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1519 A meeting of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve SYstem was held in Washington on Tuesday, November 26, 1940, at 2:30 P PRESENT: Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Eccles, Chairman Szymczak McKee Davis Draper Mr. Morrill, Secretary Mr. Bethea, Assistant Secretary Mr. Carpenter, Assistant Secretary Mr. Nelson, Assistant Secretary Mr. Clayton, Assistant to the Chairman Mr. Wyatt, General Counsel Mr. Goldenweiser, Director of the Division of Research and Statistics Mr. Vest, Assistant General Counsel Mr. Morrill stated that Mr. Ransom had been called to the Capitol this afternoon in connection with the bill relating to foreign balances with Federal Reserve Banks and for this reason could not be Present at this meeting. Reference was made to a memorandum addressed to the Board tinder date of November 20, 1940, by Mr. Vest, relating to the provi8i0n8 of the Ramspeck Civil Service bill (H.R. 960), which was passed by Congress on November 19 and signed by the President today, in so as they have or might have any relation to the Board or its em— P1°Yees. Reference was also made to the decision of the Board on 1441'ell 1, 1940, that no action should be taken by the Board with re— sPect to the bill at that time except to request Counsel to prepare 4 Memorandum which could be used by Chairman Eccles in any discussion he w-Lght have with the President should the bill be enacted into law. There ensued a discussion of the possible actions that the 1.520 11/26/40 -2- President might take under the new statute and of the effects of the respective actions on the Board and its staff. During the discussion Chairman Eccles stated that he planned to call on the President in the near future in connection with two or three other matters that had arisen and that he would like to have prepared a letter or memorandum which he could present to the President Which would set forth briefly the reasons why the Board should not be covered into the classified Civil Service and which would state that if the President agreed with the views of the Board, it would be apPreciated if he would sign and send to the Civil Service Commission Proposed letter which would be attached. There was a further discussion of the reasons to be included in the letter or memorandum at the conclusion of which the members of the Board present approved Chairman Eccles' suggestion and Mr. Vest was requested to prepare a draft of letter or memorandum to the President and a draft of letter to the Civil Service Commission which, after approval by Chairman Eccles, would be submitted to the President. At this point Messrs. Nelson, Wyatt, Goldenweiser, and Vest left the meeting and the action stated with respect to each of the matters hereinafter referred to was then taken by the Board: The minutes of the meeting of the Board of Governors of the Pecieral Reserve System held on November 23, 1940, were approved unaniMclusly. Letter dated November 25, 1940, to Mr. Rounds, Chairman of the r, netirement Committee, reading as follows: 1521 4/26/4 0 —3— "The procedure outlined in your Circular Letter No. 56 dated November 18, 1940, with respect to the special contributions to be made for employees during the Period of military service, meets with our approval. "For your information there is enclosed a copy of the procedure adopted by the Board for uniform treatment of employees called for military service, which conforms to the policy approved for the Federal Reserve Banks. "Pursuant to your request for the names of employees called into military service, you are advised that Thomas B. Handley, clerk in the Secretary's Office, entered military service on November 7, 1940.n Approved unanimously. Letter to the Honorable Guy T. Helvering, Commissioner of Internal Revenue, reading as follows: "This refers to your letter (IT:Rec:IW:P:MSG) of October 9, 1940, relating to the credit claimed under section 26(d) of the Revenue Act of 1938 by Northwest Bancorporation, Minneapolis, Minnesota, in its income tax return for 1938. "Upon the basis of the information contained in such tax return and the related papers, inspected at your Bureau by representatives of the Board, and the information otherwise available to the Board, the Board certifies that during the calendar year 1938 Northwest Bancorporation devoted earnings or profits in the amount of 145,670 to the acquisition of readily marketable assets other than bank stock in compliance with section 5144 of the Revised Statutes." Approved unanimously. Letter to Mr. Sproul, First Vice President of the Federal Re8erve Bank of New York reading as follows: "Reference is made to your letter of November 20, 1940, with regard to the installation of additional equipment in connection with the program to air condition your Bank building. 1522 11/26/40 -4- "In view of the circumstances outlined in your letter the Board will interpose no objection to the expenditure of approximately *1,272,500 to air condition your Bank building, which amount is :'200,000 in excess of the amount approved by the Board on August 27, 1940." Approved unanimously. Thereupon the meeting adjourned. Secretary. APProved: , z Chairman.
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