The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1913-05-27
irving fisher
Aiding wilson

| CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE.
leaders and with economists, and it Is
possible the bill win be whipped into
such form as to make feasible the writ
| ing of his currency message this week.
Senator Owen yesterday submitted to
| the full banking and currency commit
| tee of the Senate a list of thirty-two
questions which are to be mailed out to
bankers and financiers in quest OF opin-
ions as to the needs of this country in
currency reform.
The questions follow:
/. What are the essential defects OF
our banking and currency system?
3 Enumerate concisely its advantages
and disadvantages.
g. What are the chief purposes to be
attained in an improved system?
l. Should national banks continue 10
have a. bond secured currency?
5. Should the present requirements OF
reserves for national banks be reduced,
increased, or otherwise modified?
s. Should an elastic currency be
authorized by law? II so, should IL be
limited. and to what amount?
Z. Should such currency be the notes
reserve association. or of a number of
regional reserve associations. or of the
United States Treasury?
s. Should these notes be procured from
the treasury on pledge of security. and
If so, of what should this security con-
sist? Should these notes be a first lien
OF the government upon the assets Of the
association or bank to which they are
issued?
3. Should all currency be based upon
gold? II 50, how ought it to be issued
and what per cent Of gold reserves
should be required?
10 II notes are issued to or by an
association, what should be the limit in
amount OF this currency for each as
ISOLATION, and should this limit be based
on its capital stock and surplus?
II. What device should be provided to
force the retirement of this currency in
whole or in part when the legitimate de-
mands of trade subside?
L.. II tax on this currency, payable to
the government. is provided, should II
be graduated so as to increase with the
volume of currency issued by the reserve
association, or graduated so as to in
crease with the length of time 1t is out
standing?
IS. Should there be a central reserve
association with branches, or a number
of reserve associations with or without
central control II a number of re-
should that control be wholly with rep
resentatives of the various associations.
or wholly by the government. or by Civ
ing both representation?
IA. Should such reserve association
have a geographical territory and exer-
else the functions of a reserve bank in
such territory exclusively: or should
.a,.sa.
be permitted to exercise a choice as to
which of the nearby OF contiguous re-
serve associations they should join with
out regard to fixed territory?
Is. Should such reserve associations
have State banks and trust companies as
stockholders; and, IL so, what require
ments should be. made of such State
banks and trust companies?
le. Approximately. how many regional
reserve associations should there be If
that system is adopted? What. II any.
shoUld be the minimum capital stock, and
what amount of stock should each men,
Der bank hold?
II. How should the directors of re-
serve association be elected7 What
should be their number, powers and term
of office?
is. What should be the general nature
OF the business Of such an association?
than those of banks and should it be
allowed to pay interest on deposits?
%. Should it discount double-name COM
mercial paper for its member banks on
equal terms to all and should its dis
count rate be public, subject to change
weekly?
p. Should it loan directly to member
banks with or without collateral Sc
curity and should the rate of interest
be equal to all. public. and subject to
weekly change?
% Should reserve associations be per-
mitted to deal with each other in the
purchase and sale of commercial paper.
exchange, securities. and gold?
%. Should government deposits be with
drawn from banks and placed with the
reserve associations, and, if so, how
should they be portioned and what rate
of interest, IL any. should be paid?
Within what time could this be safely
done?
"a. Should every national bank be re-
quired to keep its reserve with the as
ISOLATION to which it belongs except such
as it keeps in its own vaults, or should
II be permitted to keep any certain per
cent Of its reserve with other reserve
If so. how much?
Is. Should a reserve association be re-
quired to maintain a reserve against its
deposits. and. IL so, in what amount, and
should it consist of gold only or lawful
g. Should the liability of each MEM
Der bank in a reserve association be
limited to its stock subscription? If
not. what should be the liability?
a. Should a reserve association have
transactions with banks other than its
own members, and, II SO, what charac-
ter Of transactions should be permissi-
BILE?
g. Should national banks be permit
ted, upon payment of a commission, to
loan their credit by accepting bills aris-
ing out of the ordinary course of COM
merce. and should reserve associations
be permitted to deal in these accep-
tances in transactions with banks or
other reserve associations?
q. Should there be a limit within
which banks should be permitted to
give acceptances? II so, what limit?
%. What dividends should reserve as
sociations be permitted to pay their
member banks? r.
81. Should any share Of the profits of
q reserve association be distributed to
the member banks in proportion to the
average deposit maintained by them
during the year?
90 A. 49,, f.-s1.--