The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-09-19
BANKS AND THEIR MONEY.

We hcaT a good deal these days from
our silverite friends about the dreadful
banks and the way they lock up money,
hoard II, keep IL for their own, refuse TO
lei it 60 out among the people and such
like stuff.
And these fervid decl,imtrs seem TO
expect intelligent people to believe II.
Who but a miserable miser boards
money?
And who is hurt but the miserable
miser himself when he boards his gold,
Iocks 1t up, re efuses 10 spend it, to buy
the necessaIies and the comforts OF life?
He lives and dies in a condition of pow
erty exactly proportioned TO the tenscity
with which he holds on to his wealth.
The familiar saying that "the only
money you have is what you spend' is
by no means an aphorism OF the spend
thrift.
Any bank that would make practice
Oh boarding it's money would soon have
to csose up ITS doors a. we'll as lock mp
the safe with the "gold" In II.
As we'll contemplate that one OF the
Westminster street stores after covering
It's counters and dlllng its shelves with
goods should be insane enough to lock
its doors nnd refuse to sell any OF the
goods.
Banks make no money when they
hoard II. They could not pay the wages
of the lowest priced of their clerks to say
not hing OF dividend 10 stockholders, IL
they locked up the'r money. There may
DC times when they have TO lock 1t up just
as the Westminster street store might
close It's doors II band OF robbers were
looting the street or q big storm should
set In and keep the possible customers at
home.
But the banks have no possible iu-
terest to subserve by locking up their
wealth. They cannot make any money
when they lock II up. Idle money, like
unstable goods, returns no profit. Every
dollar held by bank beyond the re-
serve required by law. Is loss. Bankers
make their profit only by putting money
,tr In hA for Of nd
discount. They ars eager to put their
money out. Somel lines so eager that
they take big risks for a small per cent. in
crease in hoped for profits. Sometimes they
seem to lose caution In their endsavor to
realize . profit on the only business they
can do-putting out money. In "good
times" when competition between the
banks grows vigorous, the banks seem
to be almost reckless In their desire to
empty their vaults OF money. The times
tnat make money idle, that compel the
bankers to loan IL only at high interest,
those are not the kind of times the
banker wants. Hs prefers almost any
thing, however small, In the way OF
profit or interest In his desperate
anxiety to put money out, and the kind
OF times that inspire confidence that he
will get this principle back and
reasona BILE profit are the kind OF times
that best pleases the banker.
Sometimes msiey is q drug - the
market. Sometimes 1t is locked up, in
decd, and so boarded for reasons other
than protection OF the money from too
great risk In panicky times OF high in
tsrest. Sometimes, ~ was the case during
the months when the WILSON Tariff bill
was under Discussion, business men and
manu- facturers don't want money because
they are afraid to engage in enterprises,
because they are unable to figure out
the outcome. In such times there is
"plenty OF money" but the people. the
wage earners, don't get 1t because busi-
ness closes down. II Is to be had, the
money is, In spch times, very cheap. The
banks offer inducements to business men
to take II, and 1t Is not the fault OF the
bankers IL the money lies In their vaults.
But the banks never willingly hold
on TO their money. Hoarding money is
more disastrous than keeping a horse all
winter and letting II eat Its head OF.
Don't be fool enough to believe that
bpnkers are fools.