FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN (FINAL EDITION) ISSUED BY THE BESERVE BOARD AT WASHINGTON DECEMBER, 1923 WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1923 Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD. Ex officio members: D. R. CmssiNGER, Governor. A. W. MELLON, EDMUND PLATT, Vice Governor. Secretary of the Treasury, Chairman. ADOLFH C. MILLER. CHARLES S. HAMLIN. HENRY M. DAWES, GEORGE R. JAMES. Comptroller of the Currency. EDWARD H. CUNNINGHAM. WALTER L. EDDY, Secretary. WALTER WYATT, General Counsel. J. C. NOELL, Assistant Secretary. WALTER W. STEWART, W. M. IMLAY, Fiscal Agent. Director, Division of Research and Statistics. M. JACOBSON, Statistician. J. F. HERSON, Chief, Division of Examination and Chief Federal E. A. GOLDENWEISER, Associate Statistician. Reserve Examiner. E. L. SMEAD, Chief, Division of Bank Operations. FEDERAL ADVISORY COUNCIL. (For the yemr 1923.) District No. 1 (BOSTON) ALFRED L. AIKEN. District No. 2 (NEW YORK) PAUL M. WARBURG, Vice President. District No. 3 (PHILADELPHIA) L. L. RUB, President. District No. 4 (CLEVELAND) C. E. SULLIVAN. District No. 5 (RICHMOND) JOHN M. MILLER, Jr. District No. 6 (ATLANTA) EDWARD W. LANE. District No. 7 (CHICAGO) JOHN J. MITCHELL. District No. 8 (ST. LOUIS) FESTUS J. WADE. District No. 9 (MINNEAPOLIS) G. H. PRINCE. District No. 10 (KANSAS CITY) E. F. SWINNBY. DistrictNo.il (DALLAS) R. L. BALL. District NO. 12 (SAN FRANCISCO) D. W. TWOHY. II Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis OFFICERS OF FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS. Federal Reserve Bank of— Chairman. Governor. Deputy governor. Cashier. Boston Frederic H. Curtiss W. P. G. Harding C. C. BuUen W. Willett. W. W.Paddock New York Pierre Jay Benj. Strong J. H. Case L. H. Hendricks. > L.F.Sailer J. D. Hlggins. i G. L. Harrison A. W. Gilbart. > E. R. Kernel J. W. Jones. < G. E. Chapin. • Philadelphia R. L. Austin George W. Norris Wm. H. Hutt W. A. Dyer. Cleveland D.C.Wills E.R. Fancher M. J. Fleming J. C. Nevin. Frank J. ZurUnden Richmond W. W. Hoxton George J. Seay C. A. Peple Geo. H. Keesee. E. H. Broaddus A. S. Johnstone* Johns. Walden» Atlanta Joseph A. McCord M.B. Wellborn L.C. Adelson M. W. Bell. J. L. Campbell Chicago Wm. A. Heath J. B. McDougal C. E. McKay W. C. Bachman.« JohnH. Blair K. C. Childs. i J. H. Dlllard.» D. A. Jones.' 0. J. Netteretrom. • Clark Washburne.' St. Loots Wm. McC. Martin D.C. Biggs 0. M.Attebery J. W. White. Minneapolis JohnH. Rich R. A. Young W. B. Geery Gray Warren. B.V.Moore Harry Yaeger' FrankC. Dunlop' Kansas City M.L.McClure W. J. Bailey C. A. Worthington J. W. Helm. Dallas Lynn P. Talley B. A. McKfnney E. G. Emerson R. R. Gilbert. San Francisco John Perrin J. U. Calkins Wm. A. Day W. N. Ambrose. Ira Clerk' L.C. Pontious' 1 Controller. • Assistant to governor. * Assistant deputy governor. MANAGERS OF BRANCHES OF FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS. Federal Reserve Bank of— Manager. Federal Reserve Bank of— Manager. New York: Minneapolis: Buffalo branch W. W. Schneckenburger. Helena branch E. E. Towle. Cleveland: Kansas City: Cincinnati branch L. W. Manning. Omaha branch L. H. Earhart. Pittsburgh branch Geo. DeCamp. Denver branch J. E. Olson. Richmond: Oklahoma City branch C. E. Daniel. Baltimore branch A. H. Dudley. Dallas: Atlanta: El Paso branch W. C. Weiss. New Orleans branch Marcus Walker. Houston branch R. B.Coleman. Jacksonville branch Geo. R. De Saussure. San Francisco: Birmingham branch A. E. Walker. Los Angeles branch C. J. Shepherd. Nashville branch J.B. MeNamara. Portland branch Frederick Greenwood. Chicago: Salt Lake City branch R. B.Motherwell. Detroit branch W. R. Cation. Seattle branch C. R. Shaw. St. Louis: Spokane branch W. L. Partner Louisville branch W. P. Kincheloe. Memphis branch J. J. Heflin. Little Rock branch A. F. Bailey. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE OP BULLETIN. The FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN is the Board's medium of communication with member banks of the Federal Reserve System and is the only official organ or periodical publication of the Board. It is printed in two editions, of which the first contains the regular official announcements, the national review of business conditions, and other general matter, and is distributed without charge to the member banks of the Federal Reserve System. Additional copies may be had at a subscription price of $1.50 per annum. The second edition contains detailed analyses of business conditions, special articles, review of foreign banking, and complete statistics showing the condition of Federal Reserve Banks. For this second edition the Board has fixed a subscription price of $4 per annum to cover the cost of paper and printing. Single copies will be sold at 40 cents. Foreign postage should be added when it will be required. Remittances should be made to the Federal Reserve Board. No complete sets of the BULLETIN for 1915,191C, 1917, or 1918 are available. Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis TABLE OF CONTENTS. General summary: Page. Review of the month 1251 Business conditions in the United States 1257 Special Article: Index of employment in manufacturing industries... 1272 Official: State banks admitted to system 1298 Fiduciary powers granted to national banks 1297 Charters issued to national banks .*. 1297 Banks granted authority to accept up to LOO per cent of capital and surplus 1298 Business and financial conditions abroad: Currency values and trade movements abroad 1280 Statistical summary—Trend of business abroad 1282 Currency situation in Europe 1283 Price movement and volume of trade: International wholesale price index 128(5 Comparative wholesale prices in principal countries 1288 Comparative retail prices and cost of living in principal countries 1290 Indexes of industrial activity—United Kingdom, France, Germany, Sweden, Canada, and Japan 1291 Foreign trade of principal countries 1294 Foreign trade index 1296 Ocean freight rates 129(5 Physical volume of trade 1298 Building statistics 1304 Wholesale and retail trade 1305 Banking and financial statistics: Domestic— Discount and open-market operations of Federal reserve banks 1308 Condition of Federal reserve banks 1312 Federal reserve note account 1315 Condition of member banks in leading cities 1316 Savings deposits 1297 Bank debits 1319 Operations of the Federal reserve clearing system 1323 Gold settlement fund 1326 Gold and silver imports and exports 1325 Deposits of all member banks 1324 Money in circulation 1326 Discount rates approved by the Federal Reserve Board 1324 Discount and interest rates in various centers 1327 Abstract of condition reports of State bank members 1328 Earnings and dividends of State bank members 1333 Foreign exchange rates 1334 Foreign— England, France, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Canada, Argentina, and Japan 1335 Charts: Cash reserve, Federal reserve notes in circulation, and earning assets of Federal reserve banks 1251 Index of production in basic industries and wholesale prices in the United States 1257 Bank credit—800 member banks in leading cities and all Federal reserve banks 1258 Cotton exports during three months ending October 31 1260 Hog prices compared with receipts at 57 markets 1261 Weekly price of raw silk in New York 1264 Production of building materials compared with production of basic commodities 126(5 New freight cars put into service 1267 Index of employment in manufacturing industries 1272 Adjustment of paper and wood pulp index to 1921 census 1275 Group indexes of employment 1277 Internationa] wholesale price index—Federal Reserve Board 1286 Volume of domestic business ] 299 IV Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN VOL. 9 DECEMBER, 1923. No. 12 REVIEW OF THE MONTH. While member banks borrow also for the pur- pose of maintaining their reserve balances, dis- This review has had occasion more than once counting at the reserve banks on a large scale to refer to the influence exerted by the inflow takes place only when the country wants more of gold upon the banking situa- currency. The reserve banks, therefore, taken Currency and tion of the country and more the reserve as a whole and considered from the viewpoint of banks. particularly to the effect of the the use to which their credit is put, are primarily • gold movement on the position note-issuing banks. The close correspondence of the reserve banks. Gold imports have con- between total earning assets and Federal re- tinued on a scale larger than a year ago and serve notes in circulation during the years of have continued to affect the demand for re- rapid credit expansion, as shown on the chart, serve bank credit. With the financing of a makes it evident that it is the need for cur- large crop movement, now almost completed, rency which has chiefly occasioned the use of and the demands of fall trade already under reserve bank credit in large volume. The way, there has been little change in the relation divergence in movement between earning assets between member banks and the reserve banks, and, contrary to previous experience, the crop- MILLIONS QT DOLLARS moving demands for currency have not been reflected in the total volume of Federal reserve note circulation. In fact, although during the year total money in circulation increased by more than a quarter of a billion dollars and the loans and investments of all member banks by about two billion dollars, both Federal reserve note circulation and the earning assets of reserve banks are somewhat lower than at this time last year. The recent developments are of particu- lar interest because of the light they throw on the position of the reserve system at a time when the demand for member bank credit and for currency has increased, while the volume of 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 reserve bank credit has remained relatively End of month figures for the 12 Federal reserve banks combined.