THE NATIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 
Powers or National BANKS 
A national bank should be permitted, under regulation of the 
Comptroller of the Currency, to have branches within its own city 
if a state bank in the same city is permitted to have branches. 
National banks should be given indeterminate charters, subject 
to forfeiture for cause and termination at the will of Congress. 
National banks should be authorized to deal in investment 
securities on a basis not inconsistent with the generally recognized 
principles of sound banking practice. 
National banks should be authorized to make mortgage loans on 
city real estate for periods not in excess of five years. (Referendum 
No. 45, submitted April 20, 1925.) 
FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM 
The Federal Reserve System has been from its inception the 
subject of serious study and steadfast support by the Chamber of 
Commerce of the United States. As the system enters upon the 
second decade of its corporate existence, under conditions which 
for the first time during its life are approaching normal, we reaffirm 
our confidence in its fundamental principles; we give willing recog- 
nition of its past service and of its promise for the future: we ask 
for it better understanding and appreciation. ) 
We commend the recent action of the federal reserve banks for 
their effective assistance in bringing about the restoration of the 
gold standard in England. This restoration has removed the danger 
of price inflation in this country, has increased the international 
purchasing power, and will undoubtedly benefit our foreign trade. 
(Resolution, Thirteenth Annual Meeting, 1925.) 
FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM 
The Chamber of Commerce of the United States has a record 
of steadfast support of the Federal Reserve System and from the 
beginning has favored indeterminate or automatically renewable 
charters for the federal reserve banks. 
American commerce and industry have faken the system’s con- 
tinuance for granted. To avoid any danger of unsettlement to 
business or disturbance of public confidence, the charters of the 
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