The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1894-06-06
THE CURRENCY FIGHT.
McI.aurIn Fayo,s the Repeal OF the Ten
Per Cent Tax

Per Cent Tax.
WASHINGTON, June 1.-Com mittees
were called. for reports and the House
required, in committee of the whole,
Richardson of Tennessee. in the chair
to the consideration of the bill to re-
peal the 10 per cent, State bank tax
law.
Black (Dem.) of Georgia had the floor
and presented his argument against the
constitutionality of the law. He spoke
an hour, attracting the close attention
of members. His peroration was an
eloquent recital of the leading part
taken by the South in the history of
the government and of the nation and
arefutation of the assertion that the
repeal of the bill was desired alone By
the Republicans of the South. At its
close, he was warmly applauded and
received the congratulations of his
associates on the floor.
Walker (Rep) Of Massachusetts
spoke for two hours upon general f.
nancial plan embodied in bill intro
duced early in the session by himself.
He had no defense to make of the eX-
listing financial system of the country.
! What it needed was flexibility. The
object of his bill was to force into cir
culation every dollar that could be ad-
yantageously used. The present sys-
tenn withheld from circulation $780,
OOOOOO or SSOO,OOO,OO0 of currency.
That, he emphatically said, must stop.
McLaurin OF oonth Carolina address,
| ed the House on the bill. He told of
| the direful results to the cotton mark
ct during the financial stringency and
how king Cotton" was saved from de-
thronement only by the issue of clear
ing house confidence certificates, which
passed current in South Carolina and
enabled the people to tide over the
crop moving period. But the promised
prosperity when the Sherman Act was
repealed had failed to materialize, he
said, and the crop moving period was
again upon them. What were they do?
If South Carolina had to pay a tax
upon her clearing house certificates he
saw no reason to exempt the great
clearing house association of New
York, for while in the use made of the
| South Carolina certificates there was
wide difference, the legal principle was
| the came. He did not believe as some
did that State banks would cure all our
| financial woes, but the repeal of this
tax was step toward radical change
in our financial system, step toward
decentralizing the enormous and dan
! gerous powers now vested in the ma
tional banking system.
There were, said McLaurin, but two
avenues through which the currency
could now be increased, to wit:
l. The coinage of gold, and
2. Additional national bark notes.
Every other channel had been closed.
He believed we needed currency
which had Doth local and national
characteristics. The old State banks
were not in touch with the spirit
of the age. Every section Of the
Union was entitled to enough currency
to raise and market its crop, and it
was the duty of the government to pro-
vide the machinery to do this. The
| United States might issue enough
Treasury notes to be diyited among
the various States in proportion to pop
ulatioD, the States depositing with the
government their bonds bearing suf-
icient. amont of interest to cover all ex-
penses. It would then be left to each
State to provide the method of distri-
button for its quota of money and We
would have currency to do local bus
mess which would pass at par every.
where.
Wheeler of Alabama followed Mr..
McLaurin in aH argument favoring the
repeal of the law. 1t was, he declared,
war measure, pure and simple, and
had no foundation other than the nec-
essity that was then supposed to exist
for the national government to control
the issue of circulating medium. He
hoped the House would yield to the
eloquent appeal of the gentleman from
Georgia and give the country an ads.
quate amount of money. When he
spoke of money he meant money with a
purchasing power. He characterized
the national banks as great trust.
The presidents of the institutions in
New York city acted as one man. Be-
fore Wheeler concluded, the commit
tee rose and, at o'clock, the House sd-
| iOuTued until Tomorrow at noon.