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At a regular. meeting of the ?ederal Reserve Board
held in the office of the Board on Friday, February 2, at
11 a. m.,
P4'SENT:
Harding, presiding,

Er. Delano,,

Mr. Hamlin,

Yr. 7;illiams,

Mr. Miller,

Mr. Willis, Secretary.

Mr. Warburg,
The minutes of the meeting of the Board of ?ebruary
were read and, on motion, approved.
L report preparej by Mr. 7Iarburg Y:ith reference to
a form of trade alceptance intended for transmission to Yr.
W. D. Isham, of the Harley-Davidson Motor jompany, was read
to the Board, and, on motion, ordered transmitted.

It was

also ordered that copies of the correspondence be sent to
the 7ederal

eserve Banks affected.

The secretary of the Board presented the Bond of :Zr.
P.

21eming, Deputy Federal Reserve agent, Kansas City,

duly executed and approved by Counsel.
and ordered passed to file.

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The bond was noted




The application of the Commonwealth Trust Company of Boston for membership in the Federal Aeserve
System, duly recommended by the Committee on Member
and State Banks, was presented to the Board, and on
motion approved.
The aovernor of the Board read a draft of a letter prepared for transmission to the Secretary of the
Treasury with resfect to the proposed arrangement as
to the holding of gold by the State Bank of Aussia on
behalf of Federal deserve Banks, indicating that in the
opinion or the Board such action would not be wise at the
present time.

The letter was approved in substance and

ordered transmitted.
The special order of the day, the general status
and policy of the Board with respect to the ?ederal aeserve Bulletin, coming up for discussion, 7.1r. Hamlin
moved that the general scope of the Bulletin for the
future be that of a strictly official routine publication, after an alternative plan which had been set forth
in a report prepared by the Secretary of the Board under
Instructions.

General discussion ensued, and Yr. Hamlin

withdrew his -,otion, whereupon Mr. kirburg roved that it




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is the sense of the Board that the Bulletin consist
of a general section devoted to a record of facts and
statistics scientifically presented, such matters of
opinion and the like as may be provided for to I€ rablished as a second section of the 3alletin, if such
section should later be sanctioned.

After discussion,

Mr. 4arburg's motion being put to a vote, prevailed.
Various propositions with reference to the Federal Reserve Bulletin were then by unanimous consent
pat to an informal vote, with the result that the following instructions with reference to the future management of the Bulletin were adopted and ordered entered:
1.

That the present section of the Bulletin en-

titled "Review of the Month," shall be continued upon
substantially the same lines as those adopted in the
February, 1917, issue.
2.

That the section entitled "Business :Jondi-

tions," shall be retained upon substantially the present
lines, with such improvements as the editor of the Bulletin
can introduce into it.




3.

That the present statistical tables furnished

in the 3alletin instead of being published upon a quarterly and monthly basis, as at present, shall be published upon a semi-annual and quarterly basis.
4.

That the editor of the Bulletin shall not be

precluded from preparing descriptive articles embodying
the substance of sleeches made by members of the Board
in which the salient points shall be iloted verbatim,
with a descriptive summary of the remainder of the addresses.
5.

That reports prepared by members nt' the

Federal Reserve System may be published in the Federal
Reserve 2alletin, such publication in each instance to
receive appropriate sanction.

Reports on the clearing

situation in New England and the management of the 1emphis Agency to be obtained from governor .iiken and Federal Reserve Agent Martin respectively were so sanctioned
as a beginning.
It was further informally voted that the following
propositions be laid down for the management or control of
the Bulletin:




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1.

That the Bulletin Jommittee shall continue

in sole charge of the Bulletin.
2.

That the editor of the r,ulletin shall be

at lib(rty to consult with any member of the Board especially interested in a particular subject to be treated
in the 13alletin, submitting to him such data as may relate to such subject and providing him with proofs of the
Bulletin.
Upon application of the Secretary of the Board,
approval was granted for his delivering a course of lectures at Columbia Tniversity on Saturdays during the next
few weeks, such absences to be charged against his annual
leave.
:r. Delano presented to the Board a statement concerning the situation at the Byromville National Bank,
Byromville, ga., ._;nd 2rovernor 'larding read a letter he had
prepared, addressed to Federal

eserve Lgent .ellborn,

with reference to the policy to be adopted toward the
Byromville institution,

gesting that the Federal deserve

Agent at Atlanta enforce the use of the penalty for depleted reserves in order to maintain satisfactory conditions,

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and exercise when necessary his power to examine member
banks.
A letter from the Pompeian Oil 'Company with reference to the present state of exchange was referred to
the Executive Committee.
On motion the Board adjourned to meet on Yonday,
?ebruary 5, at 11 o'clock, a. m.