Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1913-12-22
CURRENCY BILL
COMPLETED
TODAY
AFTER AN ALL might SESSION, The
SENATE And HOUSE CONFER
EES, EARLY THIS MORNING,
AGREE ON A MEASURE Salts
FACTORY TO BOTH HOUSES.
WILL PROBABLY Be
SIGNED TONIGHT

washington, II. ", Dec. Z-.-thl-
though administration leaders in con-
gress bent every effort for speedy
approval of the currency bill today
that it might be hurried to the White
House for President Wilson's sigma
ture before night, a series of delays
developed to hamper their progress.
Printed copies of the conference re-
port were late coming from the print
ers, and the parliamentary situation in
both the house and the senate SEEM
ed to favor delay. Democrats in both
houses were prepared, however, to
ask for speedy approval of the disput-
ed points agreed on by house and SEN
ate conferees with the hope of getting
the bill out of the way in time for
President Wilson to leave for his
Christmas vacation in Mississippi to-
morrow.
1t was 2 O'Clock before unanimous
consent was given in the house to
take up the conference report. AT
that hour the report had not been
presented and the leaders expected at
least 2 or hours debate when it did
come in AS the house must first dis
pose of it, it's appearance in the SEN
ate was not expected before late in
the day.
Other delays connected with the
routine work of preparing the report in
it's final FORM some discussion in the
house further upset the plans of the
leaders and at 3:30 o'clock the house
and senate both were marking time
with the intention of staying in ses-
sion until the bill was disposed of.
Prospects for long night session
seemed bright.
Washington, d. c.. Dec, 2z.-The ad-
ministration currency bill in its final
form was reported to both houses of
congress today to be written into law
The members, of the conference corr
mittee which labored until dawn this
morning. threshing out the differences
between the two houses, presented a
perfected measure which followed
closely the lines laid down by Presi-
dent Wilson in his demands for cur
rency reform.
A general desire among legislators
to get away from Washington for the
Christmas holidays, resulted in a pro-
gram calculated by Democratic leaders
to place the bill before the president
for his signature tonight and to clear
the way for an immediate recess.
The conferees agreed on practically
all of the fundamentals of the meas
ure as it passed the senate, including
the provision that not less than eight
nor more than twelve regional banks
should be created. The reserve re-
quirements for banks entering the
system, which had been slightly let
down by the senate, were strengthen
ed in conference, and amendment al
lowing the use of the present bank
notes and the proposed new federal
reserve notes in bank reserves being
stricken out. The last long drawn
out struggle of the conference result
ed from the ADMINISTRATORS determi-
nation that the comptroller of cur
rency should be given place ON the
federal reserve board which Will con-
troll the new system. The senate con-
ferees were evenly divided on this
proposition, three senators joining
with the house members OF the COM
mittee in supporting the adminlstra-
tion's contention. 1t was nearly day
light when a single shifting vote
brought the conference to close.
The conference accepted the Hnate
amendment increasing the gG i re-
serve behind the new notes from 33 l-o
per cent, as fixed in the house bill, to
forty per cent, with graduated tax
on depletion as arranged in the sen
ate. A compromise plan for retiring
the two per cent bonds on which the
present currency is based, was writ
ten into the bill by the conference.
Under this plan $36,000,OO0 worth of
these bonds will be purchased each !
year beginning two years after the /
system Is placed in operation by the !
new regional banks from the present |
national banks. On one-half of it's
holdings each regional bank may is
sue currency. The remainder will be
refunded in three per cent thirty year
bonds or three per cent one year
treasury notes which the banks must
agree to renew each year for thirty
years.
Another senate amendment that
was crushed out in the conference was
the proposal to guarantee bank de-
posits.