Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1907-01-03

Move of the For asset"
Bleed the Public.
Wall street is having its annual trou-
Bile Of tight money, although the adj
m%inistration has loaned the Wall street
and other national bankers over $780,
100000 of the public money without in
terest. AS interest rates are very high,
both call and time money bringing +
per cent and over, and has been even
as high as 80 per cent for Il short
period. it will be seen what q great
profit the bankers are making from
this enormous loan OF the public funds.
AS nearly all the banks of the country
keep an account with II of the New
York banks, when there is Il sla& de-
mand in the country these deposits q!
the country banks with the New York
banks are greatly augmented for the
reason that the Wall street banks pay
interest of = or 3 per cent on daily bal
ances. Blu when the farmers begin to
market their crops the wheat and 9th
er produce buyers begin to use their
money Oh deposit with the country
bankers and also borrow of the banks
they do business with enough money to
buy the products the farmers are sell
ing. This r movement compels the
the country banks TO draw upon their
deposits in the Wall street banks and
at other monetary centers and immedi-
ately the Wall street bankers begin to
howl they must have more money to
move the crops.
AS the Wall street bankers loan their
surplus money to the stock spectators,
they are compelled to CALI these loans
made to brokers and others SO that the
deposits of the country banks can be
returned to them. Instead of Wall
street banks furnishing the money to
move the crops they are merely return
ing the money of the country banks to
be used for that purpose.
The real cause of the periodical Wall
street money squeeze is that the bank
ers and their chief customers are load
ed down with railroad and industrial
stocks and bonds, for which no mar
ket can be found at remunerative
prices. The public with money to in
vest has found other Investments more
safe and profitable, and as there is a
constant further issue of stocks and
bonds the amount controlled by the
Wall street interests is increasing.
Many of these stocks are pure wa
ter'-that is. there has been no actual
Investment of tho mnnoy thny orra
sent-hut interest Is paid on them or
Is expected to be paid on them in the
near future.
There is plenty of money in the
country to carry ON all legitimate bust
ness. but under the Republican policy
Of tariff protection and loaning the
surplus public money to favored ma
tional banks, which naturally finds its
way to Wall street for use, because the
profits are greater there than else
where, there has grown up an era Of
trust and corporation imitation by issu-
ing vast amounts of stocks and even
bonds, which have to be financed by
Wall street.
The bankers are now joining in q
movement for a change in the banking
law, so that they can issue more notes
based on assets. and unless the people
of the country pay heed and instruct
their representatives in congress to be
careful of %legislating in the interest Of
Wall street they will find the money
power provided with another instru-
ment to bleed them. There are already
too many laws which allow the few to
benefit at the expense of the many.