The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1894-09-21
QUESTIONS OF THE
DAY.
Government Sub-Treasury Banks.

pOIdtcu dllu UuC NON CIHlIICuI SHOu!u
provide that every money order
post office should be depository
for any amount of money upon
which a premium of, say two per
cent, would be paid, and that in
every city of any size there should
be a Sub-Treasury Government
Bank, to which all postal deposits
should be transmitted daily, where
like deposits could be made, ac-
counts kept, and collections made,
the same as by any bank, and Con-
gress should then lay ten per cent
tax upon all private banks or insti-
tutions receiving money from Gle
pOsitors under an agreement to pay
interest, this would turn the greater
portion of the money of the nation
at once into the Government Banks,
which would be connected with
warehouses, in such a manner that
loans at two per cent can be made
upon all non-perishable products
which are staple, as wheat, corn,
cotton, tobacco, lumber, etc., upon
which private banks now loan with
perfect safety; loans could also be
made upon land in certain quanti-
ties, under proper limitations, and
upon city and State irrigation secu
rites properly approved. Nor
would this require much increase
in volume of money. First, all the
money now held as reserves would
be set free, for Government banks
cannot break and need no reserve.
1t is "a mere extension of the present
clearing house system to Govern
ment management. No possible
run could be made ON these banks
because confidence would exist as
long as the nation did, besides the
Government could transfer any
amount to any given point. The
mass of the business of the nation
would be done through these banks.
A national rate of premium on
money would be fixed so low as to
practically leave to labor its earn
ings. The ravages of usury would
cease.
For the discount of such paper as
government banks did not handle
private bankers might find employ
ment for a limited amount Of money
at slightly higher rate than the
government rate; such bankers
would not be prohibited, but they
would not be incorporated nor per-
mitted to pay interest ON deposits.
Hence they would ply that branch
of business upon their own money
instead of upon the money they
owe depositOrs.
AS to volume, the system would
speedily determine whether addi-
tional currency of the nation was
needed, and the amount, but with
thissystem of banking $40 per capita
would extend more than twice as
much credit at two per cent as 800
per capita could extend ateight per
cent under private banks, locked
up reserves, and periodical panics.
BANK CHECKS AS CURRENCY.
With uniform system of Gov
ernment banking over the nation
we should have clearing house
system by the people. The business
would rapidly become system of
book transfers of credit from one
PERSONS account to another, in con-
tinuOus payment, and cOmpara-
lively little money would pass from
hand to hand because of the per-
fection of this system where the
people would keep their bank
accounts, and many more people
would keep bank accounts. Gov
ernment banks would not care how
small mans account, or how small
checks were drawn; so nearly all
such business would go through
such banks. The Government bank
pocket check books could be made
to contain portion of the checks,
fully printed in sums of one, two,
five, ten and twenty dollars, upon
paper which could not be counter
feited-just like a treasury note.
Such checks signed by the depositor
and certified by the government
bank would be receivable by any
bank in the nation, and hence
would everywhere circulate current
as money. By this means there