SEC. 43. That the Comptroller of the Currency, in addition to the reports provided for by existing laws, shall have authority to call for such other reports, regular or special, as he may deem advisable; and such reports shall be rendered in such form as the Comptroller may prescribe; and each association making such report shall cause a copy thereof to be conspicuously displayed in a public place in its banking. house for the period of thirty days from the date of such report; but nothing herein contained shall be construed to require the publication of such additional reports by each association in the manner prescribed for other reports now rendered. SEC. 44. That any national banking association heretofore organized may at any time within one year from the passage of this Act, and with the approval of the Comptroller of the Currency, be granted, as herein provided, all the rights, and be subject to all the liabilities, of national banking associations organized hereunder: Provided, That such action on the part of such associations shall be authorized by the consent in writing of shareholders owning not less than two-thirds of the capital stock of the association. Any national banking association. now organized which shall not, within one year after the passage of this Act, become a national banking association under the provisions herein before stated, and which shall not place in the hands of the Treasurer of the United States the sums hereinbefore provided, for the redemption and guarantee of its circulating notes, or which shall fail to comply with any other provision of this Act, shall be dissolved; but such dissolution shall not take away or impair any remedy against such corporation, its stockholders, or officers, for any liability or penalty which shall have been previously incurred. SEC. 45. That any bank or banking association incorporated by special law of any state, or organized under the general laws of any state, and having a paid-up and unimpaired capital sufficient to entitle it to become a national banking association under the provisions of this act, may, by the consent in writing of the shareholders owning not less than two-thirds of the capital stock of such bank or banking association, and with the approval of the Comptroller of the Currency, become a national bank under this system, under its former name or by any name approved by the Comptroller. The directors thereof may continue to be the directors of the association so organized until others are elected or appointed in accordance with the provisions of the law. When the Comptroller of the Currency has given to such bank or banking association a certificate that the provisions of this Act have been complied with, such bank or banking association, and all its stockholders, officers, and employés, shall have the same powers and privileges, and shall be subject to the same duties, liabilities, and regulations, in all respects, as shall have been prescribed for associations originally organized as national banking associations under this Act. SEC. 46. That nothing contained in this Act shall be construed to alter or affect any vested rights of property or contract, or any penalties incurred before the taking effect of this Act or any part of it, and all provisions of law inconsistent with or superseded by any of the provisions of this Act be and the same are hereby repealed. FUNCTIONS OF MONEY. 1. Money is used to serve several different purposes, and by considering these separately clearness will be gained. In brief, these different uses of money may be defined as: 1) A Standard, or Common Denominator of Value. 2) A Medium of Exchange. 3) A Standard of Deferred Payments. Under this head only the first two functions of money will be described. The third will be reserved for subsequent treatment. (Sections 21-44.) 2. The use of money as a standard naturally assumes first importance, and clear ideas as to its meaning are essential. It is necessary to ask, first, Why does a country need a standard of value? Obviously, every article possessing value can be compared with other articles having value only by reference to some given standard which itself possesses value. The value of a commodity, it should be said, is the quantity of another commodity, or other commodities, for which it will exchange. To be obliged to go through an arduous comparison of one article with every other article created would be an insuperable difficulty. "If a tailor had only coats, and wanted to buy bread or a horse, it would be very troublesome to ascertain how much bread he ought to obtain for a coat, or how many coats he should give for a horse. The calculation must be re-commenced on different data every time he barters his coat for a different kind of article, and there could be no current price or regular quotations of value. As it is much easier to compare different lengths by expressing them in a common language of feet and inches, so it is much easier to compare values by means of a common language" of dollars and cents. In short, a common denominator is as necessary in comparing the value of commodities as is a common language among many persons in any one city to enable them readily to compare ideas. Before |