Speech

" ^ o/ j / M 1 / ' K a f i r s A33SSA0S OF AME-iS BY hot. o. 3* buii>ih« aoraaaoa of <$m wm bm l wsxmm bq&js>* BBF018B SEE KCOEBS UCSEIS CS0B, PRSdKl&CB* PA*# ami IS* 19X6 Mr* liaalin, In opening* referred to the old Treasury Board prior to the adoption of tho Constitution of the united States 9 m& to the work done toy Robert Morris m Superintendent of finance. He then took vp financial affairs after the adoption of the Constitution and spoke of the first hank of the unitod States with its capital of ten miiIlona of dollars* of which the Covernmsnt subscribed one-fifth. Branches wsre permitted at ths will of the directors In any part of the United states* Its charter me for twenty years, and the central henk was located In Philadelphia* while branches wsjpo established at Boston* Washington, Sew York* Baltimore* Norfolk* Charleston* savannah and How Orleans* She Government finally Mid Its holdings of stock In this bank at a large profit. It Is a curious faot that a majority of the stook was held by foreigners* who had no voting power* Finally Congress, largely influenced by the opposition of the State banks* refused to redhartor the bank* Mr* Haraltn then oonoidersd the second bank of the Unitod States, fotmded in 1616* Its capital wm thirty-five millions* of vshioh the Government subscribed seven millions* It had toetxty-five directors, of vshioh five wore appointed toy the President* Its notes wore limited to the amount of its capital stook and wore payable in specie* She bask paid to the Ckrvernment the sum of four and one-half million dollar* In return for its oharter* and the Oovoromsnt agreed to establish no other bank, except in toe District of Columbia* She majority of the Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis •took Of this bank also «b» owned by foreigners, but no voting power m puraitted to thenu At first the bank was badly asmapd and the Baltimore branch collapsed* Later it was mil and conservatively managed and rendered valuable assistance to the G<manmm% and the people* President Jackson, an you vill rewm&er, finally ceased to deposit in tho bank, and ita subsequent history is known to fJLl* Hr. Hamlin then took up fee history of the Jtate bunks and their circulation. 2hey esn be grouped. roughly into two Glasses' First# those whose notes m e based on the general, assets of the bank* tho Hew England banks furnish/a good eatable in this* She second system was the so-oallsd "safety food system", of which tho Hew York hanks ftumia^a Mr, Bsmlin also called attention to the fact. that in the year 1896 the national debt had been entirely paid* Mr. Hamlin then took vp the independent treasury system which me first sstablished in 1840, bat repealed in 1841, and re-established in 1848* Mr* Hamlin then briefly traced the history of the greenbacks daring tho Civil War, when gold reached an mxammsm premia®. Passing front that be took qp tho history of the S&ticttil Bank »«l, which was first enacted in 1883, and amended in 1884* Under this Act national bank depositaries were authorised and banks were Obliged to redeem their notes at agencies as wll as ©for their own counter* In 1888 a tee mis imposed vym otate b«k notes which drove them out of circulation. Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Be then called attention to the fact that cuatow duties during the war had to lie paid in ooia, which meaat, ia practice, la gold, and he pointed out that the Sovernineat, during the auepenaioa of a *ocie payments, gold 586 mill lose of gold la the open inarkot at m vmrag* prorrJltaa of 20$. In 1875 the Beeut^tion «et wa# passed and took effect la 1879* He then traced briefly the history of elltojp legislation* He then took t$> the various plans tfcloh had bean proponed for an asset earreaey, ao-oalledj coaaidoriac in detail the Baltliaore plan; wooretury Carlisle’© plan, and aaay others, and gave aoae attention to the Gold lot of 1900, rnsdor vMch gold ms xs&Se tho standard of valne and a trust imd of ISO cdlliona of dollars ms established for the redemption of greenbacks* national bunk aotee t,ere permitted under thle Act to be iaaued rap to par of the bonds pledged? also long tern bonds were refunded into 2$*o, and power was given to the i’re&aury to leone bonds payable in gold* lie called attention, however, to the fact that M s *et of 1900 for go.ro ao power to tho Secretary ef tho freastirj to ieaue bonda/nadntainlag the parity of all forrae of mcsaey, the duty to maintain which parity, how­ ever* being placod upaa the -secretary of tho Trmmaey* This defect mm remedied by the Federal iseeerw lot* ubleh gave fall power to the secretary of tho Treasury to iaeue gold bonds for the ea&reas pstrpoee of maintaining the parity of all fortae of x>ney loaned by the United states. He tliaa traced briefly tho hlatory of toe Aldrioh-?Teoland Act and the work ef the Monetary Coasaiaaioa* He showed that the bill presented Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis by the Momt&ry Gonialasiaa provided £0? aosatrsA teak in Washington* with fiftoQB toraaohes, ^>ut t&a control waa Toatad is tba banks#*** very limited provision being made for public ooat*ol* Be pointed out tho difforeaoe between tho federal 3e«arfe «ot an* tho Aldrich plea, and shewed how carefully tho latter bad provided for control in tho public interout. 7/13/16 Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Charles S. Hamlin (1916, June 14). Speech. Speeches, Federal Reserve. https://whenthefedspeaks.com/doc/speech_19160615_hamlin

@misc{wtfs_speech_19160615_hamlin,
  author = {Charles S. Hamlin},
  title = {Speech},
  year = {1916},
  month = {Jun},
  howpublished = {Speeches, Federal Reserve},
  url = {https://whenthefedspeaks.com/doc/speech_19160615_hamlin},
  note = {Retrieved via When the Fed Speaks corpus}
}