Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1895-12-04

Well, the associated banks claimed
to have loaned the associated people"
the government = $150,000,00 in
specie and Mr.. Coe further says:
after taking the third amount of
$50,000,000 by the associated banks,
those in New York, who had at that
time paid in of their proportion over
$50, ,000, 900 in all, found themselves in
this position:-Their aggregate coin,
which on the 18th of August, before the
first payment into the treasury, was
$49, ,733 $50, was on Dec. Z, $42 ,31S, $40,
a reduction of only $7,415, $3.50, and the
other two cities in like proportion
1t may be confidently affirmed
that had the banks been permitted to
exercise their own methods, they could
have continued their advances in sums
of 5000, 900 for an indefinite period"
Great Caesars ghost! Just think of
it; the banks of New York had loaned
the government over $S0,000,0 900 in
specie, out of stock of $40, 733, $50, and
had reduced their stock of specie 81 7,415,-
$50. They had loaned nearly twice as
much specie as they possessed, and had
the governments bonds for nearly
eleven times as much money as they
had lost in coin. And, "had the banks
been permitted to exercise their own
methods, they could have continued
their advances in sums of $50,000,O 600
for an indefinite period
The explanation of "their own meth
DDS" by which they were enabled to
perform these acts of legerdemaiu may
be found in the following extract from
| a speech of Thaddeus Stevens in the
! House of representatives, February s.
| 1862:
Before the banks had paid much OF
the last loan they broke down under it,
and suspended specie payments. They
have continued to pay that loan, not in
coin, but in demand notes Of the gov
ernment."
In another speech February 20, 1862
Mr.. Stevens said:
'The banks took $50, ,O00,0 600 of pei
cent bonds, and shaved the government
$58, 900, 900 on them. They paid for the
$50, 900 900 in demand notes, not specie
Query: If the demand notes were
not good money for the banks were they
good money for the banks to loan tt
the government at this trying period
of it's existence?
Was it mistake to issue treasury
notes to meet the vast expenditures O.
the government under such circum
stances? There was mistake, Of
something worse than a mistake com
mitted, but it was not of the charactel
indicated by Mr.. Carlisle. The govern
ment should have issued United States
currency in sufficient amount to NEE
all the requirements of that trying
period. This currency, instead Of being
a promise to pay, should have been re
deemable only in receipt for taxes AM
public dues 1t should have been
full legal tender for all debts both-pub
lie and private, and no provision shoul'
have been made for it's conversion int
interest bearing bonds. Such cur
rency would have been gladly receives
by the people for food, clothing an
munitions of war, and by the army an,
navy for military and naval service
1t would have saved thousands Of mil
lions of dollars that have been plum
dered from the people by the associate
banks under the system of brigandag
that was provided for instead, andSto
day we should be free from public deb
and from thralldom to Wall stree
pirates.-Topeka Advocate.