Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1900-03-15
The Cause of Free Silver.
sssssssssssssssssssss sssssssssssssssssSs
OUR CURRENCY.
VIII Not Be at All Improved by the
New Law-POwer of the
Banks.

New Low-FOyver of the
Banks.
The national banks have always had
the same privilege of reducing their
notes, if redundant, under the existing
laws that they will have under the law
now being discussed in the senate.
They have only to withdraw their
United States bonds from the treasury
department and surrender their circU-
lation. There is nothing whatever in
the new law, nor could there be, to
make this more easy. On the contrary,
by a large proposed reduction in the
tax ON circulation, and by increasing
the limit of the notes issued to the par
value of the United States bonds de-
posted with the treasury, instead of
80 per cent, as now great inducement
will be offered to the banks to enlarge
their circulation and thereby to pro-
mote imitation and speculation under
ordinary conditions. 1t is estimated
that on the passage of the law there
Will be rapid increase of from $780,
O00,O 900 to $500, 600, 900 (some people say
more) in the note issues of the bonks
AS regards the elasticity of the pres
ent system, it would be impossible to
point out the slightest superiority pos
sessed by the Bank of England in it's
currency regulation over the American
banks. The Bank of Germany has GER
tain privileges in this respect not pos
sessed by either the Bank of England
or the American banks, but these adj
vantages have not saved the Berlin
market from a more deeply seated de-
preston than Wall street has suffered
from. In fact it was the semi-panic in
London and Berlin that precipitated
the American panic, as all business
men know, regardless of any "curren-
cy system"
The bill before the United States con-
gress, while opening the door to an
enormous increase in the issue of bank
notes, at the same time provides for a
probable heavy increase sooner or later
in the legal tender money of the coun-
try in which the bank deposits and
notes are payable. When gold is with
drawn from the United States treasury
in exchange for legal tender notes for
export, these notes are to become i'm
pounded and withdrawn permanently
from circulation, except as reissued
against deposit of gold coin. 1t will be
made the duty of the secretary of the
treasury also, either by absolute pro-
vision of the law or by a nominal discre-
ton, to redeem on demand in gold coin
the silver dollars and silver certificates
which now fill so acceptably and salts
factorily the needs of the domestic cir
culation. The banks will thus have in
creased means to protect themselves
from the demands of their own depos-
itors for gold for export, by throwing
on the treasury las heretofore) bur-
den which does not properly belong to
it; but by the virtual extinguishment
of a large portion of existing legal ten
der money, concurrent with great in
crease of the fiduciary money of the ma
tional banks, it is hard to see how the
new currency system is going to di-
minish the risk of monetary crises.
France to-day has doubled the
amount of full legal tender silver mon
ey per capita that the United States
has, and the legal tender quality of the
money for all public and private dues
makes it, just as in the United States,
as good as geld for all domestic pur-
poses. The Bank of France discounts
its gold reserve and it's rate of discount
by rendering silver instead of gold in
payment of its notes and deposits. The
United States. on the other hand, pro-
poses to degrade her existing silver
money, to put black mark upon it,
and to reduce it virtually to token
money, redeemable in gold at the will
of the bullion broker and exporter,
thus converting what is now currency
asset into liability; this, too, without
the shadow of demand for it from the
people of the country, to whom the sill
yer, circulating in the form of silver GER
tificates, has always given perfect sat
isfaction. There has never been the
slightest discount or doubt connected
with these certificates. On the con-
trary they were worth during our
greatest currency panic-that of 1898
a slight premium over gold in the New |
York market, by reason of their great |
er convenience for holding, or for ship |
ment to other cities. This form of cir |
culating medium is so completely alb |
sorbed by the people that each months |
limited coinage of silver is eagerly |
sought after in the form of certificates,
and the treasury has virtually no free |
silver in it's reserve wide United States |
treasury monthly statistical reports); |
SO that no secretary of the treasury |
could pay demands upon the govern
ment in silver if he would.-London |
Daily Financial News.
Coinage of Month.
Coinage was executed at the minis |
If the United States during the month |
of January, 1900, as follows:
Denomina tons. Pieces. Value. |
Double eagleS............ 37S,5S0 1851, 900 |
EaofeS ---.---- 374 $40 2 7a2 4sa |