Evening Star Newspaper, January 9, 1930, Page 15

» FINANCIAL. CURB SHARES RISE | INAGTIVE NARKET .Trading Increases as Pivotal Issues Show Advanc- ing Trend. T BY JOHN A. CRONE. Bpecial Dispatch to The Star. | NEW YORK, January 9.—Stocks dis- played considerable activity on the curb | market today, under the leadership of utilities, trading companies and a hand- tul of oils, Pivotal issues, like Electric -Bond & Share, which at times was up about 2 | points; American Superpower, up about & point, and United Light & Power A, which rose about the same amount, were somewhat more active than other shares in the utility list. Brazilian Traction, perhaps reflecting activity in London and Montreal, rose 2 points in the forenoon. Hydro- electric advanced more than a point. Utilities Power and Light gained frac- | tionally. International Superpower was | unchanged. | Cable-Wireless B shares, mirroring the demand in London, were & trifle higher. Marconi International Marine was down nearly a point. Pilot Radio and Tube stirred as a result of its ex- pansion plans. Standard oils, normally active, were dull, if Standard of Indiana be excepted. Miscellaneous petroleums, however, were moderately higher. A better feeling was displayed to- ward trading companies, as traders re- garded the retirement of blocks of Blue Ridge and Bhenandoah preferred bull- ishly. Recently several concerns, such as Reynolds Bros.. Inc., and Ungerleider Pinancial Corporation, retired a part of their shares outstanding. Vick Pinancial Corporation opened off 14 following news that the company has asked shareholders for authority to retire 100,000 shares at $8.50 and an- other 100,00 at $10 a share, and for a ‘waiver to subseribe to 400,000 shares more. Viek some time ago offered all druggist subscribers to the stock the privilege of cancelling subscriptions and the return of money received for the stock. It sold as high as 18 last year and as low as 634, Rayon and food stocks sprang into the limelight in the industrial list, as Associated Rayon preferred and Tubize Artificial Silk were twirled and R. C. Willlams & Co. improved. ERSKINE MADE HEAD OF PIERCE-ARROW CO.| Special Dispatch to The Btar. SOUTH BEND. Ind.. January 9.—A. R. Erskine, president of the Studebaker Co ation, has been elected president of the Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Co. Mr. Erskine succeeds M. E. Forbes, resigned. It was also announced that Walter P. Cooke of Buffalo was elected a director to succeed Mr. Forbes. Since acquisition of Stu. baker’s in- terest in Pierce-Arrow in 1028, Mr. Erskine has been chairman of th> board of directors and chief executive officer, and it was announeced that he will con- tinue to hold this office. Plerce-Arrow Motor Car Co. reports sales of 256 passenger cars during De- cember, 1929, against 62 in December, 1928, a gain of 313 per cent. Sales for 840 passenger cars, against | 5.492 in 1928, a gain of 79 per cent. The 1929 sales broke the previous record of 6,037 cars made in 1927 by 63 per cent. COMPANY TO DISSOLVE. NEW YORK, January 9.—In a final annual re) the Pacific Oil f- filiate of the Southern Pacific Co. nounced today that it is planned in the near future to dissolve the com- | pany and distribute the remaining as- | sets in cash to stockholders. ‘The company was formed in 1920 for | the purpose of taking over and operat- ing oil properties longing to the Southern Pacific Land Co. These prop- erties, however, were eventually disposed I of, rily to the Standard Oil Co. of lifornia and the Associated Oil Co. Stock taken in exchange was dis- | tributed to Pacific Oil stockholders. ‘The remaining assets are primarily in cash. The balance sheet of December 21 lists total assets at $4.546,833, c!i which $3.610,000 represented funds on call. Earnings for 1929 amounted to $231,826. BONDS ON THE CURB MARKET. Bales in DOMESTIC BONDS. thousan Hij = 333385380e355385] ma Pow 5s '56. 10113 10 Pow 4135 67 993 99 10 Alabama 42 993, 23 Aluminum Co 5% '52 10211 10314 10214 1Am Comwh Pw 6s '49 101’z 10113 101% SAm G & E S 28 .. s611 se 6l 11 Am P 1 22252333222838222333°3 —E i 1 20 & : 4 12 Y2 2 e 100% H W A 5 12 122 1 3a 903 12 Te 98 H 8 3 951, 951, 9634 . 2 10904 10374 10904 | 80 3% i1 92' Bt 92y it 50 0 104%, 107 % ters Pow 55 7 Iowa-Neb L&P, 55 3 Kelvinator 6s ‘36 68 '43. 97 28 D 68 97 w 1031 s 30, 9914 iy 50 xw 9935 &P 55 19 wWw 15 1Phila Bl 5128 '47 1051, 105 2. Y . 9630 9630 . 98T 983 s 32 00 6w 0 | 2005 xw 10374 10272 108% S5 44: 10115 10314 10115 330 30 | 98" | 86 » 99 92 * 92 o 103% 103% THE EVENI NG STAR, WASHINGTON, NEW YORK CURB MARKE Received by Private Wire Direct to The Star Office ~Prev. and —Prev. 1020. Stock and Sales— e Law ™ Divijond Rate. A4 '80 Open. High. Low. Close. | Tigh Low. . Dividend Rate. Add 00, Open. High. Low. Close. 'edlh 40 Alrstooks vie (1) 3 48% 44 43% 44 | 118 103 LongIsld Ltpf (7).. 10s 108% 108% 108% 108% 23 1% Alexander Indust 2 ‘23 2% 2% 2%| 1% 2% LouisianaLan&Ex. 1 4 4 4 4 24% 1045 Allied Mills (80c) 3 183 18K 13 13| 1w % MagdalenaSyndieat. 1 K % % % 110 23 Allled Pow & Lt. 87 384 39w 384 A% | a7 7 MarcIntM(52%c).. 1 Il 11n 11k HM% 52 404 Allied Pwr&LtDf(3) 15 4Ty 47w 47% 4T | 2216 7 Marc WThrsh(62c) 1 12 12k 12w 124 80% 71 ANP&LIstpfb.... 1 80 80 70% 79% | 75% 28 Marine Mid Cp (120) 20 33% 34 3815 34% 110 108 AluCoof Ampf(6). 1 1084 108% 108% Marland of Mexico.. 1 % 15 13 49% 16% AmChain (3)....... 8 4l 4l% 40% Maryl Casualty (15). 508 29% AmCitP&L A (a3). 2 381 39% 381 Mavis Bottling...... 3 10 AmCP&LB (b10%) 3 Memph Nat Gas Co.. 5 18 AmCwlth PADb10%. 11 Mid West Ut (b8). 7o 214 Am Cmwlth Po war. 1 Mid Royalty cv pf 1 20% Am Cyanam B (1.60) 12 Mo-Kan PL (b5%).. & 16 Am Colortype (13).. 11 & Moh H P 1st pf (7). .100s 21 Am Dept Stores 3 Moody's pt pf (3. 1 33% 14% Am Equities. 15 Morison Elee (11)... 1 174 25% Am For Power 58 Mtg Bk Col (Am sh). . 3 224% 70 Am Gas & Elec (1), 21 4 Moun & Gulf (.08)... 1 ;2% 2% Am {n\ ‘Z Mount Prod (1.60) 1 4'n 3 AmInv e 18% 6% Am Natural Gas.... 1 o) (S T1% 15 Am Superpower (1). 113 Nat Baking pf (7). .. 268 100% 89% Am Super 1stpf (6). 1 Natl Fam Strs (1.60) 1 6 5 Am Yvette (new)wi. 4 Natl Fam Spf (2)... 1 18 14 Anglo-Amvot (13¢). 31 174 1Tk 17w NatFood PraA (25%). 2 17% 11 Anglo-Am n-v (73c).1720s 17% 174 17 tInvestors (new) 8 45% 15 Anglo Chil Nit 20% 20% (Steel Corpx w.. 4 26 3% Arkansas Nat G: 28 9% 10 9% t Transit (1) 3 15% 5% Asso-ElecInd Ltd... 23 6% 6% 6% ¢ Union Rad 8 725 35% AssoG & EA (12.40) 35 39% 4l 39% hi Corpn (1.0 2 28% 3% AssoG&EAdebrts.. 11 8% 8 8y 3 8715 30% AssoRavonpf(6)... 1 42 42 42 H 304 Atlas Port Cem (2) 33% 33% 33% v Auction (1) 1 15% 7% Auto Voting Mach. 1 % W % Invest (1.20). 4 2913 15% AutV Mcv prpt (2 2 16 16 16 Rio&RBu Aires. 5 23% 12 AviationCredit..... 21 13 13 127% Al 1 139 117% Babcock&Wlleox 9. 50s 123 123 123 PE(6%).... 268 57% 10 BlissCo(EW) (1).. 2 24 25 24 ew Eng Pow pf (6) 208 20% 3% Blue Ridge Corp.... 26 T4 T% T4 agara Hud P(40¢) 58 55% 284 Blue Rdgcvpf (a3). 22 38% 38% 7% ag Hud Pw A war. 8 8 64'% Bohack (HC) (13%%). 3 68 68 68 Niag Hud Pw Bwar., 1 81% 81% Brazil Tr&Lt(2)... 56 38% 39% 38 Niagara-Shars b1-40 1 5l 1% Bridgeport Machine. 1 2% 2% 2% % Nipissing (30c)..... 1 27% 14 Brillo Mfg (1.20).... 3 14% 14% 1414 Noma I Cor (1.60).. 1 26% 22 Buf N&EPf (1.60). 9 24% 24% 248 33 17% 2% Buaza Clark, Inc. 1 24 24’ 2 e 18 8 4 BwanaMKubwa. EI R T 1 North Cen Tex (60c) 3 w3 &Wire LtdArcts 9 3% 34 31 Ohio Copper. . o h 5% 1% Cab&WireLtdBrets. 11 1w 2 1 Ohio Oil (121) 1 B4 314 Cab&WireLtdpfrets 4 4% 4% 4% Ohio Pub Ser pf A7. 308 1% % CAMCoctfs. 6 Gy ok ik Okla Gas & K1 pf (7). 50s 12% 3" Can Marcont PRI Outboard Motor (B). 1 '~ Carib Syndicate. 1 1 1 k! ' 574 20 Celanese Corp....... 1 83 33 33 e e 19% 6 Cent Atlantic States. 1 6 6 [ Pantepec Oil 5 83% 12 CenStates Bl (t40c) 15 21% 21% 21w am C Mfsg (240). 8 57 20 CentPSvA(al75). 14 35 36% 3b Penn Ohlo Ed($1%). 1 13 a4 Centrifug Pipe (60c) 10 5% B% 5% Penn Ohio Ed B war, 1 425 9 ChainStorStk (b6). 4 13 13 12% Penn O Ed pr pf(7).. 25 42 21 Charis Corp (13). 1 22w 22% 22w Pennroad Corp D en 684 20 Cities Service ($30c) 170 288 20w 28% Penna Wa & Pwr (3) 2 98% 84 CitiesServpf(§)... 3 88% 88k 88 PeoL&TF A (a2.40). 1 82 10 Clev Tractor (1.6 1 18% 18% 18% Petrol Corp (133).... 11 s % Columbia Syndicate. 9 & % & Pierce Govern (1%), 1 15 4 ColonOil...... 0. 8% 6 5% Pilot Rad T A (1.20). 8 384 16% Columbia Pictures.. 6 24 26 24 Pines WintFn (11). 8 449% 210% Com'wlth Edison (3) 20s 237 238 237 Pitney BPn (200).. 1 104 93% Comwith Pow pf (6). 14 100% 100% 99 Pitts Forging Co.... 2 124 1% Comwlth & Souwar. 120 4 44 8% Powdrell&Alex(3%5) 2 21% 124 Com Wat Ser (h§%). 7 3 Prossed Met of Amer 1 18 4 Consolidated Copper. 4 PrncemWhItly -, 6 .37 & Consol Cortex Silver. 46 Prince&Whitely pf3. 2 50% 1214 Con Dairy Prod (12). 4 Prudence Co pf (7).. 268 38% 204 Con Gas UtA (2.20). 1 Prudential Inv...... 38 160 71 Con Gas, Balto(3.60) 12 Pub Util Hold war... 15 35 24 Cons Instrument.... 3 Pug SP &Lt DL (6). 108 21 10 ConsLaundries..... 3 . & 20 10 ContinentalOil...... 3 e ) 44% 15 Coon (WB) Co(2.30) 3 S 524 30 Cooper BesspfA(3). 2 FUINOINN Bra ic A 37% 10 Cord Corp...... 1 Sllen b U e 11% 5% Creole Petroleum... 2 ), 874 17w Crocker Wheeler.... 35 Ll HT i e 4 2 A Rockland L& P..... 15 624 29% Crowley Milner (2).. 1 . iyl e My L Roosevelt Field, Inc. 4 29% 41 Curtiss Flying Serv.. 1 S LA I 13 1% Curtiss Wright war.. 1 S0 RagiS D pr(7 )y, 1 4% 1% Cusi Mex Mining. .., 4 Safety Car H& L(3). T6s 26 64 Darby Pet (1)...... 1 crin st R 10% 4% De HavLtdretsn3sc 7 e S Schulte Un 5c-31 St.. 3 26% 8 DeForest Radio.... 2 SeRmanEros (h 1 642 310 Deere & Co (§) . 508 4i b ie A 2 17% 6% Detroit Aircraft Cor. & Selected Industries.. 72 45% 12% Douglas Aircraft...” 9 Select Ind 5 20 3% Durant Motors...... 44 i H 22 14 Duval TexSulw 2 " Shattuck Den Min 2 55% 22 MastGas&F Asso 1 Shenandoah Corp... & 77% 17 EastStates Power B. 27 Shenan Corp pf(a3). 91 321 10 FEisler Elec Corp. 2 Sierra Pac Klec (2).. 1 180 50 ElBond & Sh (b6 73 Silica Gel ct 1 108% 100 Kl Bond& Shpf (6)s 8 Silver King ¢ 7 92 15 Elec Pow Asso (1) 8 Singer Mfg Co (126) 10s 92% 14 Elec Pw Asso A (1).. 10 Smith (A 0) (2).... 108 61% 10% EIP & L opt war 8 i Sonora Products.... 95 66 3t Kl Sharehold (11 12 So Cal Ed pfB(135).. £ 163% 45% El Sharehold pf (8 1 SoCal BdptC(1%). 1 324 5 Empire Steel Corp... 1 S'east P&L prpf(3). 1 701 42 Eureka Pipe Line(4). 1 Southern Corp. 1 124% BO% Southland Ro 1 10 {1 S W Gas Util.. 2 PRt -Sogorfon Aol L4 Southw P&L pf (7).. 10s T 29% Federal Screw (3) 6 Spie May Spf (6%4). 2 15% Filat Stk deb rts re 1 :‘"‘g ":l":: PL(5%). }I 1 Standard Motors .20 First Nat Copper.... 4 Stand Oil Expt p 2 3" ' Wokkeb Alréraft. 3 Stand Oil, Ind (233). 136 T4 Foltis Fischer Corp.. 2 Stand Oil. Kan (2)... 4 €9% ‘15 Ford Motor Can A 3 Stand Oil. Ky (1.60). 4 72 30 Ford Motor Can B... 25s 8t Oil of Ohio (212). 2508 21% 10% Ford Motor Ltd..... 11 Starrett Corp pe(6). . 3 21% 9% Foremost Dairy Pr.. 10 Stern Bros A (4). ...175s 23 15 ForeDPrpf (160)., 1 Stein(A)& Co (1.60). 1 19% 3% Foundation For Shs. 1 3% 3% 3% 3| 3% 2564 Stroock & Co (3) 1 60% 20 FourthNatlInv..... 7 34 34% 34 34 | 34 1% StutzMotorCar..... 18 37% 4% Fox TheatCl A. 30 5% 6% 4% bw| 52% 324 Suninvpf (3). : 46 21 Franklin (HH)Mfg.. 1 18 18 18 18 | 12 4 SunrayOil (40c).... 14 6% 3 GalenaSig.ctfmdep. 1 2 2% 214 25| 108% 40% Tampa Electric (12). 2 78 73% GalenaSignpfcod.. 60s 75% 76% 75% 76% | 19% 4 Teck Hughes (60c o 36 184 Garlock Pkg (1.20).. 3 20% 208 20% 20% | 23 7% Texon Oil & Land e 304 8% GesdmInvestnew.. 10 11 11% 11 11%| 38 19 Thermoid Co (2) 3 111% 70 GemAmInvpfn(6). 2 824 8 8214 85 | 7% 20% Transamer (1.6 39 10% 2% General Baking..... 22 4k 4% 3% 3w| 31% 3% TransAirTranscfs. 25 79% 45 General Bakpf (6).. 20 62 53 52 63 | 38% 6 7 20% 7% GenELtdrcts (50c) 4 11% 11% 11% 11%| 24 3 e 23% 13% GenGas&El(A)... 17 14w 14k 14 14 TrisCont Corprwar i 39% 9 GenRity & Utilities. 27 10 1015 10 10 §7 10 Tri-Continental Cor. ° 18 66% 24 Gen Theat Equip vts. 69 32% 33% 32% 33| 119% 75 Tri-Cont Corppf(6). 6 12 24 Golden Center z 3% e gk 80 40 Ari-Utilitles........ & 2% % Gold Coln. .. % % . Ow| 0% 15 TrunzPork Stores 5 2714 3 Gold Seal Kl n A EVIE VR I 1Y 111 TubArtSilk B-(10).. 708 121% 32 Goldman Sachs (b6). 10 36w 37% 36w 37| 50% 23% Tung-Sollappt(3) 1 19% 1% Goth Knitback Mach 1% 1% 1% ‘1% | 2T 24% Ungerlelder F Corp.. 1 68% 23 Graymur Corp...... 326 33 azw as | 20 % Union Tobaceo. ..... 12 1Th 10 Groc Stors Prod vic. 13 183% 13 13%| 61% 26% United Chptpf (3 1 49 18 Ground Gripper (1). L e A O ] 47% 8% United Corp war El 209 1156 Guilf Oil of Pa (1%) 138 1398 138 139% | 20% 6% United Dry Docks... 2 30% 24% Gunther Law (2). 28% 28% 2 28%| 23% 15 United Klec Ser..... 2 29% 14 Hartman Tobacce 12% 12% 1 50% 15 United GasCo...... 39 2% 27% Haygart Corp.. a6l 38 3ew sgw| SU6 20 UnitLiaPwr A{bie) 320 10" Hecla Mining (1) AR 2N ek s aay | RN TIEDUILIE FopE (). - 8 23 6 Hudson Bay M & 8. . l,.n(l ,hloll!lell Ltd.. 128 74% Humble Oil (2)..... e Rt VIEBNE OL 82 27 Hydro Elec Serv (2). 2 Unit Reproducers B. 49% 10 Hygrade Food Prod. R A, 33% 6% Imp Tob GB&T(1.25) U8 Foll B (1) oo, 49% 5 Indian Terr Illum... 12 4 United Stores. s 160 26 Insull Ut Inv(b6%). Unit Verde Ext (4).. 92 52 InsCoof N Am (2).. Utah Metal & Tunnel 33 17 Insurance Sec (1.40) Utility Pw & Lt(a1). 3 8214 20 Intercoast Trade (1) UtP& L Betfs (11) % Intercontinent Petn. 1 15 Intl Petrol, n(62%c) 10% Intl Saf Raz, B (13). Intl Superpow (31) 3 Internatl Ut B 10 Interstate Equ 1 Iron Cap Copper. .. 11% Irving Air Ch (150). 1 10 Jon & N eum pf (3).. 14 Kirby Petrolenm. ... 1 Kolster-Br (Am Sh). 1% Land Co of Florida. . 22% Lane Bryan tine (2). 26% Lang Unt Bak B (2), NRWRRNR N A N B RAINR I ARANN RS ~ANSN HANNNN D~ Utility Utility & Ind Util & Ind pf Vacuum Oil (+43%).. Venezuela Ptm(20c), Viek Fin Corp. .. Walgreen Co Walker (H) ( Walker Mining won (JW) C enden Copper. ... Williams R C (1.40) . Wilson Jones (3). % lquities. I e S A et Corporation News NEW YORK, January 9.—The fol- lowing is today's summary of important corporation news prepared by Standard Statistics Co., Inc, New York, for the Associated Press. News Trend. Midweek reviews of the steel trade indicate that steel production has taken an upturn and the outlook is for fur- ther improvement, although it is ex- pected to be gradual. Improvement thus far this year is due to an increase in the number of specifications rather than in the size; rate for the month is ex- pected to reach about 65 per cent. of capacity, Steel production for the was at the highest level in the history of the industry. Total output for the year was 54,164,348 tons, an increase of 4,209.163 tons over 1928, the previous v o s s 14 Russ 4 ctf NC ‘19, B e sl ww—With warrants. I Without Wrrents, record year. ‘The Companies. American Water Works & Electric ear 1929 | earned $3.90 in 12 months to November 30, 19 year. H. Bohack Co. sales five weeks to Jani 4, up 9.4 per cent; 11 months | inereased 125 per cent over previous | period. Lane Bryant, Inc., December, 19 sales up 9.6 per cent; 12 months, 34.2 per cent above previous year. Dictaphone Corporation stock |on $3 annual basis; formerly $2. Stock | dividend of 10 per cent also declared. Durant Motors price range, new mod- els, $785 to $1,195. General Electric orders placed quarter | anded December 31, 1929, $108,398,049; | increase, 23 per cent. Year ended De- placed | cember ‘31, 1929, $445,802519; up 28 per cent from previous year. National Steel to build new steel mill at cost of over $40,000,000, | 3. C. Penny Co. declares annual divi- dend of $2.50 on common stock; to pay | $3 in 1930. December, 1 17.8 per cent; 12 months, 1. over previous year. Peoples Drug Stores’ December, 1929, sales up 26.3 per cent; 12 months, 36.9 per_eent over previous year. Puget Sound Power & Light work is 68 Lehman (The) Corp. 15 78 78'% 78 781 44% 13 Zenite Prod (1.60)... 19 1 Leonard Oil.. % 1% 1% 1n| RIGHTS. Expire. H.fl‘u L-rn'rr §|orot.('_') . 43% 44 43% 44y 8o0. Cal. Edison Apr. 12 $ 2% 2% 2% 2% 12% Lily T Cup (150) 18 18% 17% 184 .18 .07 Trans Corp. ..Mar.6 27 07 07 07 18 Lion Oil Refin (2) 197 19% 19% 19% Dividend rates in dollars based on last quarterly or semi- 28 Lone Star, new (80c) 35'% 36% 35 351, | annusl pavment. H 9140 Yonk 1xland 1t (406) 2% 42N 2% 4236 | cnsh o stock b pavanle in mrek. (T Havabia T reterrea stoek. started on Rock Island hydroelectric against $2.87 in previous fiscal | project to cost $15,000,000, Rice Stix Dry Goods earned $2.35 in r to November 30, 1929, against $2.51 in preceding fiscal year. Standard Power & Light declares spe- cial dividend of 1 share Standard Gas common for each 22 shares Standard Power old common, Standard Motor Construction reveiv- ership action dismissed. U. 8. Shoe Co. earned 23 cents in 27 weeks to November 2, 1929, against 61 cents in same period 1928. SPECULATORS’ FILE. NEW YORK, January 9.—A confi- dential file, containing the names of speculators with whom brokers have had unsatisfactory experiences, has been established by the Association of Stock Exchange Firms. This move on the rt of the association is understood to the outgrowth of a number of in- stances, particularly during the market crash of last Pall, when customers broke promises to supply additional “margin’ and repudiated orders given by tele- phone. PREFERRED STOCK | STATUS IS DEFINED { Non-Cumulative Issues ~ Do Not Carry Proprietorship in Earnings. BY CHARLES F. SPEARE. Special Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, January 9.—Again the legal verdict is that the holder of a non-cumulative preferred stock has no proprietorship over earnings of & com- pany that may not have been paid to him within the period of regular divi- dends. This opinion has been pro- nounced by the United States Supreme Court in the case affecting back divi- dends on Wabash Railroad preferred “A"” shares and, in substance, it follows the decisions of other courts in similar situations. One of the latter was that created by the holders of the 5 per cent preferred stock of the Southern Railway whao ca: ried on a long and bitter contest with the management of that road to compel them to disgorge $29,000,000 of accump- lated dividends which, they argued, rightfully belonged to them. Their claims were not sustained by the lower courts and after a long legal siege on the Southern Railway the preferred shareholders capitulated. Concession Granted. ‘They did not lose, however, the en- tire moral value of their fight, which dealt with the period from July 1, 1895, to June, 1925, for they were subse- quently given the privilege of. sub- scribing, with common stockholders, for a new issue of $10,000,000 of common stock on the same basis as hplders of the junior shares. The position of the owners of a non- cumulative preferred stock frequently has been an aggravating one, where holders of junior securities have been allowed to skim the cream from the re- turns of a property which the senior shareholder felt he had done most to develop. The courts, however, been unfriendly to every effort on his part to get more than was “nominated in the bond.” Onme of the historical cases of this sort was that presented a quarter of a century ago by the Union Pacific 4 per cent shareholders, and, like all of the others, lost. There is also a similarity in the atti- tude of the non-cumulative preferred shareholder to the holder of the ad- justment or income bonds, whose in- terest payment has frequently been made a question of management policy toward applying earnin, for capital improvements rather than following what might be considered the strict ap- plication of these earnings to interest payments. Here, also, there have been numerous legal contentions without a very high score of victory on the part of the adjustment bondholder. ‘The decision just handed down by the United States Supreme Court in the Wabash preferred A stock case was written by Justice Holmes. It leaves little room for future contests by other preferred shareholders with similar grievances. It also may have a tendency to dampen the enthusiasm of investors who buy preferred stocks rather than common stocks or bonds, for it clearly indicates that the holder of senior shares is not entitled to anything more than the rate stipulated in the contract drawn up by the company. In order to make their preferred shares more at- tractive, corporations, more in the past than at present, made them cumulative, so that back dividends on the senior issue had to be pald up before the junior shares had any claim on earn- ings. This provision, like the sthking fund bonds, has frequently led to ‘the commitment of companies to a liability which in hard times they found difficult to meet. So there are today a con- siderable number of industrial com- panies particularly that have been struggling for years to repay the divi- dends on their preferred stocks that had to be suspended during a period of busi- ness reaction. Status Is Declared. tice Holmes which establishes the status of the non-cumulative preferred stock- { holder follows: | “We believe that it has been the com- mon understanding of lawyers and busi- ness men that in the case of non- cumulative stock entitled only to a divi- dend if declared out of annual profits, if those profits are justifiably applied hy the directors to capital improvements and no dividend is declared within a year, the claim for that year is gone and cannot be asserted at a later date.” ‘' AUTO INDUSTRY KEY TO BUSINESS STATUS Prolonged Slump Considered Un- likely if Purchasing Power Holds Steady Tone. - Special Dispatch to The Btar. NEW YORK, January 9.—Clark Dodge & Co. says that the ex- tent and duration of the present re- cession depends largely upon basic busi- ness conditions and the trend of ac- tivity in certain key industries, par- ticularly in the automobile industry. “Although the purchasing power of many consumers has been lessened somewhat by the action of the stock market and the recession in business, the general level remains fairly high. 15 | Provided there is no severe and pro- longer period of unemployment, it is llw';eth‘e): unlikely that there will be any material further reduction in the |average purchasing power of con- sumers. “In view of the strength of basic con- ditions it appears. that we cannot at this time have a prolonged economic depression, and it is unlikely that busi- ness will remain much below normal for any extended perod.. At the pres- ent time, however, it is difficult to see how general business activity in 1930 can reach the high level from which it reacted in July of last year.” GRAIN MARKET. CHICAGO, January 9 (A).— Wide- spread heavy snowfalls over domestic Winter wheat territory, together with lower quotations on wheat at Liverpool, gave an early setback to Chicago whe values today. Liverpool wheat price downturns were associated with an- nouncement of larger shipments from Argentina, as compared with last week. Opening 35 to 113 off, Chicago wheat afterward rallied a little, dropped lower thar. before. Corn, oats and provisions_displayed . strength, with corn starting Jaals to 7 up and sub- sequently rising further. Assurance of a protecting blanket of snow for the dormant crop of domestic Winter wheat tended plainly at times here today to pull the wheat market down. Intimations of a fair to good export demand overnight for wheat from North America counted to some extent as an offset, but the influence af this factor was more or less intermit- tent. Advices from abroad pointed to current_estimates of the wheat import needs of Europe. Contrasting with downward swings of the wheat market today were material advances in corn values. Corn buyers showed themselves responsive to an offi- cial report that only 2,191,000 bushels of corn were harvested as grain in 1929, the smallest amount since 1024, and comparing with 2,361,000 bushels in 1928. Cash corn handlers reported a general demand for spot corn here - Yo have | per ‘The paragraph in the decision of Jus- !y | but then | a disposition in some quarters to reduce | ba: D. C., THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 19%0. 50 Industrials. 168.0 | ‘Two years ago... Three years ago, weekly aver. High (1929) . Low (1929) .. Total sal AUTOMOBLE SHOW DRAMS B CRONDS Visitors Display Keen Inter- est in New Models at Gotham Exhibit. BY JOHN F. SINCLAIR. Special Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, January 9.—Visitors to the New York Automobile Show, in ses- slon this week at the Grand Central Palace, are impressed with the great crowds attending, the interest shown in the new models and the great variety of cars. Surely there is keen competition in the greatest of American industries. All manufacturers, except Ford, are there exhibiting their wares. The num- of new-car models following Euro- pean designs is quite impressive. ‘The automobile industry, in the first place, has become the barometer of business. This industry turned out last year products of a wholesale value of | more than $3,000,000,000. It's the big- gest buyer in the Nation of steel, glass, rubber and leather. Millions of people are directly employed in the industry; other millions indirectly. ‘The business world is watching the New York Automobile Show with mora interest this year than usual. Will the plicated? Hardly, but there is great in- terest in the show, with thousands of out-of-town visitors in attendance. How “practical” that {nterest will be !.h]l. nexi few months will largely deter- mine. Silver prices have touched the lowest level this week in 100 years. The price of silver has dropped 7 per cent in the last two months and 22 per cent in the last 12 months, bringing a decline to a level never witnessed by living man. Sllver, instead of falling in gold value after the war, rose from 477 pence in March of 1919 to 895 in Feb- ruary, 1920. Then the smash-breaking to 30% pence in March, 1921. Silver prices have dropped much faster than the price of commodities in general. The reason? Increased production had something ta do with it, for, accord- ing to the United States mint figures, production was 50 per cent greater in 1928 than fn 1920. India, which has taken so much silver ]_,in the past two centuries, is now at- tempting to, get on a gold basis, and her demand for silver is diminishing. China, another great silver-buying country, has been in bad shape in Te- cent years, and the Chinese people are being forced to accept paper money in- stead of silver. As a result, London's | report shows that the shipment of silver {to China has fallen from $16,500,000 | in 1922 to $694,000 in 1929. So the great silver mines of Mexico } and the United States are deserted, and i business in silver-buying nations is dis- pted. Silver has-fallen upon evil days from the time when it ruled the world, even more completely than gold does today. Should the wire and wireless com- panies of the United States be allowed to merge? Owen D. Young, president of the Radio Corporation of America, says yes. Newcomb Carlton, president of the Western Union Telegraph Co. since 1914, says no. Great Britain has definitely taken a stand in favor of the union of the wire- less and wire communications. The White act prohibits such action in the United States. Owen D. Young says that this recent British merger menaces American interests in the field of com- munications. Newcomb Carlton denies it and calls it a “fantastic bogey” raised by the Radio Corporation as an argu- ment in favor of a unification, the ad- vantages of which he not only ques- tions but denies. The Radio Corporation of America wants to merge with the International Telephone & Telegraph _Company. Should the present White act be changed to allow it? Mr. Carlton’s suggestion is that if the act was changed to allow the merger, the Radio Corporation should be re- quired to divest itself of its exclusive contracts with foreign companies, other- wise it might “encourage a drift toward ‘monopoly.” Noe,ovlfl,h 51,000 messages going back and forth daily, the Western Union is handling 44 per cent of the business, the Commercial 291, per cent, the French Cables 7 per cent and the Radio Corporation of America and merger 3 per cent. The balance is scattered. When Mr. Carlton declared that the Western Union's capital of $102.000,000 is earning approximately $15,000,000 a year, Senator Brookhart asked the vet- eran if he thought the public utilities were entitled to a greater return on money investments than the earning power of the whole ptoplr.Awhlch he said had been placed at Jess than € per cent. “Well, you'll have to ask some wild economist about that,” was Mr. Carl- ton's reply.. Which shows that Mr. Carlton, at 61, is still a pretty effective witness. i Are utility companies planning more !1mpliflclfloyn of their financial strue- tures? The announcement by . the Commonwealth & Southern Corporation that the directors of the five big com- panies afliated with them—the Allied Power & Light Corporation, the Com- monwealth _Power Corporation, the Penn-Ohio Edison Co., the Southeastern Power & Light Co. and the Common- wealth & Southern Corporation—would be merged into the Commonwealth & Southern Corporation, looks like such a move. The Commonwealth & Southern, for the 12 months ending November 30 Jast, showed gross earnings of $151,000.- 000, and gross income of $77,000,000. The net income after fixed charges was $42,000,000 before depreciation. After » very liberal depreciation and pre- ferred stock dividend requirements, the balance amounted to $25455,000 avail- able for the 33,973,561 common shares of stock outstanding—this is about 75 cents a share. ‘The common stock this week has been placed on a 60-cent annual dividend sis. But for the average man, a simplifi- cation of public utility statéments and the slowipg up of dizzy pyramiding of the assets of one utility corporation into the assets of another, would come as a most welcome sign. (Copyright, 1930, by. pap h_American News- aper nee ) SILVER QUOTATIONS. NI YORK, Janu 9 (#) —Bar B ltlvtfl”«%:' Mexican _..tfilhrs. 3 3 STOCK AND BOND MARKET AVERAGES 10 Industrials. 92.6 record-breaking activity of 1929 be du-' St O SINANCIADE Edition. STOCKS. 20 bl Utilities. Total Com. X 2103 169.1 128.1 209.1 169.2 Holiday. 133.9 19! 1203 107.3 167.8 BONDS. (Copyright, 1930, Standard Statistics Co.) EXTENT OF DECLINE| IN STOCKS SHOWN Motor Group Contributed 96 Per Cent of Total Depre- ciation in List. Special Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, January 9.—The market appraisal of 100 leading common stocks declined $2,709,474,000 last year from $32,152,458,000 on December 29, 192! to $29,442,984,000 on December 31, 192f says Frazier Jelke & Co., in an invest. ment survey released today. A $2,606,- 968,000 drop in the seven motors in- cluded in the group contributed 96 per cent of the total depreciation. The 10 utilities, although selling at $2,074,184,- 000 less than at the end of last August, were $517,145,000 higher at the end of the year than at the beginning. With the single exception of the motors, each one of the 13 groups was higher at the end of 1929 than at the end of 1927. “The peak of the bull market of 1929,” says the survey, “was reached early in the first week in September. On August 30, 1929, the 100 issues were appraised at $43,477,945,000. Values had dropped to $40,530,401,000 by the end of September. On October 24, the total was $32,086,291,000. Following a re- covery to $32,951,358,000 on October 31, there was a further depreciation to $24,- 274,384,000 on November 13, when 455 individual issues traded on the New York Stock Exchange made new lows for the year.” At the end of 1929 the 100 stocks (one share of each issue) offered a divi- dend return of 4}, per cent compared with 3.2 per cent at the end of 1928 and 4.4 per cent at the end of 1927. The average dividend rate for the 100 issues was $3.76 a share, while average carnings for 1929 are estimated at $7.01 a share. At the peak of the 1929 boom the yield was but 3 per cent, while the maximum return on November 13 was 512 per cent. The survey notes that the return on the same stocks at the end of 1923 was 5.6 per cent. Market value of the 100 representative common stock issues increased $674,- 494,000 in December, or 2.3 per cent. Five electrical equipment issues led the December advance, rising 14.2 per cent and accounting for about 43 per cent of total gain. The amusements added 9.6 per cent, the utilitles 6.4 per cent, the steels 5.4 per cent and tfi chemicals 5.1 per cent.' Both the miscellaneous industrials and the motors appreciated 33 ger cent. The largest loss for the month was in the foods group, which declined 3.4 per cent. The rails dropped 3.1 per cent, and the merchandising issues 2.1 per cent. A drop of 2/10 of 1 per cent was recorded in the oils. The following table shows the extent of price changes groups during the month of December: oy a7 1929, Dec 31, 1020, 0008 omitted). ) rals 35.135.963 * Sa0te.nes ®ed A-15 FARM FEDERATION MEETIC OPENED Maryland Marketing Prob- lems to Be Discussed at Session in Baltimore. Special Dispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE, January 9.—The an- nual meeting of the Maryland Farm Bureau Federation to promote efficient production, orderly marketing and greater co-operative effort among farm- ers opened here yesterday at the Lord Baltimore Hotel and will continue to- day and tomorrow. The affillated organizations, which are holding the annual meetings at the same time, are the Maryland State Horticultural Society, the Maryland Crop Improvement Association, Mary- nd - State Dairymen’s Association, Maryland State Beek:cepers' Association, Maryland State Vegetable Growers' As- sociation, Agricultural Corporation of Maryland, Maryland Tobacco Growers’ Association, Maryland Stockmen’s Asso- clation and Maryland State Poultry Association. ¥ List of Speakers. ‘The speakers will be Dr. J. W. Rob- erts, United States Department of Agri- culture. His subject will be “Experi- ence With Zinc-Lime as a Control for Bacterium Pruni” “The Importance of Calcium Sulphide in Disease Con- trol” will be heard from R. H. Hurt of the Virginia Experiment Station at Blacksburg, Va. Other sddresses will be given by Dr. R. A. Jehic and Dr. E. C. Muchter, both of College Park. Gov. Ritchie is to speak tonight when the Maryland Agricuitural Society and Farm Bureau Federation hold a ban- ! quet. ‘The Maryland Stockmen’s Associa- tion will give a dinner at the Claremont Hotel, Union Stock Yards. Prof. J. H. Gourley, Ohio State Uni- versity: Dr. A. H. Heinicke, Cornell University; Dr. J. R. Magness, United States Department of Agriculturs, and Dr. A. Lee Schrader of College Park will speak at today's session. Final Program. ‘Tomorrow the final session of the convention will be held. Speakers will include Dr. R. A. Pearson, president of the University of Maryland, and Dr. H. J. Patterson, director of extension work of the university. An election of of- ficers will follow. Officers of the federation are: James W. Davis, Rocks, Md., president: T. T. Massey, Massey, Md., vice president, and M. M. Stewart, Baltimore, secre- tary and treasurer. TELEPHONE INVESTMENT AND REVENUES MOUNTING ‘With a total of 20,000,000 telephones in use in the United States, the in- vestment in plant and equipmént of the Bell System and independent companies on September 30, 1929, was approxi- mately $4,095,000,000, an increase of $400,000,000 during the previous 12 months. This does not include working capital and other assets, but simply cov- ers the plant and equipment used in telephony. The total assets of all the tele&l‘\one companies in the United ) is now aproximately $5,000,000,- Revenues for the year ending Sep- tember 30, 1929, were $1,185,000,000, a gain of $99,000,000 over the previous year. This very substantial increase, both X‘XX: thl:nnutml?l" l:{“ulepmne!‘ and the vestmen pl and equipment, is ;Pa{l’flec;ebd tuf‘le“u lnCMIflrl:!llmber s. For year endin tem- ber 30, 1929, the average n‘msn?;r of daily completed telephone calls in the United States was 81,130,000, a gain of 5,280,000 calls per day over the year revious. Toll or long-distance calls ve also shown a steady increase, the eng‘emdnl.ly number for 1928 being “.’iog.n.. as compared with 3,360,000 R The University of Texas has been chosen the twenty-ninth member of the Association of American Universities. Totals . RETAILERS DEMAND FULL CREDIT FACTS Association Head Declares More Than Honest Faces Are Now Required. Special Dispatch to The Star. CHICAGO, January 9.—There's no such thing as an honest face, says Jus- tin H. Edgerton, president of the Na- tional Retail Credit Association and boss credit manager of the United States, who ought to know, because he has been judging human character in its relation to credit risks during the past 17 years. Edgerton admits that he hasn’t yet run across that much touted physiognomy which in itself is popu- larly presumed to be sufficient recom- mendation for opening a cha account or having a check cashed without iden- tification. “‘Honesty today is measured by scien- tific facts available through the record of 60,000,000 master cards on file in the 1,060 bureaus of the National Re- tail Credit Association, serving more than 200,000 merchant members,” Mr. Edgerton says. ‘“No longer does a store proprietor attempt to judge the sol- vency of his patron by the same rule of thumb methods which were in vogue 20 years or so ago when the ‘honest face' classification went out of style. “Where it was once the custom for & credit manager to size up his pros- pect by such superficial evidence as the torn or whole condition of her gloves, today that same manager, who has watched his calling rise to the level of a profession, has recourse to accurate information detailing the history of every person who has ever purchased S0 much as a single herring from his or_her corner grocery store. Honesty, Mr. Edgerton says, is ly a relative term anyhow, and 9 of every 100 persons in the United States can claim to be honest because they really are. Only one person out of every 100 tries to cheat or escape the honest pay- ment of his debts. And most losses incurred in business can be charged to bad checks tendered as payment in over- the-counter cash sales, as com, with a loss of less than four-tenths of 1 per cent on properly investigated charge accounts, he revealed. NEW YORK BANK STOCKS. NEW YORK, January 9 (#).—Bid and asked prices on the stocks.of leading New York national banks and trust companles follow REAL ESTATE LOANS Made at Low Interest Rates TYLER & RUTHERFORD Advantages t to direct representation 1520 K St. NW. National 0475 WE WILL BUY Great National Insurance Racquet Club Bonds Investment Trust (All Issues) Washington Bank Stocks New York Bank Stocks Federal Security & Mortg. Units National Mortg. & Invest. Pfd. National Mortg. & Invest. Com. 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