Evening Star Newspaper, December 31, 1927, Page 24

24 THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1927. - American Dollars Have Been Kept Busily at Work During the Past Year TRADE VOLUME DECLINES ALONG WITH LIVING COSTS Wages Keep at Steady or Slightly Higher Level—Position of Farmer Best in Years. BY CHARLES F. SPEARE activities expressed in terms of doll:lrx:x W YORK 31.—The | per shave earned on stocks; on the SRS Seregtonlids "‘I:“M other, with the average earnings per the climax of one of the most | capita of the great army of workers in remarkable perinds in finan. | industry and those whose incomes are cial history. The momentum |derived from various forms of service: that gathered headway in 1926 and The conspicuous prosperity of coi was strong in 1926 carried busine i porations during the war llv\fi in other mlong through the first half of 1927 | periods of our commercial history has and is still havirg its effect. | been the usual measure chosen for de- Speculative mar- ¢ national prosperity. Such kets always out- prosperity has heen the basic factor distance _happen- in arousing and broadening security ings in the com- markets. It may be said that this mercial and in- form of prosperity is the more spec- dustrial world, tacular of the two, and that its in- with prices for fluence and psychological effect is the ocks discounting most positive of all. There are foo the improvement many facts going to prove that 1927 in trade at one was an unsatisfactory year to set up time &nd a reac | a claim of good corporation results. tion in it at | There are, of course, notable excep- other. This | tions in the automobile trade, in the have done to a lesy net earnings of chain stores, national extent du distributors, food and tobacco product than ordina companies, the public utilities and in i e | a scant half-dozen railroads. Against great abunidanca e this we have a score of leading indus- of capital at low interest rates ha | L0 W0 L Mot income in the first o i Al earninge. | nine months of 1927 ranged from 6 per o - N | cent to nearly 60 per cent under that The money situation has nlaved AR CET 0 Jile Period in 1926. This in- Important At A N Snd the irflu. | cluded such fmportant lines as iron movements during 1350, 201 X e | and steal, automobiles. coal and coke, ence it will have on the e o than | railroad equipment, oil production and next year makes it more difficult than 0 o e e er to read the future correctly. refining. machinery. building i ;; The developments that are likel ?Is nxnd nearly the entire range o to play an important part in deter: | metals. mining the course of business and of “Wages and Salaries High. curities in 1928 are: Intense com- ;s ¢ Shtition voecal, but more influential, in BY J. C. ROYLE. INETEEN TWENTY-SEVEN was a wonderful year, but not quite the equal of the record-breaking twelve months of 1926. Volume of business was as large, but profit margins were narrower, Competition was more strenuous than ever hefore, and it was only efficiency of men, management and materials which reduced costs to a point where profits came into being. There were few wide fluctuations in commodity prices, Many of the financially unfit fell by the wayside. cerns not adequately financed found it hard going. Coal, oil, shipping and some other lines of endeavor showed extreme depression, but fewer industries were in a bad way than in 1926, Con- Labor controversies were few, wages and living stand- ards remained high, employment was almost as heavy as in the previous year and buying power increased., Railroads had a good year, but not a record-breaking one. BY EDWARD C. STONE. ASHINGTON today {8 round- | s jes B § per cent bonds. *Another ing out one of the best bus- . eSt DUS- | {portant listing was an fssue of §1.- iness and financial years 'n 009,000 Barber & Ross 613 pef cent the Capital’s history. The |porie g year 1526 ‘amashed the rec:| "%\ (ne peve storks placed on ords of other normal 12-month periods | exchange were Potomac Electric in the District of Columbia, setting a | Power 515 per cent preferrell, a g that 1927 has ot )"““;:‘lkufl‘fl]‘]l 000,000 fssue; 50,000 shares of Barber n many ways. vet the last bank call |& Ross common, a $300,000 issie of revealed deponlis far ahead of those | : A jOne_of the leading issues proved to i in nearly all of the leadiny Pdusen ing the country along through dustries and an unstable price situ- : ion: the uncertainty as to candidates | the year has been what may be termed | for the presidency: the volume of gold | the well-to-doness of the average | American wage earner and professio; exports; the position of the farmer railroad consolidation; foreign LOITOW- al man. His share in the gross prof-| ing and foreign competition With|its of industry has been higher than| American manufacturers; the large|ever. His employment has, for the| proportion of bank loans made on se-|most part, been steady. He has had| curities as well as the high ratio of | money to save or to spend. With a | bank investments in slow-moving | stationary or perhaps slightly higher bonds: the demand for some tariff re- | average wage scale than before. his | duction, and, finally, the political and | cost of living in the past two years has declined. economic_ conditions in Gcrmsl’!\'. France, Italy and southeastern Eu-| The effect of this situation has heen | that of creating the greatest purchas. | rope. 1927 Trade Volume Declines. ing power in the hl:loryd of the| 5 oti e rt in essentials and part in | The peak of production following | bl a T e the war was reached in 1325 and in o, the other, creating business and These were also years of very | helping to keep some one beside the matisfactory margins of profit en in.|actual buyer at work. dustrial turnovers. In contrast, 1927 There are unhealthy elements in| has witnessed a steady contraction in | the present liberal spending habits of | the volume of major lines of trade, | the American people, whose tendency | stages. | ords. of 1926, and bank clearings have run | gy 204000 A neck:and-neck race with the 1926 Gravel preferred. figures. Christmas savings soared |~ Two new bank stocks were posted $500.000 during the vear, while many [ on the loeal board fthis vear—the bank stocks and other local securities | Bank of Bethesda, opening at 36 scaled the heights to unequaled marks. | and closing at 60, and Potomac Sa Retaii trade, too, has made a spec- | inge. selling at 300, tacular finish to a vear that was| (Ope finance company issue s proving none too bright in its earlier aqded to the growing array of local Months ago a cool Summer | securities, the Commercial National greatly marred hot weather trade and | Co., organized by the management of then the tables turned and warm the Commercial National Bank, list. weather severely handicapped trade | ing 5,840 shares of preferred stoe largely dependent upon cool Fall| The Terminal Refrigerating & Ware. weather. But anxiety among the |housing Corporation's $1,000,000 cap- merchants turned to joy as the holi- | ¥ day season arrived and found the mercantile business sufficient to make up for the dull seasons and in many instances hang up new holiday rec. Thus a vear that had its pain- ful periods ended to the sat of the majority of business men, Outstanding Achievement. e of Columbia Sand & {on the hoard of the Washington Mar. | the name of the firm. The Washing- {ton Medical Building Corporation’s stock was posted on the board. while one of the most important issues of 11 was Sanitary Grocery (o, pre- | ferred. Most recently 1o be added was Chevy Chase Dairy preferred, and a | ital stock, par value 50, took the place | ket Co.’s stock because of a change in | BRIEF BUSINESS BROADCASTS OF 1927 There was a notable trend toward consolidations and merger and railroads, Writing of life insurance | of $16,900,000,000. Real esta Ruilding construction involy $6,000,000,000. Foreign trade grew steadil The year ended with a rec Reports from bas the first half of that year. the case a year ago. After next June the weat | the bonds moving from 100 to 104* Potomac Electric Power consolidat- | ed 58 had a year of enhancing values | advancing three points during a | $161.000 turnover while the company's general and refunding 6s moved up to 1081, Georgetown Gas Light first 58 held their popularity, as did nearly all the other hond is Of the higher priced stocks, Wash- | ington Railway & Electric common | proved the most spectacular. From |a low of 1801, the stock soared to | 480, while the preferred started at 90 and crossed par to 101, merger talk being ascribed as the reason for the strength in both issues. Washington Gas Light gripped attention in many ns, while more than 11,000 changed hands and the quo- | shar | #tock shared actively with the com- pany’s bonds, the unusual strength being assigned to an expected favor- able valuation. The turnover in Capital Traction amounted to nearly 9.000 shares, the | stock winding up the vear around 110« The new Potomac ctric Power 513 per cent preferred was another market leader. 1In the last half vear it advanced from 101'% to 107% in a turnover of almost 9.000 shares. Lan- ston Monotype and Mergenthaler especially among the bank automobile concerns, steel mills, public tations climbed from 69 to §6l:. The | lumber companies, utility corporations roke all records, with a total te was active at fair prices. ed the expenditure of over y and showed a favorable bal- ance of trade, as against an unfavorable one in 1926, ord burst of holiday buying. ¢ industries give every indication that prosperity will continue into 1928 and possibly throughout Industrial production is rising instead of falling, as was her and the presidential elec- tion will become factors in the situation, but business in gencral is well prepared to meet any contingency - D. C. BANKERS FIND 1927 BOOM YEAR IN BUSINESS 0 v Capital Traction first 5s figured inycellent year. Total deposits of the | ton of th [be Washington Gas Light $1,500,000 | transactions involving over $209,000. [ national banks, savings banke and nies on the date of the | | trust comy {last eall. October 10, amounted to | $257,060.878; on June 30, 1927, the de. | posits were $258,949,895, while the | March call showed bank deposits o $246.785,181. The call on the of 1926 revealed deposits of $233,917.- | 284, or $17.143,504 under the totals | of October 10, | The 1927 Christmas clubs attained a_grand_total of $5992,400 against 5.544.967 a year ago, a gain of $447.- 433 in one year. In this great sav ings campaign 7 took part. Reports of the Washington Cle: House Association show that clearings for the year will be very close to those of 1925." At this writing the December summaries have not been announced, but the totals for the first 11 months 0f 1927 compared with the same period in 1926 are as follows: Jan March Avrit Tune ! uly At Sept ot Nov Totale. . 81,2 000 Washingtonians | and a slow and wearing recession in prices. This has been conspicuous in | iron and steel. The year has been ore of grcat problems for the small producer, in- adequately equipped to meet the low cost of production of the large manu- facturing units, as well as for the small merchant with limited credit who endeavored to compete with the | to mortgage the future is greater than | on the absorption of a liberal share of | ycpagden banking bill last February is the based it should be. However, it writer's opinion that prosperity | corporation profits by wage earners | is a more permanent prosperity than | that which comes from the abnormal | earnings of a great many different | industries and is distributed to stock- | holders. There is not likely to be so efficiently managed ~hain store und mail order concern. The conunercial mortality has been high amongz tiose | with small resources, and it will con- | tinue to be so during the prucess of integration of producing and distrib- uting organizations in this country. It is only necessary to review the records of the railroads for the last three months to realize how pronoun- ced has been the reaction in business. Car loadings in the aggregate repre- | sent conditions in practically all lines | of trade, as well as in the movement | of bulk commodities. As an evidence'of the prosperity of earlier yvears, when large surplus re- merves were built up, there have been few corporations compelled to reduce or pass their dividends this year i #pite of unsatisfactory earnings. The | | great a swing back and forth in (he! business pendulum in the former caso | in the latter. ! The fact that there is today such | a tremendous buying force in the country, together with such large sav- ings deposits, such great volumes of new insurance, such real estate activ- ity, especially in the form of home building. and in the absorption of all classes of securities as to prove that the population, as a whole, is making money, although the commercial statistics are not particularly gratify. ing to the large business and banking interests. Politics a Business Factor. The period since 1924 has been one t the most placid in the political his- tory of the country. Given political | | tations exception is in the oil trade. Here| the full effect of nearly a year of overproduction and low selling pri has not reached its maximum. income of refining and producing com- panies will be nearly 50 per cent be- low that of 1526. Some ' companies have deferred payments to shareholders which they had expected to be able to make at the beginning of 19 Com- | movements in the business and finan. | paratively few of the wealthier com- | cial affairs of Great Britain, France binations have greatly increased their | and Germany in the next 12 months distributions 1o shareholders. An, Business believes it I8 very necessary | analysis of the total of dividends and | that during this period the United interest paid for 1927, however, re|States should have a strong govern. veals the fact that most of the in-|ment and one that is willing to mct| ereae r 1926 was the result of [ sympathetically ~ with European payments on newly created securities | policies rather than increased payments on| This brings forward the the 1326 list. In this connection the | of gold exports not only to Europe year's anomaly of receding trade and | but to South America, a prospent the Jargest volume of new stocks and | that has been facing the United States bonds ever created for expansion pur- ' for some time and one that is im-. posex in presented. portant in that it may mark the end : of the period of easy money on which New Financing Operations Heavy. | iny gecurity markets of 1957 ' have About 40 per cent of the aggregate | heen founded of $5.500,000,000 new securities wax| It In not unreasonable to expect el 0 st uBing i sy | e shipment of between $50,000,000 | e el Soatundiax GpRtKUONS by | Suat 09,000 Sridll. i M Loge ol American corporations, and in 10AnK | 1he next 3 months. This sum might e 8 Wpreomenm. - Anothee 20 be considerably enlarged in cawe 25 ent represented the require- pr,pnce yuddeniy decides to stabilize ments of the public utilities. Which | har currency und st the same. e continued on prosper’ aw down her balances in London e or l::"x-"’"“ »’.’;:’\:1 and in New York. The question e Taliroads. whose conditions, | O K0ld exports, therefore, has ceased " r to be academic and may be put for. while not %o good s in 1928, have ! y,rq 49 one having un important hear. been kighly satisfactory and have jngon' the fnancial history of 1ech warranted them in borrowing for the | = Continued “Cheap” Money Likely. { enlurgement of their facilities As 1o the remainder. it is quite It is true that the shipments wo| probmble that u Jarge portion of it has fur made 1o Europe, Bouth Amerien beer umed 1o bring about lower pro- and Canada have had no untavorable Bucing comts by means of more | reaction in the money markets of modern machinery and other upto | this country It will take wome date equipment, all of which hax had | time for tnem to produce sn effect, the effect above mentioned of Ariving | hecnuse this may be minimized | the small 1 out of business through the operation of taking more Foxcept 1 the prices of farm prod | government securities intg the port Netn. the year das heen one of Ae-|fojjon of the Federsl Reserve Banks | clining eomimnofAy quotations. The | from the open market It might checked through sverage the faet half of War alen be inediately lowering of the Bauk of England | &t the n two yea This tendenc, was ax prongunced in parts | dimcount pate This 18 one of the of Fourope as it was in the United | most probable developments of the Eiates In the fir quarter of the | pew vear wecond half of 1927 modities yoxe | With the ciurtailment of business on | @uite sherply, Lut Iatterly they have | the present scals it seenim probable | that the reservoirs of capital avall- nactivity. a condition of business pros- perity is likely to result. One of the great unknown quantities surround. ing the 1928 business situation is the coming presidential campaign. It is the confidence of the conservative in- terests in an administration that keeps IP:ulm!u moving forward on an even eel. There are bound to be significant f | | heen wiow receding ss the et values of cotton aod grain have a4 Justed themselves 1o the final figures of Yeur's crops abis for speculation or Investment will be fed more rapidly than they e drawn upon hy forelgn market € probably in for w long period | and that the rate of money through- w0ty prices. Thix 1l out the firwt half of 1928 will be | one vorable aspects of the | relatively low Dusiness situstion Lt us take u look at events in the | ¥or the present the position of the | world thin year and othern possible in | forroer in Letter than it hsw been for | 1528 that hase had or are likely to Although the cotton | have an effect on the markets for s 1) GO0 000 bmles | American goods and securities with 000,000 bilew | Great Biitain i recovering slowly | il compenws. | from the industial blow 1t recelved in higher price | the coal miners’ long strike, Ver com. | merclal positlon has fmproved ana e of the Southwest | WIth It ber financial stutus. In rthwest and the corn raisers of | November her exports wece §87,600 prest Missiemippl basin Etates | 909 more than the y previous and ve heen biessed with sbunaant yields | early 850.000.000 in excess of 1926, | year &nd, therefore, have heen | Hhe ix wtlll, however, fucing serious | o pey off 01d debie, purchase | competition from the continent of pcipid ¥ and lusuries snd increase | KOTope, where wages are lower and Their beny srcounts. Their stalus 1o, | €Xchunges more favorahie to the pro Aey 1 wich 1hut they are thinking less | 4uction und disteibution of konds o vhetr troubles than for o long while| Germany hus heen through « year o ive O excessive spaculation in securities and they 8w 8ot w0 potiically RELVA ¢ ooy quidation in A ShAy el & yres 9 W5 069 !:’: th A constantly growing ireitand hid e of HBporiane 1OIne VR the way of ligher living costs wresidential campaigr and taxen bears hesvily on the work Two Views of 1927 Hesults Ing clawses It im not unlikely that whether | 1628 will witness disturbing babor end industrial conditions in Germany wlong with politieal differences over the subject of national expendiiures and reparations pRvments Kiauce in pionger fuancially than o 1 peve g Jaxt there this loss “ Vet gro wna ba whle | | | l 1 wrswering 1he question Lk been 8 year of prosperity, it [z On the one side, we must l Uie seaulls Of Corpuialion 1n necessary 1o view prosperity from engien witk Gesl ' | shares at a price range from 3 454, the city has advanced during the vear, until stock in the closing week of 1927 is | National Savings & Trust Co recently 1 price of 502 {ton Stock Exchange were by | heavi, tionally | were months of | suddenly decided to stabilize her cur | trad abrupt and arbitrary the $202,000 issue of the Washington Convention Hall Co. Quotations at Peak. Most of the quotations on local stocks and bonds are ending 1027 | very close to their peak prices for the enr. Washington Railway & Electric 4s led the bond market in yolume ot rading, sales totaling $278.000, rang- ing from 85% to 90%. Washington | Gas Light 6x, series B, which came on the board at 1031, climbed to 107% and ended the year near that figure. | The heavy demand for Washington Gas Light 6s, series A, also boosted these honds to 107 Officials of the local national banl will tell you that the passage of the was the outstanding event of the year | in financial circles. It was considered the most important piece of banking legislation since the passage of the | Federal Reserve act, giving to nation al banks additional privileges which they declared were sorely needed. Turning the spotlight back over 19. shows that the broad advance in quo- on Washington bauk stocks has been another almost amazing fea- ture. As bank stocks elsewhere have climbed to new and spectacular heights, the local issues have not So far as checks passing through the local clearing housa reveal busi- ness conditions, trade this year has been very similar in volume to la year. Merchants assert that this true. The whirlwind finish of tF Christmas holiday season may boo December clearings, thus indicating that retail trade for the vear will pass last year. Tt is quite probahle that they will, but the clearings will nat g0 ?;":flr into new ground as they did In reviewing the husinsss prosperi of the past year in the Na api- tal it must qiso be reealled that there have been many small failures and that the unemployment situstion at | Linotype. of course, wera active, Lan. | | ston being especially strong toward | the end of the vear. Practically all the year's new lssues dispiaved strength. The local exchange tonk new members during t thur Foraker, Wiiliam jr. and E. J. Emrich. one loss by death, ) Claughton. being vice president at | the time of his demise. At the an | nual meeting, his office was filled hy E. yer, after C. C. Glover, jr.. | | had been re.elected president | Bank cail comparisons show I the local banks in three vear, Ar-| Mackall, | There was Richard L that @ enjoved an ex- lagged. Buyers have paid little or no attention to the diminishing returns from dividends as advances of 5. 10 and even 50 points have brought splendid enhancement in quoted values. As the old vear ringe out, a glance backward shows that the largest vol ume of trading in these Incal issues has taken place in Riggs Bank stock, some 1,250 shares having changed hands between a low of 453 and a high of 510. Second in trading volume American Security & Trust, turnover of approximately Market and Bright tands with a 1,000 3 10 Almost every bank security in BY L. C. GRUNDELAND. HICAGO, December 31 —After six vears of hard times, the cattle industry came back into ita own during the past 12 monthe. This furnished the fenture of the live stock markets and did much to brighten the profit and loss statement of Western farmers. At the same time, xheen helped out by returning satisfactory prices for producers. Rut in the corn helt the hog-raising industry surprised by its P showlng. — Demand for pork proved light and supplies were lar, than expected a 10 per cent decline in values re sulted. With 90.cent corn, it became the effect of an unatable currency has | unprofitable to feed cheap porkers d to diminished production” and| It fs the relatively hikh price of smaller commereial profits. {corn, following the perfod of extremely Italy in the closing days of the vear [low prices, that ix credited with caus. | ing a drop in feeding operations. This indicates that there may he light supplies of live stock for another year Jardine’s Summary. The situation summed up Secretary of Agriculture Jardine syn “Good conditions prevall in the cattle | and sheep industries. The average | price of slaughter steers at Chicuko is approximately $2.60 per hundred pounds over a year ago. This is ar advance of ubout 25 per cent. Ac | cordingly marketing of cattle has been {less thun lust year. This year's in- In Bouth Amerfca there has been a | comes from cattle sales will, therefore, general movement among republican | not record the full improvement mude countries to balance budgets, estub-|in the situation Hsh a proper wystem of taxation | “Although the market pric and 1o develop o stronger nutional | hax uveraged somewhnt Jower this consclence toward external obliga | venr than it did in 1 the sheep tone In theme developments the | industry as a whole remains in good lonns made by American bankers (o | shipe, Argentina, Hrazil, Chile and Peru | “From the standpoint of prices, the have played an important purt. The wwine Industry encountered relatively credit_of Central American countries | unfavorable conditions this year, al-| has likewise moved up to a higher | though neither production nor market | station, and the loans of this group | wuppliew were excessive Hog prices have been more and more famillar in | declined wupi ately $3.50 per 100 | tho murket for dollar wecuritien | pounds. This decline vesulted prima Jupun hos passed through another | pjly from a sharp curtaflment in the commercial and banking crists, from | forelgn demand which w6 in slowly emerging with national credit unharmed The Korelgn Lonn Problem. This knitting together of natlons through the process of international Ton hus 18 compensations and itw Al itaien Phere in busis for the cument that, having mude foreign | in the past six y s of over $10,000.000,000, we should continue Jending i order 1o open and stimiil the markets for our own products, On the other hand, the loghe of those who Intain that by wo dolng we aire only handlng o forelgn competitors the weapons with which 1o combat us in dustrlaily Je. in a degree, sound 1t 1w poseible to trace henefits from some loans made during i in the lurker exports of our tured gouds 1o the countrles that have borrowed 1t in Just as obvious that the loane made in dollar form to iron and steel and allied trades on the con tinent of Kurope have assisted these tiades 1o un exp on that has A 1 e price Jist of ron and stee) wroducts In the United Stutes It whould not be furgotten that the peace of the world has been made more prybable thin year thiough (he quiet "0y peralstent efforts of (he Leakn wilons 6nd the (ulfllnent of the tightien that were the great political vigories of 1626, Thix means ke o Bisiness than business has seb boon willing Lo adu the highest-priced local bank | which at 525, Wifshington xtock stands next to the ale at the last quoted ®old Loan & Tru op of th Total transactions on the Warhing far the t in recent years. An excep: large number of new fssues listed during the months. — question| = ? i ale was & vear ago. 1In the ear 8 she will stabilize h currency. She s mot, however, »o well off as she was industrially, for reney in the interest of her internal Industrially and politically Italy meems to be wtronger than she wiux 12 months ago. There s not, | however, overmuch confidence in this country in the permanent wuccess of Ttaly’s present form of government, | 14 frequent chills are cuused by her | foreign policies. | ‘The countries of southeastern Eu rope have made wome progress. Po- | land has been able to borrow exten: | sively in the United States and to | establish her finances on A wound | basis. | by lh-‘ ¢ lambx Cattle on Feed Docreass, In cattle, present conditions indi cate i further decrease In feeding for the corn belt. A moderuts Increase in cattle numbers on feed west of the 1 River, where the cormn crop est In yeunrs, is offwet and more tuction of cattle on nd Eastern corn The supply of calves at 60,000 below last yewr s helt 1 700,000 [ ngme AL the opentng of the year Jooked for a shortage of hoks run shows an ine af about 400 060 more than last year's total of 7100000, The supply of sheep and 1am b dr 1 about 400,000 The supply cuttls for the yea totuled about 3,000,000, or 250,000 un dor w year ugo. The (act that the total supply of ~ Western vange cattle Avopped nearly 100,000 1n the last two yeurs, stunding at 170,000 for the pr ent period agalnat more than 270,000 in 1025, was another factor of mpor tance . Cattls fuenish with choloe fed | ent mince 1920 market Nteers Galnod Prices of stearn galned continiously month to month through the Roat fisavy steers went 1o §17.54 fell tradors but the 3, A the year's feature ern U Lo the Digh at 410 on the upen el from yenr 'CATTLE INDUSTRY PROSPERS AFTER SLUMP OF SIX YEARS Revival Furnishes Feature of Live Stock | times has kept many people from oh. |taining desired positions. Changes in Financial District. The vear 1327 has seen sweening |changea in several banking home | The Washington Loan & Trust C has completsd an addition that h | tremendously eniarged the bank's fa- | cilities. The Union Trust Co. has an annex under way that will double its | size, the Second National is erecting A new 1 uilding, while more than half %0 that approximately | W January, with this vonsidered high i thioughout ens Profit and Loss Statement of Farmers. |t the time—the best in Janus 11920 Tha next month prices reachad 1$13.10, and they kept on going until $19 was touched early in December | Lack of quality stopped the high price | Rrades at that point, but medium and | plniner kinds still gained | The trade in cows and heifers also showed well during the year. Choice cows placed at $11 late in the y whila the general run of heifers wors at $8 to $14. Cholce calves were higl: much of the time on light supplies since and were going at $14 to $14.40 late | |in the year. As & result of this situa live cattle markets beef prices were high and demand was curtailed There have been complaints about the level at which dressed beef is selling, | but packers have to reply that sup. | plies are lght. | The outlook is for a conting fairly light runs of cattle next Several seasons of depression At producers to cnt down theiv herds. | While thare was much forced lauida. | n during these years. As a result stocks have heen cut down until the number of animals is small, Hog Raiser Los At the start of this year most trad. | n in the nee ve | ers looked forward to a shortage of | hogs, With prices high. But instead of this the run of hoks to market in creased at the same time that demand was slackening. As nconsequenc been a rather unprofit the hog raiser last January ¢ reach bruary at $12 oft untll June, whon best hogs sold $0.70 then turned about, get tng 10 W top of $12.15 in September And October, After that the biz slump | wan on In the faca of this lower Keto cotn prices have heen that feeding wasn't Denund for Lambs, Whils fat lambs were in fale de mand during the year, vet foeders out. | soM the Killing classes much of the tme. Aged sheep had w good, even market at nearly Al times, selling around $6.60 to $7.25 for oholce lght ewen About 4,000,000 shoep and lambs ar rived duriug the year, or about 400,000 short of a year aro. The season start. ed out with cholce killing Tambs sell. Ik for $13 (o $13 40, heve then way Voetendy gain In prices to $I8 78, This D owas made in dune WConvEENG 180T ) . Plate-Glass Output Declines he diop In the total number of au tomabiles produced in 1927 had & sei ous effept on the plate-glass market Two af the leading producers showed a doctded docvease i earnings. This | was due, In additton to the automoblls factor, 1o the strong competition from torelgn producers ‘The volume of bullding construction held up well, and window glass and plate glase Were 1 good demand connection With such work, but pric were Buch (hat proft marging were exceptionally narrow. An exception (0 the general trend in glass was ngted In the glass hottle and contiine trade This was exceedingl) biish ELLTH hok mar hixh profitable | nxking not come in 1 I | tndustry Liug of howsehw | the other banks in the city have been | enlarged or extensively overhauled. | The ‘building and loan associations have also completed improvements, the |new Perpetual Building at Eieventh and E streets northwest being a good example of their progress. During the year E. A. Pierce & Co.. stock brokers. took over the ac {of the Washington office of | Onativia & Co. and con fice: G. M. P s Dean, inued the o | Murphy & Co. moved Into two new broker offices, while one of the leading hank changes was the taking over of the Centra! Navings Rank by the Security Savings & Com- merciall The Commercial National District National and Departmental Bank managements organized finance ompanies Tt is possibls to tanch only the finan cial high spots here. The reg SAVIngs confersnce drew a bril gathering of Eastern hankers | joint stock land hanks had a vital con ference with the Federal Reserve Board Under the guidance of W W. Spaid the president, the District Rankers | Association is having another vear of hroad activity. which will climax next June with the vention As Father Timy lavs the 19°7 busi ness and financial records on the shelt bankers and business men here are What of 1928°" The answer ms to he that the millennium did and may not in 198 as uncertain as the local teaction com come to a nnual con: E merger panies. CANNING TRADE GAINS. al of in the Situation Better Than in 1926, but Improvement Is Needed. By Consolidated Press The canning industry sltuation today than it was a year ago. but that still leaves some thing to he dexired from the factors n the industry The canning with an in in A hetter attuation business wound up in extraordinarily arcyover. 10 wae not until late in 1927 that this burden was removed from the back of the industry. As al consequence, reports from all the ! leading canning centers indicate that | the 1937 pack of fruits and vexetables | hay N below normal. This wilt | tend undoubtedly to stralghten out | the technical situation of the indus- | try. Throughout most of the year| competition wax extremely keen ow- | K to the heavy stocks on hand. This techinical posttion vesulted n a falely Tow level af prives throughout most of the vear. although fmprovement ma twell felt as the annual period diew v cloke Fhe industey was afected to a eet i extent by (he extraordinaciiy high Price o G which had its beaving on (he cont of contaliners. heavy 1 EI«;-(rml Goods Prosper Electrical goods buying reached ar excellent volume in all soctions of (he as 1027 closed. During the | st part of the year there was | spotty condition 1n some lnes, but | even 50 the volume of business was Kept on an equally high level with that of 1926 Central power station oquipment, generating, disteibuting AN transimiasion matevials wers in atong demand, and the program for COMMEEICHON WevE vear Indicates W 10UR I the valume Which will e tiened out As the year diew (o o Close there was & strang seasonal | elvcivival squipment. | | 000,000 CONTINUATION OF CHEAP MONEY IN 28 PREDICTED 'Savings Deposits Increase Appreciahlf. | Insurance Does Well—Rail Earnings BY 1. C. ROYLE. hydroelect rie oy aiie aias L.ive | POWer stations. 0 gt s e Consumption of bath mnatural long idle. They have been |3 pipe lines were comp! | Kent busily at work in 1as7 | tarted from the producing fle and this fact accounts in no. smai | industrial centers. The use of gas | Bart for the aetivite of commerce nag | domestic heating as well as for | industry thisughout the yvear. They | IN& purposes showed marked ave Tikoly to he well employed through, | °% 4nd the situation was f oliti the e |improved by the broadening ma lof 1928, Th for gas plant by-products. Low « means 2 continua- e e letar of: “exay's Iy 125,000,600,000 cubic feet of man e , factured gas was burned during ° AiOer ot ',,""“," year, and about 320,000.000,000 fes: cient for any The street railway companies ma'= legitimate 2 n d .| rially improved their positions warranted com- average fare for the coun mercial enterprise above 7 rents and app or_expansion cents. Industrial ac ras The total income Iped raise the number of ri e : the United e bus and taxi Eoscgere -«rrr'» L es in the last merly were acting as competito . I e & osiine: fn ma bean abworbed b tively estimated at traction concerns and r;w a | more than $87.500.- in conjunction wit | 500,000: As & re- The la e have heen m sl the e wed in eomfort. At huge Advertising in general showed a ds hum, the banks cline as compared with 126 were full of money m{- Favorable Trade Balance. year, despite the rerarka RN Saah'which went into investments. The | The vear on‘dqdh:llgaf":'l:”‘“ volume of cash held i ngs de- | Showing & CRVEEE it counts throughout the country did|country and & €etiee’ B not decline, but increased appreciahiy, | volume. These results wers Although bank debts, an accurate over no small obstatles, barometer of business buyi rose | been in the throes of polit r 10t 1/and this has affected trade {3 per cent accnrding to the National | .0 and other oriental countries as well. The fact that Engiand, The Insurance Business, United States and some other cour- The insurance business had another s do not officially recognize U remarkable year. The life insurance Soviet government has made commer- with Russia difficuit companies now have more than $57. 000,000,000 of insurance in f in a state of unrest and not until late in the year that t of this $16.900,008.000 ion of the Mexican Supreme Co was add s year the oil controversy produced a be:. total am: in force - understanding as a basis for trade compgnies paid to benefici. arigua was disturbed and Cuta the year more than § over her sugar situation ales of 1927 represent to no checked trade for a time by in- tent the additions mad ing advanced tariffs. which kep: ready insured who ha te down until the diffculties insurance as a method were ironed out by the two govern vestment. There are now ments. Germany earned a sharp re- surance companies in th buke in connection with payments un- aseets exceeding a billion dollars | der the Dawes plan ese factors. foreizn trade v in Central and Seuth America = Antipodes. in Canada and Eurepe, in Italy and Scandavia. The hown clearly by the Agw eading producer of autom this country, whose fore s in the last year have increased and steam ¢ well 7 z | of 4. €. ROYLE. ee and than the country Real Fstate Acti tions showed far of the average year. There was an absence of booms such as prevailed in 1925 and a lack of the burst booms w howed up in 1926, ment. however, tounding rate. ns us expressed in dollars was slightly les n 1926, b there was a welcome expansion in - ing of farm lands in the agric sections. These properties had lagzed some vears and the renewal of activi plainly the be s position. Many armers bought the lands been working on shares or ren There was a falling off in demand for resider nd hotel properiies in ths cities. tigated by | activity N for pubiic butldings and business structures. The decline tn ordinary building has been approxim 11 per cent. as compared with last year. but the con tracts le: for municipal and utility work, 5 en Drojects, sewers, water syste ways and other heavy comstr | has made up for much of th The amount expended construction during the over $6.060.000,000. alt ord figure of $6.500.000.0: 1l estate transac ity of trans. imports $3.507.900.000 N 3 comp: with $3.666.800.000 and $3 3 0. respectively, in 1926, Spending for Sport. ¢ spen: more on an in were th drawing cards. and more paid others pe amond sporis Basa had sport Cow fich was hockey Anifested in tenni and other sports. Only tha ess of the serirs kept word .| series hase ball crowds below record stags prospersd of the y s recorded success alfter saters, but plained that profit | dication of any to construction exc by the weather, for months at least. Railroad Earninzs Smalle The railroads bet acts and music was demanding rse and the dog came more O their own. The grow of was & feqture the vear both here and adbroad OrSe rACing was prosferr and *si in polo and in equestrianism was Keen. Milhons of dollars wers *\pended merely in tr: orting high *d thoroughbred equinas and o3 Des from ene track or show ring ena 1o another, WOOL PRICES MOVED UP "IN SECOND HALF OF YEAR ’ orld Produ‘etinn Adout T Per Cent Under 1926—Domaestic Stoc™s Fairly Light. By Camsatidated Proas. A slightly the e at volume of words, v and The averuge for the ¥ mates, was forced to locome while sma! n diappointing A pects for preve and p enward Agure o In ence seneral Ay and waoa! e lowded than avs Wiy was Cany previ ¥ oevery see benefited from predecesso s ‘e rapidiy thay reachad the Nigh nee Decomber t however the market was siea % Was A benen In general wo during the vea leas than in omobile travel American to over $300 in e vear ties visited scenic n any @ prody ton of w Previous 1 1t s es! 000,000 was spent tment of h S Ships. m ocean trans. | to ships ot The however wenj nationalittes, trade did v Amerdy o mpreve the position of can o merchant marine Shipping Board vessols w £rOm 1ecrocating stea Rines, and are now cessiul compe on certain trade Lake shipping had w splendid veat, and the lake ShipYards Were more actively engage than At any time since the war : 10 domand_for huge wew frelghters. The viver ¢ Crvased and was extenst: The ftervoastal v miade PROfts than the transweanis They were aided by o NOred s, 1 per e v \s a e volune wiEht passing SN (e Panama Canal giew G 2 IV desptie the drop tn the AHNment of perrlenm and its prstuets from Calitirnia 1o the Atlantio Coast Klectrle Curvent Consumptinn The power curve, showing v Han aind sale ol electeie current moved upward in sach Wenth e 1% as compared inds for the corresponding pe - < exas sheenmen elippet fna Mg N sue FRUIT MARKET SPOTTY. Some Sections Prospered. While Others Suffered. Miat Pess hand Ry Cams country iy cent STONeIs adtained (haraughly In athacs thay were ha DPed eihar By toa simall produet sed By unfaveraile weather e ® A prduotion WRKRR was e b handied By markoting ages it o tary results. N Quately Ches The apple crop was small. amaunt 1N 10 ORIV 118,300,000 Duahels a8 own ared With S48 300,000 Dushels & year PATSON WIH the corvesponding Period | agn Poaches alse suffared & Sveiw O I R the yea UCON rop G UL, the ) ied DeIRg 45, 42 TACKEL A QALY AVOrnge Of 214000 000 ) 000 bushels ax compared with 8913w RIOWAEE hours. & gain of about 10 por | 000 bushels & vear age. Pears deopped Cent aver Previous vear \‘\Mn’..u from 20, 640,000 bushels o 1T W for the Haht and power companies ! o008 hushels vanged as high as 12 por cont abeve | Prices wore modeiately good thase of 1824, | The demmand for hananas hay grows Cannalidations and the atsarption of { steadity and the peaftts of the shd the amialier campaniss by larger ave |oampanives handiing this fran 1ems continued unabated Bxpansion [ iRatng i i the United States are OF CAPACIEY WAS malntaied 4t A tec THRelv 1o peeve as large a1 Ord pace by (he constiuction of bowh {183