.
Another consideration seems to be ig-
nored, and that is the discouragement
to state bank issues which the very
presence and circulation or national
bank notes would be. Aside from the
preference of the exchangers for money
OF the widest circulation, there would
be the lmpossibility of floating ii state
bank note far enough away from home
to render its speedy presentation for re-
demption improbable. This probability
would render the maintenance of
large reserve necessary. thus diminish
ing the profits of the business. The
continuance OF the present laws in re-
gard to the paper used and the designs
adopted. with prohibition of the use
of similar paper or design or color to
any bank not organized under the ma
tional law, would be fully as effective
as is the tax, and 1t would relieve the
country of the fraudulent pretense of
using the taxing power TO kill business.