The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1895-10-17
National Bank Notes.

/ cannot in this connection discuss in
detail the national banking system, fur
Their than to say it is part of the same
vicious system of finance which the Re
publican party has fastened upon the
country. 1t is banking on the debts of
the government, and not on paid up and
unimpaired capital. 1t is system
which is unelastc and unresponsive to
the business necessities of the country.
| am anxious to see the day come when
we will have instead a system of free
banking on assets-ban&ing on
fully paid up capital, with such
safeguards as will bring the least risk
to stockholders and depositors, and the
greatest protection to the noteholders.
We have now something over $780,
100000 of national bank notes. These
notes are protected by bonds of the gov
eminent deposited with the Secretary of
tha Treasury, and a small redemption
fund They are practically convertible
into gold. They will be redeemed in le-
gal tender paper money on presentation,
and then the legal tender paper money
can be redeemed on presentation in gold
The practical result is that they are held
on parity with standard money, and
may be indirectly converted INTO gold at
the Treasury of the United States.
PromissOry Notes, Drafts, Etc.
have now given description of the
various kinds of currency which we usu-
ally call money. However there are
other instruments which perform the Of
| fee of money and operate us a medium
of exchange, which are not money, strict
~ speaking If 70 buy my horse, max
| ing verbal promise to pay me 500 as
the price, that promise is the medium
of exchange, and | accept it in the belief
that you viii make the promise equal to
! the standard money of the country.
! .Promissory Lotes, bills Of exchanges,
drafts, checks, etc, all do the duty of
money, and are nstrumentalities of eX-
change The truth is they are the chief
instrumentalities; 80 per cent. of all the
business of commerce is conducted in
! this way, and they are given out and re-
ceved in payment of debts and the
| prices of commodities, with the under
standing that they will be made equal to
the standard money.
People sometimes complain that they
do not see any gold; but this does not
prevent gold from doing its duty All
cloth is sold by the yard, and yet the
yardstick is not applied to one bolt in Il
thousand Gold is the standard which
regulates the purchasing power. not only
of all other kinds Of money. but the pur-
chasing and debt-paying power of all
forms of credit which are used in the in
terchange of commodities.
| have now discussed our various kinds
Of currency, and attempted to show you
the operation of our intricate, ill-adyised
and badly constructed financial system.
/. My object in doing so was to impress
upon my acknowledgements the inevitable
conclusion that standard gold money is
the fundamentally by which commerce
operates the entire mechanism of ex.
change. and on the certain, uninterrupted
and harmonious operation of that me-
chanism depends the prosperity of our
common country.
The Ratio of 10 to L.
So far have discussed the nature and
character of our currency system. with
the view of making the way plain for the
discussion of the main question about
which Democrats differ and in which
the entire country is vitality interested.
In 1884 Congress passed an act for thu
free and unrestricted coinage of silver
at the ratio of Is to l. In 1873 an act
was passed, suspending the coinage Of
{. silver dollars. The proposition is to re-
neal the act of 1878 and restore the act
+. af 1884. Ii is matter Of vast impor
tanee Tint the peop'e should clearly com
urehend the meaning Of the proposed leg
iaation have alreadr shown YOU whai
Is standard money and that gold is ON
tandarl Of value ! have shown that j.