The "irredeemables" And The Banks

Editor of the Argus : Of the argumenta used by the Nation als or Greenbackers in advocating thei pet scheme of an irredeemable currency one, if not the chief, is aimed at the nationai bauks, charging that the national banking system is a luonopol; of privileges granted to favorod fuw and denied to the tnany. They denianc the immediato repeal of the banking law, " that the national currency be immediately retired and legal tender notes issuod in their place," and in their great zeal to show themselves tho champions of oconomy they boldly state tha' the system is a great expense upon the general government and that the taxes puid by tho banks do not nmount to a fraction of the expenses of the treasury bureau at Washington." Now, as to tbe first charge. Aftor a careful exainination of the nationa' currency act, I fail to find anything like a monopoly of privileges conferrec upon a few. The right or privilege to organize a bank under its provisions is free to all and extends to all classes Every person who has enough money ($100) to buy a share in a bank and so desires can bo a stockholder. The privilege to issue circulating notes is not a restricted privilege or one new or unknown to the peoplo. banks have exercised this privilege under State authority, without the safeguards and securities to the oommunity against loss which are found in tho national banking law, and there has been heretofore but few to complain. Not a single dollar of loss has been, or can be, to the people in the use of the national bank currency, - the 'government being pledgec to the redemption of every note, holding as security its own bonds to more than the amount of the entire circulation at all times. The demand is made that the nationa' currency aot ba repoaled, the "banks wiped out," and that their circulating notes "be immediately retired." This must be done by act of Congress. Let us examine this contemplated action_ and sèe what would be its practical re sults. The "national currency act," by its provisions, fixes the corporate existence of a bank at 20 years from date of organization. lts lite may be shortened by a violation of the law, or by a voluntary dissolution of the corporation; but by no other power or authority can the bank be "wiped out" until it dies out by limitation of law. So it will be observed that practically the first branch of the demand cannot be itamediately oomplied with, - and the practical corapliauce with the second branch will lead to far different results than is anticipated by those who so imperatively make it. An act of Congress requiring the nafional bank ourrency in circulation to be immediately retired and greenbacks to be issued for like amounts in its place, would bo met in its t'ulfillinent by the inoonyenient ob6tacle that the national bank notes have more than a local circulation. They aio scattered all over the United States so that the notes of a bink in Maiue may be found iu Texas or California, - one note here and one thoro or anywhere ; and as the government is pledged for their fiual redemption thoy would continue to circuíate. It would bo impossible to gather them in short of a period of years. Now the act of Congress, June 20, 1874, authorizes any national bank desiring to withdraw its circulating notes in whole or in part to deposit lawful oney (greenbacks) with the Treasurer of the United States in sums of not lees than $9,000, and to withdraw a proportionate amount of the bonds pledged as security for its notes. Now this law shows very clearly the practical way of withdrawing or retiring national bank circulation, which is, by the banks depositing, in fact retiring into the United States Treasury,an equal amouut of legal tender notes, and withdrawiug the bonds they have in deposit to secure the circulation outstanding, leaving the government to retire and redeein the national bank circulation at onco if it can or at leisure if it must, to the great satisfaction of the National-Groenback irredeemable currency party. The practical effect of such a forcible act would be the retiring of the greenback currency for a seasou at least instead of the national bank note9. As to the third, and by them regarded as the most potent of all argument, and made with strongust emphasia, is the statement that the taxes paid by the banks to the general government do not amount to n fraction of the expenses of tho currency bureau or banking dopartment in Washington. Let us examine and seo how true this statement is. The report of the Seoretary of the Treasury, for 1876, Pub. Doe, pages 218 and 219, under hoad of "Taxation," reads as follows : "Section 5214 of tho Revised Statutes provides that the national banks shall pny to the Treasurer the following taxes: One per cent. annually upon the average amount of notes in circulation, and onehalf of one per cent. annually upon the average amount of deposits aDd upon the average amount of capital stock not invosted in United States bonds." The totul amount paid upon the above items, as stated in that report, was from the organization of tho system in 1863 to July 1, 1876, the aam of $72,25:5,071.96. The report further says : "Section SlT.'i of the lifivised Statutes provides that tho oxpenses of this office shall be paid out of the taxes or duties assessed aud cullected on the circulation of the national banks. The amouut of tax paid upon circulation from the organization of the system to July 1, 1876, is $33,928,703.18, while the whole expenses of the bureau for the same period, together with the cost of printing the notes, have been but $4,060,223.59." Thus it will be seen that tho taxes on circulation alone, for 13 years, exceed the total expenses of the bureau for the same period by the sum of $29,868,4:9.59 ; to which add amount paid on deposits and capital stock, $38,324,438.78, and you have a total of $68,192,918.37 taxes over total expenses for same period. Unwilliug that the bold and presumptuous advocates of a baseless, ionary schuine of finance ahould b allowed to bolster up their unoonstitu tional, rotten, irredeemable paper cur rency project by such untruthful state menta and charges against anothe systeni, faulty aud objectionablo as i' tnay be and is, I ask the space in you paper to cali atteutioa to the facts fo the candid judgment of honest uion Standing fast by the dootrine and be lief that the only money authorized b; the constitution, and that should b recognized by the people.is gold and sil ve coin - tbe only standard and measur of valuó which is recognizod by al civilizod peoples - I hold that no paper currency representing money, whethe is8ued by governinent authority, b; banks, or otherwise, should be allowei or tolerated, which is not couvertibl on demand into gold or silver at the pleasure of the holder. All paper issues, promising to pay mone; and circulating as money, which are no made redeemable and redeemed on de mand, are a sham, delusion, and frauc upon the people, imparting and spread ing their delusive, fictitious influences as their volume is increased; affecting perniciously all branches of busiims and all kinds of property with an iuflated, unstable value. The lessons o 1821, 183", 1857, and 1873 need not be repeated to cenviuce the peoplo of the disastrou8 consequences following the forcing upou the people of the countr an atuount of paper ourrency more than sufficient to supply the demand of pros perous trade, to perinit them again, anc so soon, to favor the wild and delusive scheme or tolérate the issue aud forcing upon the country au unlimited volume of irredeemable paper currency. Too lately has the experiment ben trie and too lamentably serious have been the results to be forgotten by any one who has suffícient discernment to trace effects to their oause, and will but look about upou the wrocked fortunes,blight ed hopes, the ruined business entorprises, the shrinkago in the value of property of all kinds, and the paralysis of repose that has seized upon all the productive interesta of the country. R. - 1 1 M A reaper belonging to Wm. Johnsou, was burued on the farm ot Gh W. l'erkins, Esq , near this city, on the 17th, about twelve o'elock midmght. It appears the dastardly act of burniug this poor inan'a property was solely tor the purpose ot destroying a labor-saving machine, l'iecus ol old rails and cut wheat piled on the machine aud a strong lire made. To make the destruction snre, the machine was demolished by the aid ot a large stoue. How do the advocates of the principlea of the Natioual-üreenback party Hke such practical demoustratious oi its teachings.- Pontiac Gazette, July 19. Aud a farmer near Adrián has been notifled in writing that the penalty of [etting his self-binding reaper be used off from his own farm will be its destruction. At Pontiac the doctrine is taught that "a farmer has no right to juy such machiuery wheu there are thousands of idle men, men who want work. There are honest men among :he traiups, men who want work ; they can't get it and they get desperate. Yon can't blame a man for destroyiug a piece of iron and wood which stands Jetweon hiui and and bread and butler," - or so a business mau (a grocer) said to n special reporter detailud frora ;he Detroit Post and Tribune to investijate the burning. The owuor of the machine was a poor mau - it and a span of horses being all the property ie owns. This work of machine destruction, and undor the same pretense, ïas been practiced in both Ohio and .llinois, while at the same time farmers ïave found it difficult to get good harvest hands at even exorbitant prices. s n't it time for those farmers who have br years been denouncing railroad managers and middlemen as robbers, and who later have joined the political demagegue in hooting at the heels of he capitalist - whether his capital carne rom the savings of a lifutirua of labor or was made in trade makes no difference - to soe where their teaching leads. Che National-Greenbackers, or those of ;hem who are honest farmers or worthy meehanics, or industrious laborers in whatever branch, do not counteiiance uch lawlessness, but the demagogical eaders are the teachers of doctrines eading to just such lawless acts, and he uneasy, idle, and thriftless attaches of tho new party are ready to put in ractice the doctrines the leaders teach ïvery property holder, be he farmer, manufaoturer, mechanio, or laborer, hould look coming events squnrely in he face. - Another reaper was burued at Calïoun county, on Tuesday morning last. France once triod the experiment of fiat money" and beaps of it, and in rder to float it onacted laws fíxing the rioe of grains, produco, and labor of 11 kinds. How would tho farmers of lichigan relish a law that compelled hem to tuku an established priue in an nflated, changeable, and couiparativoly worthless currency. If the lesson of listory is not a lie the NationalGreenbackers, in rcpeating the wild and fanatical experiment of the rrench people, by duplicating the ''rench assignats - irredeemable green jacks by another name - will briug ruin upon every interest of this country. h ii 't it wise to read history 'i TlIE Ypsilanti Henlind inakes a point n favor of the real valué of gold and ilver coin and the representativo valué f paper, by suggesting that the man who maküs a business of clippiug coin nd iuipairing its value "by diminishing :t) substance " may get hiruself into nisoii, while 110 one will care a cent ïow inany pieces ho clips from u greonjiick. He might have stid that it takes ust so many grains of gold or silvor to make a dollar or a guinea, or a piece of oiu worth a dollar or a guinea, the world over, while a dollar or a pound ote may be printed on a piece of paper by 7 3-8 inches - the greenbaok size - r one-half or one quarter the sizo. Iu ixe coin the valuo is in the metal itself, n the bill it is in the promüe to ]iay I - ïhe coopers of Grand Rupids have ecided not to make barrels after Auust lst for less than the foüowiug )rices : First-class ttour barrel, 10 ents ; secoud-class ñour barrel, 9 cent; laster or stucco barrel, 9 cents ; cracker arrel, 7 cents ; round hoop shave barel, 10 centg; poles,13 cents; half barrels, oents.