The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-09-06
estate BANKS PROPER"

estate BANKS PROPER"
The esteemed Journal comes to the
aid Of the New York Tribune in main
tanning the miserable bubble about
wild cat banks" but the Journal is less
adroit than the Tribune. The latter
paper dealt only in indirections, but the
Journal undertakes to prove that free
bank" is a state bank" by this in
genious argument:
The Sentinel plays on the word state
bank" 1t is true. as il says, that 1.-The
State bank of Indiana" did not fail, but
II is also true that the free banks,
large number of which did fail, were
also state banks in the sense that they
were organized and operated under state
laws. The state was as much reSpon-
sible for the free banks as it was for
the state banks proper, and while the
latter were pretty good, the former were
thoroughly bad The free banks were
not private banks" in any proper sense.
They were organized and operated by
private citizens, just as the national
banks Of today are, but they we're or
ganized and operated under a av and
rules and regulations prescribed oy the
state. They were creations of the state
as much as the national banks are Of
the general government.
Exactly And if the democratic party
had declared for the re-establishment of
the United States bank the Journal
would have insisted. we presume. that it
meant national banks Now it kindly
CONSTITUTES the democratic platform to
refer not to state banks proper" but
to state banks Gin a sense" and there
upon charges that the democratic party
favors wild cat currency" And to add
insult to injury. 1t says that The Senti-
mel plays on the word state bank "
This is the most cheerful bit Of impu-
dence that has occurred in this section
for several days. state banks" means
free banks" and free banks" does
not mean private banks" This is valu-
able information. Will the Journal kind
" mention a private bank in Indiana
that is not organized and operated UNI
der law and rules and regulations pre-
scribed by the state?" The free banks
were private banks "in the sense" that
the state had no interest in them or re
sponsibility for them more than IL has
in the railroad or insurance companies
of the state.
The democratic platform is plain and
simple. 1t says:
We recommend that the prohibitory
10 per cent tax on State bank issues
be repealed.
The law to which reference is here
made covers all sorts of banking insti-
buttons except national banks, and 1t
distinguishes between state banks and
banking associations created under state
laws 1t reads:
That every national banking associa-
ton. state bank or state banking asso-
citation. shall pay tax Of 10 per centum
on the amount of notes of any state
bank. or state banking association, paid
out by them after the first day of July,
1866.
The makers of the law made the dis
tinction and the makers of the platform
made the distinction. 1t was repeatedly
explained in the columns of The Senti-
mel during the campaign, and the Jour
nal never had the courage to tell it's
readers that any construction but it's
own was put on this plank. 1t con-
tinued to howl all through the cam
paign that the democrats favored wild
cat banks" without so much as init
mating that there was any difference
between state banks proper and state
banks Gin a sense" And now what
does the Journal suppose it gained by
it's attempted deception? How many
voters does it imagine were deluded by
its Misrepresentation? On the other
hand. The Sentinel plainly told its read
ers that state banks meant state
banks proper" that we favored no state
| bank issue that was not guaranteed by
the state. The campaign was made in
this state on that basis, and the Jour-
nal probably remembers how it re-
suited. We do not believe there is an
Indiana congressman who would vote
| for the repeal of the tax on the Issues
of free banks. or private banks. or wild
! cat banks. or anything else that is a
state bank lin sense"