Year: 1859

| NO. X.-The Chicago Press and Tribune
on s. Minnesota Currency.n 81


The other day we gave place to an article


from the Chicago Press and Tribune of the


18th, reviewing the origin and progress of ou1


Railroad and Financial difficulties, from the


inception and adoption of that bad measure


the Five Million Loan, down to the present


explosion of the currency, which is its conse.


quence. On the 18th the same paper con.


tanned the following article, being the second
article on the subject. On the 22d it pub
lished the third article of the series, headed,
"What shall be done in Minnesota to
escape from our present difficulties? The
second article we present below, and the third
will appear as soon as possible.


MINNESOTA CURRENCY.


In speaking of the financial troubles OF
Minnesota yesterday, we, perhaps, were not
sufficiently careful to discriminate between
the banks of that Statewhose issues are based
upon the Railroad loan bonds, and those
which have deposited securities of different
character The following statement will place
the subject in its true light.


The Farmers Bank, of Garden CITY, and
the Bank of the State of Minnesota, have
deposited Minnesota per cent. bonds lori
ginal issue) and which are reported to be
worth S1.07 in New York. The last named
bank, however, has added to its original issue
$4,000 based upon University bonds. The
issues Of the Bank of St. Paul. and of the
State Bank, Austin, Mower county, are based
upon Ohio 6 per cent bonds. The Nicollet
County Bank is based wholly upon the bonds
of the University of Minnesota The issues
of all Of the above, except the last named, and
the Sic, 900 issue of the Bank of the State of
Minnesota, based upon the same kind of
security, are probably quite as safe as the
issues of our Illinois banks. There is this
fact, however, operating against them-the
State officers may at any time permit their
present securities to be withdrawn and Min
nesota railroad bonds substituted in their
stead. 1t would be next to impossible while
the law permits snch substitution, to- give
currency to the issues of these banks outside
of the State of Minnesota. The Exchange
Bank, Glencoe the Chisago County Bank,
the Bank of Owatonna, the Fillmore County
Bank, and the Peoples Bank, st. Peter, are
all based upon Minnesota per cent. bonds,
of the railroad loan issue. 1t is the bills of
these last named banks that have been thrown
out by the brokers of st. Paul, and which
since that event have been refused by all
classes of people. A hat full of them would
not purchase nights lodging at hotel, or
buy ponnd of coffee or peck of potatoes.
They are as worthless, even in Minnesota, as
SO much waste paper.


The Exchange Bank at Glencoe, and the
Chisago County Bank, have both gone to
protest. 1t is probable that within the next
week the whole batch of railroad banks, as
they are styled in Minnesota, will be in the
same category. Unless the men who stand
behind this currency, and who have expected
to realize fortunes out of it, make immediate
to galvanize so much life into it
as will again give it place In the channels of
there is no resource that we know
of but to wind up the banks under the law
This will afford an opportunity of ascertain
ing the true market value of the bonds on
which their issues are based, and may posi-
bly, open the eyes of the people of Minnesota
to the mistaken policy under which they
loaned the credit of their State to the railroad
AS at present advised, we doubt
if these bonds will realize ten cents on the
dollar in New York. 1t is quite probable
they will find no market at ALL Had not the
crash come just at the time it did, the amount
Of this description of currency in circulation
would now be much greater, since it is under
stood that number of other banks had been
and were just ready to put their
issues ahoat.


There is but one mode of escape for the
people of Minnesota from their present finan-
hat hot se, hall
Or to point out in another article