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A meeting of the executive committee of the Federal Open Market
Committee was held in the offices of the Board of Governors of the Fed
eral Reserve System on Friday, March 1, 1946, at 3:30 p.m.
PRESENT:

Mr.
Mr.
Mr.
Mr.
Mr.

Eccles, Chairman
Sproul, Vice Chairman
Draper
Evans
Leach
Mr. Morrill, Secretary
Mr. Carpenter, Assistant Secretary
Mr. Rouse, Manager of the System
Open Market Account
Mr. Connell, General Assistant,
Office of the Secretary
Messrs. Piser and Kennedy, Chief and
Assistant Chief, respectively, of
the Government Securities Section,
Division of Research and Statistics
of the Board of Governors.

Upon motion duly made and seconded, and
by unanimous vote, Mr. Sproul was re-elected
Vice Chairman of the executive committee to
serve until the election of his successor at
the first
meeting of the executive committee
after February 28, 1947.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, and
by unanimous vote, the executive committee
directed the Federal Reserve Bank of New York,
until otherwise directed by the executive com
mittee,
(1) To make such purchases,sales, or exchanges (includ
ing replacement of maturing securities and allowing maturities
to run off without replacement) for the System account, either
in the open market or directly from, to, or with the Treasury,
as may be necessary in the practical administration of the
account, or for the purpose of maintaining about the present
general level of prices and yields of Government securities, or
of maintaining an adequate supply of funds in the market; pro
vided (a) that the total amount of securities in the account at
the close of this date shall not be increased or decreased by

3/1/46
more than $500,000,000 [exclusive of bills purchased outright
in the market on a discount basis at the rate of 3/8 per cent
per annum and bills redeemed at maturity, and special short
term certificates of indebtedness purchased for the temporary
accommodation of the Treasury pursuant to paragraph (2) of
this direction], and (b) that this paragraph shall not limit
the amount of Treasury bills purchased pursuant to the direc
tion of the Federal Open Market Committee issued under date
of March 1, 1945, or the redemption of such bills;
(2) To purchase direct from the Treasury for the System
open market account such amounts of special short-term certif
icates of indebtedness as may be necessary from time to time
for the temporary accommodation of the Treasury; provided that
the total amount of such certificates held in the account at
any one time shall not exceed $750,000,000; and
(3) Upon approval by a majority of the members of the ex
ecutive committee, which may be obtained by telephone, tele
graph, or mail, to make such other purchases, sales or ex
changes for the account as may be found to be desirable within
the limits of the authority granted to the executive committee
by the Federal Open Market Committee.
In taking this action, it was under
stood that the limitations contained in the
direction included commitments for purchases
or sales of securities for the System account.

Thereupon the meeting adjourned.

Secretary.