Sec. 10. #The “Aldrich plan."# The National Monetary Commission submitted with its report a plan which was known by the name of the commission’s chairman, Senator Aldrich.  This plan was embodied in a bill for a National Reserve Association, a bank for banks which bore some likeness to the great central banks of Europe.  In the many details of the plan an effort has been made to remedy every one of the difficulties above described and to supply all the needs indicated.  The plan was favored pretty generally by bankers, but called forth many adverse opinions.  In the year of a presidential election, however, Congress took no action in the matter.  All parties were pledged to some kind of banking reform, but particular proposals were not discussed in the campaign.

[Footnote 1:  Whichever was the smaller.  In 1900 this was changed so that notes could be issued to the full amount of the denomination of the bonds.]

[Footnote 2:  In recent years this has been one half of 1 per cent when 2 per cent bonds, and 1 per cent when bonds bearing a higher interest, were deposited.]

[Footnote 3:  In reserve cities 25 per cent and in other cities 15 per cent.  The details of the regulations in the old law (given in part below, sec. 7) were ll altered by the legislation of 1913.]

[Footnote 4:  The expressions within quotation marks in the following sections are taken from this report.]

[Footnote 5:  See further on this in sec. 7 on periodical congestion of funds.]

[Footnote 6:  See above, sec. 3.]

Chapter 9

THE FEDERAL RESERVE ACT

Sec. 1.  General banking organization.  Sec. 2.  The Federal Reserve Board.  Sec. 3.  Federal reserve banks.  Sec. 4.  Federal reserve notes.  Sec. 5.  Reserves against Federal reserve notes.  Sec. 6.  Reserves against Federal reserve bank deposits.  Sec. 7.  Reserves in member banks.  Sec. 8.  Rediscount by Federal reserve banks.  Sec. 9.  Changes in national banks.  Sec. 10.  Operation of the Act.

Sec. 1. #General banking organization#.  President Wilson and the newly elected Congress with its Democratic majority made banking reform one of the main objects on the program for the special session beginning March 5, 1913.  The result was the Glass-Owen bill, which became law as the Federal Reserve Act December 23 of that year.  The bill was actively discussed within and without the halls of Congress, and many of its features were attacked by bankers individually and acting through the bankers’ associations, at various stages of its progress.  As a result it underwent numerous amendments in details, and tho it remained in most essentials as it was first proposed, it was at last accepted even by its critics as on the whole a beneficent act of legislation.  Indeed, its strongest critics had been the friends of the Aldrich plan, and the Federal Reserve Act embodies,