If through conference or otherwise the steamship companies accomplish their wicked purpose, we are not responsible for the results and here serve notice on our colleagues on the committee who voted to report this bill and on our colleagues of the House who vote for its passage that on your hands and not ours will be the evil results of those who suffer by it. I also desire to include in my remarks the following statement from a gentleman whom I purposely sent to Baltimore only last Sunday to examine one of these boats and which I have not time to read: Yesterday an opportunity presented itself, of which I have availed myself, in seeing with my own eyes the steerage compartments of an ocean-going liner. This opportunity I have long sought, principally for the purpose of ascertaining the truth of the pitiful stories which I have had related to me by hundreds of alien immigrants who have crossed the Atlantic as steerage passengers-tales of great hardship, sickness, and misery while confined in the steerage. The absolute truth of these stories of sufferings was proven to my complete satisfaction on my visit to one of the many liners which arrived last Wednesday, at the immigration station at Baltimore, Md. Upon my entrance to the steerage compartment, I was silently greeted with a stench that was nauseating in the extreme, very much like that emitted from a decomposing carcass, Upon investigation I found that the lavatories, reeking with accumulated filth, the wooden floors being thoroughly saturated with excrement, were in no small way responsible for the putridity. These pestilential lavatories, devoid of the slightest sanitation, are located in these compartments, being separated only by a thin wooden partition. The bunks present the spectacle of antiquated prisons, long since relegated for more comfortable ones. There are two tiers of these bunks, constructed of iron piping, and each tier contains four bunks and upward. The compartments are very small, and it is apparent that the builders of the ship utilized every inch of space to crowd in as many of these bunks as possible, neglecting neither ingenuity nor skill, and of course, wholly regardless of the comfort of those who would be compelled to occupy these for weeks. Surely, these bunks were not intended for the use of adults. These pas It takes a contortionist to get into one of these bunks. There are no springs, but hard bars of iron, on which is placed a mattress sparingly stuffed with corn husks, and upon which, besides a blanket, is a pillow filled with the same material. Within these compartments long tables and benches are placed on which meals are served. sengers eat and sleep in these foul compartments, the atmosphere of which is filled with disease-spreading baccilli. The small space provided for these bunks makes it a physical impossibility for an adult occupant to obtain rest. It is literally true that these passengers are huddled together like so many sheep in a pen. The ordinary stock cars provide more space and air for the animals that are quartered in them than do the steerage compartments of an ocean liner. This statement may appear ironical, but it is true. This description is no exaggeration of what I have seen. CHAS. J. MICHAL. suaded into doing something which it does not wish to do, and which it does not now intend to do. That is about the size of the entire opposition. Now, Mr. Speaker, this is simply and solely a proposition to change the statute so as to deal with conditions under which immigrants are coming to our shores. In other words, to provide that the immigrant who leaves his own shore in good health shall not have his health ruined in transit to this country by being improperly housed and not being properly cared for. That is all there is to it, and the prevalence of the motion made by the gentleman from New York will lead to a modification of the statute so as to better the conditions of every immigrant brought to our shores. That is the simple and sole question, as I understand from what I have heard of this discussion and from what I gather from reading the report that the majority and the minority made on this bill. It seems to me, under those circumstances, that there ought to be a substantially unanimous vote for the adoption of the motion made by the gentleman from New York [Mr. BENNET]. [Applause.] Mr. BURNETT. I yield two minutes to the gentleman from New York. Mr. SULZER. Mr. Speaker, this bill is in the interest of the foreign steamship owners and against the welfare of the poor immigrant. My sympathy is all with the latter. It is a bill against humanity, and the motion of the gentleman from New York should be voted down. Last year, after a great deal of consideration, after a most thorough investigation, we passed the act of February 20, 1907. Section 42 of that act provided for the air space that these steamship companies should allow to these poor immigrants, but the enforcement of that section was unwisely postponed until next January. The Commissioner of Immigration in New York, Mr. Watchorn, a man of much experience, a man of great efficiency, and a man whose competency has never been questioned, has testified that the postponement of section 42 was a great mistake, against the welfare of the poor immigrants, and in the interests of the foreign steamship companies. I agree with Mr. Watchorn. Mr. Speaker, if I had the assurance that the Senate would pass this bill as amended by our committee, I would not oppose it, but I have been informed on very good authority that the Senate will never agree to the bill as it is presented to the House to-day, because they are strictly opposed to my amend-air ment, which provides that In the measurement of the passenger decks and of the lowest passenger decks, the space occupied by that part of the personal baggage of the steerage passengers which the inspector permits to be carried, there shall be included commodious and suitable dining rooms, lounging rooms, smoking rooms, lavatories, toilet rooms, and bathrooms for the exclusive use of steerage passengers, and the space so occupied shall also be excluded But my original amendment, before being amended, provided: that such space as the company is forced to give for these places should not be deducted from the small space allotted to the steerage passengers for their own use. For the reasons I have given, and for many other reasons, I am opposed to the bill, as I am not willing to sacrifice the health and lives of poor and oppressed people in behalf of greedy steamship companies. Mr. Speaker, I ask, Shall these steamship companies reign, dictate and do as they please forever? Is it not time that steerage conditions, such as I have described, come to an end? I am satisfied, Mr. Speaker, that this side of the House will solidly vote against this inhuman and treacherous bill. I realize that you have a majority and that you can pass it, but if you do you and your party will be held responsible. [Applause.] Mr. BURNETT. Will the gentleman consume part of his time now? Mr. BENNET of New York. I yield two minutes to the gentleman from New York. Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, as I understand this bill and the position that is taken by those who oppose it, their opposition is simply ridiculous. Nothing that I have heard, as I understand it, by the gentlemen who are opposing the motion of the gentleman from New York would indicate that they do not believe in accomplishing just what the gentleman from New York is striving to accomplish. They believe in the enactment of the provisions that the gentleman from New York is seeking to have passed, and say that we would have a very much better statute than that which now exists. But they say that they are fearful that the House conferees will have some outrage perpetrated upon them when they meet like conferees from the Senate, and they think then this House may be per Now, you want to practically repeal section 42 to help the steamship companies. I asked the gentleman from New York [Mr. BENNET], when he was on the floor, whether this new bill would increase or decrease the air space allowed to the immigrants, and he said it would increase the space. He is mistaken about it. The record conclusively shows that the gentleman from New York was in error. It will decrease the space. It will mean the crowding of more immigrants in the holds of the steamships. It will mean more sickness and more distress and more deaths for poor men and women and children. It is a mistake, and it will never have my sanction. The poor immigrants pay for their passage and should be treated like human beings and not like cattle. The record and the testimony demonstrate beyond question that the passage of this bill will decrease the air space instead of increasing it, and I trust the motion will be voted down, in the interest of humanity. [Applause on the Democratic side.] Mr. BURNETT. Does the gentleman intend using the remainder of his time in one speech? Mr. BENNET of New York. Yes. Mr. BURNETT. Mr. Speaker, I believe I have one minute remaining. In that time I merely desire to reiterate what I said before. The gentleman from New York [Mr. SHERMAN] talks about the ridiculousness of the proposition that the House should not pass this bill because in conference the House may be forced to do something that it does not want to do. And yet every day we see from the reports of conference committees that the House or the Senate are backing down from propositions that they have insisted upon and that they believe to be right, and during this very day, in my judgment, you are going to see the same thing again in the passage of a conference report on the currency bill, which even the Republicans do not want. I warn the gentlemen now that if they go to tampering with this section 42, which Mr. Watchorn says ought to have gone into effect long ago instead of next January, they are going to see the steamship companies finally coming out with substantially the bill that was introduced and passed through the Senate without anybody even seeing the joker that is in it. The steamship companies are really the only ones that desire a change in section 42, and in passing it you are playing into their hands. If the bill that suits them does not pass at this session, you will hear their friends howling early next session for an extension of the time in which they may prepare to conform to section 42. Mr. BENNET of New York. Has the gentleman from Alabama exhausted his time? The SPEAKER pro tempore. He has. I ask for a vote Wiley Sturgiss Washburn Wolf Talbott Watson Taylor, Ala. Weeks Wood Thomas, Ohio Weems Tirrell Weisse Townsend Wheeler Mr. BENNET of New York. Mr. Speaker, I make the point Sparkman of order that there is no quorum present. Mr. CLARK of Missouri. Dilatory, Mr. Speaker. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The point is evidently well taken. The Doorkeeper will close the doors, the Sergeant-atArms will notify absent Members, and the Clerk will call the roll. Sperry So the motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill The Clerk announced the following additional pairs: was Mr. ALEXANDER of New York (in favor) with Mr. CARLIN The question was taken, and there were-yeas 134, nays 92, (against). present" 16, not voting 145, as follows: answered " YEAS-134. Gaines, W. Va. Hinshaw Norris Holliday Nye Howell, N. J. Howland Hubbard, W. Va. Olcott Olmsted Overstreet Parker, S. Dak. Parsons Kennedy, Iowa Payne Kennedy, Ohio Porter Kinkaid Pray Knapp Prince Küstermann Hamilton, Mich. McMillan James, Ollie M. Johnson, Ky. Reeder Reynolds Scott Stafford Sterling Taylor, Ohio Wanger McCreary Chapman Graff McGavin Cockran Haggott McKinlay, Cal. Cocks, N. Y. Hale McKinley, III. Cook, Colo. Hall McLachlan, Cal. Coudrey Haskins Malby Haugen Miller Hawley Moore, Pa. Wilson, Ill. Hayes Morse Young Henry, Conn. Needham Hepburn Nelson NAYS-92. Until further notice: Mr. BURTON of Ohio with Mr. BELL of Georgia. Mr. DRISCOLL with Mr. ELLERBE. Mr. GRAHAM with Mr. FAVROT. Mr. GREENE with Mr. GARNER. Mr. HOWELL of Utah with Mr. GILL. Mr. LOVERING with Mr. GILLESPIE. Mr. Moon of Pennsylvania with Mr. GLASS. Mr. PEARRE with Mr. GORDON. Mr. RODENBERG with Mr. GREGG. Mr. SMITH of California with Mr. HACKETT. Mr. TIRRELL with Mr. PATTERSON. Mr. SNAPP with Mr. HAMLIN. Mr. MCKINNEY with Mr. GOLDFOGLE. Mr. BRUMM with Mr. FORNES. Mr. MCGUIRE with Mr. STANLEY. no upon the The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will call the name of the gentleman from New York. The Clerk called the name of Mr. GOLDFOGLE, and he answered "present." The result of the vote was announced as above recorded. EULOGIES ON THE LATE SENATOR PROCTOR. Mr. HASKINS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent for the present consideration of the following order, which I send to the desk and ask to have read. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules, The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is a second demanded? The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the rule a second is ordered. The gentleman from New York is entitled to twenty minutes and the gentleman from Virginia to twenty minutes. Mr. BRADLEY. Mr. Speaker, this bill donates condemned cannon and obsolete small arms to certain institutions in a dozen States-North, South, East, and West-and really needs no explanation. The Senate amendment, section 13 of the bill, simply exempts these institutions from the statutory requirement McLaughlin, Mich. calling for quarterly reports to the War Department, and section 14-a Senate amendment-provides that patriotic societies may purchase obsolete small arms and their equipment from the War Department at a reasonable price. Mr. Speaker, I return to the Chair the balance of my time. McMorran Marshall Mondell James, Addison D. Moon, Pa. Kitchin, Wm. W. Jenkins Johnson, S. C. Kahn Kitchin, Claude Gordon Knopf Graham Knowland Greene Greg Goebel Griggs Lamar, Fla. Mouser Mudd Peters Lamar, Mo. Pratt Lamb Gronna Landis Hamlin Lassiter Legare Harding Hardwick Harrison Lilley Mr. HAY. Mr. Speaker, this bill is for the purpose of distributing obsolete ordnance among the different organizations of the country, both Union and Confederate. There is no objection to the passage of the bill. I yield ten minutes to the gentleman from Missouri [Mr. RUSSELL]. Mr. RUSSELL of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, the first session of the Sixtieth Congress will soon adjourn, and its work will beIt has already won the deserved come a matter of history. appellation of "The do-nothing Congress," and the merited condemnation of the American people Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I make the point of order that the gentleman is not speaking to the bill. Mr. RUSSELL of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I desire to say that I have not consumed over forty minutes of the time of this Congress, and I would like to have ten minutes now. Mr. PAYNE. I make the point of order. Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, on the point of order made by the gentleman from New York I desire to submit this question. The House has adopted a rule allowing every Member to print in the RECORD such speeches as he desires. Mr. COCKRAN. Such stuff as he desires, the gentleman means. Mr. UNDERWOOD. I accept the amendment. And the proposition is, if the gentleman does not speak he can insert his remarks in the RECORD. Therefore I contend that the rule which was adopted on the motion of the gentleman from New York [Mr. PAYNE] two or three days ago eliminates the rule that makes it necessary for a Member to speak to the bill, because the House has already given him permission to use the RECORD for any purpose that he may desire. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Does the gentleman from Alabama seriously contend that an order granting leave to print in the RECORD changes the rule which under a motion to suspend the rules requires that Members speak to the subject before the House? Mr. UNDERWOOD. It is not my contention. It is a new rule which was adopted by the Republican party just a day or two ago. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair wanted the aid of the gentleman from Alabama in deciding the question. The Chair thinks that the gentleman from Missouri must proceed in order. Mr. RUSSELL of Missouri. That is, I must discuss this bill? The SPEAKER pro tempore. To discuss the pending bill. Mr. RUSSELL of Missouri. I do not desire to speak upon this bill. I desire to talk upon something else. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman has leave to print. Mr. RUSSELL of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to proceed for ten minutes. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Missouri asks unanimous consent to proceed for ten minutes. Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, this rule was adopted for the special purpose of saving the time of the House, and giving unanimous consent does not do that, and therefore I object. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New York objects. The gentleman from Missouri will proceed in order. Mr. RUSSELL of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I do not desire to discuss this bill. The privilege of concluding my remarks being refused, I will extend them in the RECORD. [Applause on the Democratic side.] Mr. HAY. Mr. Speaker, unless somebody desires to speak on the bill, I do not desire to use any more of my time. Mr. CLAYTON. I would like to ask the gentleman: This is a bill relative to the disposition of worthless brass and obsolete cannon? Mr. HAY. That is quite true. Mr. CLAYTON. Why not let us talk about the disposition of that piece of obsolete cannon? Mr. HAY. Well, I yield such time as the gentleman may desire for that purpose. Mr. CLAYTON. I only want a minute or two to talk about this matter. We are now talking about-I believe I am speaking to the bill-brass cannon and the brass that is incident to the other side of this House, of course, because we know with what an amazing amount of brass the gentleman from New York, the Republican leader of this House, has asserted and will undertake to show in the pending campaign that the Sixtieth Congress has possessed some virtues other than brass. Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I make the point of order against the gentleman's remarks. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will proceed in order. Mr. CLAYTON. If the gentleman does not wish me to pass encomium upon him Mr. PAYNE. I call the gentleman to order. Mr. CLAYTON. I will proceed in order, Mr. Speaker. Of course I may admit I was wrong. There may be no similarity between brass and the gentleman from New York, and there may be nothing brassy about him, and perhaps I should not have said so. Now, Mr. Speaker, he is willing enough that we talk about obsolete things. We are talking about obsolete arms. Now, why should I not be allowed to talk about what soon will be obsolete? Does the Chair rule that in discussing what is already obsolete I have no right to discuss what soon will be obsolete? The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair thinks not. Mr. CLAYTON. You ought not to rule that, but to rule I have the right to talk about what soon will be obsolete as well as what is already obsolete. The SPEAKER pro tempore. This bill entirely refers to small arms and Mr. CLAYTON. Small arms. Well, what I desired to speak about was that the crowd on that side will be smaller in the next Congress, and I wanted to talk about it. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair trusts the gentleman will proceed in order. Mr. CLAYTON. Well, Mr. Speaker, I have never read this bill. [Laughter.] I must say that I am in the dilemma that most of us here are in. This bill, like a multitude of others which have been put through this session of Congress, by some sort of secret arrangement some gentlemen have with the Speaker to call up a measure and get recognition by unanimous consent or to suspend the rules, are put through, and the House knows nothing about them, and we have to ask somebody about them in order to vote. The gentlemen on that side seem to vote every time, with practical unanimity, "aye" in support of such a measure as this, and on this side we frequently vote "no," because we do not know anything about it. It is a safe vote always, as I have learned by my long associations here with Republican Members of this House, if the House has not had the opportunity to read and study and be informed concerning a measure, to vote "no" on any Republican measure. Therefore, were it not for the assurance of the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. HAY]-for whom I have the very greatest regard, and whom, I may say, I hope will never be obsolete, and that he will come to Congress as often as he wants to, and who adorns the Committee on Military Affairs-I would vote against this. But I must take his word for it, and with all of my opposition to the methods of the majority in this House, Mr. Speaker, I must vote for the disposition of the obsolete guns in this bill. Why rush bills through the House without proper consideration? Why pass the bill relating to useless arms and refuse to pass the bill offered by my colleague [Mr. HEFLIN] to stop employees or statisticians from divulging prematurely, for benefit of the gamblers, the cotton reports of the Agricultural Department? Mr. HAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield two, minutes to the gentleman from New York [Mr. SULZER]. Mr. SULZER. Mr. Speaker, just a few words. This bill comes from the Committee on Military Affairs with a unanimous report, and so far as I know there is no objection to it. I trust it will pass unanimously. I do not care to make an invidious comparison between the brass cannon or the obsolete cannon or the human CANNON. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is, Shall the rules be suspended and the Senate amendments agreed to? Mr. HAY. Mr. Speaker, I desire to print as a part of my remarks the report on this bill, and ask unanimous consent to do so. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the report may be printed as a part of the gentleman's remarks. There was no objection. The report is as follows: Report No. 673, to accompany H. R. 21410. The Committee on Military Affairs, to which was referred the bill (H. R. 21410) granting condemned ordnance to certain institutions, reports the same to the Senate favorably and recommends that it be passed, amended as follows: After line 3, on page 6, add the following: "SEC. 13. That the various cannon and other articles of ordnance property furnished under the foregoing provisions of this act shall not be required to be accounted for to the Chief of Ordnance. "SEC. 14. That the Chief of Ordnance is hereby authorized to sell, without advertisement, to patriotic organizations, for military purposes, surplus obsolete small arms and their equipments and ammunition, at such prices as he may deem reasonable and just: Provided. That hereafter obsolete small arms and their equipment and ammunition shall not be disposed of to such organizations except as provided for in this act." The legislation granting condemned cannon referred to in sections 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the within bill has heretofore been remarked upon by the War Department, as will be seen in the various House reports upon the individual cases contained in this omnibus ordnance bill. That referred to in sections 6 and 7 has not been reported upon. The same statement can be made in regard to all of the sections, however, that the guns called for are on hand in the War Department, are obgolete, and are useful to the Department only as old material, for which their value is about 12 cents per pound. The bronze guns on hand 7062 If are of three general classes, namely, 12-pounder heavy, 12-pounder The Department has also remarked upon the legislation contained The organizations mentioned in The Department has not remarked upon legislation such as that contained in sections 8, 10, and 11. these sections probably desire the guns for parade purposes, and there are a large number of such organizations in the country who would probably desire similar donations to such an extent as to make a drain of which it would be difficult to estimate the magnitude upon the supply of obsolete guns which the Government now either sells for a considerable aggregate amount or issues to institutions of certain classes. The Department now sells obsolete Springfield rifles with bayonets at as low a price as $2 for each rifle, and sells gun slings and cartridge In consideration of the easy possibility of belts for 20 cents each. thus obtaining these arms, and of the great demand for them which would probably result if the practice were inaugurated of donating them to organizations whose use of them would not be such as to promote military training of the youth of the country, neither the Departwithin mentioned, ment nor your committee favors legislation making such donations, which, although unimportant in the few cases would, as instances of a policy, deprive the Government of a source of Hence the amendment proposed by section 14 of considerable income. the bill as reported. The question was taken, and there were yeas 238, nays 5, answered "present" 13, not voting 131, as follows: Acheson Aiken Bell, Ga. Burgess Calder Cary Caulfield Chaney Chapman The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on suspending Cocks, N. Y. the rules and agreeing to the Senate amendments. Mr. HAY. Mr. Speaker, demand the yeas and nays. The yeas and nays were ordered. Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I make the point that no quorum is present. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New York makes the point that no quorum is present. Evidently, the point is well taken. The Doorkeeper will close the doors, the Sergeant-at-Arms will bring in absent MembersMr. Speaker, the rule requires the Mr. HENRY of Texas. doors shall be closed while there is a call of the House, at least. Cooper, Tex. Currier Dawson Hamlin The SPEAKER pro tempore. Yes. Mr. HENRY of Texas. For the comfort of the Members I Clark, Mo. desire to ask unanimous' consent that the rule requiring the doors be closed be dispensed with during this roll call and other roll calls. It is not done on the Senate side, and it is not done anywhere else under the call of the House. This room is so hot while the doors are closed that I think we can well dispense with the rule, and I ask unanimous consent that it be suspended. Mr. WILSON of Illinois. tion? Will the gentleman allow a ques Mr. HENRY of Texas. Yes. Mr. WILSON of Illinois. with the roll call? Would it not be better to dispense Mr. HENRY of Texas. If I had it in my power it might be that it would, but I have not the power. Mr. PAYNE. Sufficient doors are left open to give us ventilation. I object. The Sergeant-at-Arms will The SPEAKER pro tempore. bring in absent Members. 66 rules and agreeing to the Senate amendments will, as their Carlin Wheeler Webb Holliday Hubbard, Iowa Carter Clark, Fla. Hughes, N. J. Hull, Iowa Hull, Tenn. Jackson Jenkins Mudd Watson Johnson, S. C. Murphy Weeks The Chair has directed that Davidson Kahn Page Weems Kitchin, Claude Parker, S. Dak. Weisse Kitchin, Wm. W. Perkins Wiley Knopf Peters Willett Knowland Porter Wilson, Ill. Lamar, Fla. Powers Wolf Lamar, Mo. Pratt The following additional pairs were announced: Mr. BENNETT of Kentucky with Mr. ANSBERRY. Mr. DAVIDSON with Mr. BARTLETT of Nevada. Mr. FOSTER of Vermont with Mr. BURNETT. Mr. HOLLIDAY with Mr. CARLIN. Mr. KAHN with Mr. CARTER, Mr. Law with Mr. ELLERBE. Mr. LAWRENCE with Mr. GILLESPIE. Mr. MCMILLAN with Mr. GREGG. Mr. MCMORRAN with Mr. HULL of Tennessee. Mr. MONDELL with Mr. HITCHCOCK. Mr. PERKINS with Mr. LEE. Mr. REYNOLDS with Mr. PAGE. The SPEAKER. On this question the yeas are 238, the nays 5, present 13-a quorum. The Doorkeeper will open the doors. The ayes have it, and the motion to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendments prevails. MESSAGE FROM THE SENATE. A message from the Senate, by Mr. CROCKETT, its reading clerk, announced that the Senate had passed without amendment joint resolution of the following title: H. J. Res. 186. Joint resolution relating to the assignment of space in the House Office Building. The message also announced that the Senate had passed without amendment the following House concurrent resolution: House concurrent resolution 41. Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That there be printed and bound 50,000 copies of the proceedings of the conference of the governors of the States and Territories, called by the President of the United States, to be held May 13, 14, and 15, 1908, to consider measures for the conservation of the country's natural resources, of which 14,000 copies shall be for the use of the Senate, 26,000 copies for the use of the House of Representatives, and 10,000 copies for distribution by the President of the United States. EMERGENCY CURRENCY. Mr. VREELAND. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and adopt the conference report which I present. The SPEAKER. The gentleman from New York moves to suspend the rules and agree to the conference report which he presents. The conference report was read, as follows: The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the amendment of the Senate to the bill (H. R. 21871) to amend the national banking laws, having met, after full and free conference have agreed to recommend and do recommend to their respective Houses as follows: That the House recede from its disagreement to the amend ment of the Senate, and agree to the same with an amendment as follows: Strike out all of the matter inserted by said Senate amendment and insert in lieu thereof the following: "That national banking associations, each having an unimpaired capital and a surplus of not less than 20 per cent, not less than 10 in number, having an aggregate capital and surplus of at least $5,000,000, may form voluntary associations to be designated as national currency associations. The banks uniting to form such association shall, by their presidents or vicepresidents, acting under authority from the board of directors, make and file with the Secretary of the Treasury a certificate setting forth the names of the banks composing the association, the principal place of business of the association, and the name of the association, which name shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury. Upon the filing of such certificate the associated banks therein named shall become a body corporate, and by the name so designated and approved may sue and be sued and exercise the powers of a body corporate for the purposes hereinafter mentioned: Provided, That not more than one such national currency association shall be formed in any city: Provided further, That the several members of such national currency association shall be taken, as nearly as conveniently may be, from a territory composed of a State or part of a State, or contiguous parts of one or more States: And provided further, That any national bank in such city or territory, having the qualifications herein prescribed for membership in such national currency association, shall, upon its application to and upon the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, be admitted to membership in a national currency association for that city or territory, and upon such admission shall be deemed and held a part of the body corporate, and as such entitled to all the rights and privileges and subject to all the liabilities of an original member: And provided further, That each national currency association shall be composed exclusively of banks not members of any other national currency association. *The dissolution, voluntary or otherwise, of any bank in such association shall not affect the corporate existence of the association unless there shall then remain less than the minimum number of ten banks: Provided, however, That the reduction of the number of said banks below the minimum of ten shall not affect the existence of the corporation with respect to the assertion of all rights in favor of or against such association. The affairs of the association shall be managed by a board consisting of one representative from each bank. By-laws for the government of the association shall be made by the board, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury. A president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, and an executive committee of not less than five members shall be elected by the board. The powers of such board, except in the election of officers and making of by-laws, may be exercised through its executive committee. "The national currency association herein provided for shall have and exercise any and all powers necessary to carry out the purposes of this section, namely, to render available, under the direction and control of the Secretary of the Treasury, as a basis for additional circulation any securities, including commercial paper, held by a national banking association. For the purpose of obtaining such additional circulation, any bank belonging to any national currency association, having circulating notes outstanding secured by the deposit of bonds of the United States to an amount not less than forty per centum of its capital stock, and which has its capital unimpaired and a surplus of not less than twenty per centum, may deposit with and transfer to the association, in trust for the United States, for the purpose hereinafter provided, such of the securities above mentioned as may be satisfactory to the board of the association.The officers of the association may thereupon, in behalf of such bank, make application to the Comptroller of the Currency for an issue of additional circulating notes to an amount not exceeding seventy-five per centum of the cash value of the securities or commercial paper so deposited. The Comptroller of the Currency shall immediately transmit such application to the Secretary of the Treasury with such recommendation as he thinks proper, and if, in the judgment of the Secretary of the Treasury, business conditions in the locality demand additional circulation, and if he be satisfied with the character and value of the securities proposed and that a lien in favor of the United States on the securities so deposited and on the assets of the banks composing the association will be amply sufficient for the protection of the United States, he may direct an issue of additional circulating notes to the association, on behalf of such bank, to an amount in his discretion, not, however, exceeding seventy-five per centum of the cash value of the securities so deposited Provided, That upon the deposit of any of the State, city, town, county, or other municipal bonds, of a character described in section 3 of this act, circulating notes may be issued to the extent of not exceeding ninety per centum of the market value of such bonds so deposited: And provided further, That no national banking association shall be authorized in any event to issue circulating notes based on commercial paper in excess of thirty per centum of its unimpaired capital and surplus. The term "commercial paper" shall be held to include only notes representing actual commercial transactions, which when accepted by the association shall bear the names of at least two responsible parties and have not exceeding four months to run. "The banks and the assets of all banks belonging to the association shall be jointly and severally liable to the United States for the redemption of such additional circulation; and to secure such liability the lien created by section 5230 of the Revised Statutes shall extend to and cover the assets of all banks belonging to the association, and to the securities deposited by the banks with the association pursuant to the provisions of this act; but as between the several banks composing such association each bank shall be liable only in the proportion that its capital and surplus bears to the aggregate capital and surplus of all such banks. The association may, at any time, require of any of its constituent banks a deposit of additional securities or commercial paper, or an exchange of the securities already on deposit, to secure such additional circulation; and in case of the failure of such bank to make such deposit or exchange the association may, after ten days' notice to the bank, sell the securities and paper already in its hands at public sale, and deposit the proceeds with the Treasurer of the United States as a fund for the redemption for that purpose the association may recover from the bank the amount of the deficiency by suit in the circuit court of the United States, and shall have the benefit of the lien hereinbefore provided for in favor of the United States upon the assets of such bank. The association or the Secretary of the of such additional circulation. If such fund be insufficient |
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