FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN (FINAL EDITION) ISSUED BY THE FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD AT WASHINGTON MAY, 1923 WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTmG OFFICE 1923 Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD. Ex officio members: D. R. CRIBBINGER, Governor A. W. MELLON, EDMUND PLATT, Vice Governor. Secretary of the Treasury, Chairman. ADOLPH C. MILLER. CHARLES S. HAMLIN. HENRY M. DAWES, Comptroller of the Currency. JOHN R. MITCHELL. W. W. HOXTON, Secretary. WALTER WYATT, General Counsel. W. L. EDDY, Assistant Secretary. WALTER W. STEWART, W. M. IMLAY, Fiscal Agent. Director, Division of Analysis and Research. J. F. HERSON, M. JACOBSON, Statistician. Chief, Division of Examination and Chief Federal E. A. GOLDENWEISER, Associate Statistician. Reserve Examiner. E. L. SMEAP, Chief, Division of Bank Operations. FEDERAL ADVISORY COUNCIL. (For the year 1923.) District No. 1 (BOSTON) ALFRED L. AIKEN. District No. 2 (NEW YORK) PAUL M. WARBURG, Vice President. District No. 3 (PHILADELPHIA) L. L. RUE, 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. District No. 11 (DALLAS) R. L. BALL. District No. 12 (SAN FRANCISCO) D. W. TWOHY. n 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.O. Harding C.C. BuUen W. WUlett. W. W. Paddock New York Pierre Jay BenJ. Strong J. H. Case. L. E. Hendricks.' L. F. Sailer J.D. Higgins." G. L. Harrison A. W. GUbarM E,R. Kernel Leslie R. Rounds. > J.W.Jones.' G. E.Chapin.» Philadelphia R. L.Austin George W. Norris Wm.H. Hutt.jr W. A. Dyer. Cleveland D.C.Wills E. R. Fancher M. J. Fleming. Frank J. Zurflnden Richmond Caldwell Hardy George J. Seay C. A. Peple Geo. H. Keesee. R. H. Broaddus A. S. Johnstone* John S. 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. R. McKay W.C. Bachman.i John H.Blair K.C.Childs.» J. H. Dillard.1 D.A.Jones.1 0. J. Netterstrom.1 Clark Washburne. > St. Louis Wm. McC. Martin D.C. Biggs 0. M. Attebery J. W. White. Minneapolis John H. Rich R. A. Young W. B. Geery B. V. Moore. S.S.Cook Frank C. Dunlop» Kansas City M. L. McClure, W.J.BaUey C. A. Worthington J. W. Helm. Dallas Lynn P. Talley B. A. McKlnney R.G.Emerson R. R. Gilbert. San Francisco JohnPerrln J. U. Calkins Wm.A. Day W. N. Ambrose. Ira Clerk.'. L. C. Pontlous' ' 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 R. E. Towle. Cleveland: Kansas City: : Cincinnati branch L. W. Manning. Omaha branch L. H. Earhart. i Pittsburgh branch Geo. DeCamp. Denver branch C. A. Burkhardt. | 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 Floyd Ikard. Jacksonville branch Geo. R. De Saussure. San Francisco: Birmingham branch A. E. Walker. Los Angeles branch C. J. Shepherd. Nashville branch J. B. McNamara. Portland branch Frederick Greenwood. Chicago: Salt Lake City branch R. B. Motherwell. Detroit branch W. R. Cation, acting. 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 OF 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 1915,1916,1917, or 1918 are available. in Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis TABLE OF CONTENTS. General summary: Page. Review of the month—Credit and currency requirements and the Federal reserve banks 539 Business conditions in the United States 545 Special articles: •i Velocity of bank deposits 562 Cotton financing (IV) 566 Condition of State banks and trust companies in Missouri on June 30 and Dec. 29, 1922 576 Official: Rulings of the Federal Reserve Board— Xonnegotiable paper ineligible for rediscount by Federal reserve banks 559 Government deposits in member banks exempt from the reserve requirements of section 19 of the Fed- eral Reserve Act 559 Law department—Exercise of fiduciary powers by national banks located in Pennsylvania 560 State banks admitted to system 558 Fiduciary powers granted to national banks 561 Charters issued to national banks 558 Business and financial conditions abroad 577 Trend of business abroad—Statistical summary 578 Agricultural credit in Great Britain " 579 Prices in Italy 583 Mexico—Review of year 1922 587 Government control of banking and foreign exchange in Brazil 592 Price movement and volume of trade: International wholesale price index, monthly, 1919-1923 596 Comparative wholesale prices in principal countries, monthly, 1919-1923 6<)0 Group index numbers, monthly, 1922-23 602 Comparative retail prices and cost of living in principal countries, monthly, 1922-23 608 Indexes of industrial activity—United Kingdom, France, Germany, Sweden, Canada, and Japan 609 Foreign trade of principal countries 612 Foreign trade index 614 Ocean freight rates 615 Report of Associated Knit Underwear Manufacturers of America 615 Production and shipments of finished cotton fabrics 616 Physical volume of trade 617 Building statistics 622 Wholesale and retail trade 623 Commercial failures 616 Banking and financial statistics: Domestic— Discount and open-market operations of Federal reserve banks 626 Condition of Federal reserve banks 630 Federal reserve note account 633 Condition of member banks in leading cities 634 Savings deposits 614 Bank debits 637 Operations of the Federal reserve clearing system 641 Gold settlement fund '. 642 Gold and silver imports and exports 643 Money in circulation 642 Discount rates approved by the Federal Reserve Board 643 Discount and interest rates in various centers 644 Foreign exchange rates 645 Foreign— England, France, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Canada, Argentina, and Japan 646 Condition of foreign banks of issue 650 Charts: Index of production in basic industries and wholesale prices in the United States 545 Bank credit 546 Annual rate of turnover of bank deposits 563 Wholesale prices and exchange in Italy 583,584,585 International wholesale price index—Federal Reserve Board 596 Volume of domestic business 617 Wholesale trade and department-store sales 623 Sales of mail-order houses 623 IV Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN VOL. 9 MAY, 1923 No. 5 REVIEW OF THE MONTH. ments during the past 15 months. Since the middle of 1922, wnen renewed demand for Credit developments during the past month credit was first reflected in larger commercial have further emphasized the fact that current loans, total loans and investments of member Business ex- business expansion is being banks in leading fcities f have increased by pansion and the financed independently of re- $1,300,000,000, while earning assets of the re- reserve banks. serve bank credit. In these serve banks have increased by less than circumstances, the weekly statement of the $100,000,000. At the present time the total of reserve banks is not indicative of changes in member bank credit is nearly as large as in credit conditions. Changes in reserves, in 1920 and the volume of goods being produced earning assets, and in Federal reserve note and marketed exceeds the peak reached in that circulation have been relatively slight since year, yet the volume of reserve bank credit is last summer and have not reflected the con- $2,200,000,000 ess. siderable growth in' bank credit. The re- During the past two months Federal reserve serve ratio, as was pointed out last month in Present cur- no^e circulation has declined a discussion of the effect of gold imports on rency require- slightly and the growing de- our credit situation, has at present little value ments, j * i. \ as an indicator of credit movements. It was mand for currency has been these gold imports that enabled member banks met by an increase in other forms of money in to meet the increased credit and currency de- circulation. In fact, the total money in cir- mands of their customers without obtaining a culation is now $242,000,000 larger than a corresponding amount of accommodation at year ago, while Federal reserve notes during the reserve banks.