not be worth .so much. If I hold stock in a
bank with a long charter, then the very hoar
yon adopt this amendment, yon make me
worth so much more money than yon do my
neighbor who holds stock in another bank
with a shorter chatter. That is one objection
I have to this amendment.
And the result sought is not reached atall,
because nothing is done now. You do not
prevent the circulation of the banks in the
State; you do not prevent inflation of the
currency, if there is any inflation now.
Things go on just as before, and the only
practical result reached is, in my estimation,
one which we, as representatives of the State
of Maryland, should never be guilty of com-
mitting. That is, you make me, by this
very act, worth more money, in comparison
with another man, than I was when I came
into this convention. That is not so very
hard, not so very unfortunate, perhaps, in
that case. But you must remember that you
also probably make many widows and or-
phans in this State so much poorer in com-
parison with others. Although the widow
or the orphan may own just as much stock
as before this provision was adopted, yet by
adopting it you make her so much the poorer
in comparison with others. That is an act
of injustice, and I object to doing any such
act.
Mr. STIRLING. I have listened with a great
deal of attention to the remarks of the gen-
tleman from Cecil (Mr. Pugh.) and I would
say that I do not understand that the right
of issuing notes necessarily affects the value
of the stock of the bank. I know there is
one bank in the city of New York, the Chemi-
cal Bank, which issues no notes, has a stock
so valuable that you cannot by any possi-
bility get an opportunity of buying any
of it.
Mr. PUGH. I do not intend to go into this
banking question at all, bat the very state-
ment made by the gentleman from Baltimore
city (Mr. Stirling) shows one point in which
he is seriously in error. We are now talking
about the country circulation of the State
particularly. The gentleman knows that the
banks of the city never depend upon their cir-
culation for making money; they depend
upon their discounts. But the country banks
make their money all the time by their circu-
lation, and their circulation alone.
Mr. STIRLING. They ought not to do it.
Mr. PUGH. If they have $100,000 of
capital and issue $300,000 of circulation,
they get six per cent. upon their $300,000,
while they have but $100,000 invested in
capital. Now, in the city they cannot do
that, because they cannot keep their circula-
tion up; it returns to them too soon. The
country banks keep their notes a little below
par in order to prevent their being collected
in the cities for redemption, because they
trust to making their money, not by discounts
7 |
alone, bat oat of the circulation of their
notes, which are to a greater amount than
the capital they have invested.
Mr. CUSHING. The gentleman says he is
opposed to this principle of not Issuing any
further charters to banks, after their present
charters have expired, because it is special
legislation; because it affects the property of
one individual differently from the property
of another. The gentleman is then opposed
to all special legislation under any circum-
stances whatever.
Mr. Proa. I do not say that. I said I
was opposed to special legislation as a general
rule. There may be certain exceptions, of
coarse.
Mr. CUSHING. This is a particular case;
this is certainly a special case.
Mr. PUGH. Members of the convention
will remember that I stated that the adoption
of any such amendment had a tendency to-
wards special legislation, while the result
claimed by the gentleman from Baltimore
city (Mr. Cushing) is not reached at all.
Therefore there is no reason tor it, even if it
had not the appearance of being special legis-
lation. The result claimed by the gentleman
was this: that it would have a tendency at
this time to curb the circulation of the State.
I so understood the gentleman, and that it
was for that reason that he was in favor of
this amendment. Now I will indorse every-
thing which Will tend towards helping the
government in 'a time like this; everything
which has any tendency whatever towards
curbing the circulation of the local banks of
this State. That is making the circulation
healthy. And I say that I deny that the
circulation is now unhealthy. And I wish
also to deny the statement of the gentleman
that the banks of Virginia for the last twenty
years have been insolvent. Now, I know
they have always done a business which has
kept them healthy.
Mr. CUSHING. Does the gentleman mean
to include the State bank of Virginia?
Mr. PUGH. I am answering the statement
of the gentleman which related to all the
banks of Virginia. I believe that some of
the banks of Virginia, before this war, were
some of the best banks in this country. And
I believe that the most healthy hanks in
this State, or in any State, are to-day those
which loan money to country people. In
prosperous times, I believe the banks in the
cities are also healthy, and they are good as
long. as everything is prosperous. But when
disasters come upon the country, they always
strike the cities first. But that only raises
the whole question of the banking system in
this State, and in the country, and I do not
intend to go into that question. It is a ques-
tion about which I believe there are more
different views entertained than upon any
other question. And without desiring to say
anything disrespectful, I will say that in my |
