The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-02-03
MIR. ROYALLSARGUMENT
WEED or STATE BA yks DISCUSSED
BEFORE SOUND MONEYLEAGUE.
He Presents a Strong Plea for Relief for
This Part of the Coontry-yiews
of the Speech.

leighton, or 81. Louis, pieSiutu. anu .hD
other members present were NJ. r. In
gals. OF Cincinnati; John *. Cowan. OF
baltimore, and II. III. Robinson, OF Sh.
cage. A number OF vice-presidents and
other members OF the league were pres
ent In all about twenty-five or thirty.
finer or more intelligent lot OF business
men are not often round together than
was gathered at this meeting Inc Dtsi-
ness OF the committee was unimportant.
After II had been disposed or VICE Presl-
dent w. l.. Royal OF RchmonI, was
presented and read Z paper when was
listened to with decided interest
MIR. ROYALS PAPER.
Mr.. Royal said in part:
II would rejoice me 10 the POTION OF
my heart to see Congress enact the Mon
etary Commissions bill into law, be-
cause It would rid the country OF the
greenbacks and treasury notes, disperse,
In time. the gold reserve maintained az
Washington. and commit the country, be-
yGnd the possibility o. question. r 70 ,ns
that would be OF inconeeivable value 10
the people OF the United states.
Mr.. Royal then deplored the reply MT:
Edmunds had made about the enect or
the proposed law, which Mr. Royal said
would make not only government deots.
but ap debts payable IN gold but as
checks would be used for 20 per cent there
wogld be ample gold for the purpose.
Mr.. Royal then said;
when | have said this much for the
/ Commissions bill have said all that /
can say for IL. In my opinion ~ recon-
mendation for q bank currency fails TO
meet the needs OF the case. and | don't
believe In the policy Of dealing with the
subject with bated breath. / believe IN
the policy Of looking II squarey in the
race and OF demanding for i that treat
ment which Its nature and It's exigencies
call for. What I wish to say. turns on
the fact that The Indianapolis Convention
that appointed the Monetary Commission
ers aid not have single member that
represented the real demand OF the coun-
try for currency reform. the Monetary
Commission had not one. and doubt ex-
tremely whether this body has one. unless
am one. Every member OF the Indian
ap0hs convention represented CONNER
cial consutuency-every member OF the
Monetary Commission represented a COM
mercial constituency, and suspect that
every member Of this body represents a
commercial constituency. Now. although
we hear a great deal In the cities about
me necessity for currency reform. there
IS really no real demand there for a. The
uenlzen OF the city talks about currency
reIoIir, but all he has In his mind Is his
ereaI desire 10 see the country committed
unGuestionably to the gold standard and
10 have the Preenbacks and treasury notes
taken IN and cancelled. He IS not really
thinking or reform OF our bank paper
because he Is perfectly satisfied with our
present currency system. the gold STAN
dard being maintained and the greenbacks
being cancelled. He transacts all his bus
mess with checks. and II would really be
very small matter to him If there was
no paper currency at all. Give him few
dollars OF change 10 carry In his pocket
ana he doesn't care whether there IS
any more currency. Mt ALL He does his
rency reform which is heard from the
Inhabitants Of commercial center really
means nothing therefore.
,,... AN INTERESTED SECTION.
-, There Ia vast par. Of this country
mat ~ interested and vastly interested In
II, and we are never going to have an end
OF the agitation that has cost the coun-
Try so dearly IN the past four years until
the complaints OF these people are lis
tened 10 and attended to. The people who
arc Interested I'm currency reform are the
farmers, the men who live ia agricultural
districts and who have no banks near
them IN which they can keep accounts
ana on which they can draw checks.
These people must have actual cash with
which 10 transact their affairs. and with
the present system they have none and
lney are c.amoring for IT, The strength
or ffee silver IS with these people and
their clamOr FOR free silver Is nothing
put the agoniznR cry OF men who are
Deing strangled. They are not interested
10 nave free silver particularly. but they
want some medium or exchange with
winch they can transact their business
ana they have been told that free silver
VIII give Them that medium. Hence their
cry Tor free silver. But, give them me-
u,um or exchange and their cry for free
silVer would be at once hushed. What
rs needed. therefore, IS reform Of the cur
rency that VIII give the farmers OF this
country a medium OF exchange.
Now while the agricultural communl-
Ties are absolutely bare OF money Il IS
banked up In the cities so that interest
IN New York city IS almost nominal
How is this TO be explained? II is be
cause al Of our money. coin ana paper
Z "a A,
every part OF this Union. This being
so the commercial centres bid for II and
suck all OF II away from the country.
MUST BE CHANGED.
This has got TO be changed I'm some
way 50 as to give the Agricultural ais-
tiicts what is absolutely necessary 70 them
or the unhappy agitation that has cost
US 80 dearly Will be continued. How is II
10 be remedied? There IS but one pos
slbie way and that Is 10 allow the agri-
culturalisl TO have his local banks is
sueing their notes. that will answer all OF
his purposes. but which being I'M
known 70 the New Yorker. will be non-cur-
rent with him. In this way we can bring
contentment and quiet TO the farmer and
II IS the only way under the sun by
which IL can be done. There ara not
many OF the present generation who have
had any experience with State bank
notes. The general end unfavorable i'm
prosslOnS OF the people In regard 10 them
rest in tradition and revolve mainly
around the wild cat State banks Of the
Western states. But whoever has stud
led the history OF our old State sanks
know that 10 Is possible 10 have a State
bank currency that VIII give entire salts
faction to the farmer and yet TO have
as good and sound currency as any
people ever had. 4 Bank IN Texas that
has out a half million OF dollars OF notes
may be as sound a bank as any In the
world It's notes may answer In Texas
10 al We
that bank may be wholly unknown In New
York so that no one there VIII be Will
ing 10 receive its notes. If the people
dwelling near that bank In Texas are able
TO have all the financial accommodi lions
they need when that bank issues It's notes
and can have none at all when II Is for
hidden TO issue them, IS II fair 10 them
that the bank should be prohibited from
LOCAL BANKS.
II Is an utterly false idea. that OF the
banks Of country being INTENDED as an
agency TO supply the whole nation with
currency OF universal circulation. AS
we'll expect the bank notes Of Belgium
TO circulate in France, which they do not,
or the bank notes OF France 10 circulate
in Italy, which they do not. The Eng
lish have. In part. the true conception OF
banking. They have their local banks
all over the country which put out notes
that are at n discount short distance
from where they are issued, but that per-
fectly answer the purposes OF the people
who live around the banks that Issue
them.
The system makes notes abundant Tor
those localities which require notes and
allows those localities that do not need
them 10 be without them
When We began our national life un-
der the constitution we had State banks
OF issue and we had them continuously
until they were put an end 10 during the