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I pf r 1 ILC n^ru LV ^ .J^ jjy « L L" " x-1933 »i if OPENING REMARKS OF GOVERNOR HORDING AT THE CONFERENCE ATtt THE, FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD OF THE FEDERAL ADVISORY COUNCIL AND THE W»SS "A" DIRECTORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS, TUESDAY, W Y 18, 1920. Gentlemen, cr * c the Board desires me to welcome you to Washington ana to >s its appreciation of your consideration in leaving your business ana °ming Lere to this conference, We have boon very judiciously advised from time to time by the Federal •Ms M v isory Council, which body Las always held its four statutory meetings V and-at times its executive committee has come on by request for a S-h C l be a l meeting; but the present situation is such that we felt it would helpful if we could have with us not only the Advisory Council but also the Class"A"Directors of the Federal Reserve Banks. We should have liked to , ^ave nad ell of the Directors, but we could not ask them all to come to & as ^in b con at one time, for it is necessary that a quorum of directors be left . . at nome to attend to the business of the Federal Bcserve Banks* The Class"A"Directors are the banner members of the Boards of Directors 0f federal Reserve Banks. re They have a dual relationship. They are not only ctors and, as a rule, very influential directors of Feaeral Reserve SQks, but they are officials of member banks ana thus they see both sides th th le ere picture. So it seeras to be peculiarly appropriate, at a time when is a banking situation to .discuss, If V to have bankers nere to discuss it. tcj a ^ ^ B I ^ ); B O A BO,. X-1933 - 2 ^s you are busy men it will be our purpose to detain you for as short time as possible, We w i U and if it is agreeable to the members of the Conference, try to finish our discussion by half past 1 or 2 o'clock so that y ° u can then be free to take afternoon trains home, if you wish, or to devot* y ° U r time, if you stay in Washington, to such othe;:r engagements as you may l ave. Of course, we all realize that the credit position is extended and I very considerably extended. turberi over the situation* There is no occasion, though, to be unduly dis- We want to look at the facts as they are and not cieceiv ourselves in any particular. ft Having diagnosed the case, determine what is the proper policy to pursue, "is then we We have had an analy- out rcade of the general banking credit expansion in this country, and withering into details I am going to save time by stating, the result. After allowing for the normal credit expansion in a growing country, ind that since the 30th of June, 1914, thi lti s country has amounted to about eleven billion aollars. time I the expansion of bank credit At the same the expansion in the volume of currency in circulation, deducting from starting point the currency held in the Treasury, and deducting from our the pr esent figures the amount held in the Treasury and in the Federal Ser>Ve Bonks, has? been about one b i l l i o n , nine hundred million aollars. we remember that during the last three years the Government has floated ^enty six b i l l i o n dollars of securities to take care of its own war reQmj r w emjnts, and to enable it to make advances to governments associated ith 11 us in the war, e or disturbing, when looked at purely from the standpoint of war necessity; this expansion of bank credit does not seem to be exces- the situation that we want to discuss particularly today, and vvhich seems X-1933 - 3to ^ aisquieting, is the expansion that has taken place in the last twelve or f J-ourteen months. tho From the 1st of April, 1919, to the 1st of .April, 1920, expansion of bank credit was about 25 per cent. This has been in spite ^ v ^ r y large reduction of the amount of Government obligations out- of 1 v g t ajif ai ng. The reduction in Government obligations has all been absorbed commercial credits, with the net result of expansion of bank credits of about oc O per cent. During the same time there has be .n an advance in com- ° a i t y prices of about 2 5 per cent. in production of essential This has be^n accompanied by a decrease articles. -Assuming for the year 1Q1& an index number of 100 in each of ten $ r incipal articles of everyday use ana necessity—not necessarily production SUres, but distribution and consumption figures, such commodities as grain •]. Q > live stock, wool, copper, cotton, petroleum, pig iron, steel bars— Putting all them at 100 for the year 191b we g. t an index number for the y&ar 1 3 o n thc aVorage of the ten commodities, of 6 9 , 0 7 . While these ^ u r e s cannot be accepted as indicating a positive decline in production, th t do indicate a decided trend in that direction, a certain trend to- w ard ^ reduction in the distribution of those products, so to all intents purposes we may assume that there was a decline in essential production ri ex a n g the year v.-. 1919 of about 10 per cent. At the same time credit has Panded 25 per cent. It is this tendency of production to decline, particularly in some feSs ential e lines, which constitutes a very unsatisfactory element in the sent outlook* *-rices ana wages, to It is evident that the country cannot continue to advance to curtail production, to expand credits ana to attempt enrich itself by non-productive and uneconomic operations without foster- X-1933 . 4ln S discontent and radicalism, and that such e. course, i f persisted in, win eventually b r i n g on a r e a l c r i s i s , There is a word-wide lack of c a p i t a l , Sij and with c a l l s upon the in- tment market which cannot be met there is an unprecedented demand f o r kank credits* The fact must be recognized that however desirable on ^ e r a l p r i n c i p l e s continued expansion of trade and industry may b e , aev such elopments must accommodate themselves to the actual supply of c a p i t a l * * credit available. O f f i c i a l bank rates now in force in the ^an Week a n y a time leading countries are higher £ u r i n g the present century, t the beginning of August I91U, except during the war panic Only within the last few weeks the • 0ff i c i a l rate in I t a l y has been raised from 5 to 5 - 1 / ^ t h e Bank of France Fa 1 from 5-1/2 to 6J and the Bank of England rate from 6 to 7 per c e n t . Every e f f o r t should be made to stimulate necessary production, pc ° i a l l y of food products, SL °tions have been delayed because of adverse weather c o n d i t i o n s , and to avoid waste. es- Planting operations i n many and should tllere an inadequate yield of crops this year the n e c e s s i t y for conservation and conservatism w i l l be accentuated. War waste and war financing . i n e v i t a b l y in diminished supplies cre goods ,ana increased volume of <iits. Now I . a s s u m e , tllat c of the trouble with the general s i t u a t i o n °Untry, tlle looking at the matter from the standpoint of the economist is the throughout the world, and i n this d i s r u p t i o n of the proper proportion or relationship between v o l u ^ , of crodit and the voluue of goods. °ccurs, Whenever that phenomenon there are two remedies which suggest themselves: f i r s t a reduction the volune of c r e d i t , c r e d i t contraction. That is a d r a s t i c X-3-933 -5- remedy, it is unpleasant medicine, but it may be necessary at times to take medicine of that kind. The other and better method is to restore the proper equilibrium by building up production, other words, letting the country catch up with i t s e l f . can approximate this result in two ways, % in We can restrict credit and expand production, letting the expansion of production proceed at a greater rate than the restriction of credit, and we are then working along in the rinht direction^ This is our essential Problem today, the formulation of some constructive policy to be adopted by the Federal Reserve Banks which will build up essential .Production and at the same time preserve the solvency of other concerns which may not be essential per se, but which are highly essential as part of the general situation, because there is no chain which is stronger than i t s weakest link, Now, there is undoubtedly, however, a spirit of extravagance ^ this country which must be curbed. There are some indications that the people are waking up to what the consequences will be this wild orgy of extravagance and waste should be indefinitely. rnade for the It may be that some real personal .general economic good* if continued sacrifices must be But it is very clear that we find it impossible under the present circumstances to increase t} ie volume of production of the most essential a r t i c l e s , ^ly the thing for us to do is to reduce consumption of those a r t i c l e s . Now, we might as well look at the situation as it i s . Prudent man never lives for the day alone. A He always looks to X-1933. - 6 - the morrow and the months to ccme. ^hat is the situation in regard to the output of the mines and of the farms in particular? has "been done to get T0 ha,t normal output and production at the present time and to provide proper means of distribution of the output in order that there may "be no acute shortage necessities of l i f e next Winter? in the fundamental In this connection, I might call attention to one circumstance which has caused a good deal of uneasiness. It may not prove as "bad upon analysis as it appears at f i r s t "blush, "but I refer to the lack of liquidation which we have experienced during the early months of the present year. all know that nornally, after the f a l l trade is over and the crops have been harvested and distributed, there is a marked easing 0 f rroney acconpanied by the liquidation of debts. This occurs Usually in January and February and up to the middle of March of each year- Liquidation of this kind is entirely natural and is necessary i n order that the banks may strengthen their resources in order to meet the ctersands which will be made upon -7them ia+. e r X-1333 on in the year as the crops are in the process of making or harvesting. yea we have had no such liquidation. l «y» and while there has "been some reduction up to the last week or so in °ans tha l o u r e d by Government obligations, * tho se ° n ^ e Da ^ey Commercial loans have expanded loans have increased. it is noticeable in the last few days It would appear that this means an anticipation part of the American people for the.ir requirements for baric credit which inquire al l y make later on in the year. "fe may well that as we have had u this ^ and at a time when we ousht to have had liquidation, S0ing to h 06 ha e t" hi ® ! what is our situation • ' m the later months, when we are going to have the demands which we been accustomed to having? Now, I hope that the answer to this is — and i f * i 3 correct it is the reassuring feature of the situation — that the HaicU5 which have been made in the past few months, when we should have had 01-1 f h I ave e be<e n •Uffjl c m to the fact that essential h e l d back by lack of transportation facilities* °ted f« to , are due, at least in part, commodities Then our -or obi em is opening up the transportation f a c i l i t i e s i n order that these roods may arket. This done, we will get some liquidation which ought to be *ent to offset the demands which will be made uoon the banks for essential i ^ P o s e s, , » later on in the year. But have figures to show that the extravagant spirit has not yet been There are some indications that the peak has been reached and that are coming to a more r e a l i z i n g sense of the situation and that they will ,a recrudescence UUrSu /sounder and a saner course. time spirit, •"art of of our old a of doing something that is worth while, ** and solid business. the There oua;ht to be and we should get down There should be a general spirit of cooperation on the Federal Reserve Banks, the member banks, the non-member banks and ) the w0r]f ce out a policy which w i l l result i n greater production, less ssary consumption and greater economy; all unnecessary borrowings for the Se of pleasure and luxury should be restricted as far as possible and the ^dati on of long-standing, non-essential loans should proceed* x-19 33 H/e e Should be careful, however, not to overdo this matter of liquidation, s to e too drastic a policy of deflation, which mi ?ht result in crowding the wall and throwing into bankruptcy legitimate enterprises, °ential however their operations may be, would have a tremendously bad effect ';o"uld defeat the purpose of the very policy which we are trying to have Wished. A There must always be a wise and discriminating judgment used* sensible and gradual liquidation will result in permanent improvement, 3.S We rO-i know, but any attemot at radical or drastic deflation merely for the deflation will result in very serious consequences, and such a policy be avoided. lt will be helpful for us to discuss and to understand the parts which e Played by the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Reserve Barirs and the the nonmember banks in solving the financial and economic problems that c °nfront us. problems are inter-related, e * serv e TU but they are distinctive. The Federal , - °°ard is a governmental body, sitting here i n Washington. I t does ^ ° 0 I r , e , excent indirectly, H *Pected to have any intimate knowledge of the details of your business. it ought not to attempt to interfere with the details of your business. i n contact with the member banks, and it can not fun Q t i o n of the Federal Reserve Board, is to deal with general conditions lri oiples and to keep away from the mass of details which it is impossible an y Board sitting here in Washington to digest. Federal Reserve B?nks do come in direct relationship *Uh t hn of <ky c t °ntaCt1 . ° i r member banks. and contact They have an intimate knowledge of the credit policy the borrowings of the member banks; they are kept fully informed from day of the change of position of the member banks, and through their • 'VIth the Federal Reserve Board, as the coordinating and supervising X-19J3 -9°dy' they kne P informed as to the Board r s general policy, and they transmit the Board such specific and general information as may be of assistance n c determining these policies. But the primary banking business of this °Untrv i 8 transacted by the member and the nonmember banks. Panics whirb come m Those are the contact with the public; which are the custodians of the funds of fb public, put with them on deposit, and they are the media thr ough , v h i c h We have between an cor]nrcercial heard a loans are made< sre»t deal about the necessity of discriminating essential and a less-essential and a non-essential loan. The ^ S C OUjq £ operations of the Federal Reserve Banks and their powers to make Vestment ™ are all clearly defined in Sections 13 ana Ik of the Federal serve Act ^ mose sections are permissive and not mandatory. A Federal serve1 nBan] •l s n o t required to make any particular loan v.or any particular iriveg^Q t, . - The Federal Reserve Board may define eligible paper, but all °S and 0 re ^ u l a t i o n s of the.Board must be in strict conformity with the the Federal Reserve Act. The Federal Reserve Board has no legis- lative T)0, wers whatever. 6 en It can merely interpret by regulation or rule, actrr.ent of Congress. N lv ° , without discussing any power that the Federal Reserve Board may have to efine essential and non-essential loans, I wish to point out that s u ectio n Provides, in a general way, that any paper rraturing within the pre scribed time, Use< i, f0P commercial, the proceeds of which have been used, or are to be industrial or agricultural purposes, is eligible. e ^ re is no specific condition imposed as to whether or not, in the judgment any r 'an or hody of men, any particular loan is an essential loan, tlle for wen v • °eing of the community or the country at large, ^e Board has reached the conclusion that there is no occasion now, may be necessary later on, for it to attempt, by any general rule f a country-wide application, to define essential and non-essential naper. YQ remember the d i f f i c u l t i e s that were experienced in matin? such a defini - tlQ n during the war, when we had the War Trade Beard, aoard >» c e * La Pital the rrar Industries Issue's Committee, and other temporary Boards here -passing Upon al 1 fv, these matters. n0w e SSfjri Of > because there was a general underlying principle that anything * must be something that was necessary or contributory to the conduct war. nd At that time the problem was simpler than it would gone. Now we have no war. The temporary boards have all The Federal Reserve Board is not a temporary board. dissolved It is a perm ^yi o +. n t organization and it must conduct its business in strict accordance with t-Vi ternls of the Federal Reserve Act. ' Therefore, I think we are all agreed tbr,+ waz ^deral there is no occasion at the present time, p reserve Board to attempt to define, '^cation, i f ever, for the by regulation of country-wide what is an essential and what is a non-essential loan. A federal p reserve Baril" is in much better position to undertake this then is the Fo .5 eral Reserve Board. But even here there are d i f f i c u l t i e s in the ome of the Federal Reserve Districts cover very large areas. A rule adopt®^ v OV one Federal Reserve Bank may not be susceptible of adaptation other Federal Reserve District, 0r hecect asary m r because what seems to be essential one place may not be in another. r,f ticular objection to a Federal Reserve Bank, Sector® nl undertaking hile there is no i n the wisdom of U S ! to make a general discrimination between ' lainly unnecessary, plainly non-essential, and those which are less ai or more essential, it seams to the Board that that whole question dig crimination . . . " . might very properly be l e f t for solution at the source, as ^ atter between the individual banker and his own customer,. because the lvi nf ^ U a l banker, particularly at times like Uential the present, has a very close, relationship with a borrowing customer. They can talk matters •4h j ' . x-1933 i, -11- 0Ver wi t h the utmost frankness. Position to gave advice. He can accustom h i s customer to come to kiro, in advance of seeking a loan, involved, ^ade, to discuss ahks a l l l a r g e l or of making any commitment the situation with him before the commitment i s The individual banker in many cases - - of course not be p o s s i b l e b The individual banker i s in i n the larger c i t i e s this may but the great mass of over the country that do mostly a local business can very y anticipate the legitimate and necessary credit demands. -12- X-1933 .a 1-.V . '•^ch arc going to be made upon them; of their deposits s 106 -ore it i S not mac.e the fluctuation in the they are b e t t e r q u a l i f i e d than any one else to give to a borrowing customer. Qj °°s am they can estimate They can often restrict the amount of a loan and can persuade a customer in very many cases that he r e a l l y need the money a f t e r a l l . Then, a g a i n , the individual banker can .not so much the essent ial nature of a loan from an elementary stand"Point » as to whether the loan i s go ins to produce something that is absolutely Dut he can decide b e t t e r than any one else whether the loan is nec Of essential e s s a r y for the public good in his particular l o c a l i t y , not only as a means A - °ciuc ing sG.ietJii.ns that ought to be produced, and which is needed f o r cons i s-t i , but as a means of preserving the solvency of his ccmmunity. ;e a l l OV; UiU -j-i-,-4. -t if the baiters in b.itj community, large or small, were to clanp tne 1,3 to on tight» ot'ie- they could b r i n g d i s a s t e r to the communitjr, vhich might spread ^ eo'i Tunit ios . course, 1 Gu there :.:ay be c a s e s , and there have b e e n c a s e s , y in a l l of the d i s t r i c t s , where some of the banhs have overdone the ox en tend inp c r e d i t s , but there i s one very encouraging feature cx the °ht situation, x doubtless, and that is such cases are comparatively few. .ember banns in each of the federal Reserve The majority D i s t r i c t s are not bo-,,, A overs from the ^Federal Reserve DaxQc, ancl the number of member banks which T. own "Qsjcoming from the Federal Reserve Bancs ^tai •p(VI , stoci: is not large in an amount exceeding their okt. in proportion to the total membership. or he ought to know, "'hat reasonable l i n e of credit he can get from h i s Reserve Bahk, ard I want to c a l l your a t t e n t i o n to the power that the : ^Cci-f ors o f the Federal Reserve Banks have to limit their l o a n s . 'or~ent• ago to the fact x Ivery banker •Gei1vo ..ct r e c u i r i n g that there i s no mandatory provision that any p a r t i c u l a r loan be made. I referred in the Federal The nearest approach -"'-3- .,-1933 to * i>Cotn2ulsxon is thn in the j i t t e r of loans that you v i l l find, anywhere in the Act provision which .../emits end, upon the affirmative vote of five memoers of Ul3 Pe deral Reserve Board, requires a Federal Reserve Srjrii: to rediscount for ^ao uier Federal Reserve Banh. " i t h this exception there is no other i'Fv./a ^ory provision relating to loans in the Federal Reserve 1 -- are permissive, • •^Qctm-n Uio Wjq ct. hile sections there i s however, a strict injunction laid upon the * Ox Cxie Federal Reserve Drubs in that pert of section 4- m e n requires - ^ c c c o r s of a Federal Reserve Drnlt, to adninister its a f f a i r s ithout favor Oi" - vjCi'ii.iination for or . g a i n s t zsxr member b a n : , and in making loans, C^iC i " e v e n t s r A " ri j Cc discounts \hich in their opinion may "be safely ,nd reasonably made, to ^gerd to the wants mid requirements of other member banlcs• Kpse^ ors of Federal/Barbs are clearly -..'ithin their rights 2nus m e .'hen they say to any "You have gone far enough; we are familiar ••••ith your condition; 'jqxl c got more than your share, and wo want you to reduce, we cannot let you. v u^ore.'1 to • 'Jhey must enercise their discretion -a to trie proper, course ^ *u,e3 but they have the povor, end there are m,.ny cases Quyvt , f )c here the rule l a i d clown end a member barli ought to be made to understand th<.t it use the resources of the Federal R.serve 2an3;s for its own. private 1 or .profit.; that it ust not abuse the rediscount wririlogos of the -^sorvc System. a bcif^er understands, ^i-ve Daubs thc.t in-., junt as he did in the old c"L.ys before • e laacl the there i s a limit to his borro m g — you ill remcmbe; , ° l d days no national L u v : -./as permitted to become indebted for borrowed i-ioiif,^ • 111 if 40 /hen a baiizor realizes that '•''"•Jits to e:aw.nd his business he must do it more .aid more out of his o*n Ce v VUo an Amount c;:c coding its capital stocic — & -nd not lean so heavily u ion the Federal Reserve Iwnh, 'f l.cn he underlimitations and penalties m a y b e imposed u on his bo ..rowings, if T wno • a.iything .ibout the psychology of b n : m g then I .no ' ti. t the banter may -lH- X-1933 be depended upon to use a wiser discretion in the matter of granting credit. The recent amendment to paragrrph ( d ) , ^Powers the Federal Reserve Bank, for i t s e l f , m y of> ot her Federal Reserve Bank, and without regard, to to establish a normal or basic line and to impose a graduated or penalty rate upon excessive borrowings, does not repeal, amend or modify in any particular the P r o v i s i o n s of section k or section 13, till, vi which credit upon some principle applicable to all member baril.s in i t s strict alike, e section lU, and a Federal Reserve Bank is even though i t adopts the progressive or penalty rate, entirely t h i n i t s rights in declining to take uniesirable paper at any rate* Th e Progressive or penalty rate I will not discuss at this time, because we will have an open discussion a l i t t l e later on and we will it up then. It may be argued that the volume of credit rnust necessarily greater now than was the case a few years ago on account of the •hi • tra er prices and higher wages which are prevailing, so that any given -nsaction requires a greater number of dollars to finance it than Was formerly the case. That is true, but I believe that I can present figures to you that will convince you that if there could be a freer f low of goods and credit, 0Ve r of credit, in other words, a greater velocity in the turn the resources of the banks of this country are abundantly -ik a X-1933 a^ple to finance all essential enterprises and a good many of the n °n-essential as well. The fundamental trouble with the situation todav • ^ ^ C07m'0ciities ay is that there is a large volume of essential goods/held back r0m the ^ r k e t s and kept out of the channels of distribution, ither for speculative purposes, being held with the idea of getting ^ K h e r prices later on, or tfcrhere they are held back of necessity on account of i a C k r alone case, 0f facilities to transport them to market. In the it is a wise and proper policy to ease the situation to assist the -people who are thus compelled to hold and not thro w S1 any obstacles in their way, provided there is a genuine and ncere disposition to put the stuff in process of distribution as soon as transportation can be had. But in the case of the hoarder, Wh O f nr s e l f i s h and profiteering purposes wishes to hold back from the souths of hungry people essential articles of food, or from the ^ ack s r» -P +- v» 01 the naked essential articles of clothing, every good banker ould exert every influence within h i s power to force people of that ~ind to turn loose their hoards. •^crimination, Here is an opportunity for wise anu this' discrimination can be exercised more intelli- § e ntly and effectively by the individual banker himself than by any Governmental board. -15- ?Te f i n d instances also which always occur when there is a. constantly advancing tendency in the market stocked up. r where merchants have There are many cases where mercantile loans are- too large and ought to "be reduced. There are merchants everywhere who ought to be reasoned with qnd who ought to be encouraged to push their stocks out and get r i d of the high priced s t u f f , "because some of these days, it may be sooner rather than l a t e r , the reign of reason is going to be restored and the man in the street is no longsr going to want to pay $ 2 5 . 0 0 to $ 3 0 . 0 0 for a silk shirt, or ' and $ 2 0 , 0 0 for a pair of shoes or $ 1 . 0 0 for four pounds of prices will be demanded Prevail, , and trade will f a l l It seems to me, from the standpoint sugar,/lower off unless lower prices of good merchandizing and good banking, that the merchants should be encouraged to reduce their stocks and not .tempt the passer-by "by extravagant display i n the windows at high p r i c e s , which under the abnormal state of mind which has prevailed, may themselves help to sell the goods, because you all know cases where a customer would pass by with contempt a two or three dollar article and. turn his attention to something at $ 2 5 , 0 0 , although it may not be one whit better to h i s purposes. suited In order to bring about a correct tendency and to lead to a permanent, cure of our present situ r<; ion, a campaign of education must be begun and continued. Here, again, there is no agency so well qualified as the banker, who receives on deposit the money of the public and makes loans to the public, to give advice, so thus there should be a concerted effort all over this country on the part of the blinkers to arouse in the public a spirit of common sense. Let us take our hsads out of the clouds and get down to "business, and let us save, produce, and let each do his part in a constructive and productive way for the community, to add to the VOIUITB of goods and f a c i l i t a t e distribution, something to cure the discrepancy, the bad thereby doing relationship which has l i s t e d between the volume of goods and the volume of credit and tooney. In any circumstances, you all know that the Federal Reserve Banks and the Federal Reserve Board will do their part to cooperate with the sound, sensible and reasonable member banks. In order that we may accomplish any real results and effect any permanent good, there must be cooperation on the part of the public with the banks, and on their part with the Federal Reserve Banks and the Federal R e s e r v e Board. % must all pull together for sound, economic and financial principles. do a great We should do all in our power, and we can deal to che€k the false ideas which have gained circulation and inculcate in the minds of the people a sense of the importance of steady, every-day production and distribution, and t o encourage t h e avoidance of waste and the elimination of X-1933 -17- extravagance. I have here some charts,which will "be distributed, among you, which show the movement of principal asset and l i a b i l i t y items of each Federal Reserve Bank and of the System, bined. of the twelve banks com- These figures ar^ taken from July 3 , 1 9 1 9 , to April 3 0 , 192C. They show the cold reserves, the total cash reserves, the member banks' reserve deposits, the Federal Reserve notes in circulation, the acceptances bought, paper secured by Government war obligations, divided into the healings , 9 '3cured by Liberty Bonds, secured by Victory Notes, and secured by Treasury Certificates, an-' the total discounted paper on hand. tile Then there is another table which shows volume of bankers' acceptances purchased from other Federal Reserve Banks and the volume of bankers' acceptances sold to other Federal Reserve Banks, figures at the close of business on each Friday fr0Tn J u l y gentlemen, 1919 ( t o A p r i l 30) 3.920. I declare the meeting open for general discussion.
@FedFRASER