Evening Star Newspaper, December 31, 1923, Page 16

16 THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. ’ C., MONDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1923. Records Smashed in District Banking and Real Estate Circles During Yeqi WASHINGTON ENDS YEAR OF RECORD PROSPERITY Bank Clearances Show Total of $1,101,000,000 Exchanged in Natural Conduct of Business, Figures Never The vear 1 closing today, was the most prospe in the history of Washington. Proof of this state- ment lies in the bank clearances for the year, of which there can be no better. Inasmuch as they represent the amount of checks passing through all Washington king institutions, they are the only true barometer of prosperity locally. The exchange of money in the nat- ural conduct of buginess, in the great real estate nd building operations, n the increasing and higher priced securities, purchases and sales, the annual taxes in r insten all taxes in May, holiday trade that has fore been ed here—all produced bank earings of abour $1.101,000,000, unprecedented in ord of the city, approximately ater than those of last larger than the record of ling vear, Steady Progress Noted. gone forward v year—a protracted annual clearings reflecting in bu; each ar since break in the an- of 19 which .000 as compared with the previous year. The figures follo; 041,7, $714,890,17 $897.109,84 1922, §980,481, The records made seem to give assurance for the con- ’Ilne—xvlinl growth ‘Washington. There has be no hesitation save in the defla ar of 1921, Other Evidences of Prosperity. There are other evidences, ho ever, that indicate local prosperits Reports show exceptionally brisk buying in the jewelry trade, it is re- ported, increases us high as 20 per cent prevalling. Then, too, the radio craze has gripped t due in considerable measure to improved re- celving apparatus as well as better broadcasting facilities. The fact that the public can and does buy heavily in this and the jewelry line is in- dicative of good times, for both are non-essentials and as such are ac- cepted barometers of prosperity or depression The ba elves ha ous that date are as 1916, this yvear would king institutions rlarly prospere the extra div disbursem voted during the 3 Here and there throughout the city institutions have replaced their homes with elaborate new quarters, these additional expenditures being made out of profits over and above divi- them- Before Equaled. dend requirement does not necessarily of the structures were realized en- tirely during the year just closing, but it does emphasize the fact that their business is growing, making the need of larger quarters {mperative. Instances of Growth. The Riggs National Bank, during the past year, opened one of the finest banking rooms In the east, while a handsome new branch was also put into operation at Dupont Circle by the same institution. The Washing- ton Loan and Trust Company is finishing handsome quarters at 17th and G streets northwest to house its branch there, and the Inter- national Exchange also recently opened a quite commodious and elabo- rate new bullding in which its busi- ness is conducted. The Federal- American, due to greatly increased business since amalgamation of the Federal National and the American National slightly more than a year ago, is planiing a unique and mam- moth structure, with elevated bank- ing room. which will be completed late next fall Bankers' Constructive Movement. One of the most constructive move- ments of the bankers' assoclation dur- ing the past vear has been the vol- untary luncheon meetings held every Wednesday where members of repre- sentative banks gather for a_discus- sion of affairs pertinent to their in- stitutions. It is here that many a plot to defraud has been unearthed, novel forgery ;mehods divulged, and plans to combat rious practices formu- lated. It has been #aid that many thousands of dollars have been saved |by District banks by knowledge gleaned and put into practice aceru- ing from these meetings. It is the hope of officials of the assoclation to eventually organize these luncheons and thus give them definite status. This will probably be done the first of the year. Stock Exchange Suffers Drop. The Washington Stock Exchange, however, suffered in volume of trad- ing during the year as compared with the previous year. At the latest com- pilation, stock sales are approxi- mately 6,000 shares-in arrears, while bonds show a fa.ling off of about $850,000, face value. During the year 1922 total shares sold on_the local board aggregated 39,113 shares, while decreased bond sales are chargeable to public utility issues. With the exception of railway com- mon, all of the favorable stock lssues suffered in price, this exception shows a high level of 72% and a low of 61 for the year, compared with 68% and 35%, respectively for last year. The unlisted department ofsthe local board has been for the most part dull and unattractiv To be sure, it mean that costs _—_ m— — — — ———eee JOHN POOLE SEES GOOD YEAR AHEAD Yocal Financier Explains Duty of Banks to Every Com- munity. By JOHN POOLE. President Federal-American National Bank. A bank should stand squarely be- hind every legitimate business under- taking, give sympathetic hearing and every reasonable assistance to per- sons of integrity and thrift. Through its advertisements, printed matter and by word of mouth it should strive to educate the people of a com- munity in all matters financial. No community is really healthy un- Jess its citizenship is industrious and thrifty. A bank, therefore, in its re- Jationship to the community should teach the value of, and encourage, thrift; it should give sound advice to those who have saved, alding them in the selection of proper investments; it should co-operate with worthy citi to establish them- civing such aid as sound banking men should know s of credit and the func- tions of banks. Business Insight Needed. To meet all these requirements, no man has greater need of a deep, broad insight into business in all its phases than the banker. No man depends more upon his knowledge of the best way to conduct the various kinds of businesses—none has groater need for a thorough under- standing of the most approved prin- ciples and methods of management, than the banker. He is a student of Jiuman nature, coming in contact, as he does, with people of all sorts of temperaments, moods, ideas and ex- periences. It has been said that na- ture doesn't cast from molds. She's an artist and never repeats herself. No two things are produced exactly alike. Xven her trees never bear the same number of leaves. Likewise, nature puts a dab of individuality in everything she makes, especially man. Thus it is seen that a_banker s large responsibilities in the mat- ter of sizing up people, helping those who are industrious and well-mea ing and protecting his institution against the unreliable and unscrupu- jous. Banks regard personality as one of the important factors of credit. In- deed, banks will not deal with any one whom they cannot trust for hon- esty, integrity and ability. To all persons of integrity and thrift banks owe their support, for they are the builders of the town and the nation. It may, therefore, be interesting to know some of the things which are taken into account when people seek to obtain bank credit. Bank Credit Defined. What is credit? It is the ability to buy with the promise to pay. It is the full measure of business “character” and achlevement. Nothing 18 mo; important than good ‘“character,’ for it implies right intent, intelligent motives and a desire to benefit oneself by benefiting humanity. In appraising a credit risk bankers give first consid- eration_to “character.” They want to know that the borrower is honest and dependable: that he plays the game squarely ; that his reputation is good. Men of good “character” Who borrow money know what they are going to do with it and how they are going to it back. This thing we call “character’ Tepresents the moral excellence of & man. It is that quality which makes his word as good as his bond. “Capacity” ia a considerable factor. ‘What is the borrower's “capacity,” or, in other words, his ability for success. fully managing the business in hand? Does he understand it? Is he tempera- mentally suited 1o it? Is the enterprise 2 new and untried scheme? Is it haz- ardous and experimental? Do tho chances for profit warrant the credit i The borrower's abllity, “capac- fitness and the nature of his busi- ness are things bankers must: satisfy themselves about before granting credit. Still another factor is ‘capital” It is necessary to know the financial strength of borrowers.' The most reli- able source of information is obtainable from the borrower himself. Therefore financial statements showing in exact detail all assets and labilities, together 1th facts relating to_insurance, volume of business, profit and loss accounts and other _supporting information, are “sought by the bank. with SECURITIES LOSE GROUND IN 1923 Bucketshop Exposures and Broker Failures Keep Public Cautious. By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, December 31.—Stock and bond prices generally lost ground during 1923. March witnessed the culmination of the bull market which had been in progress, with a few minor interrup- tions, since the spring of 1921. The subsequent reaction, which reached its low point in October, was gener- ally attributed to the uncertainty re- garding the business outlook, par- ticularly reflected in the cautious at- titude on the part of buyers of both merchandise and securities, and by the sharp decrease in public partici- pation traceable, to a large degree, to the loss of confidence resulting from several large brokerage failures and the exposure of bucketshops. Market Opinion Differs. Declaration of an extra dividend on the common stock of the United States Steel Corporation on October 30 started an upward movement which appeared to be in progress when the year closed, but opinion was widely divided as to how long it would continue. Owing to the fact that 1924 is a presidentfal election year, many observers are looking for- ward to a period of irregular price movements. Total stock sales on the New York Stock Exchange during 1923 approxi- mated 285,000,000 shares, as compared with 260,000,000 in 1922, 223,000,000 in 1920 and 307,800,000 in the record- OFFICERS OF WASHINGTON SAMUEL J. PRESCOTT 157 Vice President ¥, R /}a'sis tant Secrelar CUARDL CONNE R ] J.HARRY CUNNINGHAM, a~d. Vice Prestdent. > breaking year of 1919 when post-war inflation was at its height. One of the principal financial de- velopments of the year was the fund- ing of the British war debt of $4,600,- 000,000 to this country. Many Stock Dividends, Stock dividends were again numer- ous, and a growing tendency was noted to issue stocks of no par value. Several large corporations, which for several years had been doing most of their financing through bond issues, again returned to_ the issue of com- mon and preferred atocks. This was particularly true of the public utility companies, several of which disposed of large blocks of stock to their cus- tomers, some of them on a partial payment plan. Cotton prices reached the highest levels in more than three years, due to an apparent shortage in the Crop. The relatively low production was due largely to the ravages of the boll weevil, which has destroyed millions of dollars’ worth of growing cotton. Money rates were relatively easy all year, with huge sums available for legitimate business enterprise. In- flationary tendencies which made their appearance early in the year were checked by sound banking methods. Year Sees Passing of Mark. The feature of the foreign exchange market was the virtual dieappearance of the German mark as a medium of international exchange. Note circu- lation of the German Reichsbank reached the largest total in history, the weekly increases being measured in quadrillions of marks in the clos- ing weeks of the year. French invasion of the Ruhr, and the political crises resulting there- from, induced heavy epeculation in the allied exchanges, British, French, Belgian and Itallan currencies closing the year at substantially lower quota- tions than those prevailing at the end of 1922. The British general election, fought over fiscal policies, induced heavy migration of capital, largely of German origin, from London and the Scandinavian capitals to New York. In sharp contrast to the chaotic gituation in Germany was the eco- nomic rehabilitation of -Austria and the marked progress made by Czecho- slovakia. FARMHOUSES BURN. Special Dispatch to The Star. CHERRY RUN, Va., December 31.— ‘The home, meat house, and corn crib of Luther Keesecker here, with prac- tically all contents, were destroyed by fire Wednesday night while Mr. and Mrs, Keesecker were in Wash- ington visiting a son and their other three children were visiting with a neighbor. OFFICERS OF REAL ESTATE BOARD J.C.WEEDON,, Pfesxder}lt . wrerss \ 5 ELL ]:%u%d Vf‘cge%r{g‘}z ent., i ‘CLAR £ DODGE, 5 1’5@.‘/&%‘?&&1&% JonN A.PETTY. tecntanj Treasure E.C.BR Generd! DISCONTENT HURTS 1923 GRAIN TRADE More Stringent Trading Rules [ Have Kept Down Year's | Total Transactions. NDENBURG, Counsel. BY GEORGE C. SCHNACKEL. Discontent has been rife in the grain trade during the year 1923. Not only have the grain traders grum- bled, but the producer of wheat has been also loud in his complaints over prevailing conditions. It may be that the producer him- self has not been 8o greatly dis- couraged over conditions, but his mouthpieces, such as politiclans or self - appointed friends of the farmer, have been loud ' in claims for V- ernment assist- anc to the wheat SCHNACKEL. producer. It is this publicity that has kept the farmer discontented with his lot. It is also this prop: ganda and the many cures offered for the ills of the producer that have caused trade In the speculative wheat market to dwindle down to small volume, Raules Hurt Market. The- operation of the Capper- Tincher regulations on organized grain exchanges also has tended to hurt the wheat market considerably, ‘The fact that the trade is compelled to make reports of the amount of open trades whenever the supervisor of gran exchanges calls upon them to do 8o is the fly in the ointment to the big speculator. The success of his operations is based on the secrecy of them, and while the government stated that it would in no way inter- fere with the functioning of the grain exchanges, yet the big speculator has looked upon the regulatory act with suspicion and has refused to be enticed into making trades. The war tax imposed on all trades in grain in the speculative markets also has been a retarding factor.. The tax and commission on wheat amounts to 3% cents a bushel, and this is & big handicap to the trader, espe- clally when markets have been as narrow as they have been this year. Most of their profits ars being de- voted to the payment of taxes and their losses are taxed just as much as their gains. The professional specu- lator attributes his lack of prosperity largely to the heavy impost of taxes. Prices Slightly Lower. The 1923 wheat crop as a whole has mold at slightly lower prices than t! . This can be attributed largely to overproduction by the surplus Froflncln countries., =How- ever, while the United States farmer seeded less wheat than the year be- fore, his acreage was much over a re-war level. His yleld per acre gow.v.r. was ll:hl. the big wheat belt in the southwest being hit by drought and at harvest time by ex- cessive rains. Bpflnf wheat was & light crop, that territory being hit hard by rust and blight. This ordi- narily would have resulted in high rices, but unfortunately for the armer our northern neighbor, Canada, produced record yleld, practically two "33" the popular estimate being 500, ,000 bushels, This led forelgn buyers to pursue a ‘hand-to-mouth policy in their buying. American producers, however, hi on to their wheat and kept their prices above a world's parity, with the result that there are heavy ac- cumulations of wheat at all In fact, the supply In the visible Is belleved to be the largest on record. Only once before’did visible supply their BOARD OF TRADE o« EF coxuoty. {OGWALTER M. KLOPFER, Treasures figures exceed those of the present date, and this was when Canadian wheat was admitted free of duty, and the statement contained a large volume of Canadian wheat. The present year has seen considerable importation of Canadian wheat, even at the 30 cents duty, because our prices have been so far above those of that country. This has led to a cry for an increase of 50 per cent in the duty under the antl-dumping clause of the Fordney tariff law. However, mills will continue_to im- port because the heavy Canidian wheat 15 needed to mix with the thin, blighted berry of our American spring wheat this vear. The tariff commission investigating the neces- sity of this increase is expected to report to President Coolidge by the end of January. A redson for the wheat is_best sho prepared ‘by the tional statistician. George R. Brom- hall. Mr. Bromhall shows that the mport needs of Europe are 560,000,- 000 bushels, and non-Europe, 128 000,000 bushels; a total of 688,000.000. These needs cover a period from August 1, 1923, to July 31, 1924. For the same period the United States has a surplus for export of 176,000,000 bushels, Canada, 360,000,000 bushel Argentfna, 200,000,000 bushels: tralia, 88,000,000 bushels; India, 000,000 bushels; Russta, 32,000,000 bushels, and other countries, 32,000, 000 bushels, a total surplus of 936, 000,000 bushels. President Coolldge realizes the pre- dicament of the wheat farmer, and his first message to Congress récom- mended the financing of exports to Europe by the War Finance Corpora- tion in order to dispose of our sur- plus. He also suggested to the farmer that he diversify crops and reduce his area and promote co- operative marketing. Corm Farmer Prospers. The corn farmer has been riding on the wave of prosperity the past year becaus® his 1922 crop sold for prices unexpected 8s well as unheard of. No. 2 yellow corn sold as high as $1.14 a bushel, and at ths time this price was greater than was being paid for wheat. The farmers solved their own difficulties by consuming most of the corn they raised and marketing it on the hoof. That is, they produced live stock, and the crop which threatened to be a glut on the matket, being well over 3,000,000,000 bushels, proved inadequate.for do- mestic needs, as exhibited by the prices attained. The outlook for 1924-is not so_en- couraging. In consuming the 1922 crop the. farmer produced an over- supply of live stock and as a result the price of cattle, hogs and sheep have dropped so far below a parity with corn that there is a decided loss to feed. Farmers therefore are be- coming panfcky and are maarketing their stock and holding their corn. Some are marketing both. This, re- ductfon in_farm consumption will result in 2 depressive surplus of corn and a problem of disposing the same will tax the ingenuity of the producer as well as the grain trade. Oats prices have been a little better at the end of the year than in 1922. The farmer, impressed with his suc- cess in feeding corn, experimented with oats, substituting this grain for corn In order to market the high- ced grain and consume the cheap eed. - This resulted in & big con- sumption on -the farm, larger even than most of the trade seem to real- ize at the moment. However, the continued light receipts, with aimost half of the crop year gone, is causing speculators to awaken t othe possi- bility of profits in this grain and the interest on the buying side is broadening. (Copyright, 1628.) HISTORIC ESTATE SOLD. Special Dispatch to The Star. FREDERICK, Md, December 31— low prices of by statistics eminent interna- n Ordeman, Urbana, Frederick county, 2,000 e has been % A mn“ Willlams, mold to Dr. W. Palf rch, Bal- pastor of !% Baptist Cchu! VVB:I:.' imore, and Prof. George W. “Bllfllnm. and will be converted into an ‘industrial school L 1923 FALLS SHORT IN NEW FINANCING $4,700,000,000 Issues Are Quickly Absorbed—Bonds Under 1922 Rates. FOREIGN INVESTORS BUYERS Equipment Trust Notes Extra Pop- ular During Year. By thie Associsted Pre NEW YORK, cember I1.—While accurate compilations will not be available for some time yet, figures in the hands of bankers show that the 1923 total of new financing will fall somewhat below that of 1922. It is estimated that public offerings of all kinds, both new capital and re- funding operations, will total ap- proximately $4,700,000,000 as com- pared with the 1922 figure of $5,080, 345,034. Avallable statistics, however, disclose that investment of new capi- tal during 1923 exceeded that of the previous year, when nearly $1,000,- 000,000 of the total consisted of re- funding issues New Insues Sold Readily. Except for one or two brief periods when new offerings were thrown on the market too rapldly for ready ab- sorption, little difficulty was encoun- tered {n'disposing of new bonds, and the wide distribution obtained in most cas was attested later when offer- ing syndicates dissolved with scarcely a fractional change in the price of the issue concerned. Prices of listed bonds have ruled a point or more below the high point reached during the first week of the year. On January 4, 1923, the aver- age of forty bonds touched £9.39. The subsequent decline continued until Marcl 9, when the average was LA a rather sharp drop of more than |three points. An increase In the Investment de- mand carried the average price up 2.04 points to 87.81 on May 28. Then followed a month of reaction, the averages being recorded as 56.22 on June 29. Fluctuation since that date has been pretty well within two points, with a gradual trend upward. Forelgn Investors Buyers Here. European investors were heavy buy- ers of American securities through- out the year, unsettled conditions abroad influencing them to transfer thefr holdings into dollar invest- ments. Secretary of Commerce Hoo er has referred frequently to a heavy invisible trade balance against Amer- ica, explaining that the constant flow of gold here in payment of American stocks and bonds, formed this “in- visible” balance. Obligations of the United States government have held _relatively steady, stabilization of their prices having been influenced to a large de- gree by British buying to meet pay- ments of interest and principal on the English war debt to this country. The debt agreement permits Da; ments on the debt in Liberty bon at par. The frequent offerings of Treasury certificates of indebtedness, {nvolved in Secretary of the Treasury Mellon's readjustment of the public debt were well taken and oversubscribed by large amounts. Rall Issues Popular. One of the most interesting devel- opments of the vear was the quick response of investors to the greatly increased volume of equipment trust financing by the railroads. In 1922 most of the railroad offerings were refunding operations. and while they were absorbed without difficulty, the bankers say that equipment trust certificates have been more popular with investors. The trend toward customer-owner- ship of stock, particularly on the part of public utility companies, was em- phasized to an even greater extent during the year, and many corpora- tions bent much of their efforts to- ward obtaining a wide distribution of stock and bonds among their cus- tomers. State and municipal borrowing, which reached its peak in 1921 when loans totaling §$1,383,368,000 were put out, showed another drop the past year, the 1923 total being only a little more than one billion dollars. While bankers feel that the normal growth of the country, coupied with the development of the highway sy tem and the tendency toward munie- ipal ownership of public utllities, will preclude a drop back to the average of about half a billion annually which prevailed prior to 1917, it seems possible that steps may be taken to curb the issuance of tax exempt securities, and that such action may in a measure restrict state and municipal offerings. I The historic estate of Frederick A.‘ H , January Banner Month. January was the banner month of the vear in point of new offerings, the total that month being 3879,268, 265, This figure also is the largest on record, exceeding the previous record total ot $655,817,946 established in_April, 1932, Of outstanding {mportance and in- terest in 1923 was American par- ticipation in the $126,000,000 interna~ tional loan extended to the Austrian government. America’s part, amount- ing to $25,000,000 was oversubscribed several times. Other foreign {ssues floated included Argentina $55,000,000 (short term refunding): Norway and Switzerland, $20,000,000 each; Fin- land, $10,000,000, and the Republic of Salvador, $6,000,000 . The largest single financing of the year was that of the Anaconda Cop- per Mining Company, aggvegating $150,000,000. Next in point of slze was’ $110,000,000 by Armour & Co and the third largest was t American Telephone and Telegraph offering of $100,000,000 in & per cent ‘bond; Total sales of listed bonds on the New York Stock Exchange fell off considerably during 1923 as com pared with the previous year. Esti- mating the last week in the year, the 1928 total will approximate slightly less than $3,000,000,000, against an amount in excess of $4.000,000,000 in 1922 —— YEAR IN AGRICULTURE. Total Value of Crops Makes Ex- cellent Showing. Special Dispateh to The Star. NEW YORK, December 31.—Gen- eral agriculture, upon which all busi- ness so largely depends, made & good record in 1923, with an estimated val- ue of American crops of about u’Fnt and one-third billion dollars. The money return, says Dun's Review, to the farmers was nearly 12 r cent greater than that of 1922, and most of the principal products showed gains. As usual, corn was the most valuable crop, being worth over two billion dollars, and cotton, despite another comparatively small yield, had a val ue exceeding one and a half billions. The farm price of this staple rose mi terially, while the price of corn also was higher and the output increased substantially. The price of wheat likewise aver- aged well above that of 1922, yet this ‘was more than offset by the large re- duction in the harvest, and the value of the crop declined considerably. The only other leading articles whose value was less than that of the imme- diately preceding vear were Yye and rice, but g"‘"“"" in & number of instances decreased. N —— KLANSMEN VISIT SICK. Special Dispatch to The Star. KEYSER, W. Va, December 31.— Members of the Ku Kiux Klan yes terday visited many homes where there were sick and presented bou- guets of carnations. BUILDING MARK IN 1 DISTRICT HANGS UP NEXvé, 3 Spends Close to Fifty Millions in Operations, i Includng New Projects and Ones Under’ Construction at Beginning of Year. Washington hung up a new record for building operations in 1923, and the.close of the year finds that dur- ing the twelve months past the city spent close to $50,000,000 on Building operations, including construction of rew projects and remodeling. While exact figures will not be known until the complete records for December are available, the eleven months up to December found the city had spent $40,905,756 on new bufld- ing operations alone, while permits for remodeling and repairing came to $4,568,788. The estimates for December will bring the total, officials feel sure, to over $50,000,000. Last year Washington spent $45,- 000,000 on building, and this const tuted the city's record until the 1 year. The real estate developments dur- ing the last year attested the city’s rapld growth. Many Deals Consummated. In business and residential sections a number of new office buildings and other commecrial structures were completed, while new subdivisions Wwere opened, followed by construc- tion of many beautiful homes. So fast has the city been expanding that it has stretohed across the District bor- ders on all sides into Maryland and Virginia, and in the parts of these states immediately adjacent to the t National Capital large home areas have grown up, filled by people who Wwork in the District of Columbla. There is a noticeable movement of business toward the northwest, until 8 around 15th and K streets, and other business {s follow- ing in this movement. In this section many of the one-time handsome resi- dences have given away, either by re. modeling into offices or razing and ‘r:zxa-c:lxre’{u by new bulldings. Build- vity in this ¢ e sty section has been Home Building Active, Home bullding in the city went on most actively during 1923, and Wash- ington was well at the top of the list of cities of its size in this sphere. Out 16th street handsome homes have been golng up continually, and now there is an operation just started to open this thoroughfare beyond Wal- ter Reed Hospital to the Di; Subdivisions to the westward have been opened and built up rapidly, and what were the first part of the year £Teat expanses of open country have given way to the progress of high- ways and the construction of new homes. While home building has been most active. nevertheless, large bulldings operations have been followed almost immediately by sale and occupancy of the homes.” The rapid construc- tino and the observation that Yfor rent higns appeared on houses and apartments for the first time since the war leaves the impression that Wash- ington has reached the point where it can take care of its residents. How- ever, in realty circles there is the opinion that much must Jet be done in the way of home building in order to take care of all those who want homes. But there is also the opinion that the city has reached the absorp- tion point in high-priced apartments, Problems for Zoning. Expansion of business has furnished problems for the zoning commission as it reached out along the thorough- fares leading into and out of the city. The year has seen many new business structures displace residences out 14th street and the changing of the building lines, bringing it to the pavement edge on this street. Ef- forts to have the Patterson tract, for- merly the site of Camp Meigs, Zoned for commercial uses, because of its proximity to the raiiroad, were suc- cessfully stopped by a fight on the part of citizens. There is still the hope that Congress will purchase this tract and turn it into a great park and playground. The zoning commis- sion also ruled that apartments would not be allowed in restricted areas. Development of division just acro: out Georgetown way was undertaken, and it {s planned to have railroads deliver freight there for the western section of the city. Millions of dollars’ worth of prope: ty changed hands during the vear, particularly among large apartments, notable being the Meridlan Mansion and the Argonne. The new Wash- ington auditorium "is progressing rapidly, work on the new ca- thedral and the George Washing- ton memorial likewise is well under way, and & movement was started the latter part of the year to bring commercial sub- the District line rict line. | Wallace. into belng & great memorial for o diers, sailors and marines of the cil who ‘died during the wars in which the country participated, to be used as an armory for the National d of the District of Columbia and f meeting place for veterans' organizi- tions and civic bodies. Efforts of the real estate men through their realty board, to put real estate brokering on a high plane was marked by forward steps, nota- bly among which was the fmaugura tion of a course in real estate at the local Y. M. C. A. Provision of a new park in Geori« town was made possible by-the cedir to the government of « large. tract « land by Charles C. Glover. The ye saw the passing of the old Dumbir Club in Georgetown, which gave w to a private school; the old Columbia olf links, now 'built over. with omes, and the Rathskeller, at8ih and E streets, which is to be a site of an addition’ to a department store OUTLOOK ON FARMS PLEASES WALLACE Promise of Better Times in 1924 Seen by Secretary of Agriculture. DEPRESSION HAD LESSONS Teaishe Jenter of the financidl and | Tillers of Soil Utilize Upsets to Chart Course. Conditions augur well for cantinued improvement in the material prosperity of the American farmer, Secretary Wal- lace said in & statement reviewing the past year from an agricultural stand- point. “The industry, courage and faith evi denced by the farmers of the during the past three years are slow’ bringing their reward,” said Secretary “Improvement in agricultural conditions continues—not as rapidly as desired or needed, nor as rapidly as de- merved, but nevertheless it continues The promise of the year has been ful- filled. “So we come to the end of the third year of post-war depression with a feel- ing of greater confidence born of better times already realized, and with justi- fled hope of still further improvement 1924, “There are discouraging conditions still to be ovezcome. There is the burden of debi. There are heavy taxes to be met. The cost of produc- tion of what the farmers buy remai high. Farmers in the spring whe: territory especially are in sore straits from conditions largely beyond their control. “Experience gained during these years of depression, however, fo- gether with progress already made. warrant a hopeful attitude for the coming year. Gradually crop acreage is being better adjusted. The domes- tic market continues strong. The children keep coming, and that means a steadily increasing number of mouths to be fed. Those who stay by the farm and do good farming can look forward to better times as a re- ward for their vears of toil and hard ship. Those whose businesses depend directly upon farm purchases can find decided encouragement in the grow- ing gross income of the farmer, for he will buy as his income expands. “The year 1924 comes with the promise of continued improvement in the material prosperity of the farmer, and the farmer continues to be the material and spiritual backbone of the nation. Another Misfit Name. Prom Judge. A visitor to a mountain after prodding an unhappy lttle boy about various matters, asked him if he knew the ten commandments, The boy said he did not. “You don't know the ten command- ments?” the visitor repeated. ‘No, sir,” the boy insisted. “What is your name, my lad?" school “Moses, sir." The visitor gave it up. CONSERVATIVE INVESTORS —have-ALWAYS been consistent owners of FIRST MORTGAGES on improved real estate as the sure foundations of security for their funds. financial institutions. to the rich man. l | This is equally true of the great insurance companies of the world, as well as the leading START RIGHT IN 1924 by resisting all invitations to buy speculative stocks and bonds, and JOIN the “exclusive ranks” of wise investors who “play safe.” We afford the small investor the same opportunity for high yields as are presented THESE NOTES—ARE ABSOLUTELY SAFE. —DO NOT DEPRECIATE. —YIELD SUBSTANTIAL RETURN. —ARE PAID ON DAY DUE. DENOMINATIONS: $100, $250, $500 and $1,000 We Can Arrange for Partial Payments Let Us Submit Details MORTGAGE DEPARTMENT 713 and 715 14¢th Street NW. Main 2345