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The Weekly Tribune
THE WEEKLY TKIBUNJt.
One year
Six months 60
ntw rAnnlrprt in advance.
THURSDAY, DE 1 E»IBKR7, 1893
AGENTS EOK THE 1 RIBL'NE.
Armnchee -Miss Lillian Watts,
Crystal Springs—Mrs. P M. Storey.
Caro Spring—T. J Davis.
Silver Creek—George Porter.
Van’s Valley—B. B Sanders.
We will pay 23 cent* each for
a tew copies ot The Weekly
Tribuneot March IGih.
W. O. < OOPEK, Mang
AS OTHERS SEE US.
The following from The Nation,
shows bow our bank bill is regarded
abroad:
“A committee of the Legislature
ot Georgia has taken up the ques
tion of state bank notes, and has
commenced work on a bill in antici
pation of the repeal of the 10 per
cent tax. Like most of the state
legislatures which have turned the!
attention to this subject, this one
or this committee, begii.s by tying
up the batik’s money in securities of
one kind or another —this l»y way of
mak'ng money abundant in the
neighborhood. The bill proposes
that one half of the capital of each
bank shall be kept on hand in coin
or legal tenders as a redemption
fund, and that the other half shall
be invested in bonds of the United
States or of the state ot Georgia, or
of counties or municipalities in the
state, which shall be deposited with
the state treasurer as security for
the circulating notes. Then
the state treasurer may issue
to the bank three dollars of circu
lating notes for every dollar of the
coin or legal tenders which the bank
has on deposit with itself. The
security which the state would bold
for the circulating notes, supposing
all the bonds to be good, would be
S 3 per cent of them, instead of be
ing 110 per cent, as it is under the
national banking system, since the
cash redemption fund is to be under
the control of the bank. But if this
redemption fund were religiously
kept by the bank for its speeia' pur
pose, and if the deposited bonds
par, the security
woulcWßHyat .the rate of SI,OOO
for each $I?500of circulating notes,
the bank’s capital being wholly im
pounded and locked up at the start.
The national system furnishes secur
ity for circulating notes, but it is
wanting in elasticity. The proposed
Georgia system would furnish neith
er security nor elasticity. It is
very strange that the South, which
for the most part had good banks
before the war, cannot take a leaf
out of its own experience, but must
needs copy an inferior system, dilut
ing even that. There is not much
danger ot harm, however, from these
attempts, since they all depend up
on a repeal of the 10 per cent tax.
The chance of repeal are lessened
by every state bank act like that of
North Carolina and like that which
Georgia is now mulling over.”
THE GEORGIA BANK BILL.
We printed Tuesday an extract
from the NaUon, a periodical ot
great respectability, which criticised
the bank bill drawn by a joint com
mittee es the Georgia legislature.
That statement of the plan was cor
rect as far as it went, but upon ex
amination of the bill itself, a copy
of which has just been received, we
find several excellent provisions
which are not reported in the Na
tion’s epitome, and are calculated to
meet some of its gravest objections.
That journal thought that where
half the capital was in a coin reserve
and half in bonds, the issuance of
bills to the amount of three times the
coin reserve would only be two thirds
secured at any time, and might not
be more than one-third secured if
the coin reserve were impaired. This
reserve is protected by sections 6
22 and 21. The sixth section re
quires the fixedness of the reserve,
the twenty-second section makes its
violation a felony, and the twenty
fourth seition requires the cashier
to furnish the Governor with a good
and valid bond equal to the amount
of the coin reserve. Thus the bills
are seemed by live distinct safe
guards, to- wit:
A coin reserve, equal to one-third.
State, county or city bonds, equal
to one third.
The cashier’s bond, equal to one
third.
The double liability of stockhold
ers, more than equal the amount of
the bills.
The first lien upon the assets of
the bank.
This seems abundant security,
and the fact that part of it is in the
shape of coin, equal to half the value
of outstanding bills, will make them
more immediately convertible than
a security consisting wholly of
bonds.
The other criticism of the Nation
is that the Georgia plan lacks elas
ticity. That is to say, a currency
so issued would iot be of elastic
volume. We are inclined to think
it would be more elastic than that
of the National banks. Their bills,
being wholly secured by bonds and
by the guaranty of the United States
government, are seldom or never
presented for redemption. The bills
issued by this plan would have
enough of the moral risk in their
composition to biing them home to
roost whenever a redundancy of the
currency came about. On the con
trary, they would be i-sued in great,
quantity when currency became
scarce. Precisely this quality was
developed in the clearing Louse cer
tificates last summer. They were
good enough for anybody during
the panic, but they disappeared
when it was over. The interest of
the bill holder and the stockholder
noth tend to withdraw the bills from
circulation when money becomes
plentiful, and the same interests
force bills out when money is scarce
There is no denying the proposition
that some moral risk is necessary
to elasticity.
The c.auses to which we have re
ferred give the bill a different as
pect entirely, and so shaped, we
think it will grow in favor as it is
studied. „
THE INCOME TAX.
Th" following from the Nash
ville Banner gives the report of
a United StateaCoosul on the in
come in Saxony:
Consul at Chem
nitz, makes a report on the income
tax in Saxony. Incomes of less
than 300 marks ($71.40) are not
taxed. In Prussia exemptions are
under 900 marks ($214 20). Saxony
wants to exempt all below 800 marks
($190.40), which would abolish the
lowest five grades as at present. The
taxes on the smallest three grades
are very shall, from 19 to 47 cents.
Their removal would relieve 43 per
cent of all persms taxed, and re
duce the total income tax only three
per cent. All those paying the
grades of tax above the lowest three
grades are voters —that is, all who
pay on incomes of $142 80 or o er.
To take the tax off incomes up to
$166.60 or off the lowest five grades
would relieve 66 per cent of all those
taxed and cost the state only 7£ per
cent of the total income tax.
“The tax comes heaviest cn the
middle classes. Incomes of $785
pay a tax of $lB, and incomes of
$1,499 a tax of sls. ‘Teachers,
snrail tradesmen and mechanics, the
oackbone of the nation,’ Consul
Monaghan saya, pay a tax of $5, $6
and $lO. The Conservatives in
Germany propose to abolish the tax
on the middle classes and leave the
very high and very low rates. It is
proposed to cover losses by reduc
lions on these rates by increase in
the higher rates on incomes above
$2,284.80. Last year taxes on in
comes above this amount yielded
36 per cent of the total income tax,
the rate being 3 per cent on the in
come. An increase to 4 or 4| on
those grades would cover deficits on
lower grades and this proposal is
said to be acceptable to the cotieer
vatives- The imposition of an im
perial income tax on top of these
royal or dual income taxes, as has
been proposed, could hardly oe col
ected, Air. Monaghan thinks, and
would drive capital from the coun
try. In Saxony small incomes pay
from 1 5 to one per cent, while the
the rich pay no more than 3 pi r
cent. The Consul says: ‘lt has
worked very successfully and has, in
the main, yielded safe and certain re
sults, with little loss ami less com
plaint.’
“The total revenue from incomes
THEWEIKLY TKlbUNtt. J tWbtilMY, DEC LAI BEU 7 lUSB
in Saxony is $4,565,711, the sum
her taxed being 1,398,686. Under
the bead of income everything that
comes yearly on the credit side ot a
man's account is taxed. Each de
duct interest on debts, insurance and
repairs.”
From this it wnd appear
that a man is to be taxed in the
ratio of ability or energy, seeing
that incomes are ultima.ely reaoiv
able into one or the other of these
But is to be observed that “all those
paying the grades of tax above the
lowest three grades ..re voters.” that
is to say, a man must possess some
thing more than the lowest class ot
attainments before he can vote, oi
that to a certain extent, he must
work for his vote. It appears that
ihis class constitutes 43 per cent of
all those “taxed,” or nearly hall.
This, of course, falls on the laboring
class, who, while they work, don’t
work hard enough to be allowed a
vote. The isemae tax idea is based
upon the sain? principle as the old
Jewish plan of titheing. except that,
in those days men ascribed their
success to other than individual es
fort and gave the credit where they
thought it due. The Government,
being ecclesiastical, their ac
knowlegement went in the shape of
an income tax to cany or. the Govern
ment. It seemed to work well then,
and while the idea, as applied in
Saxony, apparently works an injus
tice to a large proportion of the tax
paying population it ia certainly
worthy of careful consideration in
the present problem before ( ongress
of raising internal revenue to supply
the place of that lost by tariff re
duction.
THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.
The presidents message of which
we print a synopsis this morning,
is a very long document, reviewing
the different departments of the
government and giving com
paratively little space to the ques
tions which have lately been topics
of heated discussion. Hawaiian
affairs are not given the importance
which some attached to them, and
whde much space is given to foreign
affairs in general, they contain no
subject of commanding importance.
Naturally the first place is given
to tariff reform and the President
takes the trouble to defend the in
cidental protection of the new
schedule. He thinks free raw
material will give steady employ
ment to labor, and it is to be hoped
that he moy not be too sanguine in
that pred ction.
As to the prospective deficiency
in revenue consequent upon a heavy
reduction of the tariff, the President
thinks it will only be temporary ano
approves slight changes in the in
ternal revenue tax with the income
tax on corporations reported by the
ways and means committee. He
says nothing about an individual
income tax and leaves it in doubt
whether he opposes or approves
such a measure.
Concerning the currency, Mr.
Cleveland says, wait till the clouds
roll by. He thinks wecan see better
if we stop and think awhile before
they revamp our system of national
finance. Judging from the nature
of the bill drawn by the Georgia
Legislature, this is not bad advice.
O . '
It is noteworthy in this connection
that the President asks authority
to call an international conference
whenever in his opinion, an agree
ment on coinage may be reached.
The message is a broadside of the
puplic business, in singular contrast
with his single shots on the tariff
and the repeal of the Sherman act.
It is encyclopedic rather than argu
mentative, and will not go down to
history as his best state paper. It
is notable rather for what it does
not say than for what it does say.
Perhaps at this juncture such a doc
ument is most timely.
THE PANIC OF 1696.
An incident in New York has
brought out an interesting historical
parallel of the panic through which
we have just passed.
It will be remembered that Presi
dent Tappen, oi the Gallatin Nation
al Bunk, as chairman of the clearing
house loan committee, is the man
wno managed the issue ol forty
millions of certificates which :.o re
lieved the tension of affairs. The
ot her day the members of that com
mittee presented to Air. Tappen the
identical silver tankard which was
presented to Sir John Houbloti, the
first governor of the Bank if Eng
and, at the close of the panic of
1696. Matthew Marshal of the
New York Sun gives the history of
that crisis, when Sir Isaac Newton
was called to take charge of the
mints. The situat on was in many
respects similar to that through
which we have recently passed, and
the result this time promises to be
as happy as was then. The article
is so instructive tlia- we quote it at
sone leigth:
When t,im H oik of Er.g'and was estab,
lislied, in 1694, there was no dispute in
Great, Britain, as there is with us now,
about the relative values of gold ami silver,
nor was there any fear of an over-issue of
paper money, because no paper was in cir
culation and the currency consisted almost
,-xc usively of silver coin. Nor were, there
any banks, properly speaking, the only
custodians of other people's money being
the London goldsmiths, who, in a crude,
primitive fashion, did all the banking bus
iness that was done. What the nation suf
fered from was the clipping of i s silver
coin by dishonest hands and its consequent
depreciation. As fast as the Gov-rnment
could turn out from the mint n>w half
crowns, shillings, and six-pences of full
weight they were either melted down or
hoarded, thus leaving the field entirely to
rhe light weight, clipped coins, which
every day were made lighter and lighter.
Finally, when the weight of the coins had
been so reduced that twenty shil lings con
tained no more silver than eleven or less
ought to contain, the evil aroused tile
Govertim nt into seeking a remedy for it.
At. first it was proposed to issue without
notice a proclamation that the clipped
coins should at once be accepted in pay
ment of taxes at the Government offices
not by count, but by weight only. This
project was abandoned because of the im
possibility of obtaining for it the sanction
of Parliament without so much delay and
publicity as to give some holders ot the
depreciated coin an advantage over others,
."inally, in January, 1696, an act was
passed fixing the fourth of May following
as the brtc’t' .dale up- to which clipped
money should be payable to the Govern
ment by count.
In order to provide for the filling with
good crowns and shillings of the vacuum
to be created by the withdrawal of the bad,
the mint was at once set to work at its ut
most capacity. But its machinery was
antiquated, and its management inefficient,
and when the fatal fourth of May came and
a flood of the old coins poured into the
exchequer to bo melted down, there was
a scarcity of the new coinage intended to
take its place. The distress that ensued
and the expedients adopted to relieve it
were notably like those which marked our
recent currency f amine. Employers could
only with extreme difficulty pay their
workmen. Wealthy men discharged their
debts with promissory notes, which passed
from Hand to hand as money among those
who knew them. The new Bank of Eng
land and the moneychangers of Loin bird
street issued their notes aud put them into
circulation. The Government, also, fortu
nately possessed authority, and made use
of it to emit interest-bearing notes of five
pounds and upward. In order to hasten
the production of the new coins Sir Isaac
Newton was appointed warden of the
mint, and by the introduction of improved
machinery and the establishment of branch
mints, he immensely increased its coining
capacity. These measures and the use of
so much of the old coins as had escaped the
shears of the clippers tided over the emer
gency, and by August signs of improve
ment in the condition of things were mani
fest.
.Nevertheless, a complete relaxation of
the monetary stringency was hindered by
an agitation for a reduction of the weight
of the new crowns and shillings, so as to
make them of no greater value than the
old clipped coin, and very much the same
arguments were used in favor of the prop
csition as those now advanced on behalf
of the silver standard- Pending the set
tlement of the controversy the new money
was hoarded, because no one who could
help doing so would pay it out at a valua
tion which might be ultimately increased
by its receinago into smaller coins. T.ie
House of Commons, however, stood firm,
and, late in October, 1696, declared with
out a division that the standard of British
money should not be altered in fineness,
weight, or denomination. This turned
the tide, the hoarded coins came out into
circulation, the foreign exchanges im
proved, the public credit revived, and by
March, 169 r, the crisis was completely
passed.
MAJOR BACON’S PLATFORM.
Hon A. O. Bacon has introduced
in the House of Representatives a 1
resolution favoring the unlimited
coinage oi silver and gold, limited
only by the capacity of American
mines, an income tax state banks
and customs duties for revenue only.
■This is understood to be the plat
form on which his candidacy for tTTt
Senatorship will rest. Major Bacon
has heretofore advocated in a writ
ten communication to the Atlanta
Constitution, the abolition of the
internal revenue tax. That would
necessitate either a high rate of du
ty on imports, or else an income tax
to supply the deficiency in the rev
ue—unless, as some claim, low rates
of duty will so increase imports ai
to swell the revenue,
Major Bacon’s position with re- 1
spect to the unlimited coinage of
gobi and silver is all very well, but
we suspect that he would find some
difficulty in putting it into etlect if
he were Secretary of the Treasury.
Men may resolute till the cows come
home withoutdoing much harm, bi t
when they ure charged with authori
ty and have to act, with great pos
sibilities for evil depending upon a
seemingly small divergence in their
course, they become at once more
conservative and cautious. To take
a man as an agitator and then take
him in executive office is like ap
pealing from Philip drunk to Philip
sober.
It may be that the course of
events in 'he next two years will
make the way clear for the unlimited
coinage of gold and silver, without
even t he restriction to the product of
American mines. If that should
happen, Major Bacon would be tn
great luck and would probably be
elected senator. On the contrary,
the logic of events, which is after
all, the only irresis ible logic, mat
make such a lourse impossible. In
such an event, Major Bacon would
be boss oe combat.
Major Bacon is the most distin
guished and easily the ablest of the
men now in the race for Senator, but
we fear he has already handi apped
himself. Still, «e greatly respect
his candor, and hope his opponents
will be open and fair.
THE TARIFF.
We print this morning the full
text, of the tariff bill framed by the
Democratic members of the Ways
and Means Committee. It is a heavy
reduction, amounting to an average
of about 20 per cent on the whole
list, and on some articles of ordinary
use like steel rails aud pocket cut
lery, the reductli n n is fifty or sixty
per cent. We advise our readers to
cut out the document and lay it
aside for future reference. It will
be the issue of the coming session
of congress, and after that, will be
come the principal issue l.etwee” the
Democrats and Republicans for
years to come. This bill, if passed,
as it probably will be, is destined to
affect the business and the com
merce of this country more pro
foundly than most people imagine.
Trade which has been hedged about
by artificial barriers will find mar
kets hitherto unknown, and to use
the expression of President Harri
son unhappily applied’fco reciprocity,
“our flag will float on unfamiliar
seas.” Manufactures are narrowed
by the ta-iff. Our industry is more
local than that of any other country,
and necessarily so as long as the
Chinese wall of protection remains.
Three years ago the protectionists
had their inning. Now the people
have an inning, and the odious class
legislation of the McKinley tariff
must give way.
The Manufacturer’s Record says:
The industrial activity of the
Southern States has materially in
creased during the past week end
ing December Ist. A large number
of manufacturing companies and
other concerns of an industrial na
ture have beeu announced, the lum
ber m Ils, flourmills, and mining en
terprises being especially noticeable.
Two projects of much importance
to the South have taken form at
Cincinnati! in the shape of a $1,000,-
000 company to develop Virginia’s
marl beds on the coast, and a $2,-
000,000 company to inaugurate de
velopments on 40,000 acies of tim
ber and coal lands in West Virginia.
Alunicipal improvements projected
during the week also present a fair
showing. The demand for machinery
of all kinds continues steady, re
ports showing that for the past six
weeks there has been more machine
ry wanted than at any time during
the year.
Photography played an important
part in a suit at Cincinnati, says the
Indianapolis Journal. lhe suit is
one of local standing involving the
title of 1,500 acres of valuable farm
lands. It is based on a deed made
nearly seventy-five years ago by the
owners of the land, and turns on the
point whether the deed bad five
signatures or only four. In order
to test this question, it was decided
to have the deed photographed, and
the clerk of the court was ordered
to give the matter his personal su
pervision. For that purpose it was
taken to Washington and submitted
to an expert photographer of that
city. Ihe original deed, discolored
and yellow with age, showed traces
of four signatures and a space where
there might have been a fifth, but
no trace of it Ihe photographing
was done in the presence of the clerk
of the court, who refused to let the
deed go out of his sight. The
negative revealed traces of the miss
ing signature, and when it was en
larged ten times the entire name be-]
came as plain as when first written.
Tne court pronounced the evidence
conclusive, and the result will be
the r* versal of a former decision and
a change in the ownership of the
land.
Here is Archdeacon Farrar’s
working day, as he describes it him
self in McClure’s Magazine for De
cember: “We 1,1 an at work at
halt-past eight in the moruincr. I
have a large mail, as a rule, and
when that is sifted and answered, I
work at one thing or another till
ten in the evening. 1 do a good part
of my work at the Atlreneum Club
in the afternoon. But, of course,
the chief part of it is done in this
study, and at this tall desk by the
wiidow. You have probably noticed
that I prefer to stand while writing
An hour or two before bed time I
devote to reading. Then, of course,
as Chaplain to the Speaker, I am
bound to regular atttendance at the
House of Commons.”
Prof. Garner, who is to sail for
America in a few days, is quite dis
consolate over thedeath of Elishaba,
the most intelligent chimpanzee ever
found. Garner made the acquaint
ance of Elishaba and her husband,
Aaron, in Africa, aud induced them
to come north with him. The death
of the poor creature in Liverpool, on
Thursday, was quite pathetic. She
died in the arms of poor Aaron, who
had been assiduous in his attentions
during her whole illness. Prof.
Garner was pt esent during her last
moments, and when he put his hand
to her heart t<> see if it had ceased
to beat, Aaron put his hand there
too, looking in the Professor’s eyes
and inquiring if that was a’l he
could do. Aaron would not permit
his dead companion to be taken from
him. The sadness in Aaron’s coun
tenance could not have been more
clearly portrayed on the face of a
human being. His grief was incon
so'able. When the Professor visited
his protege, Aaron was not content
until he had put his hand in that
of the Professor, aud by signs and
sounds was telling him his distress.
The Oklahoma Statehood Conven
tion assembled in Kingfisher will ap
peal to Congress, at the opening of
the session, for the admission of the
Territory into the Union, as a State.
The Governor of the Territory fur
nished the Convention with statis
tics to justify the claim lor State
hood. He estimates the population
of the Territory, including the Cher
okee, at 251.000, and he sustains
this estimate in away which is not
wholly unsatisfactory. The value
of the taxable property of the Ter
ritory is given as $15,000,000, and
the Territorial Government is free
from debt. There are several hun
dred churches in the Territory;
there are thirty banks; there are
public schools, and there have been
2,372,000 acres of farming land
taken up. he various kinds of
grain grow there and the ordinary
kinds of fruit; cotton also can be
grown. “Oklahoma,’’ says Gov.
Renfrow, “possesses vast re«oui ces,
and, with its genuine American in
habitants, it will make a State equal
to any other in lhe Union.”
FROM SENATOR CORPUT.
Atlanta, Ga., Nov. 28, 1893.
Editor Tribune:
In your issue of Nov. 28, you criticize that
portion of the proposed amendments to the
registration law providing that the voter
shall prove the payment of taxes by “evi
dence other than his oath.” Allow me to
say t hat I consider this one of the wisest
provisions of the-bill, and prevents the
honest, but mistaken ignorant person who
otherwise might nerjure, himself from do
ingso, it absolutely removes the possibility
of prosecution for false swearing.
Felix Coitrur.