The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1895-12-17

be reconstructed, not merely propped up
by frail and temporary supports No sur.
plus revenue, however large, could extri
cate us from our present difficulties, on
give assurances of safety in the future, un-
less 1t should be required to be paid in gold
under system which would exempt the
government from the obligation to fur
nish the gold when demanded to be used
In making the payments, and it is scarcely
necessary to suggest that such system is
impossible as long as the United States
notes and treasury notes are kept in cir
culation, and are redeemable in gold by
the government itself on presentation.
ut was apprehension as to the kind of
money to be used, and not as to the amount
of money on hand, that brought our secur-
tiles back from abroad for sale, caused
foreign investors to withdraw their cap
ital, and foreign creditors TO collect their
debts, and compelled our own people to
suspend or contract their business oper-
ations, and thus diminish the incomes Of
employers and greatly reduce, or entirely
stop, the wages of labor.
with or without a surplus revenue the
the government can now procure gold only
by Negotiating loans or by making pur-
chases under the statute, and this state of
affairs, which Is the natural result of
causes still operative is almost certain TO
continue until the causes themselves are
removed.
'"Ihere is but one safe and effectual way
to protect our treasury against these de-
mands, and that is to retire and cancel the
notes which constitute the only means
through which the Withdrawals can be
made. Many partial and temporary rem
edies may be suggested and urged with
more or less plausibility, but this is the
only one that will certainly remove the real
cause Of our troubles and give assurance
OF permanent protection against their re
currence in the future.
Benefits of the National Banking System.
Whatever objections to national bank
ing system may have heretofore existed,
or may still exist among our people, upon
economic or other grounds, the fact must
be recognized that 1t has been 50 long es-
tablished, and, Notwithstanding its ad-
mitted defects, has served such a useful
purpose in furnishing a convenient form
of currency of uniform value throughout
the country, that an attempt at this time
to abolish it, or materially abridge the
franchise of the institutions organized un-
der it, would not only be unsuccessful, but
NOuAh PION Injurious d2lbdOlOu Wutn
the precarious condition of our fiscal af-
fairs demands repose and such Il restora-
tion OF confidence as will enable the peo-
pie to avail themselves of all the facilities
that can be afforded for the transaction of
their business. The national banking as
sociations now in operation have been es-
tablished under charters granted by the
government, and SO long as they are obe
dent to the laws and useful to the com.
munity, it would be an act of bad faith to
deprive them of the privileges thus Sc
cured.
"The failure of the national banking
system as it now exists to meet local re-
quirements is unavoidable under the law
now in force, which prohibits the organ.
ization of any banking association with u
capital less than 500 900, and permits their
organization with this minimum amount
only in places having population of 6,000
and less. Places having a population eX-
ceeding 5000, no matter how small the eX-
cess may be, are compelled TO raise CAPT
tai of 100000 in order to secure banking
facilities under the statute, and if the pop
ulation cxcaad' 5O,O)O the capital must not
be less than .'90),OJO. The result Of these
provisions is that the people in the smaller
classes Of towns and ciCicS are deprived of
the advantages enjoyed by the citizens of
the larger places.
ut Is not probable that any plan for the
permanent retirement Ofthe United States
notes and treasury nJtai will b1 adopted
that will not require considerable time for
its complete execution, and l. therefore
respectfully urge upon congress the pro-
priety of prohibiting any future issue Of
such notes, or of national bank notes of
less denominations than SO. The reasons
for this recommendation have been fully
stated in former reports, and need not be
repeated here Such policy would make
room in the circulation for silver coins and
silver certificates Of small denominations
thus increasing their use among the peo-
Pile in the transaction of their daily bust
ness and preventing their frequent return
to, and accumulation in, the treasury"
Ea ~raS