FOMC Minutes

A meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee was held in

the offices of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Sys

tem in Washington on Thursday, May 20, 1948, at 10:30 a.m.

PRESENT:

Mr. McCabe, Chairman

Mr. Sproul, Vice Chairman

Mr. Clayton

Mr. Draper

Mr. Eccles

Mr. Evans

Mr. Gilbert

Mr. Leedy

Mr. Szymczak

Mr. Williams

Mr. Young

Mr.

Mr.

Mr.

Mr.

Mr.

Morrill, Secretary

Carpenter, Assistant Secretary

Vest, General Counsel

Townsend, Assistant General Counsel

Thomas, Economist

Messrs. Bopp, Irons, Langum, Robb, and

John H. Williams, Associate Economists

Mr. Rouse, Manager of the System Open

Market Account

Mr. Thurston, Assistant to the Board of

Governors

Mr. Riefler, Assistant to the Chairman of

the Board of Governors

Mr. Sherman, Assistant Secretary, Board

of Governors

Mr. Smith, Economist, Government Finance

Section, Division of Research and

Statistics, Board of Governors

Mr. Arthur Willis, Special Assistant,

Securities Department, Federal Re

serve Bank of New York

Messrs. Leach, Gidney, McLarin, and Earhart, alter

nate members of the Federal Open Market Committee

Messrs. Whittemore, Davis, and Peyton, Presidents

of the Federal Reserve Banks of Boston, St.

Louis, and Minneapolis, respectively.

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Messrs. Thompson and Johns, Vice Presidents of

the Federal Reserve Banks of Cleveland and

Kansas City, respectively.

Upon motion duly made and seconded, and

by unanimous vote, the minutes of the meet

ings of the Federal Open Market Committee

held on February 27 and March 1, 1948,

were approved.

Upon motion duly made and seconded, and

by unanimous vote, the actions of the ex

ecutive committee of the Federal Open Mar

ket Committee as set forth in the minutes

of the meetings of the executive committee

held on February 26, March 1, and April 21,

1948, were approved, ratified, and confirmed.

A report of open market operations covering the period from

March 1, 1948 to May 17, 1948, inclusive, was then read and dis

cussed by Mr. Rouse.

He also presented a supplemental report cov

ering commitments made on May 18 and 19, 1948.

Copies of the

report first mentioned were distributed during the meeting and

copies of both reports have been placed in the files of the Fed

eral Open Market Committee.

Upon motion duly made and seconded, and

by unanimous vote, the transactions in the

System account for the period February 27,

1948 to May 19, 1948, inclusive, were ap

proved, ratified, and confirmed.

A report of examination of the System open market account

as of February 20, 1948, made in

connection with the regular ex

amination of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and submitted by

the examiner in charge for the Board of Governors, had been

brought to the attention of each member of the Committee before

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this meeting.

The report noted three exceptions to the policy of

restricting transactions in United States Government securities

for the System open market account to brokers and dealers who, in

the opinion of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, met the

qualifications outlined by the executive committee of the Fed

eral Open Market Committee.

These exceptions consisted of:

1.

The purchase of Treasury bills in the amount of

$3,300,000 from an unqualified dealer;

2.

The direct sale of $4,040,000 Treasury Bills

to a member bank; and

3.

The purchase of $300,000 Treasury Bonds from

an unqualified dealer.

The examiner's report also noted that the exceptions were reported

by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to the executive committee

of the Federal Open Market Committee in the reports of System open

market account transactions with qualified dealers for the months

of August, October, and December 1947, respectively.

In commenting on the exceptions, Mr. Rouse stated in con

nection with the first

that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York

had previously purchased bills awarded to the unqualified dealer

on tenders at the "pegged" 3/8 per cent rate, and that the firm

did not realize that the reversion to a market rate changed the

situation.

Under the circumstances it appeared to the Reserve

Bank, Mr. Rouse said, that the transaction was justified and that

it could be used as the occasion for advising the dealer that the

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Federal Reserve Bank could not deal with the dealer in this respect

unless he should become qualified.

Mr. Rouse also said that the

second transaction was for the purpose of completing a $5 million

order received from a member bank under market conditions and for

reasons which appeared to make the transaction a proper one, but

that no further purchases or sales would be arranged with the Sys

tem account on member bank orders.

The third transaction, Mr.

Rouse added, was simply an oversight under pressure of work.

Following Mr. Rouse's comments, upon

motion duly made and seconded, and by

unanimous vote, the report was received

and ordered filed.

Reference was then made to the recommendation made by the

executive committee of the Federal Open Market Committee as recorded

in the minutes of its

meeting on April 21,

1948, that no change be

made at the present time in the statement of terms established by

the Federal Open Market Committee in 1944 upon which the Federal

Reserve Bank of New York,

as agent for the System account, trans

acts business with brokers and dealers in United States Government

securities.

Mr. Carpenter stated that a report had been prepared by the

Federal Reserve Bank of New York pursuant to the action at the meet

ing of the Federal Open Market Committee on March 1, 1948, that

it had been considered at the meeting of the executive committee

on April 21,

1948, and that the executive committee voted unanimously

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to concur in the conclusion reached in the report made by the Fed

eral Reserve Bank of New York and to recommend to the full Com

mittee that no change be made at this time in the statement of

terms or their interpretation.

Mr. Rouse stated that there had been very little

complaint

by unqualified dealers that they were at a disadvantage in effect

ing transactions in

Government securities during the past few

months and that there appeared to be no problem such as might

have existed at the time the question was raised by some of the

smaller dealers around the end of 1947.

Upon motion duly made and seconded,

and by unanimous vote, it was agreed

that no change should be made in the

form or interpretation of the statement

of terms upon which the Federal Reserve

Bank of New York, as agent for the Sys

tem account, transacts business with

brokers and dealers in United States

Government securities.

Chairman McCabe then called for the reports of the economists.

In accordance with a procedure suggested by Mr. Thomas, Mr.

Langum made a statement outlining the factors which had contributed

to changes in the "active money supply" and in bank reserves in

the period since the end of February 1946 when the public debt was

at its

highest point.

Following Mr. Langum's remarks, Mr. Thomas gave a report

on the economic outlook in which he cited, among other factors, the

continuing inflationary pressures and the need for additional

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authority to limit credit growth in

avoiding still

future months as a means of

further additions to the money supply.

In connec

tion with his remarks, Mr. Thomas referred to a memorandum pre

pared in

May 19,

the Division of Research and Statistics under date of

1948, on the Outlook for Treasury Cash Position, and

copies of the memorandum were distributed.

Mr. John H. Williams then discussed the economic outlook,

concluding that, while there was still

the money supply especially if

an inflation potential in

velocity increased,

a considerable

part of the inflationary pressures had already been soaked up by

the increases in prices that had occurred and that the economy

might be well on the road toward an adjustment.

Copies of the statements of the three economists and of the

Outlook for Treasury Cash Position have been placed in the files

of the Federal Open Market Committee.

During a discussion of the situation, Mr. John H. Williams

stated that it

seemed clear to him that the present situation

called for continuing the monetary policies that had been in ef

fect unless it

should develop that these policies would have posi

tive deflationary effects.

He went on to say that present interest

rate levels, not only short-term but long-term, were abnormally low,

that rates such as these had never before existed, that short-term

rates had always been important instruments of monetary control,

and that he thought it

was important to increase such rates and

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he would be willing to see longer term rates go up in order to be

able to exercise a greater influence in the money market.

Mr. Alfred H. Williams asked for the views of the other

economists.

Mr.

Bopp stated that he felt inflationary pressures in the

economy were still

great and that, in fact, they were getting

stronger.

Mr. Thompson said that he felt that the most significant

recent development in that connection was the survey of consumer

finances which showed that demand was outrunning the supply, that

more consumers expected to buy heavy durable goods in 1948 than

in 1947, and that as long as there was little

prospect of reduc

ing demand inflationary pressures would continue severe.

Mr. Irons felt that there were continuing inflationary pres

sures, but he agreed with the statement Mr. John H. Williams had

made, and stated that a continuation of monetary policies that

have been followed recently would be adequate for dealing with

the situation.

Mr. Robb expressed the opinion that, on balance, the infla

tionary pressures were increasing,

that the public generally had

come to the conclusion that present prices were more or less per

manent,

and that individuals therefore were resuming buying more

aggressively.

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Mr. Langum felt that the country was in for a continuing

period of inflationary pressures and that a further increase in

bank loans would be very inflationary in effect.

Mr. Thomas stated that at a meeting in Atlanta earlier

this month, prior to the recent increase in stock market activity,

it

was the consensus of the Current Business Developments Commit

tee, composed of economists from the twelve Federal Reserve Banks,

that the hesitation and uncertainty which slowed or interrupted

the upward movement of the principal dollar measures of business

activity in the first

quarter did not signal a downturn in pro

duction and employment, that the underlying sustaining forces now

appeared to be strong enough to absorb the shocks likely to be

generated either by foreign or domestic developments in the per

iod under review, and that the basic sustaining factors would be

reinforced by some expansionary influences, the most notable of

which were the disappearance of the Treasury cash surplus, in

creasing Government expenditures,

credit.

and some further expansion of

He went on to say that the Committee concluded that

businessmen and consumers alike since the end of the war had

weathered a succession of shocks and signals pointing toward a

downturn,

each of which had been followed by the resumption of

inflationary developments,

that they were now likely to be strongly

impressed by the inflationary implications of current events like

the evaporation of the cash surplus, the tax cut, defense spending,

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and the limited power of the monetary authorities to restrain credit

expansion, and that in

consequence the Committee expected that

through the end of October 1948 production and employment would

continue at high levels and that wholesale prices and living costs

would advance beyond previous peaks.

At Chairman McCabe's request, Mr.

Sproul reported on devel

opments since the last meeting of the Committee,

stating that, in

the conversation which Chairman McCabe and he had with Secretary

of the Treasury Snyder and Under Secretary Wiggins on April 28,

the views of the Committee were presented as set forth in the let

ter sent to Secretary Snyder under date of April 26, transmitting

the recommendations with respect to debt management as agreed upon

at the meeting of the executive committee on April 21.

He said

that they presented the proposals in that letter in as strong a

manner as possible and found the Treasury representatives question

ing but indicating some degree of receptiveness of the ideas ad

vanced.

Treasury representatives, Mr. Sproul said, raised questions

concerning the recommendations,

however, including inquiries as to

why, when the situation was quiet as it

was at present and war loan

accounts could be drawn on further to maintain pressure on the mar

ket, any further steps should be taken; what would happen next

fall (when the situation might be more difficult) if

all our am

munition were used now; why increase the short-term rate; and what

would be the objection to having some downward pressure on long-

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term rates.

(Mr. Sproul thought the latter was an exploratory ques

tion and that the Treasury representatives were not interested in

permitting such pressure to develop.)

There was the further ques

tion what effect changes in the short-term rate would have as an

anti-inflation instrument, and Mr. Sproul said that he and Chairman

McCabe agreed that an increase in the short-term interest rate was

a minor anti-inflationary measure, but that the Committee felt

would work in the right direction and that it

it

was worthwhile to

use it.

Mr. Sproul went on to say that subsequent to the April 28

meeting he wrote a letter to Secretary Snyder under date of May 3,

a copy of which has been placed in the files of the Federal Open

Market Committee,

and which summarized the situation as follows

"To sum up, it appears to me that the additional

need for credit to finance defense contracts during

this calendar year will be relatively small and can be

satisfactorily and readily met, in most cases, out of

available sources of bank credit; that there is nothing

in the situation yet to warrant a relaxation of general

pressure, now or in the remaining months of 1948, in

order to make certain that these few specialized needs

are adequately met. In fact, unless we wish to contem

plate a situation in which 'nonessential' demands for

credit will compete with the requirements of national

defense and our foreign aid program, we must act now to

hold the gains we have made thus far this year - to

prevent a renewed expansion of the volume of credit

and of the money supply. That is the reason and pur

pose, as I see it, of the program of the executive

committee of the Federal Open Market Committee which

we have discussed with you. And, as we said at our

meeting, the market situation is such that the sooner

we act the better."

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Mr.

Sproul said that he and Chairman McCabe met again with

Secretary Snyder last Wednesday (May 12), prior to the announcement

of the June financing on May 13,

1948.

He added that they went over

much the same ground as in the earlier discussion, but that the new

element in the picture was that Secretary Snyder during the inter

vening period had talked with a number of bankers from various parts

of the country, in whose opinion he had confidence, and that a ma

jority of them had told him the best thing to do was to make no

change in

the short-term interest rate at this time.

They felt

that the situation was not serious and would not likely get out of

hand and that an increase in

until next autumn.

the rate might be delayed at least

Mr. Sproul added that, although the Federal Ad

visory Council had advised the Board of Governors that the Council

was in agreement that the short-term rate should be increased, two

members of the Council, who were also members of the American Bankers

Association Committee on Government Borrowing, advised the Secretary

that the rate should not be increased and that it

was probable that

such advice from the bankers had swung the decision away from the

recommendation of the Federal Open Market Committee.

Although he

and Chairman McCabe again strongly presented the views of the Com

mittee as set forth in the letter of April 26, Mr. Sproul said,

they found resistance to the recommendations and left

with little

the meeting

feeling that an increase in short-term rates would be

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announced.

Mr. Sproul also reported that on the following day Sec

retary Snyder called Chairman McCabe on the telephone and said that

he had come to a decision to refund the June and July maturities

of Treasury securities with one year 1-1/8 per cent certificates,

adding that it

was the most difficult decision he had had to make

as Secretary of the Treasury because of the strong recommendations

of the Federal Open Market Committee for an increase in the rate.

Chairman McCabe said that, although the decision of the

Treasury was a grave disappointment, he felt

the Committee should

follow up with further policy recommendations in an effort to se

cure agreement of the Treasury along the lines previously recommended.

Thereupon the meeting recessed and reconvened at 2:15 p.m.

with the same attendance as at the morning session except that Mr.

John H. Williams was not present.

Turning to the question of policy with respect to support

of the Government securities market, Mr. Rouse said that the ef

fect of the Treasury announcement of the 1-1/8 per cent certificate

last Thursday was instantaneous in the market and that prices of

Government bonds advanced sharply.

He expressed the opinion that

prices had risen to a point where there was an opportunity for the

System to reduce its

holdings of bonds acquired since November.

He felt that the System should take advantage of that opportunity,

not with a view to stopping any advance in prices but rather to

temper the rise by partially meeting the demand.

He thought that

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the demand would not be large but that there would be a relatively

limited supply which would have an effect on prices unless the System

supplied bonds from the System account.

He added the comment that

the immediate problem was one of giving full support to the Treasury's

June and July refunding program.

After that, he said, the next ma

turity would be on September 15, and whatever policy was proposed by

the Committee should be gotten under way sometime between June 25

and August 1, 1948.

In a discussion of policy with respect to selling bonds from

the System account, Mr. Clayton suggested that it

would be logical to

sell as many bonds as we could without upsetting the market.

Chairman McCabe suggested that the present policy with re

spect to bills and certificates would have to be continued until the

July financing was completed,

that there should be a decision on the

question of sales of bonds from the System account, and that the

policy with respect to bills and certificates after July 1 should

also be considered.

He felt

that the second question was the one be

fore the Committee at the moment.

In response to a question from Chairman McCabe, Mr. Rouse

said that, as proposed by Mr. Clayton, he would suggest a policy of

selling securities whenever the System could do so to withdraw re

serves from the market and to partially meet the demand without

"topping off" the market and bringing about a price decline.

If a

situation should arise, after the July refunding operation was over,

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in which the bond market dropped back to existing support levels Mr.

Rouse would favor lowering these prices and not buying the five- to

seven-year maturities as freely as had been done in

the recent past.

On the long maturities, he said, he could conceive of a situation in

which the System could go along for possibly six months without hav

ing substantial amounts of long-terms offered to the System but that

if bank loans increased materially the situation might be different.

Mr. Sproul expressed the opinion that the policy should be

to tip the balance toward taking funds out of the market rather than

supporting the market at any particular level.

That would mean, he

said, that the System could sell securities from the System account

during the period immediately ahead without interfering with the

June and July financing.

Mr. Eccles stated that he might be a somewhat more reluctant

seller than had been indicated by Messrs. Rouse and Sproul and that

perhaps his point was a question of emphasis rather than difference

of approach.

He said the System had favored an increase in the

short-term rate in

order to protect the long-term 2-1/2 per cent rate,

that the long-term rate could be maintained by narrowing the spread

between the long and short rate or by selling securities from the

System account and Treasury trust accounts,

were done it

but that if

the latter

would tend to keep a wide spread between the long and

short rate, would take the pressure off the short rate, and would

make it

appear less necessary that the short-term rate be raised.

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Therefore, he was inclined to let the market for the long bonds re

flect the demand,

based on the continuation of the short-term rate,

until such time as agreement could be reached to raise the short

term rate.

During the ensuing discussion Mr. Rouse outlined what had

been done during the last few days with respect to offering for sale

securities from the System account and Treasury trust accounts.

The discussion resulted in an agreement that, if

the bond

market continued to be strong, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York,

acting under the direction to be issued by the executive committee

of the Federal Open Market Committee following this meeting, would

sell bonds from the System account in such amounts as to resist a

rise in prices, it

being understood that selling would be accelerated

as prices went up without at any time stopping the rise and that if

the movement were reversed and the rise were later resumed,

selling

would be resumed at the lower point and would again follow the rise

upward.

With respect to the policy to be followed after July 1, 1948,

Mr. Szymczak suggested that the full Committee determine what its

po

sition would be so that the executive committee would be able to

discuss the matter with the Treasury.

It was his view that the full

Committee should take the position that, if

continued,

inflationary pressures

the short-term rate should be permitted to rise in the

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market so that when the September refunding was undertaken it

would

be at a 1-1/4 per cent rate.

In a discussion of Mr. Szymczak's suggestion, it

was made

clear that the question of an increase in the market rate would be

discussed with representatives of the Treasury, and that, if the

Treasury raised objection, and the inflationary situation continued

to justify an increase in the short-term rate, another meeting of the

full Committee would be called to consider what the Committee's re

sponsibilities were and what action should be taken in the circumstances.

At the conclusion of the discussion,

upon motion duly made and seconded, it

was agreed unanimously that the procedure

outlined by Mr. Szymczak and during the

ensuing discussion should be followed.

In response to an inquiry from Mr. Szymczak as to what fur

ther action should be taken by the Committee with respect to a new

issue of savings notes, Chairman McCabe suggested that the Committee

continue to urge such an offering.

Upon motion duly made and seconded the

staff was requested to prepare a draft of

letter to the Treasury, to be sent with

the approval of the members of the execu

tive committee, renewing the suggestion

that a new issue of savings notes be of

fered and that the annual limit of F and

G savings bonds for pension fund invest

ment be increased from $100,000 to $200,000

or $250,000.

In connection with the instructions to be issued to the ex

ecutive committee it

was suggested that, in view of financing operations

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and other factors that would affect the market during the next few

months,

the existing limitation on the authority to make changes in

holdings of the System account was larger than would be needed and

that the amount could be reduced to $1.5 billion.

Thereupon, upon motion duly made

and seconded, and by unanimous vote,

the following direction to the execu

tive committee was approved, with the

understanding that the limitations

contained in the direction would in

clude commitments for the System open

market account:

The executive committee is directed, until otherwise

directed by the Federal Open Market Committee, to arrange

for such transactions for the System open market account,

either in the open market or directly with the Treasury

(including purchases, sales, exchanges, replacement of

maturing securities, and letting maturities run off with

out replacement), as may be necessary, in the light of

the general credit situation of the country, for the

practical administration of the account, for the main

tenance of stable and orderly conditions in the Govern

ment security market, and for the purpose of relating

the supply of funds in the market to the needs of com

merce and business; provided that the aggregate amount

of securities held in the account at the close of this

date other than special short-term certificates of in

debtedness purchased from time to time for the temporary

accommodation of the Treasury shall not be increased or

decreased by more than $1,500,000,000.

The executive committee is further directed, until

otherwise directed by the Federal Open Market Committee,

to arrange for the purchase for the System open market

account direct from the Treasury of such amounts of

special short-term certificates of indebtedness as may

be necessary from time to time for the temporary accom

modation of the Treasury; provided that the total amount

of such certificates held in the account at any one time

shall not exceed $1,500,000,000.

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It was agreed that the next meeting of the Federal Open Market

Committee should be set tentatively for the week of October 4, 1948.

Thereupon the meeting adjourned,

Secretary.

Approved:

Chairman.