Evening Star Newspaper, April 24, 1926, Page 13

FINANCIAL. FLORDAIS SO, OSCARWELLS SKYS Bankers’ Head Sees Read- justment Not Injury to Future Growth. Special Dispatch to The Star. JACKSONVILLE, April though the Florida land boon o£one beyond all conservatism, damage to individual speculators, re adjustment will not injure the State’s future progress, Oscar Wells, presi- dent of the American Bankers Associa- tion, said in an address here today on he Sanguine South” before the lorida Bankers Association conven n lorida is the modern lodestone to- ward which the whole country has been drawn,” Mr. Wells said. “It ha lain undeveloped so long, or in pro- portion to its opportunities has come for 'd so slowly, that there is little wonder that it has represented the reatest boom in land values that the present generation has ever known. Of course it has gone beyond all con- servatism, and while some damage has been done to the individual spec- ilator who made a marginal invest- ment and then browsed about for another speculator, there is no rea- son to believe that whatever adjust- ment the conditions of tha future may require will do any great injury to the structure of Florida’s future progress. Cities” Growth to Continue. “All of the 1s now under contemplatio m with bungalows covered with second mor but the lead- ng cities of your State are going to ntinue to grow with the intlux of a new population bent upon living in lsisure in the midst of a great play- £round or to produce for those who ay. The crops of Florida, p of tourists, are going to hecome more valuable and will contrib- ute their part to the drama of the South’s development. There may be some romance in the making but it will represent a part of the total. “What may happen to the South during the next half century intrigues the imagination. One’s curiosity is excited by such terms as Land of Opportunit Jlace left for pionecering ~cale.’ Cold facts are used 1o s the contentions. The growth of the s recorded as an be expected and sons are made with other sec- sed upon stz s sources of reliability. Whe: 7e that up until 1890 no Southern State, except yvour own, had re its pre-war position in the matt material wealth in the hands of the people, you can appreciate the prog- xress of the last 35 vears and can ac- ept that growth as convincing is of our future prosperity We understand, of course, that we st bear our part of whatever eco- omic lis to which the world may be eir, or of whatever problems may ETH SCANITMAN . W. MILLARD. True to repeated predictions by the writers in these columns Washington business and industry has given an excellent account of itselt during the first quarter of 1926. Regardless of the measure used, whether it be check payments or building, department store trade or postal revenues, life in- surance sales or ten-cent store busi- ness, new auto sales or real estate 15451 Nillions of Dollars 1921 actlvity, business in the first three months of the current year was sub- stantially ahead of the corresponding period of 1925, even establishing & record to aim at for future corre- sponding quarters: Using the volume of check pay- ments as a_yardstick of business ac- tivity, the first quarter of 1926 regis- tered an advance of 8 per cent over the same period of a year earlier. The total volume of money which passed thréugh the channels of trade during that period was close to three- quarters of a billion dollars and estab- lished a record for any similar perlod. The significance of this accomplish- ent can best be realized from the al volume of checks drawn on local inks during the first three months, which was 58 per cent greater than for the same quarter of 1921, an in- crease during this five-year period worth noting. What is more im- portant, perhaps, each of the months of the year thus far has exceeded the respective total of the same month of the preceding year, the March in- cre amounting to 12 per cent, characterize our domestic affairs, bu! we are relatively in as good a c dition as other part of this cou ry when it comes to meeting our,| obligations of whatever kind. During’| the last few years we have acquired a | =ort of financial independence of which { we had never dreamed before, for | sometimes we form and carry through | some large ions in which the capital has be rnished largely or together from Southern sources. In | all such financing was ne away e, and of course h of it is yet, we are grad- ually expanding the volume of North- urities among Southern hold- ers, which in a way helps to square he account and aids in supporting our claim of being less dependent. ‘For a long time after the close of the Civil War we not infrequently received and perhaps deserved the soubriquet, the ‘poor old South!' That is true no longer, and if our present prospect for an uninterrupted develop- ment of our natural resources con- inues to materialize, we wiil take our place along with the Middle West with its greater fertility, the Far West with its boundless enthusiasm, as an important part of a great Nation. “Conspiracy of Nature.” “The South ages have been up as amounting to a ‘con- nature.’ This means that F ter of nat- ogether with population \WWe are proud ies of a true cit rom the pioneer stock of early Amer- an history such a back- ulture from our impr growing in power and influence as we spend more for the education of our ith, we will learn how 1o contribute fur the bene- o the sound- ess of the economics of this new representing the twenty-second con | secutive advance over the correspond- ing month of the previous year. April records to date point to a con- tinuation of this trend for some little time to come. Incompetence Takes Toll. Quite naturally some businesses have exceeded the pace indicated by his general index, while others have lagged behind, the gap in large de- gree measuring the extent to which the business man has been alert to the needs of the people he serves, their changing habits, their purchas. ing power, the traffic situation, all these and many more factors which markedly affect business. In spite of high levels of prosperity to be noted in each of the principal indi- cators of general business for the city, business incompetence continues to take its toll. Commerclal failures in shington for the first quarter of 1926 numbered 40, as compared with 17 in the same period of 1925. Lia- bilities of failing firms were reported as 5,000 for 1926, as compared with $189,000 in 192: These liabilities al- though larger than last year are still | running less than in 1924, Another Indicator which is strik- ingly accurate in its reflection of trade is found in the figures on postal reve- nues. This index shows a 16 per cent advance over the first quater of 1925. Bach month of 1926 was, as in the case of check payments, higher than Lldorado, and, if succe: + due regard for the proper respect fc but a true appr tundamental qus the world's st u and especially the sum of tentment.” IMPORTANT COURT RULE ON WAR RISK INSURANCE Federal Judge Says Policies of Vet- erans With Total Disability Rating Cannot Lapse. By the Associated Press. PORTLAND, Oreg., Apr eral Judge Wolverton yester that under section 306 of t ans' act of 1924, <urance policy of a who has had temporary total disa- bility rating during the life of the policy, does not lapse through fail- ure of the veteran to pay premiums. The ruling was said to be the first of {ts nature in the United States nd observers of the case estimated | that it would automatically put ap- | proximately $1,000.00 worth of war | risk policoes back into effect. ful, it means other: money weil for the \appiness umai con- | insuranc Offiecrs Here Are Transferred. Army officers s city have been assizned to swhere as follows: Lieut. Col ston, Cavalry, to For Lieut. Col. Ben to the 14th Cavalry dan, Ill.; Maj ical wa wood A Desobry, at body and Percy W. ntry, to Fort Benning, Ga. Benjamin B. Brackenbury, at Leavenworth, "y a ordered to this city for duty in the office of the chief of staff, War De- | partment. G | Heads Crucible Steel Co. NEW YORK, April 24 (P).—I'red- erick B. Hufnagel was elected presi- of the Crucible Steci t 2 ay to s Mr. vice president of the Crucible which he recently joined, Jones & Laughiin® Steel Co. _Alex- and business, make up | 1921 !in 1925 with March more than This advance marks the twelfth consecu- tive gain over the preceding year. No doubt this tremendous increase for | March reflected the presence of an exceptionally large tourist population, while comparing this increase with the advance of 12 per cent previously | noted in check payments, it is appar- ent that tourists during this time of the year form an important part of the purchasing power of Washington. That telephones in use form a val- uable index to business growth and denying. The rate of increase in the | number of telephones in use in the District of Columbia, as set by the first quarter of 1926, indicates an ad- vance for the year of about 10 per cent. In this connection the changes which have occurred since January 1, 1926, in the respective telephone ex- hanges, as may be noted from the table below, afford an invaluable com- mentary upon present tendencles. A rise of almost 4 per cent in the num- ber of telephones in the eastern and northeastern sections of the city, served principally by the Lincoln and Atlantic exchanges, bears striking evi- dence as to the diffusion of population which, with the rapid rise in home and automobile owner- ship, is now greater than ever before. Increase Is Significant. The increases in the number of tele- phones in the territories served by the Cleveland, North-Potomac, West and Columbia-Adams exchanges are also strikingly significant. The number of telephones in use in Washington is as follows: Jan. 1. April 1. Per cent District 1936 926, increase, otal oty . ..... 12 120, 24 tie-Lin i leveland Columbia-. Main-Franklin North-Potoma West 1201 : 2 | Whatev v have been said be- fore with reference to the importance of the building industry to the pros- perity and general welfare of the |i ity must pale before the stupendous building program undertaken during < | the first quarter of 1926, as seen from contract figures compiled by the F. ‘W. Dodge Corporation, and currently used by the Department of Commerce ander T. Gailbrath was clected vice president (o succeed Mr. Hufnagel. to measure building activity. Actual committments to build totaled in ex- 7> First Quarter Totals a0l 20 | then {per cent larger than the correspond- | ing month of the previous vear. : | population shifts there can be little ALL SIGNS POINT TO BETTER YEAR FOR BUSINESS IN WASHINGTON Check Payments, Building, Auto Sales, Store Trade, Real Estate Activity and Newspaper Advertising Show Trade Is in Good Shape. cess of $28,000,000, making the first quarter of 1926 larger than the entire year, 1920. The prediction made by the writers in February, when just one month’s figures were at hand, that building awards for the first half of 1926 would probably exceed $35,000,000 s now becoming a cer- tainty, with indications pointing to that huge figure as the measure of a four-months’ total, allowing better than $6,000,000 awards in the current DOLLAR VOLUME OF BUSINESS IN WASHINGTON Monthly and quarterly comparisons, permit, it is quite obvious that the present rate of residential building which is running more than 40 per cent ahead of 1925, cannot be main- tained throughout the year. Whatever decline may occur in the rate of residential construction in the remaining months of 1926 will un- doubtedly be more than offset by new commercial and other projects such as public works and utilities, now in the offing, so that the net results for the year 1826 should be about 10 per cent greater than the $64,000,000 program instituted during 1926. A prime consideration in the fleld of retail trade is the relatively high level of employment and wages af- forded by the building industry. As- suming that building awards will trend downward in future months it is not to be supposed that any imme- diate reaction will follow in retail trade. Construction now under way being preponderantly of large commer- cial and apartment types will furnish sustained employment for several months to a large group irrespective month of April. This is far and away the largest construction program act- ually undertaken in any comparable period. New buildings in contempla- tion, but for which contracts have not been let, aggregating more than | $30,000,000, represent the largest pros- | pective program on record in the | Current Business Tr 1926 of later building tendencles. This bal- ancing influence should operate to maintain the upward trend in retail lines well into 1927. Department Store Trade. This lag between retail business and building may be seen from the sales ends in Washington Showing monthly comparisons 1926 (black line); 1925 (dotted line). Advertising BT i SE35¢£:5¢8 building program now pending in the building annals of the District, this excluding the Federal $50,00,000 Senate. However, it is important to note that, after six consecutive monthly advances in our building forecaster shown in the accompany- ing chart, this curve turned down- LR B ward in March but, to be sure, not o | decisively as to as vet warrant the prediction that building awards dur- ing the remaining months of the present year will be very sharply cur- tafled, If this curve continues downward for April and May the prediction will WASHINGTON BUILDING FORECASTER Indicative as to the change of direction only. 1924 1925 1926 be justified, on past perfor- mances, all things considered, that 1926 will stand as the record building year with a substantial decline there- from in the ensuing year. Here, too, the forecast in these columns made by the writers some months earlier as to the probable shift of importance between the two major types of con- structlon, viz., residential and com- mercial, has been amply substantiated. Where, during the first quarter of 1925, new residential building awards constituted almost 70 per cent of the and | T T E3S5E55H8 58 | records of Washington department stores for 1925. In that vear the in- se over the previous year was only 7 per cent, which may be con- = in building awards. The first quarter of 1926 shows an increase in depart- | ment store trade amounting to 12 per cent, this conditon very largely trace- able to the great activity in the build trasted with an increase of 20 per cent | Item. Total volume of business Dollars ..... Postal recelpts Thousands of dollars seeeceeescas Newspaper advertising Thousands of Ilines Department store trade 1 Index numbers (1923—100) ...... Bullding contracts let Thousands of dollars Real estate transfers Real estate trusts Number Labor demand Positions open .... New auto sales Number of CArs ....c.coeevirenne New truck sales Number of trucks .....eeceevnoe Gasoline consumption Thousands of gallons Life insurance sales Thousands of dollars . *Includes December. +Estimated. ~First quarter— Per cent increase, 1926 over 1925. Total. 8 711,768 669,677 1,356 1,170 13,676 12,007 Jan. 231,193 448 398 4,638 16 13 12 14,772 10.508 246,246 207,446 258,072 Months ————fldw July. August. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 1 244674 230142 289,374 Feb. March. 198,298 230,186 408 499 867 415 4,088 5,049 3,700 4,608 89 112 84 98 6,115 16,077 4,162 6,460 1,622 1,382 2,072 1,868 3,895 2,337 2,013 1,536 144 126 13,900 3,378 16,250 4,097 486 2,322 4,005 2,043 Tl e 3761 4,008 3319 3980 4,309 Sources of data—Total volume of business and department store sales from Federal Reserve Board; postal receipts, United States Post Office Depast- ment; buflding contracts data, F. W. Dodge Corporation; real éstate transfers, recorder of deeds; labor conditions, United States Employment Service, United States Department of Labor: new auto sales, Gardiner-Johnson Agency; gasoline consumption, tax collector, District of Columbia; life insurance sales, Life nsurance Sales Research Bureau. able, indicating that the present wave of prosperity is nicely balanced by a proportionate increase in savings and inyestments. Incidentally savings de- Pposits continue to mount, while build- ing and loan association resources m"e1 larger than ever hefore. A total of $14,772,000 in future estates, If carried to maturity, were created during the first quarter of 1926 by the purchase of life insurance protection. This total compares with $10,608,000 written during the same period of 1925, the present year's sale: showing increased business to the ex- teat of about 40 per cent. ey WESTERN UNION ASKS PERMIT FOR CONDUIT Application for Authority to In- stall Is Referred to Corporation Counsel on Legal Phases. An application of the Western Union Telegraph Co. for permission to install a conduit containing pneu- matic tubes between its main office at 708 Fourteenth street and fts branch office at 1104 Connecticut ave- nue was reierred by the District Com. ioners yesterds unsel Francis 1. Stephens. The project has been approved by the Sewer and Electric departments of the District Government, but the Com- missioners decided rtain if there is any legal before fin: sanctioning ft. The company plans to lay the tubes under the streets between the two offices. The tubes are wanted for Quick transmission of messages. It takes an average of one minute per message to telegraph them from the ch to the main office and vice ersa, according to the company, whereas by the tube, at busy periods, 40 messages can be sent from one office to the other In a minute. Ing industry during 1925. Viewing | the situation from this angle it is not | for the entire year | proximate an increase over 19: per cent. of 15 linked with the item of newspaper ad vertising, in itself an excellent indica- tor of general business trends. During the first quarter of 1926 an increase of 13 per cent over the same quarter of the preceding year in nwspaper ad vertising compares with an advance of 12 per cent in the volume of depart- ment store trade. Total advertising lineage in Washington papers during the first three months of 1926 aggre- gate 13.675.000 lines as against 12.- 097,000 lines during the same three months of the previous vear. The absorption of new automobiles in the Washington market continues unabated. For the four-month period ending March 31, a total of 4.371 new passenger cars were registered in the increase amounting to 24 per cent over the same four-month period of a year earlier. New truck sales amounting to 514 for the four-month period show an increase of per cent over 1825, This increase in automobile owner- ship, while affecting in marked de- gree the sales at retail in many kin- dred lines has as its most noticeable affect an increase of 18 per cent in gasoline consumption. Realty Activity Continues. Despite the large amount of capital diverted into automotive channels, real estate activity continues in large CURRENT BUSINESS TRENDS Per increase first quarter, 1926 over 1925. Total Volume of Business Postal Receipts Newspaper Advertisin Department Store Trade Ten-Cent Store Saleg Building Contracts Let Real Estate Transfers Reel Estate Trusts Labor Demand New Auto Sales New Truck Sales Gasoline Consumption Life Insurance Sales No. No. No. No. of electrical consumers of gas connections of water connections of telephones total contracts let during the period, with commercial constructien taking only about 12 per cent, building awards in the first quarter of 1926 showed a ratio for residential con- struction of but per cent of the total, with commercial buildings tak- ing 46 per cent of the aggregate. While it may be scmewhat early to state definitely that the residential situation is an overbuilt one, con- sidering the ever-present desire in the average citizen to shift from rented quarters whenever finances will volume. For the first three months of 1926 a total of 4,146 deeds were re- corded as compared with 3,827 in the same period of 1925, representing an advance of 8 per cent. Real estate trusts recorded totaled 5475 for the first quarter as against 5,118 last year, increase of 7 per cent. ‘With the increased expenditores previously noted for various retail lines, the purchase of homes and auto- mobiles and other comforts of life, the 1926 sales of new ordinary life insur- ance In Washington are truly remark- District of Columbia, representing an | | improbable that repartment store sales | 1926, should ap- | ! The subject of retail trade is closely | to Corporation | I BUILDING CONTRACTS AWARDED IN D. C. Showing distributfon by quarters and first quarter totals. 1926 $28,587,000 To¥5 172,448,800 192¢ 14,160,000 1923 12,400,000 j1922 12,410,000 hoz1 “8}850,000, 1820 8,660,000 1920 1921 POWER CONPANIES SOLD. Fitkins Utilities Buys Three Big Southern Properties. NEW YORK, April 24 (®).—Acqui- the Georgia-Florida Power Co. and its subsidiaries, the Seminole Power Co. and the Bainbridge Power Fitkins Utilities, sition of Co., by nounced yesterday. erated by the Generul holdings in Geo that the new A The publication of this an- nouncement is evidence that this newspaper subscribes The group is lo- cated in southwestern Georgla. newly acquired properties will be op- Engineering and Management Corporation. cenmection of the properties i with the power system of the Fitkin . and Florida, so group will TINGLEY APPROVES HAGERSTOWN PLAN Will Assist People in Fight to Build Municipal Electric Power Plant. Special Dispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE, April 24.—Thomas J. Tingley, people’s counsel, has an nounced that he will assist the peo- ple of Hagerstown in their fight to construct and operate & new munici- pal electric plant to furnish lght. heat and power to residents of the town. The Public Service Commission has ordered a hearing May § on the application of the mayor and city council for permission to construct and operate the plant and to issu $300,000 in bonds to finance the project. In expressing a firm conviction as to the right of the people to under- take the project, for which there has been a determined fight since 1919, Mr. Tingley said: 1925 1926 1922 1923 1924 BOSCH CASE DECIDED. Each Company in Suit May Use “The case is now one in which an N e enterprise is seeking to enter a fleld NEW YORK, April 24 (P).—The |already adequately supplied with name Bosch may be used within cer- | service. ; 'The municipal plant has been in tain limits by both the American|, . ..1¢ FEVCHC, Sool competition Bosch Magneto Corporation and the|with the private interests serving Robert Bosch Magneto Co., Inc., by | the territory fo;{ a per:od of 25 years. a ruling of Supreme Court Justice| The people at Hagerstows Beve B Tavy. ‘The formiec coficers: haipooicee oHie Mitie minlciyer P brought action against the lat- and a desire for continuance and ex- pansion. This is a healthy evidence ter to enjoin use of the name and | of civic apirit and one that I think the Robert Bosch Co. had entered |should be encouraged.” | a counter claim, asking exclusive right to the use of the name and de- manding $10,000,000 damages. Both It is estimated that the Americar the demands for exclusive right to|oil industry loses $200,000,000 a year the word Bosch and the claim for |by evaporation losses, which amount damages were disallowed by Justice|to more than 6 per cent of all the oil Le: produced. AYON was an- The Inter. planned be inter- mpanies la. Story of Co-operation ot many vears ago science brought forward a new fabric. It was made of wood or cotton fiber, and looked like silk, felt like silk, and, in many instances, wore better than silk. This product became known as “Fiber Silk.” Several vears ago advertisers realized that this name was incorrect, since the public might get the impression that the material was either part or wholly silk. “Rayon” was adopted as the term to apply to this cellulose fabric. Throughout the country mer- chants are adopting the new name. In Washing- ton retailers, co-operating with the Better Busi- ness Bureau, have substituted “Rayon” for the misleading term “Fiber Silk.” Today, business and the public use and know “Rayon” for what it is. The adoption of the new trade term is another milestone in the movement to maintain public belief in advertising. whole-heartedly to the prin- ciples of the Better Business Bureau and co-operates with the Bureau in protecting its readers. The Better Business Bureau of Was n Evening Star Building Main 8164.