The Springfield herald., 1908-02-14
DEMOCRATIC CURRENCY BILL.
Framed by Minority Members Of House
Committee on Banking.

Committee on Banking.
Washington.-What will be known
as 'the minority currency BILL" was
introduced Friday by John Sharp vii.
liams Of Mississippi. Democratic leader
of the House, who drew the measure
as result of harmonious conference
of Democratic members of the house
committee on banking.
The bill will come before the house
in the shape of minority report from
the banking and currency committee
in its present form.
Among the provisions of the bill are
the following:
1t repeals all laws. permitting ma
tional banks to keep three-ifths of
their reserve in national banks of re-
serve cities and similar laws per
mitting such deposit of one-half of the
reserve amounts.
1t provides that not less than one
half of the reserves now required to
be kept in lawful money in central re-
serve cities shall be hereafter held in
gold or gold certificates.
1t does away with the payment OF
national bank examiners BY the fee
system, and substitutes salaries not
less than $4,000 nor In excess of $5.-
900 yearly, with actual expenses
1t provides that the total liabilities
of any national bank, inclusive of the
liabilities Of its members, shall not ex-
coed one-tenth of the banks paid in
and unimpaired capital stock and one.
tenth Of its impaired surplus funds !;
and that in no event shall the liabil-
tiles exceed thirty per cent of the cap
ital stock.
No national bank shall loan in the
aggregate more than seven times the
amount of It's paid up capital plus its
unimpaired surplus.
Any national bank may keep fifty
per cent of its reserve in United States
bonds or bonds of states or in the
bonds of certain municipalities, but
not more than one-fourth of the total
reserve may be kept in state or muni-
cipal bonds; and the bonds shall be ac-
ceptable only of such municipalities
as have maintained their bonds at or
above par for six years preceding. and
have been in corporate existence ten
years and have never defaulted In
their funded debt.
The comptroller of the currency, i'm
mediately after passage of the bill
shall furnish copy of the new law
to each bank in the country and in
quire if it will accept the provisions.
Consent shall be binding and the liza
bilities attaching to consent may be en-
forced by the comptroller. Agreement
to accept the provisions shall entitle
state banks and trust companies to the
benefits of the new law.
The elastic currency feature Of the
bill is contained in a section which
provides that these interconvertible
bonds may be deposited "in the near.
est sub-treasury, and the depositine
bank shall receive in lieu thereof
United States emergency treasury
notes" subject to taxation, redeemable
at any time and legal tender.
For the creation OF a fund OF $751;
100000 for the payment of depositors
of failed banks operating under the
provisions of this law, there is author
lied the imposition of tax of one-six-
teenth Of one per cent on the deposits
OF banks so operating and whose con-
sent to be so taxed has been obtained.
The final section of the bill pro-
vides that no bank officer shall make
loan for the purpose of stock gam
bling.