FINAL WARNING: Financial Background
York (where they) now dominate more than 75 percent of the moneyed
interests of America...” On December 13, 1911, George McC. Reynolds,
the President of the Continental and Commercial Bank of Chicago,
said to a group of other bankers: “I believe the money power now lies
in the hands of a dozen men...” The threat from this powerful private
banking system was to be ended with the establishment of a central
bank.To avoid the mention of central banking, Wilson himself suggested
that the regional banks be called ‘Federal Reserve Banks,’ and
proposed a special session of the 63rd Congress to be convened to
vote on the Federal Reserve Act. On June 23, 1913, he addressed the
Congress on the subject of the Federal Reserve, threatening to keep
them in session until they passed it. Wilson got Bryan’s support by
making him Secretary of State, and in October, 1913, Bryan said he
would assist the President in “securing the passage of the Bill at the
earliest possible moment.”The Glass Bill (HR7837) was introduced in the House of
Representatives on June 26, 1913. The revision mentioned nothing
about central banking, which was what the people feared. It was
believed that Willis had written the Bill, but it was later discovered that
Professor James L. Laughlin, at the Political Science Department of
Columbia University, had written it, taking special precaution not to
clash with the Bryan plank of the Democratic Party Platform. It was
referred to the Banking and Currency Committee, reported back to the
House on September 9th, and passed on September 18th.Sen. Robert Latham Owen of Oklahoma, Chairman of the Senate
Banking and Finance Committee, along with five of his colleagues,
drafted a Bill which was more open-minded to the suggestions of the
bankers. A Bill drafted by Sen. Gilbert M. Hitchcock, a Democrat from
Nebraska, called for the elimination of the ‘lawful money’ provision,
and stipulated that note redemption must be made in gold. It also
provided for public ownership of the regional reserve banks, which
would be controlled by the government.In the Senate, the Glass Bill was referred to the Senate Banking
Committee, and reported back to the Senate on November 22, 1913.
The Bill was now known as the Glass-Owen Bill. Sen. Owen, who