The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-02-29
FOWLER BILL TO
GO TO THE HOUSE
Committee on Banking and
Currency Authorizes Its
Chairman to Report.
NOT BOUND TO SUPPORT 1T
FIGHT WILL BE MADE ON THE
GUARANTY FEATURE.

Washington, Feb. 2S.-By vote of
IL to ), three members being present
ond not voting. the house committee on
banking and currency today authorized
its chairman, Representative Fowler of
New Jersey. TO report TO the house the
Fowler currency bill, with the recon-
mendatiOn' that is be passed.
The vote cast was as follows:
Ayes-FOwler IN. j., Prince Qn),
Bowers (Me), McMorran (Mich.),
Weems (O). McCleary Pa), Waldo
IN. W, Hayes (CalD. Weeks (Mass0,
Dury IN. ", Gillespie CTeX)
NOes-Burton (Ohio), ollie James
(Ky.).. Mckinley QlL), Lewis (Ga),
Crawford On. c..
Present and not voting-McHenry
(Pa.), Uuie Ua-), Giles ,Va).
Mr.. Weeks. in voting for the FAVOR
able report of the bill. reserved the
right to oppose on the floor the clause
providing for the federal guaranty Of
national bank deposits
Merely to Get it Before the House.
Though the decision to report the bill
favorably was reached as the result OF
weeks of hearings and exhaustive dis
cussions of its various provisions In eX-
ecutive session, the decision does not
commit the banking and currency COM
mittee to it's support on the floor of
the house.
Ten of the eleven members who voted
for the favorable report reserved the
Individual right to oppose any section
of it and to offer and urge any amend
ment when the bill is called up. A ma
jority of the committee felt the neces-
sity of getting the bill before the
house without further delay so that
may become a subject of open debate
both i'm the house of representatives
and in the press of the country.
Committee Amendments.
The committee amended the bill in
six of its salient features. The clause
permitting national banks to do a
trust and savings band business was
amended by striking out the savings
bank section.
The clause making all of the ma
tional banks within each of the pro-
posed reserve districts specifically liza
BILE for 10 per cent of the check and
note liabilities of failed national banks
within that distance was revised to
read % Der cent
The bill as originally framed, al
lowed each national bank to take out
national credit notes to the extent Of
100 per cent of its capital stock, with
tbs approval of the comptroller of the
Currency, and an unlimited additional
ezhount with the approval of the board
Of managers of the reserve district to
which the bank belonged. This pro-
vision was revised so that the total
amount of credit notes issuable to any
bank shall not exceed 200 per cent of
its capital stock.
Guaranty Fund.
The bill originally provided that of
the deposit guaranty fund to be ere
ated by a tax of 2 per cent on the
credit notes issued so per cent should
be invested in United States 2-peT-cent
bonds and 20 per cent should be held
in reserve. This is a gold fund. The
bill. as revised, stipulates the invest
ment of the entire fund in United
States IS, and fixes their fat purchase
price at 104, which was the average
price for the month of February last.
The revised bill. in order to carry
out the bond currency retirement
clause, provides that after the guaran-
ty fund has reached the sum of $685.,
OO0, 600 the secretary of the treasury
shall issue gold certificates to take the
place of an equal amount of outstand-
ing greenbacks. As the estimated an
nual tax on credit notes would be S14-
coo, 600, about fourteen years would be
required for the total retirement of the
Countrys present bond secured cur
rency after the guaranty fund reached
the amount of So. COO OO0.
An Important Feature.
One of the most interesting pro-
visions of the bill as revised in COM
mittee requires the government to col
lect its claims and pay its current ex-
penses through the banks. That is, the
government would continue TO hold in
the treasury the greenback redemp-
ton fund amounting to $50, 900, 900,
and the gold certificate redemption
fund, amounting to sS25 600, 900, but it's
5 general fund for the conduct Of the
government would be kept on deposit
in various national banks subject TO
check: and instead of paying out gen.
eral moneys by voucher and treasury