The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-05-27
The Bank Tax and Silver Law.


4 Chicago special says that the Presi-
dent through an agent has been sounding
the Chicago bankers relative to the Sher-
man silver purchase act. According to
the information contained in the dispatch
1 the President is Of the opinion that if the
national banks will favor the repeal of the
/ tax on state bank notes the financial issue
/ can be settled without much difficulty soon
/ after congress meets. The silver men
will not consent to the repeal of the Sher-
nan silver purchase act without q con-
| ccs5ion of some sort. and il is proposed to
offer them the repeal of the tax on STATE
bank notes. What most of the people
who are in favor of free silver coinage
want is a greater volume of currency.
They don't care whether the currency Is
increased by the addition of silver Ger
tificates or state bank notes 1t is, there
fore believed that most of the silverites
in congress will accept the repeal of the
tax on state bank notes for the repeal Of
the Sherman silver purchase act.
The President has sounded western
bankers on this question because it is well
understood that they can be influenced
more easily to concede the repeal of the
state bank tax than can the bankers of
the east. In the eastern states there is a
very strong sentiment against permitting
state banks to issue notes, and there
is a sentiment, but less strong, of
the same kind among bankers in the
west and south. The sentiment in favor
of the repeal of the Sherman silver pur-
chase act, however, is strong among
bankers and business men in all parts of
the country. They believe that the pres
ent financial troubles are due to that act,
and they feel that unless it is repealed
very soon financial conditions will be
worse than they have been.
That the purchase of silver by the gov
eminent is driving gold out of the coun-
try there is no good reason to doubt. The
federal treasury was in receipt of vast
quantity of gold when the silver purchase
act went into effect, but it receives very
little now. The act went into effect in
July, 1890, and in June of that year more
than IS per cent. of the receipts at the Gus
tom house in New York for duties were
in gold Two years later less than IA per
cent. of the receipts were in gold In
April of this year only about per cent.
were in gold. From the foregoing figures
it would appear that gold has practically
disappeared from the custom house re-
ceipts.
When the Sherman silver purchase act
went into effect there was $3.50, 900 in
gold in the treasury. Now there is less
than S10O,0O0,OOO. If the government con
tinues to buy silver under the present law
and issue notes for it the day is not dis
tant when the treasury will be drained of
all its gold.
Some of the Chicago bankers are not in
favor of repeating the whole of the tax on
state bank notes. They think that 1 or
IL per cent. of the tax should be retained,
so that if the state bank system should
not be found to work well the tax could
be increased and state bank notes forced
out of existence. They prefer, however,
that the whole tax shall be repealed
rather than that the government pur-
chases of silver shall be continued.