The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-05-18
RESERVE BANK IS
 TO AID IN LOANS
 ON LIBERTY BOND
Executive Committee Con.
 sidering Rediscount Rate and Will Help Banks

and Will Help Banks Steps for placing the resources of the Federal Reserve Bank definitely behind the government war loan were considered yesterday, when the exc cutive committee of that institution 1 took under consideration the estab- | lfshment of. 8 rediscount rate to fur ther subscriptions to the loan. The l procedure, which is essentially the ! same as that, practiced in the redis- 1 counting of commercial paper, Is this: Individual buyers of the war bonds ! bay wish to borrow part of the money | required to pay for them of their banks. The banks, in turn, may find it necessary to procure funds to car ry on their regular commercial busi- ness. In that case, they take their I customers notes, given in part pay ment of bond subscriptions to the Re- serve ban, where they may be redis- counted and the proceeds withdrawn, or be placed to the credit of the mem Der bank on the books of the Reserve institution.
 Just what the rediscount rate would be, had not been determined this morning. The current redfscount l 1 is per cent. The rate applying to bond purchases, which must be sub mitted to the Reserve Board at Wash 1 ington for approval, will probably not 1 be higher than per cent, and 1t was intimated that 1t might be lower l Establishment of such rate, 1t was explained, did not contemplate imme- diate recourse by member banks to the Reserve banks for funds to fin- ance subscriptions to the government 1 bonds. A number of large corpora tions, however, have agreed to sell the bonds to their employees on long cred- I 1t, and these corpo<ations, in turn, have wished to know whether they could obtain accommodation from their own banks in the necessary out 1 lay. With the facilities of the Re- serve banks available to replenish the l funds of member banks. it is believed I that the whole machinery of sub scribing to the loan will be simplified and accelerated.
 Among the other developments of the day in the Notation of the $2,- | 0O0.000,000 bond issue. was the for nation. at the suggestion of the gen. eral loan committee of customers se- curities departments by the various banks of the district. Under this ar
 
 for their patrons, free of charge, such II government bonds as the individuals may purchase, and to collect the in- terest coupons on the bonds as they fall due. One of the drawbacks to the wide Notation of the loan has been the fact that many people, after buying a bond. might have no safe
 place to keep 1t.
 Plans for public meetings to arouse
 enthusiasm on behalf of the loan are
 rapidly maturing. W. S. Kies. vice president of the American Interna. tional Corporations; Charles B. Nit. chell, president of the National Cit, Company, and Martin Egan, of J. P Morgan & Co.,, are working out de tails of a speakers campaign for ths state within the next three weeks The clubs and social organizations O. the city will be asked to hold patriot
 ic meetings, and the labor unions will have speeches on the subject at theil l meetings
 | Warren S. Stone. grand chief of th'
 Brotherhood of Locomtive Engineer l and member of the labor commit tee of the Council of National Defens,
 at Washington, issued statemen
 saying he believed that the railroads
 should make every effort to assis
 their, employees in subscribing for -tht Liberty Loan.
 More than million and a hal
 men are employed in the transporta | ton industry sid MT. Stone. 'ani their wage earnings are close to $1, | 800, 100000 year, or $4,000.000 z
 day. The mere statement of these wage figures shows at once what ar i opportunity presents itself to enlis the savings of railroad workers in ths
 defense of liberty and democracy. | of the railroad companies will pro vide the machinery of payment,
 know that our men will provide tht
 money. The men directly represent
 the locomotive engineers. number
 about 6O,000. If every engineer tool a $500 bond, the total would be $30, l 000,000. If the 50,000 conductor
 took $500 bonds, there would be $25, l 000,00 more. If the 18O,000 fireme1 and trainmen took $200 bonds, theil | total subscription would be S36,000, 900. This would be total for tht
 train service of s90, 100000. Ther
 there are a million more railroad enl | ployes outside the train service. I ] every one took $100 bond on thi' !! easy payment plan with the co-op
 eration of the railroad officials, ther' would be $1O0,000,000 more, making | $190,O00,000 for all railroad workers il we may not be able to raise st
 much as this, but if we raised onl.
 half there would be close to $100, l 1 100000 at the service of the nation.
 MT. Stone said that the question O
 the safe-keeping of these Libert. l bonds for the workingmen wh'
 bought them was of importance. Mos |! railroad men, he said, had no wa,
 of keeping bonds, and he though
 that the banks throughout the count H ought to provide for their safe-keep
 ing free of charge to the subscribers III John Mitchell, ex-president of tn
 United Mine Workers of America l and now chairman of the New Yorl
 State Industrial Commission. endors | ed the Liberty Loan as an investmen for working men.
 HI Personally said S.r. Mitchell. q | am doing my part, and I consider tn III investment of savings by foreign borr H but naturalized citizens would b | splendid proof of their loyal citizen ship. Not only would I urge them t