SUBSCRIPTION PRICE OF BULLETIN. The Federal Reserve Bulletin is distributed without charge to member banks of the system and to the officers and directors of Federal Reserve Banks. In sending the Bulletin to others the Board feels that a subscription should be required. It has accordingly fixed a subscription price of $2 per annum. Single copies will be sold at 20 cents. Foreign postage should be added when it will be required. Remittances should be made to the Federal Reserve Board. Member banks desiring to have the Bulletin supplied to their directors may have it sent to not less than ten names at a subscription price of $1 per year. Address of Hon. W. P. G. Harding before Birmingham Chamber of Commerce. Informal rulings of the Federal Reserve Board....... Additions to and withdrawals from the intra-district clearing system. FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN VOL. 2 WORK OF THE BOARD. APRIL 1, 1916 Definite adjustment of the bond conversion question was finally effected during the early part of the month of March, as a result of consultations between the Board and the authorities of the Treasury Department. On February 28 the Secretary of the Treasury addressed to the Board a letter in which he stated his decision to convert into 3 per cent securities bonds to the amount of $30,000,000 that might be offered him for such conversion by Federal Reserve Banks. In a later communication the Board was informed that the Secretary of the Treasury would issue one-half of the new securities to be provided in exchange for bonds offered for conversion, in the form of 30-year 3 per cent bonds, and one-half in the form of one-year gold notes, in accordance with the provision of the Federal Reserve Act relating to this matter. At the time of the transmission of this letter by the Secretary of the Treasury the total amount of Government bonds purchased by Federal Reserve Banks was approximately $40,000,000. There remained, however, the $25,000,000 allotment which, as will be recalled, is to be distributed on the basis of applications made by member banks holding bonds, such applications being filed with the Treasurer of the United States. The Board has already ruled that the allotment shall be made quarterly, and that under this ruling the first distribution of applications shall be made at the close of March, all applications to be in hand 10 days before the closing of the quarter. The date for final receipt of all applications intended to be considered in the first quarter's allotment was fixed at March 21, the total quarter's allotment No. 4 being one-fourth of $25,000,000, or $6,250,000. Each quarter's allotment is to be distributed among Federal Reserve Banks pro rata, but the Board has already announced a ruling that any Federal Reserve Bank which has purchased bonds in the open market may consider these an offset against the amount of bonds allotted to it under the pro rata division thus described. It remains to be seen how many such bonds will be offset as the result of applications on the part of Federal Reserve Banks which desire to be relieved of the necessity of taking over bonds from member banks through the process just referred to. The announcement of the Secretary of the Treasury is of special interest in that it establishes a construction of the Federal Reserve Act in harmony with the view of those who have held that the total amount of bonds which the Secretary of the Treasury could convert annually under the law was not limited to $25,000,000. By making the amount $30,000,000 it is recognized that the Secretary of the Treasury can convert any amount that he deems best, and that the establishment of such amount is a matter to be annually determined in accordance with the requirements of the situation. The process of definitely refunding bonds now securing bank circulation into securities without the circulation privilege has thus been actually begun. Details as to bond purchases will be found on page 156. The final adjustment of the Louisiana redistricting petition has been effected during the month of March, the decision to grant the petition in so far as relates to the southwestern part of Louisiana having been reached at the close of February and announced in the March Federal Reserve Bulletin. The decrees in the case have been Board has also reported to various committees of Congress stating its views on various pending bills, among them a measure to amend the Clayton Act in so far as relates to interlocking directorates of national banks. Heads Philippine Bank. prepared and entered, and the banks affected mendations for amendments to the Federal thereby notified to undertake the arrange- Reserve Act, this text being intended to dements necessary to the transfer. On Febru-velop more fully the ideas generally indicated ary 29 the Board also took action in the Con- in the Board's annual report, where the pronecticut redistricting petition, voting to trans-posals for amendments of the Federal Reserve' fer from District No. 1 to District No. 2 the Act were set forth in general terms. The county of Fairfield, in the southwestern part of Connecticut, adjoining the State of New York, announcing that action relating to the remainder of the territory covered by the original petition had been suspended for the present and would be deferred pending the attainment of more experience with the system of clearing shortly to be developed. Subsequently representatives of the Connecticut bankers were given another hearing, and it was announced that a definite decision relating to the remainder of the territory would be arrived at on a date not later than June 15, 1916. Secretary of the Treasury McAdoo and Hon. Paul M. Warburg, member of the Board, sailed on board the cruiser Tennessee for Buenos Aires on March 8. The party included about 10 persons, the purpose of the journey being that of attendance upon the meeting of the Joint High Commission appointed at the Pan American Financial Conference held in Washington a little less than a year ago. It is expected that the party will return to Washington early in May. Six months' leave of absence has been granted by the Federal Reserve Board to H. Parker Willis, Secretary of the Board, that he may go to Manila, P. I., to organize and open the new Bank of the Philippines. Mr. Willis has been elected president of the bank, but is expected to return to Washington and his work with the Board at the expiration of the period for which leave has been granted. He left Washington on March 23 and sailed from San Francisco on the 28th. C. C. Robinson, of New York, accompanied Mr. Willis and will assist him. Meeting of Governors. Governors of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks will meet in Washington for consideration with the Federal Reserve Board of matters involving the operation of the banks on Wednesday, April 12, 1916. Hon. F. A. Delano and Hon. W. P. G. Harding, members of the Board, left Washington on March 9, returning on March 17, for a visit to the Federal Reserve Banks of Cleveland, Kansas City, and St. Louis, Mr. Harding also delivering an address relating to the cotton situation, at Birmingham, Ala., on March 10. The visit to these banks was intended to provide an opportunity for consideration of various local problems relative to the administration of the system, and the Notice of the death of Felix Martinez, class adjustment of a number of executive details C Director of the Federal Reserve Bank of which have been pending for some time past, Dallas, was conveyed to the Federal Reserve and which were thought to require direct Board in a telegram dated March 23 from attention. W. F. Ramsey, Federal Reserve Agent at During the month the Board has trans- Dallas. Mr. Martinez died at his home in El mitted to Congress the final text of its recom- Paso, Tex., on March 22. Death of Director Martinez. |