Changes in the price of government bonds and in the number of national banks, however, have no connection whatever with changes in our currency needs, and no more do the fluctuations in the volume of the currency as a whole, made up of these various elements combined. As a result of this condition, rates on loans and discounts fluctuate greatly on account of wide variations between the demand and the supply of loan funds, and commerce is hampered at certain seasons and overstimulated at others. As was indicated above, this lack of elasticity in our currency aggravates the defects of our reserve system and also aids in the production of financial panics. _6. Plans for Reform_ On account of the defects in our system of banking, there has been long-continued agitation for reform, increasing in scope and intensity in recent years. After the crisis of 1907, which revealed these defects to many persons who had not observed them before, Congress appointed a commission to make investigations and to prepare a reform measure. In January, 1912, this committee submitted a report which embodied a bill for the incorporation of a National Reserve Association, to be made up of a federation of local associations of banks and trust companies. The purpose of this association was to supply a market for commercial paper, an elastic element in the currency, a place for the deposit of the bank reserves of the country and of the funds of the government, as well as proper machinery for the administration of this market and these funds. For various reasons, the plan of the monetary commission did not meet with universal favor. It was condemned in particular by the Democratic party, which was victorious at the polls in the fall elections, and installed a new administration in Washington, March 4, 1913. A special session of the new Congress was called to consider the tariff question, and to it was submitted another plan for the reform of our banking system, which was enacted into law December 23, 1913.