Benjamin Strong Jr. to Carter Glass

Title

Benjamin Strong Jr. to Carter Glass

Creator

Strong, Benjamin, 1872-1928

Identifier

WWP18799

Date

1922 September 3

Description

Benjamin Strong Jr. invites Carter Glass to visit the New York Federal Reserve Bank facilities.

Source

Benjamin Strong Jr. Papers, New York Federal Reserve Bank

Language

English

Text

Dear Senator Glass:
I have just dictated the first draft of a letter which I hope to be able to send to you early next week, together with data in reply to your inquiry. In dictating it, it occurred to me that no one can really visualize the enormous operations of this institution, which give such ample evidence of the need for adequate quarters, without going through it.I hesitate to even suggest your making a trip to New York for that purpose, but it occurs to me that before Congress reassembles you may be somewhere in our neighborhood, possibly in Washington, and might feel tempted to take the opportunity to make us a visit for that purpose.The developments of more activity in business during the past few months is now being strikingly reflected in the activity of the business of the bank in its various service departments, that is, the money deparment, the various check and collection departments, etc., etc. After the temporary reductions which we were able to make in our force last year and early this year, we now, unfortunately, find that we are again undermanned, and the demand for clerical labor has grown to such an extent that we are really encountering considerable difficulty in building up our force again to a point where we can handle the vast volume of our business. I suppose, also, you understand the problem with which we are confronted in having one-half of the outstanding Victory notes fall due December 15, which will probably necessitate the payment of hundreds of thousands of bonds which are still held by small investors. Then on the first of January we must devise means, in cooperation with the Post Office Department, for paying our proportion of over $600 millions of War Savings and Thrift Stamps, which mature at that time; and again on the following May 15, we must be prepared to pay off the other half of the maturing Victory notes.I would roughly estimate that in New York City alone, without regard to the rest of our district, War Savings and Thrift Stamps are to-day held by somewhere between a million and a million and a half people. I wonder if anyone stops to reflect what would happen if these operations had to be conducted with the old machinery - before the establishment of the Federal Reserve Banks - one little Subtreasury Building, forty Post Office offices in New York, and an unorganized banking community. It just could not be done. And these are the things which require us to have an adequate organization, and lead us to expect that we will always require such an organization. So I do wish that sometime you can get in and see it all.

Original Format

Letter

To

Glass, Carter, 1858-1946

Files

http://resources.presidentwilson.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/D08411.pdf

Tags

Citation

Strong, Benjamin, 1872-1928, “Benjamin Strong Jr. to Carter Glass,” 1922 September 3, WWP18799, Benjamin Strong Jr. Papers, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Staunton, Virginia.