The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-10-11
SOME REMARKABLE FACTS.

Senator Butler, Of South Carolina, made
the following statement In his speech In
the Senate last week;
"Now, let me state circumstance
| which Is sometimes a more potential
fact than any argument anybody can
| offer In the little town where / live
there are two banks Of $4,000 capital each.
They had loaned a certain amount to
two young gentlemen Of character and
position and credit, who had
rented a large plantation, and they
had borrowed the money for the purpose
| OF supplying their laborers. buying plan
tatlon supplies. etc. About the month OF
| July, which IS, In our county, / might
say, the crisis OF the cotton crop, they
discovered that they did not have money
| enough by $3.50 TO carry out the plans
which they had made in the making OF
that crop. They came TO me and said
If they could not get that $50 their year
crop would be jeOpardiZed ! went 10 the
president Of one Of the banks, VINO
happened 10 know intimately, ana sald
to him, you may with perfect satety
loan these two young men 500 more.
have seen their crop, l have seen the
condition Of their animals, and II would
be perfectly safe for you 70 do So lie
said, why, sir, / would loan them $3.50
without the slightest hesitation, but II
even Vanderbilt or AstOr were TO come TO
my bank to borrow $40 / could not ac-
commOdate him, because / have not the
currency He had literally crawled on
his stomach in New York, and in Char
lesion, begging and imploring the loan
of a little more currency 10 accommodate
his customers, and could not get a sim
gle cent
General Buffers veracity is above any
possibility Of question. and we know.
therefore, that the facts of the case are
Just as he has detailed them And what
a lesson they containl General Butler
lives at Edgefed. S. c.. which is a pros
porous place with a rich surrounding
country. The people have abundant re-
sources and they would have all the
currency that they need If the act Of
Congress did not forbid them to make
use Of their property as a basis of notes
to circulate amongst themselves But as
It does this here were two prosperous
farmers in serious risk Of losing their
entire crop because they were not al
lowed by law to put up their valuable
property and their credit as security for
the paltry sum Of $50. This case ought
to end all discussion regarding the re-
peal OF the tax on the notes OF State
banks.
During his speech Mr.. George, of
Mississippi, interrupted Senator Butler
TO make the following statement:
mississippi. like Ohio. had a flood Of
wildcat money in $780, and it produced
such disgust against State banks that no
banks were allowed TO be chartered.
There was q provision in the Constitution
Of the State against them. We had no
banks. and we depended for our curren-
cy mainly upon the State of South Caro-
lima The banks of South Carolina had
agencies an over the State to whom they
furnished their bank bills. which We're
circulated in Mississippi freely and with
out loss TO anybody"
This was in 1880 when Mississippi was n
new State. going through the processes
Of early settlement and liable, OF course,
to the evils Of wild cat banks and booms,
as all new communities are. But the i'm
portaut part Of what Mr.. George says. is
his statement that the notes Of the
South Carolina banks were the daily cur
rency Of the people Of Mississippi. What
becomes Of the statement then that under
a system Of State bank currency the notes
issued in one State must necessarily be
at heavy discount I'm all other States?
That they would be at some discount
for a time we do not doubt But with
the modern methods Of quick intelligence
and transportation. we believe that in
very short time the notes issued in one
State would circulate in all other States
under discount only sufficient to drive
them home for the use of those people
that they were intended for