The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-07-04
hitherto little developed part of the
U. S. NATIONAL BANK.

Representative Charles V. Fornes O.
New York has introduced bin to char
ter "The United States National Banl
Of America in the city of Washington
ID, c. 1t is to have branches in New
York, Chicago. New Orleans, Boston, st
Louis, Denver, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Sar
Francisco and Portland, Oregon, and tt
Issue $l00,000,000 in currency. The
United States is to buy and hold three
fifths of the stock, (thc capital proposed
is s100,o00,000,) and the Secretary OF
the Treasury, the Comptroller of the
Currency, and the Treasurer of the Unit.
ed States are to organize the bank, at a
cost OF $4,000 to the public. But the
| directorate shall be controlled other.
wise. The three Federal officials shall
vote the stock owned by the Nation, but
there shall be three directors from New
York, three from Chicago and two from
each of the other cities named; that is
the directors shall number twenty-seven
all told. of which only three shall rep.
resent the United States, which puts UP
three .ffths of the capital
In order to get the money to put into
this banking enterprise, the Secretary
of the Treasury shall issue 100000 900
IN 3 per cent bonds, ruinous PROPOSE
tion altogether. If the Treasury should
float 3 per cent bond issue it would
ruin the market for the per cent
bonds, which are the basis Of the Ma
tonal Bank currency, and drive these
low-priced bonds below par And that
would smash things fat. For, with the
Gas we might say) Of the
National Bank notes unsettled, every.
thing financial would scurry to cover,
and another panic would be on. Fortu
nately, there is not the least likelihood
of this bill being enacted into law.
But besides this very serious obiec-
ton to the law, there is the further one,
Of principle. Mr.. Fornes would of
course fatty rcpudiate the "greenback
neresy.' He would deny the advisable
ty of the Government issuing the cur,
rency for the country; that would be a |
freadful error in every sense. And yet |
lere he proposes for the Government to |
start bank, associate itself with pri- |
late persons in the Issue Of currency,
giving these private interests eight.
linths of the directorate when they
AVE only two-ffths Of the ownership
1t is the fashion with 6nanciers to
lecry the participation of the Govern.
nent in the business finances. But we
otce that this applies chiefly where
here is profit to be made. When there
S risk, the Nation Is pushed into the
reach. And on the general line, there
5 tendency to abandon the old ground.
We now have postal savings banks, and
he very ones who are the most vocifer-
us in denying the right of the Govern II
lent to "engage in business OF issue
are most eager for it to put {
IS money into big central bank for
theirs to control. But if the Govern ,
lent is to go into the money-issuing I
usiness at all, why shouldn Z it issue
irect, under its own laws and control,
nd get whatever profit there is in the
The "high fnanciers' who
re now so anxious to push the Govern
ent into currency. issues, are fast prov
lg the case of the greenbackers, {
nd preparing the way for Government
sued currencv,