Year: 1875

The second of the grasshopper currency
planks of Ohio Democratic platform, being
the ninth resolution, first charges the Repub
lican party with the policy of abolishing legal
tenders, and giving to banks the furnishing OF
all the currency, and then declares for taking
away the circulation from the banks, and issu-
ing greenbacks in its stead. The eleventh res
olution adds to this declaration of war on the
national banks, by declaring for their extinc-
ton, for the assumption by the government OF
the power to issue all the paper money, and
for limiting all other banking to banks Of dis
count and deposit only, under State regulation.


The monkey who throws down rare an
tique vase has no more idea of the destruction
he is doing than this Democratic. Convention
had of that which it would do to the business
of the country if it could really enter upon
the work of extinguishing banking system
which is diffused all through the industrial
and commercial interests OF the country, SO
that war upon one is war upon all.


The volume of the loans by the national
banks to business is near thousand million
dollars. A notice Of extinction to these banks
is notice to business of the country to go
into the liquidation of loans of thousand
millions. Who can reckon the disturbance to
trade and industry by such dissolution OF
the monetary agencies of the whole country
And what would be the gain by all this de-
struction? Simply the issuing of the cur
rency by the government instead of the banks,
and its issue upon credit-upon wind-instead
of upon the security of private capital


But is not this turning back on the Demo.
cratic outcry of last year, for distribution oi
the currency The doctrine then was that
the currency issues must be OF the locality
else if would not be benefited. But now the
same quacks say we 'mnst extinguish all the
local issues, and have all the currency emitted
at the center.


But if government takes from the banks the
privilege of issuing notes, it must give up also
the taxes it lays on them in consideration OF
this privilege. This will be nearly equivalent
to what it will gain by emitting the notes. So
it viii have all the disturbance of the disso-
luton for little or nothing. The State de,
nosit and discount banks will not pay these
taxes. They will have nothing to gain by
charter for such business, which will subject
them to special taxes, when they can do
deposit and loan business as well as well as
private bankers :.


But we have to ask, where was the much
cried fear OF the Democratic party OF the
Capitalization of powers in the national gov
ernment, when this convention resolved fol
| the extinction of all banks of issue, whether
under the national or State charters, and fol
the assumption by the national government OF
the issuing of all the paper money OF the
country, on its. own credit, according to Its
sovereign discretion? vH -t p
Was a stronger central power ever assumed
by any government in the world than the pow
er to emit notes, to make them legal tender, to
| force their circulation on no other basis thar
its credit, to increase and diminish them at itS
Measure, and thus to WELD the control OF the
value of all private property, and the measure
of the obligation of all private contracts P
Where is there government, whether au
tocratic or monarchical, which has ever as
sumed SO vast power as it is now proposed
by this Democratic Convention to put into tht
hands of the national government? In all thu
wild Democratic charges about centrallzatlon
! have they ever dreamed of central power Sc
| enormous as to hold in its hands the measure
of the value of the property OF the people
Even the King of Ashantee has no such des
potic power as this Democratic Convention
proposes to centralize in the national govern


ment, for he has to respect private property


Will it be answered that the government


has exercised the power to emit legal-tende


notesl Did anybody ever defend it save as
war necessity? Was it not promised by al
that as soon as the national safety was secured


this power would be laid down? But in thi


emission, when it was deemed vital 10 TN


preservation of the republic, there was non


save from the pressure Of hard necessity, AM


this was attended by solemn pledge that Tn


emission should not exceed a certain sum- =


But this Democratic party, which has kept u


howl Of Capitalization against the Republl


can, because Of the measures it was obliged =


resort to in the national peril, now, in a tim


of peace, proposes To adopt for q permanen
policy the greatest stretch of central powe


that was made in the nations peril, and to e1
ipand It without limit by having the oentra