The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1914-04-03
SOON TO DEFINE
BANK DISTRICTS.
Reserve Committees Work All But
Done-Many Guesses Made-Un-
officially Experts Have AL
ready Framed System in
Scores of Ways.


Washington, March 30.-After
three months of consideration the |
reserve bank organization committee
Secretaries McAdoo and Houston
and Comptroller Williams-charged
w III laying the groundwork for the
new currency system, is about ready
to define geographically the limits of
the federal reserve districts into
which continental United States is to
be divided for banking purposes
and at the same time name the cities
in each district where reserve banks
are to be located. 1t is the general
expectation here that the announce
ment of these conclusions will be
made about April 1, for the commit
tee is known to have reached point
in it's deliberations where little re-
mains to be done.
The committee has taken precau-
tions to keep its conclusions secret
and has announced that any state
ments made previous to their official
publication are merely speculative.
Despite this fact there has been great
interest here in the doings of the
committee and volumes talked by
those in official life who are now en-
tirely within the inner circle.
More Than Eight Likely.
Opinion is not unanimous among
those persons as to the number of
banks to be established. The law
permits the establishment of not less
than eight and not more than IL
banks. There is apparently little
ground for believing that the COM
mittee will name only eight cities and
many persons are confident that it
will select the full number allowed
| The expectation seems to be quite
general that there will be at least
four cities on the Atlantic seaboard
In this section Boston, New York and
Philadelphia have been mentioned
many times and Richmond and At
lanta, Baltimore and Washington
have been put down on many of the
unofficial lists.
Between the Allegheny mountains
and the Rockies the prophets are not
so definite, but many of them agree
that Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas
City are practically certain to be
chosen, and many of them add Min
or Dallas, Texas.
Persons who have figured their lists
largely on resources of the national
bs nks which are to become members
Of the reserve system believe oniv one |
bank will be located on the Pacific |
coast at San Francisco. They point |
out that in that territory there are
now only banks with sufficient capital |
to subscribe to the stock of one 10 |
serve bank.
Can Go Outside.
Under the law. each reserve oank
must have a capital stock of S4000,-
600 and each bank must subscribe to
make this capital 6 per cent of It's
own capital and surplus. If the banks
becoming members can not subscribe
sufficient amounts to make up the 81
ZOO, the stock of the reserve bank
is to be subscribed by the public.
1t is assumed here that the commit
tee will not launch the new system in
such way that any bank will be the
centre of district which can not
without public subscription take up
necessary reserve bank stock. Those
who use this argument are inclined to
believe that the committee for this
reason may establish less than y
banks.
There has been doubt in the minds
of some persons as to the number of
banks to be set up in the South. At
Louisville have been active in an at
tempt to secure bank, but the con,
mittee has been reminded by others
that the South east of the Mississip:.
is still borrowing country. Accept
ing this statement as true, some per-
sons in their prophecies have limited
their lists to ten. They declare that
this would allow for natural expan-
sion in the South and permit the es-
Establishment of a bank there later.
fact that has not been empha-
sized in the unofficial reports is that
the federal reserve board which is to
manage the new system has authority
under the law to change the districts
and the cities whenever it sees fit,
although it seems at present unlikely
that the reserve board could change
the organization committees entire
plan if it deemed it advisable.
a Play of Real Merit.