Evening Star Newspaper, May 5, 1929, Page 85

FIN BAS STOCK ACTIVE OND. C. EXCHANGE Issue Has Shown Strength in Recent Sessions—Bond Trading Dull. BY EDWARD C. STONE. Washington Gas Light stock was the feature in the week end trading on the | local Stock Exchange yesterday. The stock has gained strength during tne| past few days and losed yesterday a 067 “on a 50 re turnover. The nal bid was 1063, with 10715 asked Bond _ trading was _confined to two $1,000 sales in District of Colum- bia Paper Co. 65 at 95% and 95'5. While bonds were dull yesterday, the week as a whole witnessed much in‘erest in department. Calling of _the Washington Rail- way & Electric Co's general 6s on May 1 freed large sums of money which is new being gradually reinvested. In yesterday’s market Merchants Bank & Trust Co. stock sold at 153, while 100 shares of Real Estate Mort- Wade H. Cooper. ANCIAL: AUTOMOBILES. PARTS. ETC.. GASOLINE. NAPHTHA. ETC. LEAF TOBACCO REFINED COPPER WHEAT. THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, MAY 5 1929—PART 8&. == U. S. TRADE BALANCE FAVORABLE * UNMANUFACTURED COTTON 500. 1 74.000 231.970.000 154.131.000 140.340.000 119,888,000 AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY. COAL AND COKE LARD. 116.524,000 99.515.000 98,701.000 ETC.. O ©® ®NO WA WN - ILLUMINATING OIL #) 93.478.000 By the Associated Press. ‘The United States exported $920,009,- 000 worth of unmanufactured cotton last year, exceeding by almost 100 per cent ‘the value of motor car exports. The 10 principal exports for the year were cotton, automobiles and parts, gasoline and similar fuels, leaf tobacco, refined copper, wheat, agricultural machinery, coal and coke, lard and illuminating oil. An_item of special interest is copper. ‘The United States imported $67,598.000 worth of unrefined copper and exported The 10 leading exporters of the United States in 1928. refined copper valued at $140,340,000. | _Five of the twenty-five leading ex- | ports “are food producis: Wheat, lard, wheat flour, barley and canned fruit. | Foreign farmers paid the United States | more than $116,000,000 for agricultural machinery during the year and $27,- 426,000 for metal-working machinery. A Nation-wide survey prepared by the foreign commerce department of the United States Chamber of Com- merce shows a total of $5,128,809,000 in exports during 1928. This is a balance in favor of the United States of more than $1,000,000,000. gage & Guaranty preferred came out at 7% and Commercial National Co.| recorded a small sale at 103%. The | unlisted securities were checked over | and but few changes noted. The bid | price on Washington Base Ball Club | Stock has been advanced one point to | up. Governor Honors Local Banker., Wade H. Cooper, president of the Continental Trust Co. and the United | States Savings Bank. has just been| commissioned a colonel on the staff of . Flem D. Sampson of Kentucky. Cooper already holds the same rank on the staffs of several other State executives. In addition to his prominent place fn the banking field of Washington Col. Gooper is active in civic affairs boti Here and in other sections of the coun- try. He owns and manages a large pub- lishing house in New York, while one of his chief interests is in providing scholarships for worthy boys and girls in different parts of the country by means of which they are enabled to secure an education. Cooper is trustee of Lincoln Memorial University at Cumberland Gap, Tenn. He is president of the National Civil Legion, with headquarters in Chicago. Me is a member of the American Bank- em’ Association, Board of Trade, Raoquet Club, Congressional Country Olgb, Capital Yacht Club, National Press Club, Columbia Historical Society, Bnglish-speaking Union, American So- ciety of International Law, American Peace Society, Sons of the American Revolution, Archeological Society of ‘Washington, National Geographic So- clety, American Bible Soclety and is interested in various other corporations here and in New York. Nominating Committce Named. ‘The following nominating committee of the fiduciaries section of the Dis- trict Bankers' Association, to consider , hominations for the section’s executive council, has been named: David N. Houston, trus officer, Ametri- can Security & Trust Co.; Barnum L. Colton, trust cfficer, District National Bank; Irving Zirpel, secretary, Union Trust Co.; Aubrey O. Dooley, assistant trust officer, Federal-American Na- tional, and George M. McKee, assistant trust officer, Riggs National. ‘The nominations will be announced at the May meeting of the section and be voted for at the bankers’ convention at Montauk in June. New Stock Issue Announced. A new issue of the class “A” common stock of the Interstate Utilities Cor- poration was announced yesterday by the Washington office of the Inter- national Securities Corporation in the Wilkins_Building. The Interstate Utilities Corporation is identified with the operation of com- panies covering all. branches of the| public utility industry, including gas, ice, telephone and electric power com- panies. The new stock is entitled to prior annual dividends of $1 per share pay- able July 1, and January 1. The Manu- facturers Trust Co., of New York. Is transfer agent and the Empire Trust Co. the registrar. Automobile Outlook Reviewed. Despite the fact that automibile com- panies are operating at a very high percentage of capacity and at a rate much above the average rate of con- sumption in recent years, there is & decided tendency for stocks of cars to accumulate in dealers’ hands, and the demand for automobiles is at pre- sent governed almost entirely by local conditions which are spotty in many instances, according to reports made public by Fenner & Beane, received as a result of a questionnaire addressed to their local managers in 55 princi- pal cities of the company's territory, Drir;clpllly in the South and South- west. Out of the replies received from 15 | different States, reports from 17 cities show an upward movement in sales as compared with 23 reporting a slump in sales. Dealers’ inventories of cars on hand show a majority with an excess supply. In this connection the reports reveal htat in 18 different cities stocks of cars are larger than the current demand justifies, while in six cities stocks have decreased. Warns Aviation Industry. A warning that care must be exer- cised lest the command of large capi- tal resources made avallable to the aviation industry and the desire to obtain a profit thereon tempt manage- ! ments to embark too rapidly on an ex- pansion program is sounded by G. M. P. Murphy & Co., in a review on “The Progress of Aviation.” “Perhaps no American industry here- Yofore has had such large sums of capital made available to it 30 early in_its' commercial development as has aviation,” the review states. “This capital, too, has been supplied on a basis most favorable to the develop- ment of the industry, namely as stock, and mostly as common stock, 5o that there is no problem of compensating By the Associated Press. lian business interests have started a $500,000 publicity scheme to attract Americans, South Americans and Euro- peans to visit this country. C. H. Holmes, chairman of the Vic- torian railways betterment and publicity board, who is the promoter of the ad- vertising campaign, sets great store on the attraction to Australia of tourists from the United States. He thinks that 10_per cent of them remain here. In an article in the Melbourne Herald. Mr. Holmes says visitors from the United States have applauded the sun- shine and our “great outdoors’—bush- lands and golden beaches—and been amazed at the vast natural resources. SIDNEY, Australia, May 4.7Austra-‘ {AUSTRALIA PLANS CAMPAIGN FOR U. S. TOURIST BUSINESS He continues that one of the chief | aims of the new organization is to at- | tract investors, Investor-settlers and tourists from the United States, and |quotes a recent American visitor as saying: “The average American thinks of Australia as & small island, and does ot belleve that it is bigger than the United States. It is never heard of in America, although it is distant only 23 | days of comfortable travel.” | “The American visitor,” Mr. Holmes adds, “suggested that we either were an | extraordinarily modest or else a very backward people, or we should boost Australia more.” The new organization will try to get Australia a permanent place on the world’s tourist map. GERMANY'S CREDIT STATUS IN DANGER Settlement of Reparations Tangle Is Vital to Na- tion’s Future. Special Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, May 4.—More than a settlement of the reparations debt de- pends on Monday's resumption of nego- tiations in Paris between the German and allied representatives, with Owen D. Young the head of the American delegation. Germany is in a critical financial condition. She_is at present the sick member of the European money powers and will have to have outside assistance serious disturbance to her credit struc- ture. The loss of gold within recent months from the Bank of Germany holdings has amounted to $188,000,000, which compares with the gain in gold of $206,000,000 when she was drawing heavily on London and on this coun- try last year, gold cover of the German banks to a dangerous point. It is now suggested that Germany may be able to obtain a temporary credit from London and Paris, with the possibility that the Fed- eral Reserve or a group of private American bankers may be associated with the English and French institu- tions in this arrangement. International bankers here recognize the critical character of the German situation, which has been almost as acute as conditions in France three years ago. A satisfactory settlement of the debt question would go a long way toward encouraging bankers in other countries to give Germany assistance until she tides herself over the present emergency. ‘The market for German bonds, while heavy the past two weeks, has been un- usuaily calm in the face of possibilities in the German credit situation that would have a decidedly disturbing ef- fect on them if they were allowed to develop. A group of about 25 German municipal and corporation dollar issues this week was off an average of be- tween 4 and 5 points from the high of the year. This is no more than the decline in other groups of foreign bonds, notably those representing South and | Central American governments, prov- inces and mortgage banks, ing after the two-for-one split-up early | in the year. American Tce Boosts Sales. Profits of American Ice Co. for the three if she is to come through without a | ‘This shrinkage has brought down the » ADVANCE IN CURB |List Moves Higher in Active, but Irregular Short Session. BY the Associated Press. NEW YORK, May 4.—The Curb Market moved abruptly higher today only to run into heavy week end profit- taking and close extremely irregular, It was a busy half-day session, the ticker falling about half an hour behind the market at the close, and more than 1,000,000 shares changing hands. Utilities were heavily bought, particu- | larly United Corporation, which opened with a block of 40,000 shares, and moved up to 657, an extreme gain of nearly 4 points and a new record price. United Gas Improvement, on the other hand, in which United Corporation is & leading stockholder, tumbled 9 points. Empire Power jumped nearly 5 points, and Southeastern Power made a good gain on a favorable earnings statement. American Superpower stocks mounted 3 or 4 points. Electric bond and share and electric investors turned somewhat eavy. Some of the aviation stocks ran into profit-taking, Keystone losing more than a point, and Douglas a fraction. Bendix Aviation, however, was firm, and Fokker was steady. Deere jumped 11 points in a small turnover, and Silica Gel was firm. Guardian Pire Insarance lost about 2 points in profit- h‘:ln':. and Hiram Walker tumbled 4 Auburn Auto was again a stron point, crossing the 200 mark to a reoon’i g;lee, and Ford of Canada “A” was 'm. Oils eased, Humble & Gulf losin; fractions. Mines were quiet, s DRY LAW VIOLATORS DRAW PRISON TERMS ‘Ex-Police Chief and Six Women Among Those Sentenced at San Angelo, Tex. | By the Associated Press. SAN ANGELO, Tex., May 4.—Twenty defendants, including Carroll Bates, a former Texas ranger and San Angelo police chief, drew prison sentences to- day of 90 days to 18 months, with fines Lk ag::ltamcnsu. ':"k;' Itheh‘ conviction racy violate the Fede! prohibition laws. i The Government alleged that Bates while chief of police entered into an months ended March 31, last, $338,007 after interest but before Federal taxes and depreciation, were the largest ever reported for the first quarter. They rep- resent an increase of 18.8 per cent over those of the first three months of 1928 | and 128 per cent over the corresponding | __Bates was sentenced to 18 months period of 1037, ;and fined $7,500; J. A. (Curley) Shield, The first quarters of the year, which ;18 months and $5,000 fine; A. W. Brown, covers the Winter months, is the lean- | Until recently a city policeman, 16 est in the ice business, and most jce | MONthS; Jess Howard, said to have been company executives look for losses more | O€ of the principals in the plan to or less heavy during this period. Al. Purchase immunity, 18 months and fhough a certain amount of cosl busi. . fned $1,000. The other jail terms varied ness is carried on by many of the com- ; in duration. panies, this represents yearly only about | H. Hutcheson festified for the 10 per cent of American Ice's gross vol- ' Prosecution that as pay-off man for the ey |ring he had given as much as $800 One of the most important factors, | ¥eekly to Bates. The former police says the Wall Street Journal in ineress: | Chief denied that he had received any ing earnings during the Winter months | Money from Hutcheson and said that has been the development of a strong | DiS $54,000 bank deposits in the last sales division which functions throughe | three vears resulted from the sale of ilgl'eement with the other defendants to protect bootlegging activities in turn |for a rornon of the proceeds from the | sale of liquor. Six women were among those convicted. out the company's territory and has a farm, poker winnings and bets on the {Commerce, MARKET CONTINUES | cost. FURTHER ADVANCE IN'STOCKS IS SEEN Industrial List Climbs Back to March Level During Week. BY CHARLES F. SPEARE. Epeciai Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, May 4.—At some time or other during this week nearly every group of stocks, except the ralls, has been buoyant. The industrials have climbed back to, and then above, their | previous March average. To Wall Street this breaking through the former level is highly significant, for it means that all of the stock that has been for sale has been absorbed and oposition to a further advance has broken down. It was apparent a weck ago that the market was not to_be unscttled again by high money. When it held its ground against a 16 per cent call rate it displayed a technical strength of which the professional element took full advantage and which the public was quick to appreciate. Conditions within the market were suplemented by evidence of great prosperity in near- ly all lines of business, such as the March quarter statement of the U. S. Steel Corporation, the month of March earnings of the railroads, al- most universal gains in gross and net revenues by the public utilitles dur- ing the early Spring weeks, higher div- idends and another series of valuable “rights"” offered to the shareholders of prominent American corporations. Testimony to Industrial Well Being. Testimony to the industrial well being of the country came from other quarters, such as the Department of the Tresaury Department, the Federal Reserve Board, banks and trust companies reviewing the outlook in their monthly circulars, and from the gathering in Washington of the members of the United States Chamber of Commerce. On top of these bullish factors was | the easing of call money rates early in the week and the ability of the banks to keep a supply sufficient for ‘Wall Street's needs and under the high figure of the previous wzek. It is true that time money rates hardened slightly and that accept- ances were firmer: also that brokers' loans increased $40,000,000, adding to the expansion of $67,000,000 the week before. The money strain is not over. This is evident from the fact that 10 per cent is being paid well after the May 1 financing has been completed. The public attitude toward the cost of money for carrying stocks is the same today as it was last November and December and in March. It makes no difference to this public how high the rate goes so long as stocks go up with it. Academic discussion of the effect of credit conditions steadily broadens to include more individuals and a larger number of organizations. Reso- lutions are being framed by the score. They do not produce much practical effect, nor will they so long as the mind of the Federal Reserve Board on rediscount policies is as much divided as it has been since Jas=zry and while equally intelligent and well in- formed men take opposite views on the current value of securities. Public Wants to Speculate. The plain facts of the situation are that the American public wants to speculate. It is intensely bullish on the United States and its corporations. It has the money with which to specu- late. The promising fleld for specul tion today is in common stocks. There is more money available for specula- | tion than legitimate business requires. Until business shows a tendency to contract, earnings to decrease, divi- dends to shrink, there will be opposi- tion to any sustained declining in stocks. There is very little use try.'c to frighten Wall Street over foreign ailairs. Conditions abroad worry bankers and exporters and importers, but they have no place in the market calculations of the present Wall Street public. The threatened break of the negotiations in Paris had little effect on stocks, but if, as now seems possible, the genius of | Owen D. Young can bring about a col romise between Germany and the al les on annuitles this is likely to be used as another excuse for bidding up m’lces. ‘The fact that money conditions Germany at the present moment are more acute than they have been in several years and that Berlin this week has been sitting on the edge of a vol- cano, and that both from the point of foreign trade and foreign loans our financial and commercial affairs are closely tled in with those of Ger- many, excites little interest in a world where domestic securities can be moved up 8 or 10 points in & day. Money Market Control Changing. Every one is talking about the passing of control of the money market from the Federal Reserve and its members to the corporations and other lenders who aggregate loans to Wall Street exceed those of the New York and out- | of-tcwn banks. But nothing is being dome about the situation. This is out of hand and can not be corrected until | the rate for money declines to a figure where it is more profitable to use it outside than inside Wall Street. supply of this money is being steadily fed into the market by companies that do not need it for their own immediate development but whose credit gives them the opportunity to sell stocks or convertible bonds at a moderate service The proceeds of these loans are then put out on call. ‘Take the case, for instance, of one of the largest of the investment trusts which proposes next week to issue $15,- 000,0001 n new preferred stock. The cor- poration and its affiliates already have between $45,000,000 and $50,000,000 in [ 1 loans which it has raised ous security issues in the last year, Its management is extremely bearish on the stock market. Obvi- ously, therefore, it is not selling new stock to go bargain hunting in Wall Street. Nor would one expect in the present disturbed conditions in Europe, in South America or in Japan that it would go out seeking an investment for its new funds in the internal secur- ities of foreign countries. Dcmestic bonds would not attract, for they do not yleld enough to justify borrowing at 6 per cent or better. clusion is that in the good judgment of the management of this corporation it is wisest business policy to sell more The | ‘The only con- | ILO FINANCIAL., 7 CAL STOCK PRICES OF TODAY COMPARED WITH A YEAR AGO Movement in Bank Shares Is Less Active. Railway Common’s Erratic Changes an Important Case. BY I A. FLEMING. ‘While Wall Street has enjoyed its full share of the limelight during the past year, with the culmination of the great- est bull market of all times, business on the Washington Stock Exchange has moved along in a slow, dignified man- ner without radical fluctuations and with only a few important price changes as compared with the figures current a year ago. For several weeks, starting from the most recent warning of the Fedéral Re- serve Board on Wall Street's credit ex- pansion, our market has shown a distinct let-up in trading and some re- cessions in values as local operators in the speculative market squirmed out from under the high call money rates. A comparison of the figures current on the local exchange Friday and a year ago in the public utilities group reflects a 133-point rise in Washington Gas shares, a 10-point drop in Capital Traction and 5 points on Railway pre- ferred, while the fluctuations in the common stock of the latter company have varied from the $400 bid a year ago up to $600 a share and back to $485, or 85 points net gain for the year. Let-up in Bank Share Interest. There was a decided let-up in the volume of trading in bank shares, and the advancing trend of the preceding year was apparently checked, tempo- rarily at least. Exceptional circum- stances—namely, the absorption of the Farmers & Mechanics’ National Bank by the Riggs National and the financing incident thereto—being largely respon- sible for the advance of 60 voints in the bid price of Riggs shares. M The trust companies have also held their own, with National Savings & Trust, one of the closest held stocks in the city, scoring a 53-point advance. In the savings bank list, Security Savings & Commercial, and United States Savings were the leaders in mak- ing important advances. There are in some instances wide differences between the bid and the asking price of a security, especially on inactive securities, but where there is any activity the range is much closer. NATIONAL BANKS. National Capital bis usi National Savings & Trust Tnion Trust, Washington Lo | SAVINGS | Bank of Bethesda.. Commerce & Sa | East_washington. e Potemac 2 | Security Savings' & Commercial 5 | Seventn_Street......... 32 | Dnited States Savings ... Mechanics s | UTILITIES. | capital Tractio | Washington Gas.. i Noriolk & Washingion 8. 8. C | Washington Railway common Washingtoa Railway preferred MISCELLANEOUS. American Fire Insurance. BANKS. $97% $108% 1077, 94 302 97 00 $342 13 165 1 nt W. Cons, preferred Barber & Ross... Chevy Chase Dalrs Columbia Sand & Gi Federal Storage preferred 12 District of Columbia Paper pfd Federal-American common 1 eferred Security Storage........... | Woodward & Lothrop, pfd. 108"z A Most Important Case. In view of the large number of bank | mergers that have taken place in the last few years. the Fitchburg case, now before the United States Supreme Court, | is of vital importance, as it will settle | the right of a merged institution to as- | sume the Aduciary function originally | given to one of the banks in the merger. | ”'The Fitchburg Bank & Trust Co. was | merged with the Merchants’ National Bank of Worcester, with a new corpo rate title, the Worcester County Na tional Bank & Trust Co. The McFadden act gave the right to national banks to act as trustees, etc. and to assume trust company functions when not in contravention of local laws. The Fitchburg Bank & Trust Co. was named as_the executor of a will. In time the Worcester County Bank, ac- | cepting the obligation, made a report of | its acts thereunder to'the court, but the court questioned the right to exercise | administrative rights and the Massa- chusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled “that part of the McFadden act, sep- arable from the act as a whole, is un- constitutional, and that the bank was | not _entitled to render an account.” 110 The case was appealed to the United | !suus Supreme Court. In view of the fact that 467 national banks were merged with or absorbed by | State banks or trust companies to Janu- |ary 15 from November, 1923, “the case | involved the question of competition be- tween the Federal Government and the States for control of the credit machin- ery of the Nation and that the exigen- cies of the times demand that the Na- tional Government retain its present | dominating position in the banking fleld.” WHEAT PRICES DROP 70 NEW LOW MARKS All Deliveries Share in Collapse Except December—Close Unsettled. By the Associated Press. CHICAGO, May 4.—All Chicago de- liveries of wheat except December col- lapsed today to & new low price record for the season. Lowering of railroad freight rates on United States export wheat shipments appeared to be hav- ing exactly a reverse effect from what rail rate reduction was put forward as a reason for downturns today in wheat prices at Liverpool, a sequel to which was the decided drop in wheat values here. net lower; corn, !5 to 1% down; oats, a setback of 30. nd- | Septe | May | July | September 'COTTON SHOWS GAIN ON BULLISH NEWS Covering and New Buying Follow Forecast of More Showers. i By the Associated Pri NEW YORK, May 4—Cotton was higher today on further covering and | some new buying based on the official | forecast for probable showers over por- tions of the Western and Eastern belts over Sunday and on firmer Liverpool | cables. July advanced to 18.96 and | May advanced to 19.70. The general | market closed very steady at 11 to 16 points net higher. i Futures closed steady 11 to 16 points higher; May, 19.65a19.68; July, 891a 18.93; October, 18.99a19.00; December, 19.12a19.13; January, 19.17a19.19. Spot, steady; middling, 19.90. | January 9.05 March . | May { July Qctober, ‘old Qctober, new December pening: 1; 1 19 19 18 18 18 19. | O January, 19.09; 19.21; May, 19.62; July, 18.86 they were intended to bring about. The ‘Wheat closed unsettled 1, to 24| 5 to 1 off; provisions, unchanged to MUSSOLINI HALTS Returning Under New Methods. By the Associated Press. | ROME, Italy, May 4—The great | river of Italian emigration which poured a flood of new citizens into the | United States, South America and | Southern France in the last two genera- ; tions is gradually being dammed at its source by the Mussolini government. Examination of figures just published shows that not only is the number of | emigrants from Italy to other countries steadily diminishing, but also that the number of emigrants who are returning to the fatherland to resume citizenship is increasing. ‘This effect springs from two causes, both having their origin in the premier. Mussolini_strongly discourages emigra- | tion, partly by moral suasion and even more so by legal measures which forbid Italians to leave the country without government permission. Then through propoganda, he tells Italians abroad that under changed conditions in their homeland they can live better and more happily than when they left it. In 1913, the year before the World | War, Italian emigration had reached the amazing figure of 872,598 in one year, or almost 2 per cent of the total population. Thus the population of a great city equal to that of Naples re- moved itself bodily in one year from one country and scattered itself among a number of others. After the war this outpouring went on again. In 1920 some 416,000 Italians sought homes in other lands. The first years of Fascism, when it was uncer- tain what the future of the new regime would be, the figure remained high— 391,000 in 1923. But from then on there followed & constant reduction— 292,000 for 1925; 270,000 for 1926 and 238,000 for 1927. ‘This last year, it is belleved, the num- ber fell below 200,000—although official figures have not yet appeared—and a great part of this number is made up of persons who have emigrated for only a short time and must return to Italy. At the same time the number of “re- » | great EMIGRATION TIDE| Fewer Italians Leaving and More GOLD RUSH PROVED * EPE OF CENTURY |Wagons Blazed Memorable Trials to West Coast in Days of Forty-Niners. BY DR. E. A. BRYAN, | Btate College of Washington. | From 1835 to 1850 canoes were very | | much in evidence among the Pacific! Coast_settlers, especially in the lower | Columbia and its tributaries and on! Puget Sound and its tributaries. But | the settlers flocking into the William- | ette Valley and the sound country be- |tween 1840 and 1850 expected to be farmers and, of course, brought horses with them. The second stage of transportation in | the Northwest arose in the decade be- | tween 1860 and 1870. The decade im- | mediately following the discovery of | gold in California was marked by a influx of population into that | State. Thousands of gold seekers came around the Horn, other thousands crossed the Isthmus and thence by sea to the Golden Gate and still other thousands crossed the plains, following the “forty-niners.” Oregon Settlers Made Trail. These were not the pathfinders, for the trails were already deeply worn | from Independence, Mo., up_the Platte River to the forks of the Sweetwater, | up this tributary to the summit. across | the great South Pass of the -Rockies, | down the Big Sandy to Green River, on beyond Bear Lake and Bear River to | the Port Neuf, past where Pocatello, | Idaho, now stands to old Fort Hall, a | Hudsons Bay post on the Snake River. | For 10 years prior to the discovery of | gold the Oregon settlers had been using | that route to Fort Hall. Thence they | had proceeded down the Snake over the | old Oregon trail, across the Blue Moun- tains to and down the Columbia to | the mouth of the Willamette. | 'The early gold seekers branched off | from the Oregon Trail near Fort Hall |and made a trail up Raft River, across the deserts of Nevada and the Sierra Nevada Mountains and on down into California, with its golden sands. The Oregon folk and early California settlers had brought their own outfits, and had thus worn deep the parallel trails across the plains and the Rockies. There was then no- other transporta- tion system to care for the traffic. Whether the objective was “Pikes Peak or Bust” or California, or the Willlam- ette Valley, they were not traveling. their own people, supplies and outfit. But such an urge to move people and things to a distant point was sure to create a transportation business. The old Conestoga wagon, with its heavy oak wheels and axles, its high, strong wagon box, its covered canvas top—the prairie schooner—even then had long been well known. Long lines moving to the frontier, with strung-out ox teams or horse teams, had filled the highway west of the Alleghenies with an ever-advancing band of pioneers in- tent on pushing on to a new frontier. It furnished the great American epic of the last century. In 1830 William Sublette, famous fur trader, had sent wagons over the Ore- gon Trail as far as Green River. In 1836 Marcus Whitman, missionary to the Indians, had driven his four-wheeled light wagon as far as Fort Hall, on the Snake River, where he converted it into a two-wheeled cart and pushed on as far as old Fort Boise. In 1847 the Mor- mons trekked over this trail to the Salt Lake Valley. From 1840 to 1849 the great westward tide had passed over the Blue Mountains and on down to The Dalles, thence by water to Vancouver and the Willamette Mount Hood had been opened. Five hundred freight wagons frequently passed Fort Kearney, on the Platte, in a single day. Within a single 24 hours it was said 888 westbound wagons, drawn by 10,600 oven, were counted at Fort Kearney. Stage Follows Freight Wagon. ‘The huge freight wagons were supple- mented by stage coaches, with regular stage stations, and which ran on reg- ular schedule. Fare to Salt Lake City from Missouri River points was $150; to | California $225. In 1860 the famous pony express was established with relays of riders, day and night, between reg- ular but not distant stations. The pony express operated only 10 months and was supplanted by the still | swifter telegraph. In 1849, 42,000 emi- grants crossed the plains. That was the first year of the California gold rush. In 1860 Russell, Majors and Waddell established a_freighting system across the plains with 6,250 wagons and 75,000 oxen and 190 stations. west had begun in 1861, It was served at first by pack trains. Soon freight trains—lines of heavy wagons drawn by oxen and horses—were developed. Toll roads were constructed and culverts and | bridges which charged tolls were estab- lished at many points and proved profit- | able to their owners. One famous road | was from Walla Walla (or Wallula on | the Columbia) through the toligate on |the summit of the Blue Mountains, | through the Grande Ronde Valley and |on to Boise, following the old Oregon | Trail. * | A famous highway was the Mulla |road. It extended eastward from Walla | Walla, where the Army post had been established, to Fort Benton on the Mis- souri with like transportation on the ‘Columbm. ‘The Mullan road was 624 miles long. Thus was completed the first system of transcontinental trans- portation from ocean to ocean, the mouth of the Columbia being the west- ern terminus. patriates” has become imposingly large. | ‘The gold rush to the Pacific North- | In 1920 this number was 80,000. In| 5 1925 1t 'was 211,000, in 126 198,000 and | People Are Talking Faster. in 1927 171,000. According to the observation of a The difference between the figures well-known stenographic expert, with of the emigrants and the repatriates the passage of 20 years there is an in- is what counts. The emigrants are crease in speech at the rate of 10 words {still larger in number than the Tepa- | per minute. People read more. see more, triates, but this difference is yearly | do more and are better educated than | growing smaller. In 1925 it was 81,000, | they were in the past and it has resulted | in 1926 72,000, in 1927 67,000. |in quicker thinking and talking. | Thus Mussolini is buildi up the| Radio may jack the soeed up even population of his elongated country. By | more. ‘When radio was first used in re- rigidly prohibiting birth control, by re- | porting people began to say that it warding parents of large families, by |wouldn't be long until the shorthand his own example—he has four children | reporter would be out of business. How- himself—by discouraging emigration | ever, it has proved exactly otherwise. In and encouraging re-entry into Italy, he |the last presidential campaign many 1s forcing Italy’s population up by leaps | newspapers used the radio in getting and bounds. speeches. AMERICAN TRADE INVASION but merely “going somewhere,” taking |48 es Valley until the Barlow road around |© CERMAN PRVATE CAPITAL SHRINKS Large Fortunes Possessed by Many Before War Have Disappeared. By the Associated Press. BERLIN, May 4—None of t Jarger European countries, with the pc-- sible exception of Russia, suffered ‘n the World War such a loss of prive’e capital as Germany, says a report of the government's statistical bureau. In a compilation of the country’ assessments for the last three years a comprison is drawn between the private capital of the present and that of pre- war days. It shows decimation of the roster of Germany's millionaires. Large Fortunes Shrink. private capital taxed in 1913 for keop- ing the army and navy up to the re- quired standard, present statistics show a total of private capital of only 97,- 800,000,000 marks. Compared to 229 Ger- mans before the war who were worth more than 10,000,000 marks (roughly $2,500,000), only 33 such fortunates are now recorded. Some families, like the Goldchmidt- Rothschilds of Frankfurt-on-Main, the steel trust Thyssens on the Ruhr, the Von Haniels of Munich, large land- owners like Prince zu Stollberg-Werni- gerode, the ex-King Friedrich August of Saxony, the former Grand Duke of Sachsen-Weimar and some others suc- cceded in rescuing the greater part of their possessions during the inflation catastrophe. But the largest landown- ers, including Prince Pless, Count Henkel von Donnermsarck and Prince Radziwill became Polish subjects when, by the treaty of Versailles, large tracts of Silesia were ceded to Poland. In 1913 there were 2,791 persons in Germany with a capital of more than 3,000,000 marks each. This category of mark millionaires has dwindled to 465. Heading the list of provinces with landowners worth 5,000,000 marks or more is Lower Silesia with 17. Bavaria follows with 8, the province of Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein have 6 each Upper Silesia has 5; Westphalia and Rhineland 4 each, the Mark Branden- burg, Pomerania and Mecklenburg- Schwerin 3 each and East Prussia only 2. Among the cities of Germany har- boring millionaires Berlin is first with 290. Next is Hamburg with 112; Leip- ! Frankfurt-on-Main and Cologne, + Munich, 42; Dresden, 39; Dues- seldorf, 35: Stuttgart, 26; Bremen, 21— compared to 177 before the war—Chem- nitz. 21, and Hanover, 19. In Berlin the largest fortunes of more than 5,000. 000 marks are owned by 18 individuals— compared to 46 valued at more than 10,000,000 marks before the war. ‘The average business turnover of in- dividuals throughout the reich i $3,577.50—or less than half of what it was in 1914. The best off are tailors with an average turnover of $3,448, fol lowed by publicans with $2,995, tobaccn- - nists with $2,595, butchers with $2,347 bakers with $2,192, and shoemakers witl $1.682. The average capital of German physicians and dentists is $1,584.25. BALTIMORE STOCKS Special Dispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE, Md., May 4—The eg3 market has been fairly active with « shade firmer tone this week and whilc trading on the exchange has been ligh' and good, consumptive demand is noted on the street, values showed advance o: 114 cents a dozen for strictly fresh stock 'r opening prices. While receipts from native and nearby points have been running fairi: liberal, all desirable stock has ke closely cleaned up but many sm: undersized eggs are noted in the daily arrivals and these have to be sold o sharp discounts. The market closec today at 2912 cents a dozen for first in free cases and 20 to 22 for curen: | receipts. Although a fairly good demand pre- vails for Spring chickens 215 poun and over, all fowl of this sort meeting with ready sale at full values, other lines of poultry not so active and prices while showing little change from last week the are mostly in buyers’ favor. Most of the Springers arriving, however, are of stock weighing 1!2 pounds and under which is not so desirable and only tends to lower the value of the better quality fowl. Colored Springers, 2 pounds and over are bringing 43 to 45 cents o pound and 1}> to 2 pounds, 40 to 42 but smaller Wlfl not bring over 35 to 38 while Leghorns mostly 34 to 40, as to size and quality. ‘With the Jewish holidays over, de- mand for old hens is not so active ani the market rules easy at 34 and 35 for medium to large old hens, but Leghorns will not bring over 26 to 29. Old roosters in liberal receipt and generally slow sale at 18 to 20. Choice young ducks in only moderate receipt but demand | has eased off and only choice fat stock attracts attention at 23 to 25, all poor thin fowl being neglected at 20. The market for Guinea fow! and pigeons holds steady at 50 to 1.10 each for the former and 35 to 40 a pair for both young and old of the latter Receipt of old stock white pctatoes continues light and market holds firm with values a shade higher. Demand. however, is centered on well graded stock at 1.25 to 1.50 per 100 pounds. but McCormicks and reds will not bring over 1.00 to 1.25, while mixed and No. 2 stock is not wanted at any price. Sweet potatoes and yams also in lighter receipt and under a good demand for fancy clean stock. The market holds steady at 3.50 to 3.75 a barrel for the former and 3.50 to 4.00 & barrel for the latter. Overlarge, rough, dark stock. however, is generally slow sale at 2.00 to 2.50 & barrel. Demand for native and nearby gar- den truck continues good and all stock of first quality meets with ready sale at the following quotations: s, 225 to 4.00 a dozen, but small grass will not bring over 1.80 to 2.00, while culls are generally neglected at 1.25 to 1.50; cabbage. 1.00 to 1.60 a hamper: kale, 20 to 40 a bushel; lettuce, 125 to 150 a hamper: Spring onions, 1.00 to 1.15, 100; radishes, 1.00 to 1.50, 100; rhubarb. 2.00 to 4.00, 100, and spinach, 30 _to 85 a bushel. Eastern Shore Virginia strawberries made their first appearance on the market this week and cleaned up readily at 15 to 20 a quart. but Norfolk and Hampton berries will not bring over 6 to 12. With the exception of veal, calves which have been in more liberal receipt the past week, the general live cattle market holds steady to firm under a fairly good demand. but centered on first quality cattle. Most of the arrivals the owners of this eapital during its carly stages.” Heard in Financial District. Luther E. Schreiner, manager of the old, 19.06; October, new, 18.9 ber, 19.07. stock and to make profits on the earn- | ings on money than to enlarge the portfolio of securities. This is not an uncommon proceedure. While it is profitable the volume of | demonstrated effectively that the ice National election and base ball. business is as responsive to selling pres- | sure as any other form of service. Washington Chapter has started in! ROUSES HOPE IN GERMANY | ] WEEKLY CLEARINGS. | Gainers and Losers Dupont Circle branch of the Mer- chants' Bank & Trust Co., who has been confined to his home with an attack of pneumonia, has recovered sufficiently to go South for a short period of rest and recupcration. Harvey T. Hill, assistant to the pres- | ident of the Chicago Stock Exchange, spent several days in Washington dur- | ing the week attending the Chambe ©of Commerce convention. Mr. Hill re- ported & surprisingly rapid growth in interest in the financial pages of both Fastern and Western newspapers, fol- lowing calls on many newspaper editors. It is the intention of five or six local broker houses to install Chicago Stock Exchange tickers in the near future. The officers of teh Chicago Exchange are making a tremendous effort Lo increase the sizz and importance of the mart and are mecting with great| success The O morterly dec’ared a cents on it on a §150 (o3 the first earnest upon the campaign to elect cil of the national organization at the annual convention at Tulsa next June. A Nation-wide distribution of Leith literature is now under way. Thomas W. Brahany will entertain the officers and chairman of the bank- ers’ convention committees at his home *|in Chevy Chase next Tuesday evening; | for ‘a further discussion of entertain- | ment and other convention features. C. & O. Eequipment Issue. Chesapeake & Ohio Railway has asked Interstate Commerce Commission au- thority to guarantee $5,025,000 of 4% per cent equipment trust gold certificates of 1929 dated May 1 and maturing in 15 annuel installments of $335,000 each incident to th~ purchase of new equij {ment ccst'og £5.020,449, It wee r at | Tuptey O | Eli J. rark ves y to stock | T. Hunton Leith to the executive coun- In Week’s Dealings On Stock Exchange By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, May 4.—The fol- lowing table shows price changes of six of the leading gainers and six of the leading losers in the week’s trading on the New York Stock Exchange, ‘The gainers: lose. cl Alr Reduction. 1257, General Electric 355% lec. “Auto-Lite 168 Radio Corp'tion 110% United _Aircraft ral 1471 238 Union & C I | J ! Net. G. Sales 18 4, i e 8% 1,136,300 WYy 572.300 i 53,700 152,000 23300 21000 brokers' loans will remain high. At the same time the banks are increasing their loans on securities where custom- ers have sufficient credit or persuasive abllity to transfer their accounts from their broker, whose charge is 10 per cent, to the bank that is limited to one of 6 per cent. Railroads Agree to Make Sacrifice ‘The meeting of Eastern railroad exec- utives in Washington this week recall- ed the days of 1916 and 1917 when some of the same men were called to the Capital to help work out an emargency in the moving of traffic. In the present instance the carriers are asked to cut their rates so that wheat may be shipped away frcm the farms and elevators andg v ¥ *de for the incom- ne o a any sacrifices roads that are here are vl they are =1 guiliy, )7t railrord se- b whils the stocks . 1 rublie ntility eem- i nies fwge ahead, selling ficm 15 to ® NEW YORK, May 4 ().—The weekly statement of the New York Clearing House issued today shows: Total surplus and undivided profits, unchanged; total net demand deposits (average), $66,518,000 increase; total time deposits (average), $1,828.000 in- crease: clearing week ended today, $9.- 186,766,376; clearing week ended April 27, $7.250,830,347; clearings this day, $1,455,200,189. —_————————————————— 50 times their earnings per share. And while it is regarded as sound judgment to consolidate factories, stores, mines, power plants, distributing agencies, etc., Pae full Torce of obsolete jaws i brought to bear on the railroads whenever they initiate what seems to the layman to be a constructive policy. ; Instead of spending its time arguing | the merits of a leasehold that became effective 20 years ago members of the Interstate Commerce Commission might profitably put their atention on mat- ters that would benefit the present generation of shippers. | | | By the Associated Press. | BERLIN, May 4—The growing num- | ber of American branch factories and subsidiary companies in Germany, econ- omists here believe, will help the Reich become the economic heart of Europe and the real center of its future growth. The General Motors’ recent purchase of a controlling interest in the Opel automobile plant at Russelsheim, fol- lowed by the llllnchln{kin Berlin of the American-European talking movie com- bine and by repe-ted rumors of Ford expansion plans throusl purchase i the Brennabor plan* at Brandcnburg. have aroused hop»s that Ge many wi'l play a star role in Buropc's economic future, The American automobile indusiry leads all foreign enterpriscs in size and investment in the Germen field. In sad- dition to the enormous number of American sales agencics in all paris of the country, eight leading American motor car firms ‘have assembling plants here. These pre Chrysler at Berlin, Genoral Motors at Borsigwalde, Overland at Ad- (] lershof in connection with the English Crosley Co., Hudson-Essex and Durant at Spandau, Graham-Paige at Johan- | nisthal and Studebaker at Hamburg. | A total of 14,500, or more than 22 per | cent of all American cars assembled | outside of the United States in 1927, the | 1ast year for which figures are available, | were built in Germany. ‘ The present Ford plant here is planned to turn out 20,000 cars annual- ly. American automobile body making ‘1& being introduced in Germeny by the Ambi-Budd Co. The only other foreign business in Germany that compares with the Amer- ican motor industry is the Dutch-Eng- lish margarine and oil group. The lat- | tor nandles three-fourths of the entire margarine production and two-thirds of | the oil production of Germany. Other American enterprises represent- ed by Germen branches include soap | factories, sewing machines, electrical household devices, refrigerators, floor | polishers and vacuum cleaners. Similarly, in the safety razor indus- |try. American interests have a strong | position. | \ on the wharves. however, consist of common to ordinary stock which is slow sale at inside prices. Cholce Spring lambs in good demand and de- spite increase in receipts. market holds steady with no change in values from Jast week. Quotations on Light Strect Wharf. Beef cattle, first quality, pound, 11 to 12; common to medium, 8 to 10. Bulls, as to quality, 7 to 9. Cows, choice to fancy, 7 to 9; common to fair, 4 to 6. Oxen, as to quality, 6 to 8. Calves, veal, choice, 15 to 15%3; large, fat. 1313 to 14; large, rough, 9! to 10; thin, 8 to 10; rcugh and common, 7 to 8. S choice, 6 to 7; old bucks, 4 to 5. Lam choice, 15 to 16: fair to good, 12 to 14: common, thin, 8 to 10. Spring lambs, 40 to 45 pounds. 17 to 18. straight, 101 to 11%5. Live pigs, 10 to 14. Shoats, 10 to 12. Closing grain today—Wheat, No. 2. red, Winter, garlick, domestic, spot, 1.17; May delivery, 1.17; corn, No. 2, export, May delivery, no quotations; No. 2, domestic, yellow, 1.05a1.05'2: cob corn, 5.75a5.76 per barrel; ? domestic. 602601 ., i mestic, 57!2a58; rye, nearby, 1.0021.10. 4