Evening Star Newspaper, March 29, 1931, Page 65

News of Markets Pages 1to § FINANCIAL- AND CLASSIFIED he Sunday Star Part 6—12 Pages WAS HINGTON, S SUNDAY MORNING, MARCH 29, 1931, Classified Ads Pages 5 to CAPITAL TRACTION FEBRUARY PROFITS REVEAL DECREASE Net Income Shows Small Slump During Month as Traffic Declines. EASTER IS EXPECTED TO REVERSE TENDENCY ‘Washington Stock Exchange Pays Special Tribute to Its Late President. BY EDWARD C. STONE. Net earnings of the Capital Traction Co. suffered another moderate setback in February, largely due to a decline in passenger traffic, according to the monthly report filed with the Public Utilities Commission. Operating revenues amounted to $312,- , 81513 during the month, compared with $327,903.36 in February, 1930, a decline of $15,088.23. Operating e: penses and taxes required $252,081.24, against $267,227.85 in the same month last vear, a reduction in operating costs of $15,146.61. Deduction of expenses and taxes left the traction company with an operating income of $60,733.89. in comparison with $60,675.51, a difference of but $58.38. Total net income, after all other deductions, was $30,521.50, against $31,103.32 in February, 1930, a drop in net of $518.82. The revenue passenger traffic figures reveal further inroads into street car business by privately owned automobiles, busses and taxicabs. Revenue passen- gers in February totaled 3,701,789, whil the street car lines carried 4,359,217 in the corresponding month & year ago, a 1alling off last month of 657,428, Two Months' Earnings Reporied. ‘The statement filed with the commis- slon also summarizes earnings for Jan- uary and February. Operating revenuss totaled $660,306.68, against $686,343.29 in the same period last year, a drop of $26,036.61. Operating expenses were re- duced during the period, this item and taxes totaling $532,595.36, compared with $557,318.18 a year ago, a cut in operating costs of $24,722.82. Operating income for the two months amounted to $127,711.32, corpared with $129,025.11, a ase of $1,313.79. Capital Traction has a gross income of $130,495.19, in comparison with $131,- 734.81 in January and February, 1930, or a loss of $1,239.62. After all deductions, the traction com- ‘pany reported net income for the two months as §68,227.17, against' $70,853.65, earnings .48. When a slump in compared with year, the Joss is not large so as the figures are concerned, but * trend in earn- Revenue passengers for'the first two months of the present year totalled ' 7,838,935 against 9,181,855 in the like last year, a decrease of 1,342,920 iu_;:m patrons. in | basis of planning, among which these | Yesterday's Trading én Exchange. %cmmflwly light on the W Stock Exchange yes- terday, the vice president, l:dwn! L. Hi A 3 Cap! ‘Traction sold ex dividend to the extent of 50 shares at 35, the price which prevailed during most of the ‘week. Washington Rallway & Elec- tric preferred, which has been un- usually active recently, figured in a turnover of 110 shares at 987,. Two bank stocks appeared on the board while leading bond issues drew some attention. Tae day’s sales: Capital Traction 85s—8$1,000 at 802, $1,000 at 80';. Georgetown Gas 5s—8$500 at 104’ ‘Washington Rwy. & Electric 45—§2,000 at 89%. Capital Traction Co.—20 at 35, 10 at 35, 20 at 35. National Capital Bank—10 at 224, 10 at 224, Commercial National Bank—4 at 215, Federal-American Co. com.—25 at 2313 ‘Washington R: & Electric pfd.—10 at 987, 40 at 987%, 50 at 987, 10 at 987, Pown;w Electric Cons. 5s—$1,000 at 1033;. National Capitsl Bank—5 at 224. Exchange Honors President. ‘The Exchange adjourned out of respect to the memory of George O. ‘Walson, president of the organization, who died suddenly Priday night from & heart attack. Mr. Walson was s°rv. ing his third year as head of the Ex- change and had been a member and one of the most regular attendants for many years. s Vice President Hillyer appointed the following committee to represent the Exchange at the funeral: Eugene E. ‘Thompson, Charles E. Howe, Y. E. Booker, James M. Johnston and C. J. Gockeler Mr. Hillyer will also attend. ‘Thomas W. Brahany was asked to draw up the proper resolutions in connection with Mr, Walson’s death “The District Bankers Association also took action on the death of the head of the Exchange, who was also president of the Liberty National Bank. President Lanier P. McLachlen appointed a spe- cial committee to attend, naming th: | presidents of all the national banks in the city. Thmi bankers include H. H. McKee, Robert V. Fleming, John Poole, Victor B. Deyber, Georg: L. Starkey, Joshua Evans, jr. George W. White, Wade H Cooper,” Floyd E. Davis, Frank J. Btryker and John B. Cochran. As al- Feady noted, the rites will take place 3Monday afternoon at 2 o'clock at Cal vary Methodist Church on Columbia Foad. Financial District Comment. ‘The Potomac Ekctric Power Co. and She Washington Railway & Electric Co. | “ill soon be settied in the handsome ®ew_bullding at Tenth and E streets Sorthwest. The street floor sales rooms @re most attractive and th: offices on the upper floors are the perfection of -;onvenz:u and attractiveness. Every one of the five local trust com- ried 1 in John W. Pole. It is only rarely that all the banks in one class, efther national, trust or savings, report nothing but ins. .“Dlrecwn of McCrory Stores Corpora- tion have d-clared the regular quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share on the pre- ferred stock, payable May 1, to stock- holders of record April 20. —e SILVER QOUTATIONS. NI YORK, March 28 ().—Bar sil- v»r.';!/.. an advance of . Market “jet and steady. Heads Committee BANKERS TO HOLD MEETIN AT COUNTRY CLUB. C. H. POPE, ‘The vice president of the Munsey Trust Co. and a vice president of the District Bankers' Assoclation, has started plans for the annual Spring gathering of local | financiers at the Columbia Country Club. Lawrence A. Slaughter, vice president of the Commercial National Bank, and T. Stanley Holland, trust officer, American Security & Trust Co., are the other committee members. BUSINESS AIDPLAN URGEDBY DONHAM Educator and Capitalist Sees| Menace to U. S. in Pres- ent Conditions. BY J. R. BRACKETT, Associated Press Business Writer. NEW YORK, March 28.—An impor- tant American business leader, a cap- italist, in fact, has proposed a national plan for American business—even as| Soviet Russia has its 5, 10 and 15 year plans. Dean Wallace Brett Donham of the Harvard Graduate School of Business | Administration. in his book “Business| Adrift,” published today, predicts de- struction of the American capitalist! system unless steps similar to his rec- ommendations are taken quickly. And Dean Donham is not only an! educator, he ;is a director of a bank | and trust company and a director in| other enterprises. ‘The employe who has been shaking in his for fear of his job the past | few months and the erstwhile employe | who is now nding the pavements may rightfully blame business leader- ship for his condition, Dean Donham says. American business can and must prove to the efficient working man that he need not fear for his job because of recurring business depression. Business must work toward progres- sive lllblflt{ within itself, and Dean Donham holds that certain reasonable | assumptions must be made for the| three are most striking: First. The most “superficial” analy- sis shows that the Soviet system is likely to succeed over the next 20 years, | at least. So the American business man should consider it as he considers every other major risk. Second. Tariff walls will continue to stand, not only around this Nation, but increasingly around the other nations, for a similar 20-year period, for the iegitimate protection of important na- tional groups, Third. Efforts to expand greatly our | foreign trade will result in world dis- aster, even war. Our home markeis must be developed. Surpluses must not be dumped. In an economic war,| , if victorious, would probably | ruin England and Germany, whose | economy -is based on foreign trade, and that would be the beginning of the fall! of western civilization. COTTON PRICES DIP AFTER EARLY GAINS | ’l(lxket Sells Off on Week End Evening Up of Ac- counts. By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, March 28.—An early advance in cotfon promoted by steadi- ness in Liverpool and reports of con- | tinued unfavorable weather for new | crop preparations in the South, was | followed by reactions today under week end liquidation which found compara- tively little demand after the early buy- | ing had run its course. May contracts s0ld off from 10.89 to 10.80 and closed at that figure with the general .market closing barely steady at net declines of 310 4 points The opening was steady 5 to 7 points higher on some overnight buying or- | ders from the trade and covering pro- | moted by the steadier tone of Liverpool | land Alexandria. There may also have | been some scattered buying on reports | of delayed farm work in the Soutb, but | the demand was supplied at 11.13 for July and 11.42 for October by realizing | or week end liquidation s was ab- sorbed within a range of a few points and the market held fai cady du ing the greater part of the morning, | but weakened somewhat toward the: clese when the selling was accelerated | by the action of the stock market. July s0ld off to 11.03 and October to 11.33 | and closing quotations were the lowest of the day. . May fuly .1 October Decembe; January s GENERAL MOTORS HOLDS HALF-BILLION POLICY | General Motors Corperation became | the first half-billion-doilar policyholder in the history of life insurance when Alfred P. Sioan, jr. president of the corporation, recently announced an agreement with the Metropolitan Life ice Co. under which group life insurance will be made available to all General Motors automotive dealers and their employes in the United States and | manipulating their railroad and indus- | ful of enough improvement in 1931 to | permit them to maintain rates even if thave a pronounced effect on business, DECLINE IN STOCKS IS ATTRIBUTED 10 POOR TRADE NEWS Dividend Cuts and Omissions Cause Halt to Market Upturn. BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT MORE THAN SEASONAL Absence of Large Selling in. Se- curities Illustrates Present Liquid Conditions. BY CHARLES F. SPEARE. Special Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, March 28—Speculation | for a rise in stocks came to a halt this| week when it was recognized that there | was no point in forcing prices against an increasing flood of unfavorable news. The wonder is that stocks held so well, in view of the radical cuts announced on the shares of prominent railroad and industrial corporations and the intima- | tions that are clearly given in prelim- | % inary estimates of earnings for the March quarter, that many more adjust- ments must be made to the diminishing | profits in business. The comparatively small average de- | cline in prices again illustrates the | liquidated condition of the market and the presence of a short interest that is taking every advantage of the current grist of bearish statistics to reduce its| commitments. Such public interest as| developed last month, when pools were | trial specialties, and later during the | demonstration in public utility issues, has faded away, leaving the market in professional hands. The daily average Stock\ Exchange transactions this month have been less than two and one-quarter million shares. Only five times in the March quarter has the turnover exceeded 4,000,000 shares. Wall Street business, therefore, is off in about the same ratio from 1929 as is that in most lines of commercial activity throughout the country. Corporations Cut Rates. ‘Two important railroad systems—the Baltimore & Ohio and the Lacka- wanna—teduced their dividends this sary to allot'a smaller portion of earn- ings to their shareholders were Westing- house Electric, National Cash Register and Anaconda Copper. This covers the field of production of raw materials, the manufacture of finished products and that of transportation. Except in the public utility industry, the depression which began a year and a half ago and which at the end of the first quarter of this year is still acute is demanding concessicns and compromises in évery In 1930 approximately 1,000 divi- dends were reduced or passed. In the three ‘months of this year the number amounts to over 500 and the total this month is nearly double that cf Jan- uary. Many corporations that would have been willing to continue payments at the old rates for at least the first half of 1931, if they could have fcund evidence that business was to experi= ence a substantial rebound, have re- cently come to the conclusion that while conditions are better, the percent- age of recovery is small and the gains frcm week to week are slow to warrant the expenditure of surplus earnings in high rates-of dividends. Commercial Health Good. There are also other considerations that have had their influence in estab- lishing many of the reduced dividend policies. The most frequent statement appearing in ccnnection with a divi- dend cut is that this has been found advisable “in order to conserve the | cash resources of the company.” An tonishing feature of many December balance sheets is the amount of | cash, demand loans and marketable | securities on exhibit. Inventories also show a good state of commercial health. The Standard Statistics Co. has just compiled a composite income account'and balance sheet of 210 indus- trial corporations in which the current asset ratjo last year was six and one- half times current liabilities compared with - slightly over five times in the highly prosperous year of 1929. Although last year the percentage earned on property investment was 1350, compared with an average of 20.50 in 1928 and 1929, the sum pald in ccmmon stock dividends in 1930 ex- cecded that of the two years previous, indieating that corporations were hope- they were cempelled to make up a por- tion of the amount paid from surplus. Increasing Consumers' Demand. To a man who has been out of work for a year or to the individual who szes his income decreasing as more and more companies rzduce their dividends, there is little betterment visible in th= general business world. Both count their losses as absolute and are but slightly impressed by the fact of lower wholesal: and retail prices and moder- ate concessions in rents and services. To the producer, the manufacturer and merchant, the raflroad executive and the bperator of power and light com- panles, there is distinct evidence not only of a chance in the mood of the public toward the outlook, but actual preof of increasing demand on the part of consumers. And this is more than & seasonal condition. 1t is reflected in car loadings which have been going up steadily for scv:ral weeks against the opposite trend during the same term in the thrce years previous. It is shown in the d mand for Jabor that has developed in the tex- tile and shoe industries in New England and in the automobile districts of the country. February nay rolls were con- siderably higher than those in the month previous. This gain will extend through March and April, and should be considerably enlarged during May and June when routine outdoor work is supplemented by th> special improve- ment programs of public works that are being put into effect all over the United tes. Sta It will take a long time for this to 25 many, who have been among the un- employed for months, will .be more months in gathering up, paying bills and cancelling loans. We have been so long confranted with a monthly record of declining activities that the spirit of optimism has been crushed, and we are still more inclined to emphasize the adverse conditions in business than to open our eyes to th: evidenc's of im- provement. Banking Situation Improves. In spite of the many cuts in divi- dends, the total disbursements to bond and stock holders on April 1 will be nearly $700,000,000, including & reduc- tes, 1 Motors, by the inclusion of its car dealers in the group, will in- crease the total life insurance benefits well past the $500,000,000 maik. tion in dividends the figures of a year a T (Continu e POOLE HAS PERSONAL INTEREST [ IN WELFARE OF HIS EMPLOYES[ Bank President Gives Help- ful Advice to Younger Men in Firm. Shows Concern in Living Standards of Workers Un- der His Supervision. At the recent Central States Bank Management Conference here it de- veloped that John Poocle, president of Federal-American National Bank & Trust Co., takes special interest in the personal habits, finances, progress and future banking prospects of the bank's employes. Following an address on the “Importance of Proper Selection and Development of Personnel,” by C. E. Talman, a Richmond banker, Mr. Poole outlined a personnel policy which he has found highly successful. In his boyhood days in banking, Mr. Poole had the good fortune to be in in- stitutions headed by men who tock a real interest in the welfare of the younger men in the bank. As Mr. Poole grew older in the banking business and had younger men under him, he wanteéd to pay back in a measure som: of the | courtesies, kindnesses and helpfulness which he had recelved in his younger vs. Thinking it fmportant to know where and. how bank employes live, Mr. Poole has oft:n driven around town on Sun- days or holidays and looked at the neighborhood and the homes of the employes in his bank. These personal tours gave him a chance to see if they were living in places in keeping with their pay, if their associations for them- selves and their children were right, and JOHN POOLE, if they were having the things they could properly afford. Mr. Poole has also written personal letters to employes on the anniversary of their employment with the bank. In these letters the bank head has com- plimented men and women for their past service, at the same time attempt- ing to arouse a conscicusness of the op- portunities available to them. ‘To those who have entered the bank- ing business as a career and not merely to have a job, Mr. Poole has recom- mended special interest in education. Another equally interesting method which the bank president has employed with marked success has been to take the younger boys in the bank to lunch with him. These lads are t nes with whom he would naturally hs the least contact. He usually takes two boys at the same time, and has been intensely interested in what they ‘had to say about their hobbies and ambitions, Auto Sales Gains Result in Higher Production Rates Various Detroit Factories ‘Are Stepping Up Sched- ules to Fill Orders. BY J. C. ROYLE. Special Dispeich to The Star. DETROIT, March 28.—In April the Buick unit of General Motors will be turning out cars at the rate of 14,560 per month. In one sentence that shows the remarkable improvement Which has come to the automobile industry in the last few weeks. The Buick plant at Flint, which, in a way is 2 ba- rometer of the motor ‘manufacturing industry is now turning out 560 cars & day and working a four-day week. Beginning April 1, the schedule will be hopped up 20 per cent to five days a WGI:EC ‘That in itself is & fine April fool Joke on the pessimists. The Buick plant was not picked out jpecifically by the writer. It is used simply as an example. The increase probably will not spread to every unit in motor industry, but is will spread to every unit which is ade- quately managed and operated and which has kept abreast of public taste as well as keeping production within feaching distance of demand. Gain in Loadings. 1In the last week Buick loaded around 525 car loads of outbound autos, a gain of some 25 car loads as compared with a year ago. At this time in 1930, auto production was higher than it has been until the present month. In the Grand Rapids district & new automobile plant, the DeVaux-Hall Motors Corporation has just started production. The prod- uct of this concern is an assembled car and its activities therefore are giving additional business to Lansing, when come the wheels, to Muskegon, which furnishes the motors and Syra- cuse, N. Y., which provides the gears. The Ford outbound shipments pa: ing over one railroad have increase 25 per cent in the last week. This takes in the automobiles shipped, the coke, cement' and fertilizer shipments de- veloped as by-products of the Ford plants and the Lincoln car shipments. Similar increases are reported from Briggs Body, Budd Manufacturing Co. and other parts producers. Shipments from Kelsey-Hayes Wheel, which furnishes both Ford and Chevro- let with a part of their requirements, showed a slight advance in shipments. The Timken Detroit Co., makers of axles and ball bearings and other parts, are increasing their fuel shipments in- bound in anticipation of more active demand. Production at both the Graham- Paige and Lincoln factories was larger in March than in February, but the to- tal from neither was quite up to the figure of March, 1930. The shipments of automobile makers and auto parts mak- ers located outside Detroit, but in the main automobile centers, is reported here to have been over 50 per cent heavier in ths last month than in the corresponding period of last year. In nearly every instance production in March has been heavier than it was in February. Copper Shipments. Significant in this connection is the volume of shipments of copper and brass from the American Brass Co. These heavy shipments will continue at least until the end of this mohth. S The Chevrolet company in March will turn out over 80,000 cars. This means that approximately 80,000 cars have been sold since, Chevrolet is holding firmly to the policy of keeping the cars moving in the possession of ultimate owners rather than to allow even a brief halt on the floors of dealers. This company, one of the outstanding mass- producing units of the industry, is working on full-week schedule. Motor Wheel will exceed the February output this month. Pishey Body, some of the spark-plug makers, the du Pont Co., makers of automobile lacquers and the Armstrong Co., all are increasing their production schedules. The Olds- mobile Co. is turning out 1,800 cars a week, while Reo and Durant are both | working steadily. (Copyright. TRUST CONFéRENCE SET FOR CHARLESTON.IN APRIL The fourth annual Southern Trust Conference, sponsored by the Trust Company Division of the American Bankers’ Association, will be held in Charleston, S. C., April 17-18, The chairman of the general committee is G. Goodwin Rhett, chairman of the Peoples State Bank of South Carolina; chairman on committee on arrange- ments: J. H. McGee, assistant vice president and trust officer, the South Carolina National Bank, and chairman 1931) 1 | | considerede of $30,000,000 from ' of yeception committee: Robert P, Ed- | ._The banking munds, jr., of the South Carolina Na- ' that tional Bank. |STEAMSHIP | that the ANTITRUST LAW IS HELD OBSOLETE| Changes Proposed by Busi- ness Leaders in Line With Modern Methods. BY DEAN DINWOODEY. ‘The lawyer and the business man now seem generally agreed that there should be no radical change in the Federal anti-trust laws. Repeal of the Sherman act 1s not favored, as it is futile to expect this. Neither is substantial amendment of the statute thought necessary. Attorneys representing large corpo- rate enterprises have advised that a single modification of the law would suffice for the present. Industrial lead- ers have recently concurred in this view. Within the last few days the same conclusion has been reached by conferences of business groups at which the anti-trust statutes have been discussed. Object of Modification. The single proposed modification of the Sherman act to which reference is made, and which the legal business world is now advocating, contemplates;, (1) Giving to a Federal administrative agency, possibly the Federal Trade Commission, the power to approve in advante contracts and mergers involv- ing restraint of trade; and (2) Grant- ing immunity from criminal prosecu- tions under the Sherman act to those parties who act to form mergers and enter contracts pursuant to such ap- proval, This proposal has been advocated for several years by the American Bar A tion. It has just been indorsed onference held by representatives | of trade organizations, notably the Na- | tional Manufacturers’ Association. The same proposal was suggested by John J. Raskob, chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Many students of the trend of mod- ern business have pointed out advan- tages which they forsee in this play Whereby some agency of the Federal Government would determine, prior to the consummation of a merger, wheth- er it would violate the provisions of the anti-trust laws, instead of waiting to seek dissolution of a combinction after it has been completed at great expense and after long negotiations, Plan Formerly Pursued. This plan of issuing certificate of “good conduct” to those persons about to form a merger or combination which does not violate the spirit of the Sher- man law in the matter of restraint of trade would permit business men, they urge, to pursue their business without the constant danger of prosecution by the Government for having unknow- ingly violated the anti-trust laws. Such an amendment to the law, say its proponents, would adapt the Shi man act, which was enacted 40 years 2go, to modern conditions without tak- ing away any of its safeguards against monopolies or unreasonable restraints of trade. A plan evolved for a somewhat s lar purpose, but without statutory au- thority, was practiced during the Cool- idge administration, (Copyright, 1831.) CO. PROFITS SHOW HEAVY SHRINKAGE | By the Associated Press. BERLIN, March 28.—Net profits of the North German Lloyd and Hamburg- American steamship lines showed a considerable decrease last year under the profits for 1929, acording to the 1930 annual report which was issued today, ‘The report is the first since the pool- ing agreement of the two lines. It showed a net profit for the North Ger- man Lloyd of approximately $2,500,000, compared with approximately $3,500,000 in 1929 and a reduction of the divi- dend rate to 6 per cent for 1930, from 8 per cent in 1929, ‘The net profits of the Hamburg- American Line fell from approximately $2,900,000 in 1929 to approximately 2,450,000 in 1930 and the dividend rate was reduced from 7 to 6 per cent. The North German Lloyd points out crisis in world shipping is illu:trated by the fact that approxi- mately 7,600,000 tons of the total world shipping tonnage ot 65,300,000 was idle at the beginning of 1931, and that 646,000 of Germany's total tonnage of 4,200,000 were laid up. The North Ger- man Lloyd estimates the declines in its revenue from freight to be at least $1,000,000, but res that passenger traffic improved satisfactorily, especially since the liners Bremen and Europa were put into service. Hamburg-Ameri- can Line said that its loss in freight revenues is not balanced by impro passel traffic but both lines agr e results of the pooling were satisfactory. FOREIGN ECONOMIC CONDITIONS WAVER DURING PAST WEEK Recent Steady Upswing Dis- plays Signs of Reversal in Trend. IRREGULARITY RESUMES IN COMMODITY MARKETS Sharp Recession in Non-Ferrous Metals Proves an Unset- tling Factor, Special Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, March 28.—Cable dis- patches to the Business Week give the following survey of business abroad for the week ending March 28: Europe.—The steady upward trend of the last eight weeks has begun to waver. Considerable irregularity has developed in commodity markets, attended by a sharp midweek break in non-ferrous prices. Still, there are no indications of a reversal of the underlying trend; rather a period of consolidation appears to have been reached. Notwithstanding momentary uncertainty, conditions un- qu;snloa:ebly are sdzrlonger than at the end o year, and long-term Xel'nllkn I?:lorlhle. 3 R Fipancial improvement is particularl: marked. Exchanges have steadied, Money stringency has appreciably re- laxed. Capital redistribution has begun on the stock and bond markets, sup- ported by an investment response for new issues, which has broadened con- siderably. Capltal Limitation. Industrial revival, so far, is limited almost entirely to the consumer indus- tries. Greater financial activity, noted above, is, however, among the pre- requisites to a revival of the heavy in- dustries suffering now from capital limi- tations and lack of investment interest. Rubber prices broke when the Dutch Tefused to co-operate in restriction, Three developments during the week were unfavorable, contributed to new uncertainty. Europe’s general tariff truce is being abandoned. What are the consequences to be? Will countries which up to now have advocated free trade policies swing around to tariffs? Will Great Britain fall in with the pro- tectionist trend? The answers, pro and con,- will remove business uncertainty, though results cannot be disposed of so readily. Three other moves in the financial world are affecting business sentiment favorably. The Greek national loan of 24 millions, second installment in a large public works financing program, been negotiated. is likely soon to be issued in_six European countries. Another instalment of 10 millions 1o be issued in the United States is expected o follow shortly. France, unfortunate- ly, is not participating in the issue, the Greek government “withdraw. ing the offer because of matters not germane to operations introduced in the n iau.lfin A shadow hangs over the market. Nearly 3,500,000 men are in- have become more serious. Miners, rallway men, builders, engineers and electriclans are involved. The spread- over plan in the mines ends in March, may open the way for a fresh strike, The threatening attitude of railway men has led to some fear of an inter- ruption of rail trafic before Easter, but the decision of locomotive engineers and firemen to accept reduced pay has stirred hope that the other railway unions will adopt a similar attitude, The business tone, otherwise, con- tinues to improve. Iron and steel and textiles are more active, but there is a slight Jull in cotton. Paris—Current reports of the iron and steel and textile association are the first indication that possible seasonal improvement is working against the stocks are reported reduced, an 't demand is incipient, cyfii Unemployment Gains. On the other hand, registered un- employed gained another 6 per cent on the week, despite the fact 5 times as many foreign laborers left the coun- ry as entered it. According to govern- ment survey, on February 1, total em- ployed in the larger establishments was down 5 per cent from last year. Full- time employment was off 24 per cent. Negotiations to avert a coal strike have come to nothing. Labor has re- voted to strike March 30, unless wage- cuts are dropped. Compared ~Wwith January, February revenues and foreign trade returns both improved. Larger tax revenues, how- ever, .are due to direct tax returns and S0 are no. index of business conditions, Berlin—Business is uneentful, but slowly improving, though more on the capital than the production side. In- terest just now is absorbed in the cus- toms union with Austria as the most far-reaching issue in postwar commer- ché policy. ‘urrent vents point to the stead; growth of confidence, manifested h’y‘l Jower rates for short-term dollar cred- its and consummation of the Berlin in- terim credit in anticipation of the Be- deal. The Stock Exchange is quiet after @ short relapse. Present conditions are considered salutary to checking prema- ture speculative optimism. Basic in- dustries, including steel and machinery, show the first moderafe signs of im- provement supported by trade union em‘ployhmenlb! :!:umu“' n the Reichstag, Finance Minister Dietrich has made a reassuring state- ment’ regarding cover for the deficit ldm tihu: :‘l}.l;cnl{ i'l:lr chlrkng March 31, esp e falling off of by 180,000,000. . e e Lumber Tariff Rates. By the'Associated Press. Conflicting views of the existing lum- ::: .::rlfl r:‘ul. and t}l"te ne:’é (ur] ‘m"fi- or decrease herein, have been aired before the Tariff Commission hearings held here recently. The hearings were pursuant to a Con- gressional resolution calling for an in- 31‘;’:{}'&!‘““'_:"‘ thehl‘llw, 1o determine e commissio) - ma{ .w": sion. should zecom . B. Greely, secretary-manager of the West Coast Lumbermen's Mno—n ciation, asked the commission to ice. the present tariff of $1 a thou- sand feet on certain descriptions of lumber to $1.50, to relieve domestic pro- ducers. Pointing to a serious contraction in the domestic industry over a period of years, he said American lumbermen were waging a life and death struggle to maintain a reasonable market, to | keep labor employed and to liquidate their capital investment in ber- lands.. Fir, hemlock and spruce, he said, particularly meed protection be- cause of the fmpeflflm of other soft volved in wage disputes which this week | 239, general depression trend. Mill and shelf | Business News n Retrospect First Mortgage Notes and Bonds Are Considered Desirable Investments Here, Despite Recent Un- | ! favorable Developments. Policy of the Late B. F. Saul Recalled. BY L A. FLEMING. Bullding bonds are still favorite in- vestments in this city, despite unfavor- able developments, including alleged crookedness and questionable practices of some hereto- fore “highly repu- table” bond hous Just at the present time, however, the supply cf = realty bonds and notes is by no means large, operations in the building line being greatly restricted. Some of the large life insurance com- panies are keeping their Washington Tepresentatives in large funds seeking | placement a n d| there seems to be ample moneys seek- ing trusts, with 5! pe;_heent freely Dflh!red. ere are a number of building bond firms in the city upon whom bankers are willing to rely in their purchases of bullding bonds for their customers and for their own use. Likewise they have not been caught short in failures that are still fresh in the minds of every one. The late B. F. L A. Fleming. Saul, who will long be remembered by financial Washing- | ton, made a great reputation for him- self in his development of property and the marketing of building bonds and notes of the hest grade. There are other firms whose offerings rankea with Mr. Saul's and are still held interest on a A made good the interest himself and undertook its collection. His firm also took care of belated payments of princi- pal. It is recalled that the firm found it the part of wisdom to have a title ::mg;nmue every b;;?l or note perty s > tioned Inn ht{;e trust dngefl s The dct of Columbia Bankers' Association has advocated a law mak- ing this identification of property in trust necessary. It is ittedly useful, assuring a buyer of or note that his collateral covered a spe- cific piece of proj an - thing elee. property and not some. A Successful Clfler.. Mr. Saul passed on while stil] in the prime of life. His was a very successtul career from every standpoini—as a de- of suburbs, a banker, a_money lender and as a good citizen. “His pe« riod of accum started organization of the Home Savings Bank, under the laws of Virginia. in 1899, of which he organization until the sale to the Amer- ican & Trust Co. His other assoclates in this enter- prise l:en J. F. Shea, A. 8. Clark, How- tarting in a small way, the bank at once won favor. Mr. Saul was gener- ous with advice and was generally very successful as well. He guided his tomers so wisely that both made profits, while the bank, never having more than $100,000 capital, soon developed into one of the big money-makers of the city, with large deposits. Gave Wardman His Start. Mr. Saul was Harry Wardman's first “good angel,” financing his operations on a large tract at Le Droit Park. For years thereafter Mr. Wardman used the Home Sa: Bank funds in his opera- tions and acted on Mr. Saul's sugges- 12 GRAIN CONFERENCE AT ROME RECAL EFFRTSOFLUB | Californian Was Taken by Death in Midst of Work for Institute. NEED OF AUTHORITATIVE FARM FACTS STRESSED Problems of Soil Tillers to Be Discussed at Par- ley. BY JOHN F. SINCLAIR. Special Dispatch to The Star. INEW YORK, March 28— When - vid Lubin, the Californian, creludnu‘m International Institute of Agriculture 20 years ago it looked like the ning of a new era for the farming in- dustry throughout the world, It came about in this way: David Lubin was & wheat farmer. He asked the local,elevator man in California Wwho set the price of wheat in that State. The man told him that wheat prices were decided in Chicago, So Mr. Lubin went to Chicago. He asked the grain leaders there who set the price of wheat, and they told him it was determined in Liverpool, the world market center. Undiscour- aged, but mystified, Mr. Lubin went to Liverpocl. He asked the grain leaders there who determined the world price of wheat for them, and they told him it was largely set in Chicago. Clearing House Needed. So Mr. Lubin decided that a clearing house of official and authoritative agri- cultursl facts and data was most im- Bt ut few people were int ted. tried to interest mlam‘cmnoome“ne but was not successful. He tried to ’:fml:u‘ :e m’l‘hq mml countries rope. more w problems. i But the King of Italy was interested. He saw that authoritative facts about agriculture were important. He thought they should not be juggled around by speculators for their own advantage. The King gave Mr. Lubin an old palace, and Mr. Lubin set to work to secure the support of the cultural countries of the to send delegates to Rom u;lcu}mnl matters. t looked like a world movement then. Mr. Lubin was shrewd, success- ful and eloguent. But he died before the ccmplete plans for the great insti- tute had been consummated. e to dent, his term covering the years from & economy at c"ll;.l}:qo w'z“;: = oney, Credit, Prices. 4 . o Prof. Laughlin is an , old school economist. He does not the same ecoriorhieé 'llx;{uqa that such men as John Mayhard Keynes of Cambridge, Irving Fisher of Yale, of Prof. Cassel of Swedeén use. h ““The Iaw'eannot create in the' Fed- eral Reserve system, or in any similar system, & world of credit which will stand the test in s time of strain,” says Prof. Laughlin. “The ability to with- tions until he found the conservatism of the latter a little ve, ‘The success of the Savings and the ability of Mr. Saul attracted the at- tention of the late Charles J. Bell, then president of the American Security & Trust Co., and he acquired the stock of the junior institution for the big trust company, paying therefor $400,000. The purchase included the two branches of the Home, the Northeastand the South- west, and the services of Messrs, Saul and Moran as vice presidents. Julius Peyser grabbed off Frank G. Addison, jr, and admits he mads no mistake, even with an increase of 100 per cent in salary. Mr. Saul left two sons to business established by him. Street Rallway Traffic. It is unofficially announced that be- fore the recnt increase in street railway companies, Washington Railway and Capital Traction, were be- ing operated at a loss of $1,200 a day. Operations are new being carried on at a loss of $200 a day. Competition of taxicab and privately owned automo- biles is increasing, and there seems li tle chance for improvement. Every movement made by the traction compa- nies with intent to reduce expenses is wag - (Berlin Electric Power Station) | met With opposition, and their problems | **% seem hard to solve. ‘Washington Gas Co. ‘The Washington & Suburban Gas Co, taxpayer? stand stress must inevitably depend on the effectiveness of sound banking management by the member and other Prof. Laughlin does mot believe the rediscount rate is as important in the control of credit and speculation as, for example, Owen D. Ye¢ does. Rather does he belleve that moral rather than the law, is “the basis banking self-] ation.” His first volume is given over to a :{.‘ua{,;;:l::m;eyt hlnd the development of e of le money concept; his discusses his ries persuasion, of second volume theo: dealing with credits and prices. -The book will ten more widely in the field of money and credit, over such :e long period, as has this distinguished 8. Deficit. It is & far cry from an $180,000,000 deficit, which, on the basis of figures, the President estimated in 1930 as the probable deficit for the preseni What does it spell to the American Senator Borah has announced that he favors new legisla- tion, as soon as Congress meets in De! admits that it owns 84 per cent of the | pemecy, nCTeasing the higher surtax Washington Gas Co.'s capital stock. ‘The holding company was organized in 1929. Even this admission of owner- ship doesn’t place the real owner. There has been a suspician that Insull of Chi- cargo might be interested in Washing: Pr brackets. Senator Norris, Progressive leader, has announced that he expects the essives o get behind higher in- heritance taxes, to meet the crisis of the Federal Government. ton, but the best available information | gL is against this theory, although placing | 5 the ownership with a Chicago utility | corporation, U. 8. Mineral Production. By the Associated Press. citizens .by Secretary Mellon, conservatives will fight to additional taxes over a wider base. spread It will be a ‘The Bureau of Mines estimates min- | taxes, u eral production in the United States| M€t the mounting during 1930 at $4, a de- cline of 18 cent indy 95,000,000, t from 192 prices and & E=8 ivity. ‘The val . in ranging from 25 to 50 per cent, copper, iron, silver, lead it, while the value of gold disadvantage, in competing production 3 ncreased slightly. The value of non-|States that do not enact metallis mineral products decreased 15|tion. ‘Howe coal, natuzl gasoline and clined sh ply. mineral d follows: ~Metallic, metallic 000