The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-04-24

within the last twcrty years one-nat
of its amount and the bank notes no"
in circulation do not equal the sum OUT
standing In 1860. within this thirty years
our population has doubled ana our III
ternal commerce has proDapiy quduru-
pied; and there has consequently .his
immense retrorressson in the ratio OF TINS
most valuable form OF circulation 10 the
national requirements for money.
The effect az these legal disabilities upon |
interests dependent on the State BANKS
has been most serious. IL so happens tnat
four-ffths OF the state Dank cap'.ai va
s2v00o0.0Oo) is located in the Soutnsin "a. c.
Western States and only one-nl,n -,
OOo.0c0) in the Middle ana Ne" i@"s'a
States. II is IN these same Southern AMI
Western States that the pro-siiver senti-
mont mainly EXISTS the connection De
tween the denial Of the right OF ISSUE :"
the State banks and the demand lot sii-
yer being thus distinctly MANIFEST NOT
do the sections subject 10 MS uIs.ti-
minaticn get much compensation rom ,ne
national system for the denial OF ISSUES
IN their State institutions. While these
groups of States have "a per cent. or our
whole population their national pahhs
supply only 40 per cent OF our totai oaiih
circulation; and although the Mlddie anu
Eastern States have but ~ per cent OF
the national population, yet tney supply
81 per cent. Of the wnoie panh ciicuia
ton.
This inequality in the distribution OF
the privilege of note issue and in the ac-
tual amount of bank circulation, as be-
tween the Eastern sections ana the West
ern and Southern, has become real anu
serious sectional grievance. In its ac,uai
operation, 1t becomes broad ana potent
discrimination as TO banking functions
between one set of banks ana anolner
and between one set of states ana an
other. To this extent, II Is charged with
being a grossly inequitable and unjust
exercise of the Federal authority Nor
is it easy to deny the imputation
Ii is not surprising that unler these
circumstances. the South ana Vest cnlVn-
icaly complain Of what they can :"
scarcity Of money" by which they reaiiy
mean an nsufiiciency OF cr@dit laciii.les
| of the kind supplied by banks. At GER
tain seasons. they need large extra sup
niles of cash. for the seeding, reapins
! and marketing OF their crops. Al pres
ent. they are dependent for those faclh-
| ties upon the stocks of money neld Dy
( The Eastern banks. Those supplies are
uncertain, and the demands upon thenl
are very liable to produce fluctuations
| i'm the rate of interest and curtailments
OF bank loans. which deraDge the COM
| mercial operations of the whole country,
and from which the large agricultural
| interest Is especially liable TO suifer.
| We're the banks OF these suffering sec
tions, with their 200 millions OF capital,
| free TO issue notes. there would De no
| arbitrary dependence on the convenience
! of the Eastern banks. each bank could
supply it's local interests with It's own
| notes; there would be no monetary Cd
| structions to business. no forcing down
| of prices from an insufficiency of currency
| and no abnormal fluctuations in the rate
| OF interest.
The bankers. the merchants. the trad
ers and not a few Of the intelligent farm
| ers will understand how this virtual SUD
| lection to the convenience and the inter-
| est OF the Eastern centres operates 70
their detriment. They have boone ex-
asperated on account OF II, and being
exasperated they have easily gone step
further and charged this position OF
things as due TO design on the part OF
Eastern interests, design to hold all otner
sections in subsection TO their VIII ana
profit. Herein lies the source OF a sec
tional grievance Of the most serious and
threatening magnitude. Grangerism, po-
| pnlism, socialism and silverism ma mere
their main inspiration and political
| strength. Despairing of getting the mon
| etarv relief they want these sections
have fallen an easy prey 10 the SILVER
producers and have become the tools.
They have no special preference for that
form OF money; all the talk about the
standards" is meaningless nonsense 10
them. They only know that the silver
men offer supply OF 20 10 % millions
wear of new money, and that money hay
ing been hitherto as good for their pur-
poses as any other they don't exactly sec
why IL should rot remain 90; and they
are therefore enllsting right and left IN
| the silver army.
In these facts and conditions centres
! three-fOurths Ct the strength OF the silver
faction. Except among the silver miners
| and handlers there would be no material
for silver agitation. provided this OBJ
strlction TO bank issues we're removed
| Were these interests assured that all the
money they really needed could be sup
piled from their neighboring banks. with
| them there would be no longer silver
question. and Messrs Teller, Jones * co
would occupy their real position as mere
representatives of a limited industrial
interest.
The way is thus clear to a treatmen
of the silver agitation that would Ger
tainly end H. We do not for a moment
doubt that when Eastern interests, no
excluding those of the national banks,
| come to fairly understand the real mean
ing of the attitude of the South and IN
| West, they will acquiesce in the eXten
sion Of the right Of issue to the State
banks provided that the guarantees. limi
tations and safeguards are such as 4
insure the absolute safety Of the note
and virtually identical with such amend
ed conditions as may be provided for tn
! national banks. What those conditions
need to be we have so oft stated that
/, is not needful to here reiterate them. /
only remains to be said that. If thes
conditions are not conceded 10 the Stat
banks, II will be found most difficult,
not impossible, to prevent the enactmen
of free coinage.-New York journal o
| Commerce.