The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1896-12-18
Republicans Taking Alarm.

Isle and the Baltimore banking coL-
vention in favor of retiring the
greenbacks is to have serious oppo-
sition is shown by the following
clipping from the New York Tri-
bune, the most ably written and by
far the most influential Republican
journal in America:
"What specifically do gentlemen
mean who talk of taking govern
ment out of the banFing business?
There are about 10000 banks in
the country, but considerably less
than 2,7O0 issue any circulation
whatever. The issue and redemp-
tion OF circulating notes are not the
essential nor principal function of a
bank. Houses like the Morgans,
Belmonts, Browns and Drexels is
sue no notes, but are nevertheless
decidedly in the banking business.
The dictionaries say that bank is
"an institution for lending and re-
ceiving money" The treasury re-
ceives government dues, but lends
no money whatever, does not dis
count notes, nor is it bank OF de-
post. To take the treasury out OF
the banking business, apparently,
is merely to let it alone. 1t is out
of the banking business already.
The men who use this phrase in
order to create prejudice always inn
ply that the issue of circulating
notes is essentially a banking func-
| ton. But it is far more properly
and in human experience far more
extensively, function of govern
|, ment, because no other body, cor.
poration or person can issue notes
|, which shall have any certain and
!, definite value. The government
t can in any event give value to its
: notes by making them receivable
, for taxes, and it can and does make
, part of its notes a legal tender and
guarantees their redemption in golc
on demand. Since the greatest o.
private banks have been known tc
. fail; since even the greatest o.
, European banks, which are in effec
4 but agencies of government, hav,
{. repeatedly been obliged to seel
Y from government authority to tak'
a steps beyond their legal power il
0 order to avoid failure; since th'
, government alone possesses through
r its taxing power a certain means al
e long as it exists of giving value to
notes it may issue; since issues by
, corporations authorized by States
: have been tried with almost meal
! culable losses and wrongs resulting,
| and since the only bank notes now
i, circulated command confidence be-
, cause they are in fact backed by
the public credit, and the banks are
supervised and controlled by pub
lie officials, it would seem that in
this day and country, as originally
and in other countries, the function
of issuing notes to circulate as mon-
ey was properly that of government,
and not of any individual or corpor-
alton.
Men who desire to have the legal
tender notes retired are almost al
ways careful not to say what they
propose to substitute for them. 1t
is certain that they do not want,
and the country does not want, more
notes redeemable in silver only. If
the choice is between note issues by
government and issues by national
banks the popular verdict is over
whelmingly in favor of the existing
national issues, because the great
body of voters who supported the
late Democratic candidate openly
and passionately demanded vast
increase in such issues, while at
least half the voters Of the Republi-
can party believe that the abolition
of the legal tenders would be grave
mistake. Nothing else could SO
surely and powerfully increase the
popular antagonism to banks per-
mitted to use the government credit
las basis for notes which they loan
flor their private profit. Nothing
else could SO powerfully aid those
who are most recklessly demand
ling unlimited issues of paper by
government loaned directly to the
people" on their land or crops. 1t
does not seem to the majority of
Republicans a wise thing to revive
and increase the greenback fanati-
cism.
No party can retain power which
does not closely observe and keep
in line with public opinion. The
great commercial and banking cities
have a powerful influence, but even
in those cities the voters are not all
Of the commercial and banking
classes, and those cities do not con-
rol majority Of the electoral votes.
e was recently shown that McKin-
u