Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1897-07-29
THEY HAVE A SCHEME.
BANKERS ASSOCIATION HAVE a
PLAN FOR PLUMBER.
The New York state Bankers Association
Want . Commission Appointed to
Recommend the Doubling OF the Ma
tIOnaI Debt by Retiring All Govern
ment Currency.

We quote below the resolutions Of |
the State Bankers Association, of New
York, at the closing session Of that as
sOciation at Saratoga, on July 10. The
association recommended the retire
ment Of all government paper and the
substitution therefor of bank currency.
The government paper consists Of $685.
GAS, 3s7 of silver certificates, S114,3s6,-
$50 of treasury notes issued under the
act of 1890, commonly called Sherman
notes, and S346, 900, 600 of United States
notes, commonly called greenbacl<s,
making total of ss19, O34 ,657. There
is no way of retiring this vast amount
of non-interest- bearing money except
by the issuance of bonds to buy up
this currency and substitute interest
bearing obligations The plan invol-
yes an immediate increase of the ma
tional debt of over 10000, 900, which
at four per cent per annum, the lowest
interest now paid, would cost the gov
eminent So, 100000 of interest each
year.
The Bankers Association does not
state whether the banks shall buy mp
these new bonds and receive at the
same time eight hundred millions of
money from the government as a
gratuity, or whether the gratuity of
eight hundred millions is to be given TO
the banks by the government without
any security whatever. Various plans
upon this subject have been suggested
by the bankers. They all agree that in
case bonds are used at all, the banks
shall have full interest on them and an
equal amount of circulation, dollar for
dollar. The banks now receive full in
terest, but only ninety per cent in
money to use as circulation.
1t has been suggested, however, and
discussed by the various bankers asso-
Citations, whether or not it would not
be better to issue 20 the banks an
amount of circulation equal to their
capital stock, without the deposit OF
bonds A gift in this form would be
more acceptable than it would be to
compel the banks to invest money in
bonds, however good such investment
might be. just how the government can
retire eight hundred millions of non
lnterest-bearing circulation and issue
money gratuitously for the banks, has
not been fully matured, but the Bank
ers' Association, of New York, say that
the ''preliminaries of such action could
be prepared on sound economic lines
by commission selected for their en-
lnent qualifications to formulate plan
TO be submitted for the considera tion
Of Congress-" In other words the
Bankers Association are in favor OF
sugar-coating the scheme to double the
national debt by buying up the nom
interest-bearing circulation and issu-
ing money to the banks without con-
sideration, with cunning phrases that
the mass of the people cannot under
stand, and for that purpose they de-
sire commission of men Of eminent
qualifications to formulate the plan"
1t is worthy of remark that this inn
pudent scheme to load down the coun-
try by an enormous national debt and
TO surrender the sovereign power to is
sue money to national banks, not only
to make them enormously rich, but to
enable them to have absolute control
of the finances of the country and ex-
pand and contract the circulating me-
dunn to suit stock jobbcrs, is proposed
in the name of Sound money" "safe
currency" stability" confidence, "
prosperity" national honor" and
every other good name which the ge-
MUS of hypocrisy can employ to cover
iniquity more subtle than, aud equally
as destructive OF human happiness, as
the scheme which the serpent had in
mind when he induced Eve TO eat the
apple.
We congratulate the country that the
bankers have SO long deceived the peo-
pie that they have come to the conclu-
sion that it is very easy matter. In
fact they seem to have no more sense
in these latter days than the ostrich
which, by concealing its head, feels Sc
cure that its entire body will escape
observation. The Bankers Association
propose to conceal the beak by which
they pick the bones OF decaylng pros
perity, under a commission of eminent
experts who are to devise the scheme
whereby the rights and liberties of the
people shall be surrendered to money
sharks, without disclosing the head Of
the concern. We warn them here and
now that the body of the proposition to
double the national delt and surrender
to the banks the power to issue money
and regulate the value thereof, starting
with gratuity of from eight hundred
TO thousand millions, is as plain to
the American people as the body of
the ostrich Is to his pursuer. with no.