The Commoner
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with knowlodgo of Biich Jmpondfnj?
failure, shall ho llablo to the sumc
oxtont as If they had made no such
transfer, to the extent that the sub
sequent transferee falls to meet such
liability; but this provision shall not
bo construed to affoct in any way any
recourse which such shareholders
might otherwiso have against those
in whoso names such shares are reg
istered at tho tlmo of such failure.
LOANS ON FARM LANDS
Sec. 21. Any national banking
association not situated in a central
rosorvo city may make loans secured
by improved and unencumbered farm
land, sltuatod within its Federal ro
sorvo district, but no such loan shall
bo madq for a longer tlmo than five
years; nor for an amount exceeding
llfty por contum of tho actual value
of tho property offered as security.
Any such bank may make such loans
in an aggregate sum equal to twonty
fivo por contum of its capital and sur
plus or to one-third of its time de
posits and such banks may continue
hereafter as heretofore to receive
timo deposits and to pay interest on
tho sanio.
Tho Foderal Reserve Board shall
have powor from tlmo to timo to add
to tho list of cities hi which national
banks shall not be permitted to mako
loans sdcurod upon real estate in the
manner described in this section.
FOREIGN BRANCHES
Sec. 25. Any national banking as
sociation possessing a capital ana sur
plus of $1, 000, 000 or moro may iilo
application with tho Foderal Reserve
Board, upon such conditions and
under such regulations as may be
proscribed by tho said board, for the
purpose of securing authority to
establish branchos in foreign coun
tries or dependencies of tho United
States for tho furtherance of the
foreign commerce of tho United
States, and to act, if roquired to do
so, as fiscal agonts of tho Unitod
States. Such application shall specify,
jh1 addition to tho namo and capital
,of the banking association filing it,
the place or placos whero tho bank
ing oporatioiiB proposed are to bo
carried on, and tho amount of capital
act ' asido for tho conduct of its
toroign businoss. Tho Federal Ro
sorvo Board shall have powor to ap
prove or to roject such application if,
In' Its judgment, the amount of cap
ital proposed to bo sot asido for the
conduct of foroign business is in
adequate, or if for other reasons tho
granting of such application is
deemed inexpedient.
1 Every national banking association
which shall rocoivo authority to es
tablish foroign branches shall be re
quired at all times to furnish infor
mation cone "ijng the condition of
such branchou to tho Comptroller of
tho Currency upon demand, and the
Fodoral Rosorvo Board may order spe
cial examinations of the said foreign
branches at such timo or times as it
may deem best. Every such national
banking association shall conduct the
accounts of each foreign branch inde
pendently of - 'S accounts of other
foroign branchos established by it
and of its homo olllce, and shall at
the ond of each fiscal period transfer
to its gonoral ledger tho profit or loss
accruing at each branch as a separate
item.
Sec. 2G. All provisions of law in
consistent with or superseded by anv
of the provisions of this Act are tb
that oxtont and to that extent only
hereby repealed: Providod, Nothing
in this Act contained shall be con
strued to ropoal the parity provision
or provisions contained in an Act ap
proved March fourteenth, nineteen
hundred entitled "An Act to define
and fix tho standard of value to
maintain tho parity of all form's of
money issued or coined by the United
States, to refund the public debt, and
for other purposes," and tho Secre
tary of tho Treasury may for the pur
pose of maintaining such parity and
to strengthen tho gold reserve,
borrow gold on the security of United
States bonds authorized by section
two of the Act last referred to or for
one-year gold notes bearing interest
at a rate of not to exceed three per
centum por annum, or sell the same
if necessary to obtain gold. When
tho funds of the Treasury on hand
Justify, ho may purchase and retire
such outstanding bonds and notes.
Sec. 27. The provisions of tho Act
of May thirtieth, nineteen hundred
and eight, authorizing national cur
rency associations, the issub of addi
tional national-bank circulation, and
creating a National Monetary Com
mission, which expires by limitation
under tho terms of such Act on the
thirtieth day of June, nineteen hun
dred and fourteen, aro hereby ex
tended to Juno thirtieth, nineteen
hundred and fifteen, and sections
flfty-ono hundred and fifty-three,
ilfty-ono hundred and seventy-two,
flfty-ono hundred and ninety one, and
fifty-two' hundred and fourteen of the
Revised Statutes of tho United States,
which were amended by the Act of
May thirtieth, nineteen hundred and
eight, aro hereby reenacted to read
as such sections read prior to May
thirtieth, nineteen hundred and
eight, subject to such amendments or
modifications as aro prescribed in
this Act: Provided, however, That
section nino of tho Act first referred
to in this section is hereby amended
so as to chango tho tax rates fixed in
said Act by making ihe portion ap
plicablo thereto read as follows:
National banking associations hav
ing circulating notes secured othe''
wise than by bonds of the United
States, shall pay for tho first three
months a tax at the rate of three per
centum per annum upon the average
amount of sue of their notes in cir
culation as ai based upon the de
posit of such securities, and after
wards n additional, tax rate of one
half of one por centum for each
month until a tax of six per centum
is reached, and thereafter such tax
of sly per centum por annum upon
tlv iM'age amou :t of such nolcp.
Sec. 28. Section Jifty-one hun
dred .and forty-ihvee of tho Revised
Statutes is hereby siuiendGcl nd re
enacted to read as follows: Any as
sociation formed under this title may,
by tho vote of shareholders .owning
two-thirds of its capital stock, veduco
its capital to any sum not below the
amount required by this title to au
thorize the formation of associations;
but no such reduction shall be allow
able which will reduce the capital of
the association below the amount re
quired for its outstanding circulation,
nor shall any reduction be made until
the amount of tho proposed reduc
tion has been reported to tho Comp
troller of the Currency and such re
duction has been approved by tho
said Comptroller of tho' Currency and
by the Federal Reserve Board, or by
tho organization committee pending
the organization of the Federal Re
serve Board.
Sec. 29. If any clause, sentence,
paragraph, or part of this Act shall
for any reason Ire adjudged by any
com. t of competent jurisdiction o bo
inval.d, such judgment shall not af
fect, impair, or invalidate tho re
mainder of this A.t, but shall be con
fined in its operation to the clause,
sentence, paragraph, or part thereof
directly involved in tho controvert
in which such judgment shail have
beon renderd.
Sec. 30. Tho right to amend, alter
or repeal this Act is hereby expressly
reserved.
LTublic Document No.. 43 C3d
Congress H. R, 7837. - , ,
The Administration Currency Bill
Becomes a Law
The Owen-Glass currency measure,
known as the administration currency
bill, became a law on its approval
and signing by President Wilson, De
cember 23, 1913.
The final stage of its enactment
was reached in the senate December
19, when it passed that body by a
vote of 54 to 34. Every democrat
present voted for it. Seven republi
cans and progressives Senators
Crawford and Sterling of South Da
kota, Norris of Nebraska, Jones and
Poindexter of Washington, Perkins of
California, and Weeks of Massa
chusetts voted for the bill.
Previous to the passage of the bill,
Senator Hitchcock, the only democrat
who stood out against the admin
istration currency bill, offered the
substitute measure drafted by the re
publican members of the banking and
currency committee. The Hitchcock
republican substitute bill was de
feated by a vote of 43 to 41.
The final moments of the bill's con
sideration were enlivened by tho un
expected presentation of two amend
ments by Senator La Follette. His
proposal forbidding interlocking di
rectorates either with banks or in
surance companies Was rejected by a
vote of 30 to 51. Another amend
ment by Senator LaFollette, forbid
ding members of congress from be
coming members of the federal re
serve bank, directors of the regional
reserve banks or officers or directors
of member banks, was acccptel with
out a roll call.
Vice President Marshall named the
following conferees: Senators Owen
of Oklahoma, O'Gorman of New
York, Reed of Missouri, Pomerene of
Ohio, Shafroth of Colorado, and
Hollis of New Hampshire, democrats;
Senators Nelson of Minnesota, Bris
tow of Kansas and Crawford of South
Dakota, republicans.
The house conferees were: Mr.
Glass of Virginia, chairman of the
committee on banking and currency,
and Mr. Kerbly of Indiana, demo
crats, and. Mr. Hayes of California,
republican.
The house of representatives, by a
vote of 298 to 60, adoited the con
ference agreement shortly before 11
p. m., December 22. Only two demo
crats, Calloway of Texas, and With
erspoon of Mississippi, voted against
the adoption of tho conference agree
ment, while 49 republicans and pro
gressives voted for it.
It was not until the small hours of
the morning of December 22, hat the
democratic senators and representa
tives of the conference committee,
after an all-night session, harmonized
their differences and drafted the bill
in its final shape. The conference re
port was submitted to the house at 6
p. m., and the time taken up until its
final acceptance was devoted the
reading of the text of the conference
form of the bill and a debate which
lasted over two hours, and aftev the
agreement of the conferees was con
firmed it was hurried to the senate,
which had previously agreed to
merely receive it and then adjourned
until December 23.
The senate approved the confer
once report December 23 by a vote
of 43 to 25. The bill was then
signed by the vice president and
speaker of tho house and sent to the
president for his signature.
SIGNING 01? THE BILL BY PRESI
DENT WILSON-
The Associated Press dispatches
from Washington, dated December
23, contain the following story of
the signing of the bill: r
President Wilson signed the
Glass-Owen currency bill at 6:01
o'clock tonight in the presence of
members of his cabinet, the congres
sional committees on banking and
currency and democratic leaders in
congress generally. With a few
strokes of the pen the president con
verted into law the measure to be
known as the federal reserve act, re
organizing the nation's banking and
currency system, and furnishing, in
the words of the president, "the ma
chinery for free and elastic and un
controlled credits put at -the disposal
of the merchants and manufacturers
of this country for the first time in
fifty years."
An enthusiastic applause ran
through the ceremony, not only as
the president affixed his .signature,
but as he delivered an extempora
neous speech characterizing the de
sire of the administration -to take
common counsel with the business
men of the country and the latter's
efforts to meet the government's ad
vances as "the constitution of peace."
The event came at the close of a
day of rejoicing in the national
capital, for congress had recessed for
two weeks for the first time since it
convened last April. The democratic
leaders were jubilant because they
had completed two big pieces of legis
lation the tariff and the currency
reform, in nine months a perform
ance which they consider unprece
dented in the history of the country.
The scene at the signing of the'
measure was not unlike that which
attended the completion of the tariff
law. The conference report on the
bill which passed tho house last night
by an overwhelming vote was like
wise adopted by the senate this after
noon by a vote of 43 to 25, republi
cans voting again with the demo
crats. The engrossed bill, with the
signatures of the vice president and
the speaker of the house, was finally
brought to the white house shortly
before 5 o'clock.
By 6 o'clock, the hour set for the
ceremony, Speaker Clark, Represent
ative Underwood, Senator Owen and
Representative Glass, Secretaries Mc
Adoo, Garrison, Daniels, Lane and
Wilson and Pcjtmastor General
Burleson were grouped around the
president's desk, and in front of him
crowded members of congress and"
many government officials. -The
group also included Mrs. Wilson and
her daughters, Miss McAdoo and Mrs.'
Owen. There was an atmosphere of
joyousness rather than solemnity ap
parent. The president inquired if.
Senator James had come. The husky
form of the Kentucky senator ap
peared from behind the crowd and
some one remarked:
"A majority of tho sennin bn nrnv
- .. . " .tvr."
arrivea.
i, -
Four gold pens were used by the
president in writing the bill into law.
He wrote the words "23 December,
1913. annrovfirl." wit'i ,, .,.i 1
three pens in writing "Woodrow
Wilson," splitting the first name into
syllables. The last three pens he
presented to Senator Owen, Repre
sentative Glass and Secretary Mc
Adoo. co-authnvH nf ,
The president answered the curiosity
. u. ,owu as to uie disposition of
the fourth with the laughing remark:
xus is tne 4U per cent goll -reserve."
n.ter jt developed that Senator
Chilton Of West VlrHnin h,i .7
a gold pen of his own to be used in
writing the date of the law. Tu
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