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
capital which these thirteen bankers have
is $4,000 The total amount of de-
posits in their banks is S3,400.000. So
that these thirteen bankers, with Il total
paying capacity of but $4,000, are
entrusted with S3,400.000 of other peo-
pies money with which to do business
in any manner they choose. Upon its
face, II would seem that any number of
men who have a total paying capacity of
but $4,000 must be of great integrity,
uprightness and reliability to be cntrust-
ed by the very people with whom they
live and do business with whom they
their paying capacity, or S3,4OO.O0O:
this thirteen with so large a sun of
money, so much in excess of their pay
ing capacity? They number $500 in
that city of a total population of 10000.
In this case. therefore, who are the
debtors? They are undoubtedly the
$500 depositors $3,40O, 0O0.
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
all 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 he
true OF the whole country. The real
debtors of the country are bankers,
and 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
90 per cent. on the dollar if the coinage
OF free silver at 16 TO l were made legal,
by paying their depositors who nave de-
posted gold at 81 to l with them in
silver at but 16 to l, 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 to
gain by the adoption of this free silver
lunacy, have advocated this policy,
which would enable them at one stroke
to clear so much money.
This brief statement makes il plain
That all the utilization 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 misrepresentation as to
VINO the creditors are, and it is but a
sample OF the profound ignorance under
lying the whole free silver agitation that
they have undertaken to describe ms
vampires, blood suckers, Shylocks, 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-
ton of this country is carried on. SO
that the Populists of this country who
have been claiming to he the friends of
the people, have been ~denouncing them
upon the supposition that the denuncia-
ton has been describing the bankers;
whereas, the real truth is. the bankers
are the debtors and the dcpositors are
the creditors.
According to that the Populists won't
accomplish free silver?
Well, there are in the United States
100000 depositors in the savings institu-
tons of the country, and they own de-
posts amounting TO about $4,000 900 900.
If all the people in the United States
who can vote, should vote, the total vote
! cast in n national election would be
about 14,OO0,000; but the largest average
national vote cast is about IL 100000
hence, the total number of depositors in
savings institutions in this country large
~ 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 5000, 10000. In the state of New
York there are but about 1,2O0,OO0 vot
!; ers; the number of depositors in the say
ings banks of that state exceeds the
number of voters in that state by BOO,
600. These figures show the utter i'm
possibility of any such movement as the
free silver movement succeeding in this
5 country, because its success would in
? volve the conversion of more people thar
have ever voted on one side upon any
/, question in this country. TO the ahso
. lutte belief that it would pay them TO set
tie with the savings institutions in which
| their money lies, at 80 cents on the dol
: lar for every 100 cents on the dollar they
have on deposit.