Excerpt from The Banks of New-York, Their Dealers, the Clearing House, and the Panic of 1857: With a Financial Chart A bank is simply a plan of organizing capital, by which the full benefits of it are secured. The separate means of individuals are united together, and a large sum thus constituted, which is hired out on interest to those who need it. This combination, and the manner of its use, may be compared to a dam across a valley, and the accumulation in one body of the water of the separate Springs, which otherwise would be of little service; but being united, they form a propelling power for extensive machinery. Without the organization of capital in some form, a community must remain in comparative barbarism. The few who possess wealth above their wants must either send it away for investment where it would enrich other places, or it would for the most part lie dead, while the poor would Continue in ignorance and drudgery. A public school, a library, or a church, would be impossible without combination. It is therefore a social necessity to organize capital, and communities thrive in proportion as this organization is effected. They prosper, not only in material sub stance, but in education and morals. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.