The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1898-01-22
CURRENCY IN IHE SOUTH.
Joseph BIyan Spguks oi BunNlg.
Before Qnd Since Ihe WQr.
PRESENT FACILITIES ENTIRELY INADEQUATE
Scarcity of Money an Acfunl and
Cruel strinsoncy-The Speaker
Heii"ves That Liberal LAWS To.
wards State Bnnks VIII he Death
10 the Demand for FREQ silver.
Boston, Mass, Jan. 21, 1898.

IooSloll, MASS, Jan. 21, 1898.
The Massachusetts Reform Club lis
tened to two interesting speeches to-
night on The Currency Condition of
the South" by Mr.. John w. Fries. OF
North Carolina, and Hon. Joscph
Bryan, of Virginia.
MIR. Fries, who was a. menber op
the Monetary Commission, received q
hearty welcome.
MT. lSryan outlined the situation I'm
the South with reference to currency
reform and the needs OF the South in
connection with the plan of the None
tary Commission. He took Virginia
as criterion and compared her con-
uitlon at the outbreak OF the war with
mat which obtained after the surren-
YET OIL Appomattox, With the idea Of
financial matters for which the South
erh 9Ettcs were respected in the earlier
days, had been thrown aside
IN lS60, said MIR. Bryan, "the old
state of Virginia. which included
west Virginia, had q population Of
.oout .' l'ooo'ooo white people and 100000
negroes, nearly all the latter being.
slaves. The banking facilities which
~ IniS million OF white people had were
Oh the most satisfactory character, ard
no complaint was ever heard about n
@ Lack of money in any part OF the. State
ms was accomplished through the
banks which were chartered Nv tha
Commonwealth, and in some of which
the commonwealth had an Interest
uney mad liberal authority for estalb-
ilshinE their branches and most or
thcm issued their notes against their
assets, the limitation being that they
shouid never issue notes for a. greater
f,yn -
their vaults
The State then had $4,000, 900 Of
banking capital and s1O,OOO,oOO of cir
culation-a circulation confined to Vir-
gina: The banks had in their vaults
All the specie that was requisite to
reueem any Of these notes. a more
contented and happy people II IS al
most impossible to imagine.
our population now is greater than
me old Virginia, In 1860, with the dif-
icrehce mat all are free now whereas
put two-third were at that time. we
ND md IN 1860 local currency Of S1O,-
ooo,ooo scattered throughout the State,
accessible to all who were entitled to
credit. The situa ton is now that The
Sreat farms have generally been
broken up and are titled by small
farmers who have no connections ut
large cities, and however good their
credit may be in their own neichbor-
''S htleIiy unknown TO the City
bankers These are the people who
complain of the scarcity Of money. IT
Is not heard In the cities, but in the
country, and the countrymen. igno-
rant OF the provisions of the national
'bank act, which forbids those reason-
able and well established methods
which prevailed before the war for
supplying a currency, have been
Taught to believe that it was demone-
tlzation of silver that produced the
stringency. which Is to them indeed an
uctual and cruel stringency."
The speaker then went on to COM
pare achusetts with Virginia In
me matter OF accessibility, pointing
out that In the former State, with an
area Of about 5000 square miles, there
is some locality for every fifty-five
square miles where banking is done.
Within the territory lying mainly east
or the Fredericksburg railroad and
north of Hampton, there were twenty
counties, containing about 5000 square
miles. without one single place in
which a man could make a deposit,
draw check or make q loan.
In the superb James river valley, "a
fertile and fruitful a section as could
be found In any Eastern State, between
Lynchburg and Richmond, distance
or lao miles. the solitary place of de-
post was at Scottsville, about midway,
where there was a small State bank
or $25,0o0 capital. In this same valley
there were State banks In 1860 with
resources of nearly 100000 There
are many men who now join In the
cry for free silver declared Mr..
Bryan, who, knowing nothing of the
afiluent facilities OF banking enjoyed
by their fathers forty years ago. But
they know perfectly we'll. without un-
derstanding the reason why, that they
are now in a terrible state of restric-
tlon. Is It surprising that the dcmone-
tization OF silver should be used as the
explanation of their troubles?"
In conclusion, Mr.. Bryan said: "I
do not hope for an unqualified repeal
of the 10 per cent tax upon the State
banks, although it is the almost uni
versal opinion in my country that the
restoration Of the State banks to the
place they occupied before the war
would be the death of the silver error
but feel greatly encouraged by the
splendid work Of the Monetary Com
mission. which presents a plan thor
oughly sound in It's fundamental prin-
csples, and which will In the course OF
time work out In q great measure tho
relief we need" ss } KS h !
RED PLAoARDs IN $IIAVR1l.
Havre, Jan 21.-Red placards were
posted here stl-d ay5.l RI on NO. I'd fb.,s9