The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.
BOARD OF GOVERNORS DF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM Office Correspondence Tn Messrs, Eccles and Szymczak Da te_^ecember 2,1944 Subject:. Frnm Mr. Carpenter Attached is an excerpt from the minutes of the meeting of the Board held yesterday with respect to the further action to be taken in connection with the Bretton Woods agreements. It will be noted that the matter was referred to you (Messrs. Eccles and Szymczak) with power to act with the understanding that, followiijg the discussions with the State and Treasury Departments, you would submit a recommendation to the Board as to the statement to be made by the Board and as to its publication. Excerpt from the minutes of the meeting of the Board of Governors held on December 1« 1944 I1 he re were then distributed copies of a memorandum submitted by Messrs. Eccles and Szymczak in accordance with the action taken at the meeting of the Board on November 21, 1944* and reading as follows: (The memorandum from Messrs. Eccles and Szymczak appeared at this point.) Copies of a draft of a public statement of the kind contemplated in the first paragraph of the memorandum were also distributed and the memorandum and statement were read. In the ensuing discussion of the proposed statement Chairman Eccles suggested that the statement might create the impression that the Board was of the opinion that the International Stabilization Fund and the Bank for Reconstruction and Development would be more effective and would work more smoothly in solving the problems with wnich it had to deal and was a more ideal mechanism than might actually turn out to be the case and that he would like to see the statement revised to cover that point and to make it clear that, while the Fund and the Bank would have shortcomings and there were other controlling factors in the situation, the Bretton Woods proposals were the best solutions available for a difficult problem. After considering how Chairman Eccles1 suggestion could be met, the discussion turrBd to the steps to be taken in connection with the memorandum and proposed statement, and Chairman Eccles expressed the opinion that it was important that the matters referred to in the memorandum "which would affect enabling legislation be placed before, and discussed with, representatives of the Treasury and State Departments at the earliest possible moment 12/1/44 -2- so that they could be considered before the legislation was crystalized. There was also a discussion of whether the proposed statement should be released before the conferences with the Treasury and State Departments, and Chairman Eccles suggested that the form of the public statement and the decision of the Board with respect to its release might be affected by the outcome of the discussion with respect to the matters to be covered in the enabliqg legislation, and, -therefore, he would prefer to send the proposed statement to the Treasury and State Departments as a tentative one that was under consideration by the Board, During the course of the discussion, Mr. Evans moved that the whole matter be referred to Messrs. Eccles and Szymczak with power to act along the lines suggested by the Chairman. Thereupon, Chairman Eccles said that what he would like to do wo laid be to prepare letters to the Secretaries of the Treasury and State Departments in which the questions with respect to the enabling legislation would be presented and to which the proposed public statement in a form agreed upon would be attached as a tentative statement that was being given consideration by the Board for publication in the Feaeral Reserve Bulletin or for release to the press as the position of the Board, and that when the letters were signed he would send copies to Under Secretary of the Treasury Bell and Assistant Secretary of State Atchison, and would call them on the telephone and advise them that the letters were being* placed in the mails. He also said that copies of the letters to the State and Treasury Departments and the proposed statements could be handed to the Presidents of the 12/1/44 -3- Federal Reserve Banks when they arrived for their conference in Washington on December 8 and the matter could be discussed with than while they were here. Mr* Szymczak suggested that under that arrangement the proposed public statement would not be released until after a decision had been reached on the questions with respect to the enabling legislation that were of interest to the Board, At the conclusion of the discussion, Mr. Evans1 motion was put by the chair and carried, with the understanding that following the discussion with the State and Treasury Departments Messrs. £ccles and Szymczak would submit a recommendation to the Board as to the statement to be made and as to its publication. On this action Mr. McKee asked to be recorded as "not voting".
@FedFRASER