e notes are issued make low
rates possible.

_4. The German System_

The Imperial Bank, with head offices in Berlin, and about one hundred
branches and more than four hundred sub-branches scattered throughout
the country, plays essentially the same role in the German banking
system that the Bank of England and the Bank of France play in the
English and French systems, respectively. It was established in 1875
by an act which also profoundly affected the entire banking system of
the country, and its development has been aided and directed by
several acts passed subsequently.

Its capital, supplied by the general public, amounts at the present
time to 180,000,000 marks ($45,000,000), and it is governed by three
boards, known respectively as the Curatorium, the Direktorium, and the
Central Ausschuss.

The Curatorium is composed of five members, of which body the
Chancellor of the Empire is ex-officio chairman. A second member is
appointed by the Emperor, and for that position he has always selected
the Prussian Minister of Finance, and the three remaining members are
appointed by the Bundesrath. It meets quarterly and reviews all the
operations of the bank. It, or rather, the Chancellor, its chairman,
has supreme power, which, however, he has never exercised except on
one occasion, when he ordered the bank not to accept Russian
securities as collateral for loans, an order since revoked.

The administration of the bank's affairs is chiefly in the hands of
the Direktorium, consisting of a president, vice president, and seven
other persons, all of whom are appointed by the Emperor for life, from
a list of candidates recommended to him by the Bundesrath. This board
selects the staff of bank officers and clerks, and superintends the
daily conduct of the bank's business.

The Central Ausschuss is a committee of fifteen persons elected by and
representing the stockholders. It holds monthly meetings; has the
right to demand complete information concerning the bank's operations,
to discuss all matters freely, and to tender advice and counsel; but
it has no power to control except regarding two matters: it can set a
limit to the amount of securities the bank can purchase, and can veto
any proposed transactions with the Imperial Government or with the
governments of any of the states.

Like the other central banks described above, it receives on deposit
and disburses the funds of the Imperial Government; administers the
co