The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1893-05-27
WILD CAT BANKING.


cratic party with being favorable
to Wild Cat State Banks, and de-
clared that a single (gold) stand
art was the only safety in sight.
The term Wild Cat is an old one,
and means that the bank to which
it is applied issues bills without
any means being provided for
their redemption
The Democratic party is not now
and never has been in favor of any
system of banking which contem-
plates Il currency unsound or un-
stable, and recognizing the fact
that the amount of gold Is wholly
inadequate for such purpose,
they favor the use of both gold
and silver as money.
But the attempt is to be made to
maintain single gold standard at
MI hazards, and as II means of do.
ing this the people who are "bull-
ing" gold will seek to establish,
under National control State banks
of issue which will be National
banks in everything but the name
and in the fact that, if the attempt
to perpetuate the National debt
fails, almost any sort of collateral
will be used as the basis for bank
notes.
The whole scheme was hatched
in the active minds of the gold
"bulls," who see great fgains, for
themselves, in the project.
The reason that banks presum-
ably under state control are pre-
ferred by these schemers, rests on
two facts: First, the Constitution
of the United States prohibits any
State from making anything a
legal tender except gold and silver
and second this lack of the legal
tender quality will be u strong
barrier to the circulation of such
notes, at par, outside the state of
issue.
While the single gold standard
is maintained for the National cur
rency, the necessary result of the
issue of bank notes, to be ultimate
ly redeemed in gold,if redeemed at
all, will be to increase the demand
for gold and thus to further in
crease the already exaggerated
and ruinous premium on it.
Under this beautiful arrange
ment the same people who control
the immense mortgage debt Oh the
farms and homes of the South and
West would come out here and
start estate banks" and flood us
with wild cat currency issued on
the stock of trust companies or on
the mortgage bonds held on our
own farms and homes. And not a
dollar of this stuff would we be able
to pay in discharging the immense
mortgage debt we owe them. They
would hold sthe Federal Treasury
to the gold standard, and their
own conduct in causing local in
fiation with their bank notes
would furnish them additional ar
guments against "cheap money"
and against relaxing the gold
standard in National finance.
If this plan could be put in force;
if we could be subjected to this
local imitation accompanied by
National contraction, it would in
crease the price of all we have to
buy from the East, while the
increased demand for gold caused
by the issue of bank notes redeem
able in gold would surely and
swiftly decrease the price of all
our exports. Our cotton, our wheat
our corn and our provisions would
be forced down as gold was forced
higher and higher by the conspira-
tors.
Unless the South and West stand
together to resist this Infamous at
tempt; unless they speak out to
open the eyes of the good but ig-
norant men who are being used as
the tools of these Shylocks, we will
be ruined. No greater danger ever
threatened the country than is
threatened by this conspiracy to
force silver out of the Nation al
currency and to supply its place
with local notes redeemable in
gold.
TO such ruipous policy the
Democracy will never agree.
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