The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-27
FINAL STEPS TAKEN TO
 RESTORE CONFIDENCE
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1o


 by such a decision was one of the in fluences which led several members of the clearing house committee to oo- pose the issue of certificates. The step taken to offset this danger was the presentation of a resolution by the clearing house committee to the meet ing of the association to the effect that trust companies should be admitted to the clearing house.
 It was provided that this resolution might be considered at a meeting of the association to be held hereafter. Thus far there have been no applica tions by the trust companies for ad mission to the clearing house and the exact conditions on which they might be admitted have not beer fixed. Tho requirement. made from banks admitted to the clearing house is that they shall keep in their own vaults a re- serve of 25 per cent of their deposits This is a larger reserve than most of the trust companies have carried since the requirements of the law of 1908 1iG not go beyond 10 per cent in cash on hand or on deposit in other banks.
 Danger Removed.
 While the action taken today is not immediately effective so far as it xre Iates to trust companies, it DhoN a
 
 to cooperate with the trust companies, which greatly relieves the situation and removes the danger feared that each individual trust company would be left to shift for itself, while the as sociation banks in the clearing house stood firmly together It is felt by conservative bankers that under pres ent conditions it will not be prudent to pur .ue narrow policy, and if it is fa hrip ba frannrfaOt companies into full fellowship with tho clearing house it will be done.
 Confidence Restored.
 The effect of the decision to issue clear ing house certificates has usually been to restore confidence to a large degree, and thereby to diminish the pressure which might logically be anticipated, in view of the previous demand for cur rency The cash left free in the banks will then be available to a larger eX tent to meet the ordinary demands for currency from depositors. The largest is sue of certificates up to the present time was in 1S93,, when the total output was $41, ,490,000. The first issue was made in that year on June 21, just before the announcement that the Government of British India had suspended the free coinage of silver, and fear spread that it would be impossible to maintain the value of the silver dollar.
 No such menace faces the money mar ket at the present time and under the operations of the gold standard law the accumulation of gold in the treasury, in- cluding that held against gold certificates. now stands at $92S 100000 which is the largest gold stock in the world. It is now believed that the demands of the present occasion for certificates will be large The clearing house banks showed today specie holdings of 196,426,OOO, Of which nearly all was in gold and the legal tender holdings of $5S, 2S37OO-
 Reserve Below Standard.
 These items showed "a decrease of $12,- 9O0000 in the bank statement of today, as compared to that of a week ago, but the total reserve on hand stood at S254,- 709, FOO, which was only $1,233 300 below the legal requirement of 25 per cent. While a decline of the reserve below the legal limit is always subject of remark, it is not infrequent during the crop moving season and still leaves so large fund of cash at the command of the banks that under ordinary conditions so trif1ing a deficit as that of today would not excite any uneasiness. The indications are that the cash reserves of the associated banks will be kept substantially intact here after by the importation of gold.
 The sharp fall in exchange yesterday, which made importations of gold possible at profit. was not modified today It