162 



CONGRESS. (THE FINANCIAL MEASURE.) 



and except that banks with a capital of not less 

 than $25.000 may, with the sanction of the Secre- 

 tary of the Treasury, be organized in any place 

 the population of which does not exceed 3,000 in- 

 habitants. No association shall be organized in 

 a city the population of which exceeds 50,000 

 persons with a capital of less than $200,000.' 



"SEC. 11. That the Secretary of the Treasury 

 is hereby authorized to receive at the Treasury 

 any of the out-landing bonds of the United States 

 hearing inter.-! at ."> per cent, per annum, pay- 

 able February 1, 1904, and any bonds of the 

 lulled States bearing interest at 4 per cent, per 

 annum, payable July 1, 1907, and any bonds of 

 the United* States bearing interest at 3 per cent, 

 per annum, payable Aug. 1, 1908, and to issue in 

 exchange therfor an equal amount of coupon or 

 registered bonds of the United States in such 

 tin m as he may prescribe, in denominations of 

 >r any multiple thereof, bearing interest at 

 the rate of 2 per cent, per annum, payable quar- 

 terly, such bonds to be payable at the pleasure of 

 the United States after thirty years from the date 

 of their issue, and said bonds to be payable, prin- 

 cipal and interest, in gold coin of the present 

 standard value, and to be exempt from the pay- 

 ment of all taxes or duties of the United States, 

 as \\-ell as from taxation in any form by or under 

 State, municipal, or local authority: Provided, 

 That such outstanding bonds may be received in 

 exchange at a valuation not greater than their 

 present worth to yield an income of 2J per cent, 

 per annum; and in consideration of the reduction 

 of interest effected, the Secretary of the Treasury 

 is authorized to pay to the holders of the out- 

 standing bonds surrendered for exchange, out of 

 any money in the Treasury not otherwise appro- 

 priated, a sum not greater than the difference be- 

 tween their present worth, computed as aforesaid, 

 and their par value, and the payments to be made 

 hereunder shall be held to be payments on account 

 of the sinking fund created by section 3694 of the 

 Revised Statutes: And provided further, That 

 the 2-per-cent. bonds to be issued under the provi- 

 sions of this act shall be issued at not less than 

 par, and they shall be numbered consecutively in 

 the order of their issue, and when payment is 

 made the last numbers issued shall be first paid, 

 and this order shall be followed until all the 

 bonds are paid, and whenever any of the out- 

 standing bonds are called for payment interest 

 tliereon shall cease three months after such call; 

 and there is hereby appropriated out of any 

 money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriate:!, 

 to effect the exchanges of bonds provided for in 

 tliis act. a sum not exceeding one fifteenth of 1 

 per cent, of the face value of said bonds, to pay 

 the expense of preparing and issuing the same and 

 other expenses incident thereto. 



" SEC. 12. That upon the deposit with the Treas- 

 urer of the United States, by any national bank- 

 ing association, of any bonds of the United States 

 in the manner provided by existing law, such as- 

 >ociation shall be entitled to receive from the 

 Comptroller of the Currency circulating notes in 

 blank, registered and countersigned as provided 

 by law. equal in amount to the par value of the 

 bonds BO deposited; and any national banking 

 a-Mieiation now having bonds on deposit for the 

 -" urity of circulating notes, and upon which an 

 amount of circulating notes lias been issued less 

 than the par value of the bonds, shall be entitled, 

 upon ilue application to the Comptroller of the 

 ('urrcney. to receive additional circulating notes 

 in blank to an amount which will increase the 

 Circulating notes held by -iii-h association to the 

 par value of the bonds deposited, such additional 



notes to be held and treated in the same way as 

 circulating notes of national banking associations 

 heretofore issued, and subject to all the provisions 

 of law affecting such notes: Prodded, That noth- 

 ing herein contained shall be construed to modify 

 or repeal the provisions of section 5167 of the Re- 

 vised Statutes of the United States, authorizing 

 the Comptroller of the Currency to require addi- 

 tional deposits of bonds or of lawful money in 

 case the market value of the bonds held to se- 

 cure the circulating notes shall fall below the par 

 value of the circulating notes outstanding for 

 which such bonds may be deposited as security: 

 And prodded further, That the circulating notes 

 furnished to national banking associations under 

 the provisions of this act shall be of the denomi- 

 nations prescribed by law, except that no national 

 banking association shall, after the passage of 

 this act, be entitled to receive from the Comp- 

 troller of the Currency, or to issue or reissue or 

 place in circulation, more than one third in 

 amount of its circulating notes of the denomina- 

 tion of $5: And provided further, That the total 

 amount of such notes issued to any such associa- 

 tion may equal at any time but shall not exceed 

 the amount at such time of its capital stock actu- 

 ally paid in: And provided further, That under 

 regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of 

 the Treasury any national banking association 

 may substitute the 2-per-cent. bonds issued under 

 the provisions of this act for any of the bond 

 deposited with the Treasurer to secure circulatio 

 or to secure deposits of public money; and so 

 much of an act entitled ' An act to enable national 

 banking associations to extend their corporate 

 existence, and for other purposes, approved July 

 12, 1882, as prohibits any national bank which 

 makes any deposit of lawful money in order t< 

 withdraw its circulating notes from receiving an 

 increase of its circulation for the period of si 

 months from the time it made such deposit o 

 lawful money for the purpose aforesaid, is hereby 

 repealed, and all other acts or parts of acts in- 

 consistent with the provisions of this section are 

 hereby repealed. 



" SEC. 13. That every national banking associa 

 tion having on deposit, as provided by law, bond: 

 of the United States bearing interest at the ra 

 of 2 per cent, per annum, issued under the pro- 

 visions of this act, to secure its circulating note>. 

 shall pay to the Treasurer of the United States, in 

 the months of January and July, a tax of one 

 fourth of 1 per cent, each half year upon the aver- 

 age amount of such of its notes in circulation as 

 are based upon the deposit of said 2-per-cent. 

 bonds; and such taxes shall be in lieu of existing 

 taxes on its notes in circulation imposed by sec- 

 tion 5214 of the Revised Statutes. 



" SEC. 14. That the provisions of this act a 

 not intended to preclude the accomplishment of 

 international bimetallism whenever conditions 

 shall make it expedient and practicable to secure 

 the same by concurrent action of the leading com- 

 mercial nations of the world and at a ratio which 

 shall insure permanence of relative value between 

 gold and silver." 



The most compact statement of the changes in 

 the measure is that of the House members of the 

 Conference Committee. It is as follows: 



" The effect of the conference agreement i> a bill 

 along similar lines adopted in the original House 

 bill, with the exception that the plan for the re 

 funding of the public debt, agreed to by the Sen 

 ale. has been accepted as a part of the bill sub- 

 mitted by the Conference Committee. The bill as 

 herewith submitted retains the same arrangement 

 as to subjects as in the original House bill. 



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