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t i'linutes of actions of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on Friday, February 3, 1950. Bcd. Roo-m The Board met in the at 10:40 a-1" PRESENT: Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. McCabe, Chairman Eccles Szymczak Draper Vardaman Carpenter, Secretary Sherman, Assistant Secretary Kenyon, Assistant Secretary Norrill, Special Adviser Thurston, Assistant to the Board Riefler, Assistant to the Chairman Thomas, Economic Adviser to the Board Leonard, Director, Division of Bank Operations Vest, General Counsel Nelson, Director, Division of Personnel Administration Mr. Young, Director, Division of Research and Statistics Mr. Baumann, Assistant General Counsel Mr. Wood, Economist, Division of Research and Statistics Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Of , were presented telegrams to the Federal Reserve Banks tiel,r There k, Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis, and San Francisco stating " tiTht thf, - oPrd approves the establishment without change by the Fed— l Baproves Re 2srve Bank of SFn Francisco on Januc_ry 31, by the Federal Re— ei ' ve Bank of St. Louis on February 1, and by the Federal Reserve Of le the York, Philadelphia, and Chicago on February 2, 1950, of rates of discount and purchase in their existing schedules. Approved. unanimously. Reference was made to a draft of letter to Honorable Brent t-,-t IL 7 '1/3/50 -2- 4ence, Chairmn of the House Banking and Currency Comittee, with res Peet to H. R. 6618, cited as the "Cooperative Housing Ict", prePared PUrsuant to the discussion at the meeting on January 20, 1950. It /, stated that in a letter dated December ;:2, 1949, the Board su.bmit+ 'ed substantially the same comments on a similar bill, S. 2246, in resPonse to a request from the Bureau of the Budget, that the 131.1re, of the Budget subsequently advised the Senate Banking and fle,Y s ubcommittee that the bill was in accord with the program Of th. ,resident, and that the matter was naw receiving the considertiQa of the Senate Banking and Currency Comilittee but that it had zlot, yet s ubmitted a report. It was also stated that hearings on the bill were now in progress before the House Banking and Currency Cornand that if the Bord's views were to be submitted to the iiouse they should be sent before the hearings closed. Chairman NcCabe st,-2 -ted, in this connection, that Senator Robertson h&d indicated informally to him that he would like to have niMe veilable to the Senate Banking and Currency Committee the detiled views expressed by various Government agencies on the measure, b-ut that hp dii not know whether such views would be given by the Ilir " 11 0C the Budget. Following a cornent by Chairman McCabe that, in the circumstances, g e tio 'led the advisability of sending the proposed letter to Chair, Mr. Eccles stated that the Board should not submit its 136 /13/.50 -?c°1'-ients to Chairman Spence unless there was a recuest for them. iqcPriev„ :r, , 0.e Pelt that the natter was of general substantial imP01:tr,nec:, to the Board because of its relation to the credit situettori, and th,-", it would be highly desirable for the Board's views t0 be made part of the record if Chairman Spence or other members of tie rakin,; end Currency Committee indicated an interest in having te Chairman McCabe suggested that he call Chairman Spence and Eseertt • -1=1 whether he would be interested in having the Board submit Thereupon, upon -aotion by Mr. Vardaman, the matter vas referred to Chairman McCabe with the rn understanding that he would call Chairmen Spence and discuss the matter with him in the light of the discussion at this meeting. Mr. Wood Withdrew from the meeting at this time. iI !, Vardeman stated that in connection with consideration giv- -eeent17 to the Federal Reserve Bank budets, he had noted substane3':Penditures by several of the Banks for various types of publi0 " i 112, i ncluding employees' house organs, reports of Federal Reserve keetings, and special studies; and that he had also been disturbed by , thelei'L:e volume of materiel printed or otherwise reproduced by the the tor dis tribution. In that connection he expressed the view that edel ' El Reserve Bulletin should be issued ouarterly rather than (3,1thi, a2 a means of reducing its cost as well as increasing its use- 137 2/3/50 —4— ' He stated that he was approaching the matter from the standPoint of costs and he suggested that, as a means of studring the possible dc, . -slrability of either reducing these costs or ,,kcin a ceiling "em, a menber of the Boar' be appointed to look into the matter End report to the Board. Mr. Szymczak sugL7,ester3 that inasmuch as one of the publications hEd do with oersonnel, the mctter be referred to the Personnel Com- Following a discussion, it was agreed unanimously that the Personnel Committee should look into the questions raised by Mr. Vardaman and make a recommendation to the Board. At this pointall of the members of the staff, with the exeePtio 11 of Mr. Carpenter, withdrew from the meeting. mr. Vardaman reported informally on his discussions vhile in Louts recently with respect to the selecUion of a Class C Director QS ' . the , -eueral Reserve Bank of St. Louis the or tee unexpired portion of ending December 31, 1951. He also reported a discussion he had with Mr. Dearmont and Presi- 6`erit is in connection with the statement made to Mr. Dearmont while 41? aa in W ashington attending the recent conference o_1' the Chairmen and : 141 et°1 ' s of the Federal Reserve Banks, that Yr. Hitt should be informed t the FedPral Reserve Bank would pay his salary until the expiration 138 -5"is term on February 28, 1951, but that his services would not be l'equir',.(3 after March 31, 1950. Mr. Vardaman referred to the earlir dise4ssions in which it was contemplated that an attempt would be made to find another position for Mr. Hitt so that his services to the bank e°111d be t, rminated at the end of 1949. He stated that that program IL1(111.°t worked out, that Mr. Hitt did not have another position to go 'Gnd that eel:II-vs Davis felt very strongly that to terminate Nr. Hitt's service at this time would be very detrimental to Mr. Hitt and 14°1114 l'eeet F dvPrsely on the Federal Reserve Bank and the Board of Governors. Vardaman added that he was not now prepared to urge the to insist on lir. Hitt's leaving the bank by April 1, 1950. The matter was discussed and at Mr. Szymczak's suggestion was referred to the Personnel Committee for consideration and recommendation, to the Board. In the course of a discussion as to how matters of this kind should be handled and whether they should be brought before the Board for consideration before they were reported to the Personnel Committee so that the committee could consider them and make a recommendation to the Board as to the action to be taken, Mr. Vardaman moved that the Personnel Committee be abolished and that all personnel matters be brought before the Board. The other members of the Board expressed the view that the Per- ' l littee afforded an expeditious procedure for the handling of .4 410 t),7 2/3/50 -6Pel'ecrinel matters. Therefore, they were not willing to approve Mr. VEII‘daillazt s motion. It was the consensus that, while any member of the Board having a question with respect to personnel was free to take the nlatter up be directly with the Board, ordinarily such matters should pl aced in the hands of the Personnel Committee for recommendation. Mr. Vardaman then referred to the discussion at the meeting on 17 10, 1950, when it was agreed that consideration would be given 133' tha Board at the first meeting in June of lib be presented to the Board in connection Pr 'esidents and First Vice Presidents at some Ballits for terms beginning March 1, 1951. He this year to problems which with the appointment of of the Federal Reserve said that it would be his 13'€estion that the Board take these matters up at the earliest possible 4te 80 that advice of the Board's views could be transmitted to the krk, affected as promptly as possible. He made the further statement that /thile Mr. Neely, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, 1,16.8 . 14Weshington recently attending the meeting of Chairmen and Direc- of the Federal Reserve Banks, he had, during one of the sessions, tjated an informal conversation with him (Mr. Vardaman) as to the aecaaeity of the solution of the personnel situation at Atlanta. After discussion, upon motion by Mr. Vardaman, the matter was referred to the Personnel Committee, with the understanding that the Committee would review the problems involved and bring the entire mat- 111 V3/50 -7ter to the Board at the earliest practicable date and in any event not later than May 2, 1950, with its recommendations as to the action to be taken or, in any particular case in which the Committee wes not prepared to make a recommendation, with a statement of the problem confronting the Board. The action stated with respect to each of the matter,,, her-?inre erred to was taken by the Board: 'unutes of actions taken by the Board of Governors of the Fed- R eserw- System on February 2, 1950, were approved unanimously. Memorandum the D dated February 2, 1950, from Mr. Bethea, Director ion of Administrative Service, recommending that the re- '711.ation of Mrs. Helen A. Bennett, a clerk in that Division, be acceptt° be effective, in accordance with her request, at the close of Pebru,ry 1, 1950. Approved unanimously. M emorandum dated February 3, 1950, from the Division of Per' Adm corleel,ried,inistration and individual memorand2 from the division heads fol towi recommending increases in the basic annual a lanes of the employees, effective February 5, 1950, in accorl!_,nce with the aPproved b:r the Board on October 13, 1949, to reward employees th and faithful service by .;rantinL: longevity increases beyond scheduled rates of their rades: 2/3/50 -8- Date of pker,10 Name THE SaRETARY 11/1649 Mactp. Coe ICSEARCH 1 1 /50 AND STYPISTICS Hargaret J. Ellis Helene F. Baur Louis G. Picks Helen Vincent D IVISION 4/25 49 Sara A. Dyer A. M. Stone kkilISTRATIVE ) S'RVICES 49 J. E..t Lally Gordon P. Johnson 11".„, Lynwood Trueheart 13,0T,, Sidney Washington "5/49 Jewell B. Smith Title Salary Increase From To Senior Index Clerk *4,575 $L,700 Executive Assistant Clerk Secretary Clerk 5,750 3,350 3,850 3,350 6,000 3,975 4,225 3,975 Clerk-Stenographer Clerk-Stenographer 3,850 3,850 4,225 4,225 Deputy Disbursing Officer Operator (Mimeograph) Operator (:imeogranh) Operator (Dup. Dev.) 4,950 2,680 2,680 2,930 5,075 2,760 2,920 3,010 Secretary 4,200 4,35 Approved unanimously. Lette ' , to Mr. Wayne, Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank Or Richniond, readin7 as follows: of j "14 accordance with the request contained in your letter uarY 31, 1950, the Board approves the designation of the Re followlng as special assistant examiners for the Federal erve Bank of Richmond: Earl B. Horner, Jr. R. W. Shearer Reece W. Thomas E. Tyler Young PPropriate notations will be made in our records of the iles"A reported as deletions." Approved unanimously. Letter to Mr. Young, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of readlng , as follows: "This will acknowledge receipt of Chairman Lunding's 142 2/3/50 -9"telegram dated January 26, 1950, and your letter of Jan27, 1950, advisin of the action taken by the Board uirectors relative to the appointment of Mr. Ernest C. nIptrris as First Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank i',,Chioago for the unexpired portion of the term ending ! cl urua'rY 28, 1951, and the appointment of Mr. Harlan J. la11Q-f0nt as Vice President assigned to the Detroit Branch, °th aPpointments effective February 1, 1950. In accordance with this action, the Board of GoveT°rs ap-croves the payment of salaries for the period 1, 1950, through March 31, 1950, to Messrs. Harris ;,1111 . 1aalfont in their new positions at the rates of e25,000 '.1-4,000 per annum, respectively." r Approved unanimously. Letter to Mr. Wiltse, Vice President of the Federal Reserve 13Enk of 14e1-7 Yor readinp- as follows: sul_ "Reference is made to your letter of January 20, 1950, : co itting the reouest of 'Manufacturers and Traders Trust Buffalo, New York, for the approval of the estab. -'"ment of a branch in the village of Woodlawn, New York. 'In view of your recommendation the Board of Governors ves th establishment and operation of a branch in the .'ylcorporated village of Woodlawn, Town of Hamburg, New Nev44 bY the hnhufacturers and Traders Trust Company, Buffalo, .rks provided (a) the branch is established within six tenths of the date of this letter and (b) that formal approval obtained from the appropriate State authorities; and with the that Counsel for the Reserve Bank will tel,le14 an satisfy himself as to the legality of all steps en to estblish the branch." Approved unanimously. Letter to Mr. EarhPrt, President of the Federal Reserve Bank Francisco, reading as follows: "As requested in your letter of January 17, 1950, the 143 2/3/5o -10- 0-no ard of Governors authorizes the preparation of preliminary 1. 3ans for the alterations and improvements to the San Franhead office banking quarters approved by your Direcand described in your letter, with the understanding, course, that upon their completion the preliminary plans ) . 18 vela as estimates of cost of the various projects will e submitted to the Board for its consideration." _ars Approved unanimously. Letter to the Honorable Frank Pace, Jr., Director of the Bureau °f the Budt, reading as follows: to ,,7n reply to your letter of January 23, 1950, addressed , r2Talrman McCabe reauesting comments on a draft bill 'To ' tapuYlde for the furnishing of uniforms to civilian emnloyees the United States Government' and certain information of uniforms in so far as it applies to civilian employees thec)ur organization, we are glad to comment and to answer qrstions asked in your letter in the order stated. 1. Eighty-two employees are reauired to wear uniforms in the performance of their official duties. There is no statute which reauires any employees of the Board to wear uniforms but the employees who wear uniforms do so pursuant to administrative action of the Board of Governors. Two of the above furnish their own uniforms. (a) Current cost of initial supply of presently prescribed uniforms ;3149.66; (b) Annual replacement and new uniform costs U494.86; (c) Annual cost of cleaning, repair, and alteration of such uniforms 1413.69; (d) Approximate unit costs for each complete type of uniform 1. Guard S48.79 2. Chauffeur ,,48.79 3. Charwoman ,3.25 4. Gardener a. Summer b. Winter !Itt15.;-14- 144 2/3/5o -11- 5. Mechanic 3.38 6. Laborer ,t534 7. Elevator Operator *22.50 As stated above, there is no statute requiring employees of the Board to wear uniforms in the performance of their official duties. As you are aware, the Board's funds are not appropriated by Conress, but are derived through semiannual assessments made by the Board of Governors on the twelve Federal Reserve Banks and are administered under the provisions of Section 10 of the Federal Reserve Act as amended. Accordingly, no administrative problems are anticipated as a consequence to the enactment of this proposal." Approved unanimously. Letter o ir. avis, Chailman of the Conference of Presidents, ° the P ' e-eral heserve Bank of St. Louis, reading as follows: or 47he Board would like to sugest the following items e agenda of the forthcoming Conference of Presidents: 1. As a matter of System policy, should wrapped coin service be provided free of charge by all Federal Reserve Banks to their member banks which are not in position to do the work themselves? This question is raised in view of the fact that most of the Reserve Banks are now providing wrapped coin service to some extent. Except for one Reserve Bank that is rendering the service on a limited scale to small country banks without charge, it is understood that other Reserve Banks are in general endeavoring to obtain reimburseinent for personnel and supply costs incident to the operation. . . Additional steps which might be taken further to improve the check co11,7ction serv- 145 2/3/50 "ice afforded by the Federal Reserve Banks, with particuiPr reference to expediting collection and to reducing the time of deferment. During the past few years, there have been several discussions of this general subject. It is suggested that, in the light of developments within the past year or two, further consideration be given at this time to additional steps towards this end." Approved unanimously. Letter to the William A. Jump M.emorial Com.mittee, Room 103, "stration Building, United States Department of .i4riculture, - 41g as ' follows: ad,, "This will acknowledge letter of January 61 19501 vi V:essed to Chairman McCabe by Mr. Daniel W. Bell, int:'Ing the Board' of Governors of the Federal Reserve Sysp21111 to select a candidate from our st-ff for consideration "ur the William A. Jump Hemorial Award. oport"Char staff in Washington is a small one and a large 101.1, Ion thereof is engaged in specialized professional raenZs Tbking into consideration your eligibility requireas to age, type of work performed, et t tera, we rei,,s, at7:!t, thLt we are unable to offer for y7 r onsideration "Its time a candidate for this Aw- d." Approved unàr. Eigti A VA Secretary. Chairimn.
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