The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-10-21
tically redeemed in gold lin our cOun-
THEY DO TAKE IT.

tically redeemed in gold lin our coun-
try.
THEY DO TAKE IT.
Everybody knows that everybody
else will take a United States note, He
does not know exactly why, but be-
cause everybody does take 1t. Every
body knows that everybody else Will
take a National bank note. Very few
people know why, or know what they
are based upon or what makes them
good, but they do know that every
body will take them. Therefore those
kinds of currency answer for transac-
stiOns where men do not know one an
other, where there Is not time to in
quire about one another, or in rural
districts where men have not business
habits and do not like to keep accounts
and that sort of thing and prefer
money, as 1t is ordinarily called. But
this is the small change business;
these are your little transactions;
these are your horse-car fares.
This is the thing that you
pay your railway fares with,
the thing that you pay for
your purchase in the retail stores with,
where there is not time for the pro-
prietor of the store to know whether
check is good or not, and this thing
answers where the checks that come In
and exchanging them back and forth.
would not make the proper change.
But after all, when all this is disposed
of, the great movement of business
that takes place is through the other
service that YOU perform; and 1t is
Just as truly currency as any OF the
things that I have mentioned The
function of gold Is to serve as a certain
reserve because that is known as ac-
ccptable at all times to all men. There
fore under that idea and those habits
1t has become necessary to have some
where fund Of gold which men feel
can be fallen back upon in case of ne
cessity to settle balances that are not
settled in other ways. 1t is seldom
used except when men begin to doubt
the other things, but as long as the
other things have no doubt connected
with them the gold is in the world and
in this country more as assurance IN
case of extremity.
SAFETY OF CURRENCY.
AS to the safety of this kind
of currency, or of any other
kind Of currency that might be issued
by the banks, because in my appre-
hensiOn your deposit and check cur
rency differs in no respect from bank
note currency except that it has to per-
form some of the minor functions of
which / have spoken-as to the safety
VI II, dS IL NHOlS, DdScu as IL Is upOl
the business of the country. Isn't 1t
safe? Isn't it safe to base anything
upon, If you choose to do SOFAS a whole,
guarding against sporadic cases of mis-
management. Isn't it safe? If the
banks OF this country are not safe for
all their responsibilities that they now
have and which they may assume, take
them as a whole, leaving out the al
most infinitesimal fraction of failure
n . n q
whole then, l always like to ask, what
is safe. Take the city of Scranton. /
was reading of your banks and of their
prosperity and of their resources in the
newspaper last night as set forth in
one Of the addresses delivered here
yesterday.
Would you say that the munich
pal bonds of the city of Scran-
ton were a better asset than the COM
bined obligations of the banks of
Scranton / think on a little reflection
you would say not, because the Ohli-
cations of the banks of Scranton, be-
ing based upon all the business Of
Scranton, whenever those assets, there
fore, become worthless then what be-
comes of Scranton and what becomes
Of the municipal bonds of Scranton?
Therefore l always maintain that what
you have in your banks and in the
banks of your country Is higher Sc
curity than any municipal, or state, or
government bond because the prosper
ity of the things which go in to make
the assets Of the banks, the prosperity
of those things is the condition pre-
cerdent to the solvency of your munich
pality of your state, or of your coun-
try Wipe out the assets of your banks
and not only are your municipal and
state and government bonds good for
nothing, but your railroad bonds are
good for nothing because the whole
thing. the whole life blood of the busi-
ness of this country would be dried up
and nothing would be valuable.
BANKS ARE SAFE.
Therefore, in speaking Of the banks as
n whole, bearing in mind always there
serve that there may be here and there.
and one badly managed, taking your
banks as a whole, 1 think we may
safely say that nothing can be con-
ceived of that is more sound and more
safe; and it follows as logical when
one considers the fact that the con-
dition precedent to all value is the value
of the assets of the banks of the United
States.
And bearing that in mind, not to
take your time, think that men should
take that thought fully into considera-