Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1896-08-08

handle the wealth after it is created,
the bankers, for instance. Now. what
Is the real situation in Rockford? The
number Of bankers in that city is. alto
gether, thirteen, and the total amount Of
caDital which these thirteen bankers have
Is s375,pc1. The tota! amount Of de-
poSits IN their banks is S3,4O0.OOO. So
that these thirteen bankers, with a total
paying capacity of but $375,0O0, are
entrusted with S3,4OO.OO0 Of other peo-
pies money with which TO do business
IN any manner they choose. Upon it's
face, II would seem that any number Of
men who have n total paying capacity Of
but S315,OOO must be Of great integrity,
uprightness and reliability 10 be entrust-
ed by the very people with whom they
i've and do business with whom they
their paying capacity, or $500. 900.
VINO are the people who have entrusted
ibis thirteen with so large a sum Of
money so much in excess Of their pay
ing capacity! They number $500 In
that city Of a total population Of 10000.
In TINS case. therefore, who are the
debtors! They are undoubtedly the
bankers. These thirteen men owe these
o,JOO depositors $4,000
Now, If all that has been said about
the rapacity of the creditor class be true.
think OF the situation in which these de-
poSltors have these poor bankers. If
an that has been said about the poverty.
the Wretchedness and the enslaved con
dltion Of the debtor class be true. think
OF the miserable plight Of these poor
bankers.
What is true in Rockford must be
true OF the whole country. The real
debtors of the country are bankers.
ahd the real creditors Of the country
are the depositors, and it is TO the credit
OF the bankers of the United States.
as II is TO the credit of the bankers Of
rockford, that although they could net
~ per cent. on the dollar if the coinage
OF Tree silver at Is 10 | were made legal.
by paying their depGsitors who have de-
posted gold at 81 10 / with them in
SILVER at but rs to !. none of the bank
ers Of the City Of Rockford. and but
very few OF the bankers in the United
states, who would have so much 10
gam by the adoption Of this free silver
lunacy. have advocated this policy,
which would enable them at one stroke
TO clear so much money.
ms brief statement makes IL plain
that all the vilification which has been
bestowed by Populist orators and news.
papers upon the creditor class of the
United States has been emitted because
OF totally false misapprehension as 10
who the creditors are. and il is but n
sample Of the profound ignorance under
lylng the whole free silver agitation that
they have undertaken 10 describe as
vampires, blood suckers. Shylucks. etc.
the great producing classes of this coun-
try who are its real creditors and who
own all the money deposited in the
banks and upon which bankers do bust
ness and upOn the borrowing Of which
most OF the manufacturing and produc-
non OF this country Il carried on. So
that the Populists Of this country who
have been claiming 10 be the friends Of
tho npnuIp hp Va laap lapatn.fr, tbop,
upon the suppositiOn that the d~enuncia-
ton has been describing the bankers:
whereas, the real truth IL, the bankers
are the debtors M the dcpositors are
the creditors.
According to that the Populists won't
accomplish free silver
Well, there are i'm the United States
9,OrD,OOO depositors in the savings i%nstitu-
tons of the country. and they own de-
posts amounting to about 5000. 1000, 900.
IL all the people in the United States
who can vote, should vote, the total vote
cast in a national election would be
about 100000; but the largest average
national vote cast is about IL, OO .OOU:
hence. the total number of depositOrs in
savings institutions in this country large
ly outnumbers any majority of votes
which has ever been cast in a national
election.
In the single state of New York there
are |, 100000 depositors in the savings
banks of that state. They have on de-
post SGOO,OOO.Ooo. In the state of New
York there are but about 100000 vot-
ers; the number of depositors in the saw
ings banks of that state exceeds the
number of voters in thar state by 800
OOO. These figures show the utter I'M
possibility of any such movement as the
free silver movement succeeding in this
country, because its success would in
volve the conversion of more people than
have ever voted on one side upon any
question in this country. to the ahso.
lutte belief that il would pay them 10 set
tie with the savings institutions in which
their money lies, at 30 cents on the dol
lar for every 100 cents on the dollar they
have on deposit.