I 



474 THE IMPENDING REVOLUTION. 



The banks have another way of deceiving the people 

 in the way of profits. Five or ten men form themselves 

 into a banking association, make themselves officers, and 

 draw salaries as follows: 



i President, salary $ 3,000. 



i Vice-President, salary 2,000. 



5 Directors, salary 5>ooo. 



i Cashier, salary 2,000. 



i Assistant Cashier, salary .... 1,500. 



i Book-keeper, salary JjS 00 - 



i Policeman, salary 500. 



i Janitor, salary 500. 



Rent 1,000. 



Total $17,000. 



It will be observed that the larger part of the above 

 total goes to the owners of the capital while the bulk of 

 the work is done by those who draw the smaller salaries. 

 We have 3,049 of these banks, which cost on an average, 

 perhaps, to operate, the above sum for each bank, or an 

 aggregate of $51,833,000. 



This immense sum is taken from the productive indus- 

 tries of the country to pay the salaries of the officers of the 

 national banks of the United States. The average circu- 

 lation of bank notes for the past twenty years has been 

 about $300,000,000. The average rate of interest at which 

 this money is loaned is, perhaps, not less than ten per cent 

 per annum, or an annual interest burden 'of $30,000,000. 

 Or $600,000,000 in interest paid on bank notes in twenty 

 years, which the government has furnished to the bankers 

 at one per cent, per annum. But the influence which this 

 vast aggregation of wealth exercises over the political 

 affairs of our government is worse, if possible, than the 

 financial burdens it lays directly upon the wealth producers 

 of the country. With a capital many times greater than 



