HEARINGS BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON BANKING AND CURRENCY UNITED STATES SENATE SEVENTY-THIRD CONGRESS SECOND SESSION ON S. 2366 A BILL TO PROTECT THE CURRENCY SYSTEM OF THE REVISED JANUARY 19 TO 23, 1934 Printed for the use of the Committee on Banking and Currency Сли CONTENTS Statement of: Gephart, W. F., vice president of the First National Bank of St. Louis, Mo., and a member of the committee of the United States Chamber Harriss, Robert, Forest Hills, Long Island, N.Y., partner Harriss & Vose, New York commodity brokers--- Janney, John, chairman of the executive board, American Society of Le Blanc, George, president Inter-State Bank & Trust Co., New Owen, Hon. Robert L., formerly a United States Senator from the State Preston, T. R., president of the Hamilton National Bank, Chattanooga, Tenn.; representing the United States Chamber of Commerce.. Rand, James H., Jr., chairman of the board, Remington-Rand Co., Rogers, James Harvey, Sterling professor of political economy, Yale University, and fellow of Pierson College, New Haven, Conn---- Stewart, Walter W., member of the firm of Case, Pomeroy & Co., Willis, Henry Parker, economist, New York, N.Y. Young, Owen D., General Electric Co., New York, N.Y. Young, Roy A., Governor of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, 1. January 11, 1934, S. 2366, Seventy-third Congress, second session____ 2. January 11, 1934, Amendment proposed by Senator Fletcher to S. 4. January 16, 1934, Secretary Morgenthau's release to the press. 5. January 16, 1934, Governor Black's release to the press-- 7. January 17, 1934, Governor Black's statement relative to S. 2366.. 8. January 18, 1934, Letter of transmittal from Secretary of the Treasury. 9. January 18, 1934, Treasury Department's release to press... 10. March 6, 1933, President's proclamation (no. 2039), bank holiday, 11. March 9, 1933, Emergency Banking Act of March 9, 1933– 12. March 9, 1933, President's proclamation (No. 2040), continuing in 13. March 10, 1933, Executive order (No. 6073), regulations concerning the 1 The Gold Reserve Act of 1934 is printed in full on pages 382-389. Page No. 14a. March 10, 1933, Treasury release relative to statement "to the superintendent of banks of each State" 25 14b. March 11, 1933. Treasury release relative to statement "to the superintendent of banks of each State 26 14c. March 13, 1933, Emergency Banking Regulation No. 25, Treasury Department. 14d. March 18, 1933, Executive order (No. 6080), regulations concerning appointment of conservators__. 15. April 5, 1933, Executive order (No. 6102), forbidding the hoarding of gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates... 16. April 20, 1933, Executive order (No. 6111), relating to foreign exchange and the earmarking and export of gold coin or bullion or currency17. April 29, 1933, Treasury Department, regulations relating to licensing the purchase and export of gold___ 27 27 29 27 30 18. July 3, 1933, President's message to economic conference_ 34 20. August 29, 1933, Executive order, relating to the sale and export of gold recovered from natural deposits.. 21. October 22, 1933, Extracts from the "Address of the President delivered by radio from the White House". 22. October 25, 1933, Executive order, relating to gold recovered from natural deposits_ 23. October 25, 1933, Treasury release, gold regulations_ 24. December 21, 1933, Press release on President's silver proclamation_ 27. December 28, 1933, Secretary of the Treasury's order relative to de- 28. December 30, 1933, President's proclamation (No. 2070), amending proclamations of March 6 and 9, 1933, and the Executive order of March 10, 1933. 29. January 11, 1934, Secretary of the Treasury's order, amending the order of December 28, 1933___. 46 47 30. January 12, 1934, Executive order (No. 6556), amendment of Executive order of August 28, 1933.... 47 31. January 15, 1934, Executive Order (No. 6560), regulating transactions in foreign exchange, transfers of credit, and the export of coin and currency 48 49 32. January 15, 1934, Executive Order (No. 6558), relating to receipt of 34. January 15, 1934, Secretary of the Treasury's order, supplementing 35. January 30, 1934, Public, No. 87, Seventy-third Congress, Gold Reserve Act of 1934.. 37. March 3, 1863, Were the old gold certificates warehouse receipts? U.S. Code, title 31, section 428-.-. 36. March 14, 1900, Gold Standard Act of March 14, 1900. 38. May 12, 1933, Public, No. 10, Seventy-third Congress (H.R. 3835), (Thomas Amendment) title III.. 39. June 5, 1933, Public Resolution No. 10, Seventy-third Congress (H.J. 63 64 41. January 31, 1934, Proclamation of the President fixing the weight of 65 43. Gold Reserve Act of 1934, approved January 30, 1934. 67 382 THE GOLD RESERVE ACT OF 1934 FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 1934 UNITED STATES SENATE, COMMITTEE ON BANKING AND CURRENCY, Washington, D.C. The committee met, pursuant to call, at 2 p.m., in room no. 301 of the Senate Office Building, Senator Duncan U. Fletcher presiding. Present: Senators Fletcher (chairman), Glass, Wagner, Barkley, Bulkley, Gore, Byrnes, Bankhead, Adams, Goldsborough, Townsend, Walcott, Carey, Couzens, Steiwer, and Kean. The CHAIRMAN. The committee will come to order, please. This meeting has been called for a hearing on S. 2366, which will be made a part of the record. [S. 3266, 73d Cong., 2d sess.] A BILL To protect the currency system of the United States, to provide for the better use of the monetary gold stock of the United States, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the short title of this Act shall be "The Gold Reserve Act of 1934." SEC. 2. (a) Upon the approval of this Act, all right, title, and interest, and every claim of the Federal Reserve Board, of every Federal Reserve bank, and of every Federal Reserve agent, in and to any and all gold coin and gold bullion shall pass to and are hereby vested in the United States; and in payment therefor credits in equivalent amounts in dollars are hereby established in the Treasury in the accounts authorized under the sixteenth paragraph of section 16 of the Federal Reserve Act, as heretofore and by this Act amended (U.S.C., title 12, sec. 467). Balances in such accounts shall be payable in gold certificates, which shall be in such form and in such denominations as the Secretary of the Treasury may determine. All gold so transferred, not in the possession of the United States, shall be held in custody for the United States and delivered upon the order of the Secretary of the Treasury; and the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Reserve banks, and the Federal Reserve agents shall give such instructions and shall take such action as may be necessary to assure that such gold shall be so held and delivered. (b) Section 16 of the Federal Reserve Act, as amended, is further amended in the following respects: (1) The third sentence of the first paragraph is amended to read as follows: "They shall be redeemed in lawful money on demand at the Treasury Department of the United States, in the city of Washington, District of Columbia, or at any Federal Reserve bank." (2) So much of the third sentence of the second paragraph as precedes the proviso is amended to read as follows: "The collateral security thus offered shall be notes, drafts, bills of exchange, or acceptances acquired under the provisions of section 13 of this Act, or bills of exchange indorsed by a member bank of any Federal Reserve district and purchased under the provisions of section 14 of this Act, or bankers' acceptances purchased under the provisions of said section 14, or gold certificates :". (3) The first sentence of the third paragraph is amended to read as follows: “Every Federal Reserve bank shall maintain reserves in gold certificates or 1 |