The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1895-11-01

tual the gold thus deposited was held,
not by the bank, but by an officer who
held it for the sole and only purpose
of redeeming notes issued by the bank
All this was in the creditor country
of the world. England had claims on
her debtor countries over and above
all she owed of more than three thOus-
and millions of dollars; a sum five
times over all the gold in all the banks
of the world; besides, the Peel act re-
quired the deposit of dollar in gold
for every dollar of paper thereafter
issued. Yet with supreme advantages
in every respect to make a convertible
currency permanent, assured, steady,
free from fluctuations, and a safe
guard against Industrial and co mmerss
cial disasters let me quote what the
parliamentary committee says of a
convertible currency after the panic
Of 1S47: "To those who anticipated
that the act would put check on i'm
prOVident speculation, the disappoint-
ment cannot be less, if reliance is to
be placed las it's committee are conf
dent it may on the statement of the
governor of the bank and of other wit
nesSeS, that speculations were never
1916 and the beginning of 1S47. eff
the act were relied on as a security
against violent fluctuations in rates
of interest it was failure" If it
was contemplated that the number
and extent of commercial failures
would have been lessened, the failure
of thirty-three large houses in Lon
don alone, to the amount of 100000,
h.
power Of obtaining banking accommO-
datiOns on moderate terms was con-
Sidered to be promoted by the acts of
1914, it cannot be said that this im-
pOrtant object has been attained"
The bullion committee appointed to
prove the great advantages which
would accrue to Great Britain by an
Immediate or early resumption so as
to render the currency convertible, :"
in their report state explicitly that
the history of convertible currency
shows it has never prevented any evil,
has never secured any advantage over
their paper currency; but that the re-
verse is true. A boundleSs or unlim-
tied issue of paper currency may cul-
inmate in great disasters; but a judi
ciOus control of paper and of loans by
banks can, beyond all possibility of
denial, secure SteadinesS of volume
and security against all those evils
caused by fiuctuatiOn of volume,
which is utterly unattainable by
convertible currency" [ now ask you
to consider the weakest spot perhaps
in our national banking system! 1t
is conceded by all tinanciers, [ think,
that we need an elastic currency, for
at certain seasons of the year business
requires more money than at other
times, but the present system cannot
furnish it. l will quote the testi-
mOny of United States Treasurer Gill
fillau in 1881 in proof Of this state
ment: "Within my observation, the
national banks do not retire any of
their circulation when currency is re-
dundant or increase their issues when
there is stringency. A bank which
would retire 100000 of it's circulation
when funds are in excess, would re-
ceive 100000, say in per cent bonds;
which it would Immediately sell at a
high premium; and find find itself
with more money on hand than when
it endeavored to get rid of it's surplus.
Should it prefer to hold the bonds,
without selling, it might as we'll let
them rest in the treasury and hold
the notes instead, subject to any pos
sible demand"
In case of a stringency, likewise,
the Strengthened bank will hesitate
before drawing Sl2O, 900 from it's avail
able cash in order to get $90,0O0 in it's
place. The interests of the banks
work inversely to that of the country,
in the expansion and contraction of
the bank currency.
We can never pay our national debt
until we get rid of the present system;
for capitalists will see that their in
terests are fully protected in the flu
ture as they have been in the past
and the house of "Rothschlld" has
the world at it's feet in abject submits
Caesar" and Napoleon! Those
mighty men of yore; but they never
exercised the autocratic sway over the
human race that is welded by this
great banking house at the present
time. What should be done in the
premises is very serious question
and l shall not attempt to solve the
riddle; but it seems to me that the
| following propositions are practicable
| tO-Wit: Issue first, treasury notes re-
ceivable at par by the government in
payment of all dues and taxes to be
issued by the government upon the
retirement of the sO-called Sherman
notes and national bank notes includ
| ing the silver certificates. Second
the restoration of silver to it's posi-
tion prior to 1873 as part of our sys
TEN. Third, all money, except minol
coins to be full legal tender, for al
dues and demands! You ask me what
effect this would have upon bushes!
men, and / answer, that in my opin'
ion, the worst panic this country has
ever had, would be but gentle
zephyr compared to the financial cy'
clone that would sweep over us; fol
our masters would punish us severely
knowing full well tn at we would soon
submit and capitulate upon their own
terms, by refusing to renew or extend
loans; this, and nothing else caused
the recent panic, for it was thought
desirable to give the people an object
lesSOn
EX-Gov. Merriam at the late bank
ers convention at Atlanta, Georgia
favored basing our bank circulation
upon the following securities, to-wit
40 per cent. in greenbacks, per cent.
in gold and the remainder upon faith.
Now, as the treasury notes are secured
upon faith alone, there is only 5 per