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Woodrow Wilson

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:800.00 - 1,000.00 USD
Woodrow Wilson

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Auction Date:2018 Dec 05 @ 18:00 (UTC-5 : EST/CDT)
Location:236 Commercial St., Suite 100, Boston, Massachusetts, 02109, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
Uncommon World War I-dated TMS, three pages, 7.5 x 10, The White House, October 13, 1917, signed at the conclusion by President Wilson. Declaration urging state banks to join the Federal Reserve System, in full: “It is manifestly imperative that there should be a complete mobilization of the banking resources of the United States. All who are familiar with financial operations must appreciate the importance of developing to the maximum our banking power and of providing financial machinery adequate for meeting the very great financial requirements imposed upon our country by reason of the war. A vigorous prosecution and satisfactory termination of the war will depend in no small degree upon the ability of the Government not only to finance itself, but also to aid the governments associated with it in the war, which must be kept supplied with munitions, fuel, food, and supplies of all kinds. The banking problem involved is one which concerns all banks alike. Its solution does not depend upon the national banks alone, nor upon the state banks. The burden and the privilege must be shared by every banking institution in the country. The important functions of the Federal Reserve Banks in the sale of the government’s securities, in receiving and transferring the billions of dollars involved, in supplying credit facilities, and in protecting the reserves of the country have become so familiar to all that I am sure it is unnecessary to dwell upon or expound them.

The extent to which our country can withstand the financial strains for which we must be prepared will depend very largely upon the strength and staying power of the Federal Reserve Banks. The Federal Reserve act is the only constructive financial legislation which we have ever had which was broad enough to accommodate at the same time banks operating under powers granted by the general Government and banks whose charters are granted by the respective states. The unification of our banking system and the complete mobilization of reserves are among the fundamental principles of the Act.

The state banking institutions for some reason have until recently seemed inclined to hold aloof. Congress a few months ago prescribed very generous terms for the admission of the state banks into the Federal Reserve system, which have removed the objections heretofore raised by state banks when considering membership. As the law now stands, it leaves member state banks and trust companies practically undisturbed in the exercise of all the banking powers conferred upon them by the states. The law provides also in definite terms the conditions upon which any state bank or trust company may withdraw from the system. Many of the largest state banks and trust companies are now becoming members, realizing that to win the war we must conserve all of the physical, financial, and moral resources of our country;—that our finances must rest on the firmest possible foundation, and that they must be adequately and completely conserved so as to respond instantly to every legitimate demand. How can this necessary condition be brought about and be made permanently effective better than by the concentration of the banking strength of our country in the Federal Reserve system?

May I not, therefore, urge upon the officers and directors of all non-member state banks and trust companies which have the required amount of capital and surplus to make them eligible for membership, to unite with the Federal Reserve system now, and thereby, contribute their share to the consolidated gold reserves of the country? I feel sure that as member banks they will aid to a greater degree than is possible otherwise in promoting the national welfare, and that at the same time, by securing for themselves the advantages offered by the Federal Reserve system they will best serve their own interest and the interest of their customers. I believe that cooperation on the part of the banks is a patriotic duty at this time, and that membership in the Federal Reserve system is a distinct and significant evidence of patriotism.

There are probably eight or nine thousand state banks and trust companies eligible for membership which have not yet united with the system. These institutions have it in their power to add enormously to the resources of the Federal Reserve banks, thereby broadening and strengthening the foundation upon which our whole financial structure must rest. Permit me to urge that every bank officer and bank director owes a solemn obligation to the country, which I am sure they wish to discharge. I, therefore, wish again to impress upon them my solemn conviction that they can best measure up to their duties and responsibilities through membership in the Federal Reserve system.” In very good condition, with some staining and toning, and each page laminated on the reverse.

With Wilson’s support, the Federal Reserve System was established under the authority of the Federal Reserve Act of December 23, 1913, with the doors of the Federal Reserve banks opening for business roughly a year later on November 14, 1914. Initially, state banks were extremely reluctant to adopt the system; only eight state banks had joined by the close of 1914, and a scant 37 just two years later. Those numbers would shift drastically with America’s entrance into World War I in April 1917, attaining a high-water mark of 1,639 members by the end of 1922. This mass acceptance and movement of the state banks into the Federal Reserve System is precisely what President Wilson sought to achieve from this manuscript.