The Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1893-1901, 1893-06-26
Monday. June 20. 1893.
FINANCIAL COGIIATIONS.

The Philadelphia Times. a paper SUP
posed to be tolerably well informed a,
to the policy of the Cleveland admins
tration nrescribes the following panoce:
for the financial ills the country is nov
suffering from.
The repeal II the purchase clause of tn,
sherman law.
: The repeal of the tax on national bank
circulation, SO that they may issue To the full
extent of the face value of the government,
bonds put up TO secure circulation.
3 The repeal of the ten per cent. tax on state
bank circulation.
The Times argues that the action pro
posed in relation to national banks
would increase their number and that
the enlarged volume of currency thus
notes. would meet the general demand
for more circulating medium, and con-
fine the issues Of state banks to the To-
caiities where they were known to be
good Tor bad and thus loosen up the
whole financial strain of the country.
8 From this it would appear that it is the
purpose Of thu administration to redeem
the pledge 81 en- in the Chicago plat
form. of rep.aling the tax on state banks.
thiS being q necessity to secure the vote
OF the south in congress against silver.
The proposition concerning national
banks is q mere blind as there is moth
ing in the history Of the national bank
ing system that warrants the assertion
that it would be enlarged much or little
by permission t. increase circulation in
the small extent that has hitherto been
withheld. Nor is it even honest to pre-
tend that the cessation OF the coinage
OF silver must. for the safety of the
country. be followed by any scheme
whatever for the increase of the circula
ting medium. for the reason that at no
time since the Sherman law went into
effect. has its operation added to the
volume 81 currency" in the repect that
the average person understands the
phrase. II is true that the monthly
purchases of silver were represented by
silver certificates which for ii time be-
came a circulating medium. but if the
statement recently made on the author
ity Of the treasury department be true.
of the fifty millions in round figures
of silver purchased in thelast year. some |
forty-eight millions Of the silver certI- |
~'iicates almost Immediately found their
way back into the treasury in exchange
for gold. and the silver. both coined and
hlihnn uHIrh nc l. Faatt2r IF f,,,t ~,
gold paid for. remained in the vaults of
the treasury along with the other five
hundred million tina has been accumu-
lating there and which is of no more
use TO the country as Il circulating med
ium than so much sand. 1t seems evi
dent that silver has got to go. and to
secure its downfall the state bank with
its unlimited Issue of wild cat currency
is to be rehabilitated.
~
While the pressure for the repeal Of
the state bank tax comes originally
from the southern states. it is an error
to suppose that that section only will
embrace the opportunities offered. when
the tax law Is repealed. Every section
Of the country has its tinanciers who are
aching to handle other peoples money
material risk to themselves,
the restrictions of the national
banking act could not prevent Zimri
Dwiggins from starting and running a
string Of p~asteboard banks. and the op- /
Of his ilk will be boundless I
it becomes possible for them to
lssue a currency Of their own based up
On questionable securities.
~
1t seems somewhat strange to the
iverage person who attemps to get the
,ang Of the financial situation. that the
millions Of silver in the treas
Try vaults. has never been given a
nance TO aid in swelling the volume of
currency. lobe sure no man wants to
,ack around ten or twenty dollars OF :
with him. but no man has yet |
zen found who has refused to accept y
he payment OF a debt in silver. Gold
just as Objectionable as silverfor ready
if not more so: the smaller
ieces are liable to be paid out by mis-
for inferior coins. and the larger
heavier and bulkier than silver.
here is 40 reason why the one should
. deified and the other cursed. Why
Ut give silver a chance by paying all
e~nsions. salaries and other small indiy- 4.
|uai debts OF the government. in the
hite metal. A silver dollar will buy
Iet as much Of the commodities as a
I'D or a paper dollar, and no one will
fuse it. 1t would seem to be a wiser
llicy to turn the treasury millions