Evening Star Newspaper, May 16, 1931, Page 14

A-14 = FIN STREET PONDERS | MARKET'S DEPTH Traders Speculate on How Much Further Prices Must Sink. BY JOHN F. SINCLAIR. NEW YORK, May 16 (N.AN.A).— Regardless of faith, one must admire the way In which Pope Pius XI got down to fundamentals in yesterday's encyclical on labor. “Work 1s not any kind of salable commodity, but something wherein the human dignity of the workingman must always be respected,” says the Pope. His holiness thinks we have lost sight of the elemental man. Destroy human dignity and you destroy not only all dignity. but the possibility of using it to fashion a better material world. Although the Pope eschews com- munism and socialism as unorthodox, he admits the many points of resem- blance between them and the church. Only the Socialist would reverse the method of treating this ailing world. Instead of reforming men first, he would reform economic society as a starter and let the new order of things sutomatically improve man. The sin of capltalism would seem to be that it has thus far shown no real determina- tlon to renovate anything. But it's a Job that's got to be done—the sooner the better—and capitalists might easily take a goodly part of the Pope's text for a platform, How much further must the market sink before it gets on a level with busi- ness? This is the question Wall Street is asking after watching stocks loop the loop downward again yesterday, with Unrted States_Steel dangling on the edge of 100! Blue is the favorite color in the Street today—optimists are frankly discounted. U. S. Steel was the first leader to crack, and was forced down till it reached 101, but by closing time it had fought back to 103. Auburn was bat- tered down about 12 points, till it dropped below 200. General Motors lost nearly 2 points, closing at 40. Rails retreated a bit, but as a whole showed good resistance. American Can dropped 2% _points to 102%. Coming back to Wall Street's medita- tions, it should be clear that there is nothing abnormal about the market's course. It is relentlessly pushing down to the solid foundations it catapulted from during the speculation jag of the “new era.” The conspicuous absence of breezy optimism in Wall Street today indicates that traders have decided to face that fact. It is only natural, how- ever, to wonder what and where the end will be, since no man actually knows. “The Americans, Dutch and Ger- mans are so far ahead of Great Britain in commercial ||rcé:n '.h:; they are tting & grip on the world's x'nelrlel which will be hard to shake off in the days to come. It is the history of the American domination of the world's automobile market repeating it- self.” These are the worls of Lieut. Comdr. Glen Kidston, famous British fiyer killed last week in an accident. He felt that Great Britain was lagging in civil tion becsuse her home territ too small a base for a system. While it might that Great Britain’s far-fl would give her a fine expand her aviation lines, this is not the case. Her dominions have a large measure of autonomy in such matters, their own Bnes and But Lieut. Comdr. ences to imj g world aircraft dom- e United States is the most. e It wt mean return of prosperity are likely to find a field for expansion that may furnish the same spur to in- dustry as the automobile did for over two decades. The United States may even gain that supremacy in interna- tional air traffic, which may mfl the glory of the Yankee clipper ships on the sea a century ago! Agricultural relief in Minnesota has come rather high! About eight years ago the Legislature of that State estab- lished & farm credit organization. To- day the State is responsible for rural mortgages totaling over $60,000,000! ‘That sounds like a lot of money, but Minnesota is a rich State. ‘The actual loss to the State is about $6,000,000, and the credit organization it set up has still $10,000,000 of unused credits available for further work. Con- siderable 2ssets have been accumulated in real estate through over 2,000 fore- closures, about 1,700 of which it still holds. The organization spent $500,000 in reconditioning these farms for re- =ale. The present time is not favorable for their disposal, but a return of normal conditions will enable the State to realize on these holdings. When it is remembered that the plan still has many years to run, giving op- portunity for readjustment of finances, the picture seems less sensational. Ald has been extended to 12,257 farm units which might otherwise have succumbed to distress conditions and become a burden to the State. Early in its existence politics got in some effective work, but recent over- haulings are likely to improve matters. ‘The experiment is worth watching. A rather exciting race with time be- tween Soviet Russia and Great Britain is taking place in Sinkiang Province, China's “Wild West” The new Turk- | &ib Railway, recently constructed by the | Soviets in ‘Turkestan, almost encircles this rich Chinese province and is drain- . ing practically all its economic wealth into the Soviet Union. For a long time the Chinese govern- ment has planned a motor road from Peiping to Urumchi, capital of Sin- kiang. But devastating civil wars have prevented it. and Moscow has method- ically been fastening her powerful grip on that territory. Now Great Britain has sent an expe- dition through the Himalayan Mountain | ranges of Northern India into Sinkiang. As it progresses, it is establishing suit- able bases for planes which will follow. In this way the British hope to estab- lish an air-freight route into the moun- tain-ringed province. Later, they plan a motor road, which will enable motor caravans to penetrate, carrying imports and exports. H i Speculation is rife in Wall Street as to the effect the death of George F. Baker is likely to have on the policy of the institutions over which he ruled while alive. This applies particularly, | of course, to the First National Bank and its trust affliate, the Guaranty ‘Trust Co. The discussion is whether a merger may be expected or whether the First ¢ National, under the direction of George | } P. Baker, Jr. who is the principal in- | heritor of his father's estate, and Jack- ' son F. Reynolds, president, will pursue the old policy of independence. ‘While other banking institutions have been busy merging for expansion pur-| poses and erecting impressive new sky- scrapers, the National has re- mained close to its -own line been doing a great business in its quarters at 2 Wall Street. Copyright, 1931. by the North American Newspaper Alltance.) Maryland Bankers to Meet. BALTIMORE, May 16 (Special).— ®he Maryland Bankers' Association will hold its thirty-sixth annual convention Wednesday at Haddon Hall, Atlantic City. The convention will be called to ¢ | dividual groups shows that 9 declined, | has | old ANCIAL. (Continued From Page 13.) ~Prev. 1531 Stock and High. Low. Dividend Rate. 10% Stewart Warner..... 5415 35% Stone & Webster (3). 26 18% Studebaker (1.20)... 1% 3 _Snperior Ol 91y Tenn, Corp(50c) 364 Texas Corp (3).....) 56% Tex Gulf Sulph (4).. 17% Texas Pac Land Tr.. Third Avenue. Timken Det Ax (80c) Timken Roller (3)... Tobacco Products. .. Tobacco Prod A t95¢. 4 Transamerica (1) Tri-Cont Corp....... Tri-Cont Corp pf (6) Ulen & Co (1.60). ... Und-Ell-Fishe: Union Carb & C 2. Un Oll of Cal (2). Un Pacific (10). Un Paclfic pt (4).... Un TankCar (1.60). . Unit Atreraft. .. Unit Aircraft pf (3) Unit Carben. ... Unit Cigar Stores. .. Unit Corp (75¢c) . UnitCorp pf (3) Unit Electric C ¢ Unit Fruit (4) Unit G & Im (1. U S & For Secu U S Freight...... U S Gypsum (1.60). . U S Indus Alcohol(2) 6 18% 367 10% 1214 30% 50 % 15% 85% 3714 20% 36% 20% 36% P &F 1st (1.20). . Realty & Imp(2) Rubber 1st pf... Sales— Add D0. High. 5 11% THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE Received by Private Wire Direct to The Star Office, ~Prev. 1931~ Ste Low. 11% 87% Unit Stores pf (4) Univ Leaf Tob (3). 1915 Ut P&L A (e12.16). 41% 28 6% 17 1% 63 71% 41% Vulean L 10% Wabash Waldorf Walworth Co (1) Ward Baking B Warner Bros Pict Warner Bros pf 3. Warner Quinlan. 46% 497 264 16% | 105% Warren West Pa Western Western Union (8) Westing Westing 541 White M 15% | 26% 9% ‘ 107% 55| 8 22% | 724 51 7 57 Worthini 27 80% Wrigley {ale & Towne (2) vellow Truck. . 16% | - 401 | ~18% 12% Zonite P 30% | Dividend rates 104 | cash payments based o 8214 | tions. 243 | s Unit of trading 18% | 4% 1n stock. §P o " | year—no regular rate 14 |5 Plus 2% in stock. Va Car Chem pt (7).. War Bros cv pf (3).. 60; Wess Oil & Snow (2) Wilcox Oil & Gas. Willys-Overland. Woolworth (2.40). Wright Aeronaut yable in scrip, able in cash or stock. fPlus 8% in stock. Plus 6% 3 “ S Plus 50 in special preferred stock. k Plus 22% | 3% in stock. m Paid this year—no regular rate. n Pl ock ana Sales— Add 00. High. 0 Prev. Low. Close. Close. 101% 103% 1424 142% 6 6% 46% Det (4). RR Sys Bros (3). ElLA(T).... Md 2d pf 108 1 8 AB(2). EI&MIg (4). otors (1) gton Pump. (Wm) (4 23 rod Corp (1) 27 12% 12% 13 s given in the above table are the annual © the latest quarterly or half yearly declara- less than 100 shares. {Partly extra. 1Plus fPlus 9% in stock. a Pald last b Payable in stock. d Payable when earned. in stock. in stock, COMMODITY PRICE TREND IS STEADIER But Fractional Decline Puts Average for Week at New Low Mark. BY H. N. McGILL. Editor McGill Commodity Service. | AUBURNDALE, Mass., May 16 (#).— Following several weeks of sharply de-| clining commodity prices, the average | during the past week remained steady, showing only a fractional decline from | the week ended May 8. The downward movement was sufficlent, however, to| establish the level of all commodities at a new low point. A review of price changes in 14 in- 3 remained unchanged and 2 vanced. upturns were noted in agricultural products and live stock, two very important groups, wiich off- set the declines in some of the other groups. How soon commodity prices will be- | gin to stabilize depends entirely upon the degree of recovery in industrial ac- | tivity. While the total business volume | remains above the low point established | three and four months ago, the extent | of the ‘upward movement has proven limited. Confidence in commodity mar- | kets will not return until higher busi- ness activity and a substantial revision uj ird in stock market prices is some- more than merely an expectation. During the past few months price weak- ness has been particularly notable in the industrial group, live stock, non- (eur;oul metals, textiles and vegetable ofls. All Commodities. Noting #pecific changes during the past week, the nvexr':ge of all commodi- tles held fairly le yet was frac- tionally lower than a week ago. The nine groups that declined during the past week consisted of industrial com- modities, live stock, hides and leather, non-ferrous metals, ferrous metals, paint materials, paper and pulp, textiles, fine and coarse. Industrial Prices. ‘The sharp downward movement that has characterized industrial prices dur- ing the past six weeks continued. The current rate of production is holding in close alignment with demand, yet stocks on hand are so large that there is little confidence in future buying. Another point is that consumers are not certain of what future requirements actually are. Agriculture. Agriculture was one of the two groups that advanced. The grain markets are now in close alignment with world quo- tations. While the supply and demand ratio will work against any seasonal price strength of importance, it is en- couraging to note that farm products are resisting the downward trend. Non-Ferrous Metals. One of the weakest groups was non- ferrous metals, which reached a new low 44.6 under the 1926 average. Cop- | per, lead, zinc, tin and antimony are | holding close tot he lowest price level in many decades. Textiles. Textiles also continued the downward | trend noted in recent weeks, cotton con- tinually holding under the 10-cent level, while silk and wool were moderately weak. The three groups that remained un- changed were chemicals, fuels and vege- table ofls. Most Important Price Changes. Previous. Year Al commodities 5 Industrial Agricultural Live"stock Non-ferrous inetals Textiles, fine.. - UNION TRUST COMPANY BUYS FROSTBURG BONDS | Bpecial Dispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE, May 16—The Union Trust Co. of Baltimore has purchased a $100,000 issue of water-improvement bonds floated by Frostburg to insure an | adequate water supply system for the town in time of drought. | The . Baltimore banking house bid of | $103,700 was accepted by the Frost- | burg mayor and council. | Frostburg was the second Western | Maryland town to sell bonds authorized by the recent session of the Legislature, | with several other such proposals stil | pending. Frederick sold a $200,000 is-| sue of water bonds two weeks ago to a | Baltimore _investment syndicate. | Cumberland, Brunswick and several other towns have yet to sell more than | $1,000.000 in water bonds authorized by | the General Assembly. Addition Plan Reported. NEW YORK, May 16 (#).—Wall Street hears that the Bethlehem Steel Corporation management has under | consideration & $2,000,000 expansion program for its subsidiary, Pacific Coast Steel Corporation. The mills of the addition will be located on 17 acres of land adjoining the present plant site at Vernon, Los Angeles. TREASURY STATEMENT. The United States Treasury balance announced today as of close of business May 14 was $206.779.511.64, Customs | receipts for the month to date were | $13,689.182.35. Total ordinary expendi- order at 10 o'clock by Alexander Arm- strong, president of the association and head of the Pirst National Bank of HAagerstown. A number of well known wul ties on banking and economics will address the various sessions of the :onvention, which closes Thursday. tures, $7,963,086.01. . ‘When the new Polish-German com- mercial treaty becomes effective, Poland will have the right to export 3,840,000 BY CHAS. P. SHAEFFER. Associated Press Business Writer. Problems confronting the business| world today were indicated in the 43| resolutions adopted by the International Chamber of Commerce at its closing | session here last week. when many lines of effort were suggested to facilitate the | exchange of goods among countries and | promote development of international | rade. These _declarations revealed in a striking way the complexity of the ma- chinery of international trade. The subjects concerning which recom- mendations were formulated ranged from commercial documents and trade terms to questions of national economic policy, but all appear as obstacles to the flow of international commerce. One group of resolutions dealt with the simplification and standardization of trade terms and instruments, such as railway nomenclature, bills of lading, the Warsaw rules, negotiable railway bills and documentary credits. Another had to do with transporta- | tion and _communications—shipping, | rallways, air transport, telephone and | telegraph. Still another related to the | protection of private property and| double ~taxation. Other resolutions touched upon administrative difficulties, such as customs and other trade bar- TS, Several resolutions dealt with ques- tions of economic policy—international trade movements, commercial policy, the most favored nation clause, resto- ration of international trade, silver, agriculture and unemployment. Latest official reports indicate build- | ing throughout the country is holding | up extremely well in the face of adverse factors. Recent estimates reveal the industry ‘will spend something like six-and-a-half billion dollars this year, a decided im- provement over both last year and the year previous, but still under 1928. All branches except non-residential structure, the field already overbuilt, are expected to show an increase for the year. One building concern has translated this amount to be spent into terms of employment to indicate 2,000,000 men will have work at the peak, with 1,300,- 000 having jobs for an entire year. ‘Translating further, every $5,000 spent in construction will keep one workman busy an entire year, which is the most tmpomm significance of the expendi- ures. Leading economists say building and | the sutomobile industry are the logical | leaders to rehabilitated trade—and both fields are making encouraging progress. ‘The National Lumber Manufacturers’ Association says an unfavorable swing in the ratio between lumber orders and production occurred last week. Reports from 779 leading mills indicate orders were 6 per cent less than the combined cut of 233,145,000 feet, but shipments paralleled production. During the previous week 786 mills reported orders 1 per cent less than production, these two weeks, with one other exception, being the only periods during the year in which new business received was less than production. ‘The B\n'eml lgted sund“m reports the cxisting sim) practice recommen- | d.uo‘:'on cn?or for school furniture has been reafirmed by the standing com- mittee of the industry, without change, for another year. The color for stock varieties of school furniture, as established by the recom- mendation, is known as school-furni- ture brown. The industry has fixed light and dark limits of shades within this color and while any shade within these limits will be considered as con- forming with the requirements for school-furniture brown, it is under- stood that every effort is to be made by the industry to conform as nearly as possible to the selected Median shade. Master color blocks selected by the industry as representing the permiss- ible range of shades of this color shall be used in the preparation of duplicate | color blocks for matching in manufac- turing and for sale purposes. Trade dispatches to the Commerce Dej nt indicate the world’s silver situation is to be aggravated by an amendment to Siam’s currency act. This amendment provides that surplus silver currency which has accumulated | in the Slamese treasury is to be dis- | posed of and gold or gold exchange se- Patitdes are to be purchased with ihe proceeds. For some time the silver currency in circulation in Siam has been gradually | replaced with paper notes, and _the population now shows & pronounced preference for paper. As & Tesult there | has been a considerable accumulation of silver coins in the treasury, where they are practically useless, since it is | not intended to reissue them. Disposition of the surplus is to be transacted carefully in view of the world situation on silver. A statement issued by the minister of finance says: “The silver market is at present in a very sensitive condition, and his majes- | ty’s government accordingly proposes to | proceed with caution and deliberation when affecting its sales of surplus silver, 50 s to avoid undue perturbation in the market.” The Commerce Department says Ger- man flour mills may obtain permits to import 20 per cent of the total amount of “wheat, both foreign and domestic, ground by them during April, May and June of last year at a temporary duty of 20 reichmarks per 100 kilos. The former duty was 25 reichmarks. The reduced rate is effective imme- diately and until June 15, Business Failures Increase. An increase in business failures oc- curred during the week ended May 9. In the averages that follow the index of mortalities is given, as calculated by the Department of Commerce, based on representing the 1923-25 average as 100: tons of coal a year to Germany. ' PIPE LINES KEEPING RATES ON GAS HH Communities Expecting Low- er Costs for Natural Prod- uct Face Disapopintment. BY GEORGE E. DOYING. Expectations of materially lower gas rates in communities to which long dis- | tance pipe lines are being constructed for the transportation of natural gas are believed here to be generally doomed to disappointment. While a downward tendency in gas| rates may be expected with some rea- son, the reduction as a rule will be due to increased consumption rather than ! directly to the introduction of natural gas. Pew of the communities to which pipe lines are being constructed will be served with straight natural gas, but that product will be mixed with manu- factured gas, and leading gas compan: officials will not admit that this will enable them to sell gas at a lower rate, except as reductions may be possible through the building up of consumption by heating installations and by other means. “Cost of Production.” At lesst one of the reasons why 1o | great cut is possible is said to be the | price paid by local distributing com- | panies to the transporting companies. The latter, being interstate carriers, are not subject to regulation. They make contracts with distributing companies, which often are allied through stock ownership, for a fixed price at the “city gate,” and the distributing companies base their rates on this price as the cost of production. Although the State reg- ulatory commissions have jurisdiction in most instances over the rates of the dis- tributing companies, the commissions are more or less bound to accept the same “cost of production.” The States of Ohio, Kansas and Ok- lahoma, particularly, are attempting to exercise some degree of control over this cost price, but so far without much success. Added impetus to this move- ment s foreseen in the prospective early delivery of natural gas to Chicago. A new pipe line from Texas is now near- ing completion across Illinois and the Chicago gas utility already has been authorized by the State Commission to base its gas rates on the “therm” basis, which is a measure of heating value. Although it is stated that the Chicago company can buy natural gas 10 per cent cheaper than it can manufacture gas, officials of the company decline to discuss the question of a reduction to consumers, May Fight for Better Rates. It is anticipated that if no adjust- ment in rates is made soon after the in- troducion of natural gas in Chicago, the city will promptly begin action before the State Commission for lower rates. In addition to extending natural gas to many new communities for heating and cooking purposes, other methods of using the vast supplies are being des veloped, according to the United States Bureau of Mines. Quantities of natural gas, which under present ccnditions are lost in the atmosphere, may be utilized in the production of chemical products such as motor fuels, synthetic rubber and other substances if laboratory meth- ods of “cracking” the gas are brought to the point of commercial operation. ‘The cost of development of gas and oil wells has increased encrmously in the last 10 years, due in large measure to the greater number of wells sunk, of which a considerable proportion are dry. Obviously, if three wells are sunk at a cost of $25,000 each and cne of them is dry, the two producers may reasonably be recorded as having cost. $37,500 each. (Copyright, 1931.) NEW POWER PROJECT IS GIVEN INSPECTION Officials and Guests Visit Power Development on Susque- hanna River. Speclal Dispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE, May 16.—The new hydroelectric power development of the Safe Harbor Water Power Corporation, now under construction on the Susque- hanna River, which is expected to de- liver its first power here early next Winter, was inspected yesterday by directors of the Safe Harbor Co. the Consolidated Gas, Electric Light & Power Co. of Baltimore, the Pennsyl- vania Water & Power Co. and guests from Montreal, Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore. The group included J. E. Alfred, chairman of the board of each of the companies; Herbert A. Wagner, presi- dent, and Charles M. Cohn, vice presi- dent of the Consolidated Gas, Electric Light & Power Co.; Charles E. F. Clarke, president, and John A. Walls, vice president and chief engineer of the Pennsylvania Water & Power and Safe Harbor Water Power Corporation; John R. Freeman, noted engineer, of Provi- dence, R. I.; 8. Z. Mitchell, chairman of the board of the Electric Bond & Share Co.; Thomas H. McCarter, president of the Public Service Corporation of New Jersey, and Lucius S. Storrs, president of the United Raflways & Eectric Co. of Baltimore. The initial installation at Safe Har- bor will be 255000 horsepower and foundations are being laid for an ulti- mate capacity of 500,000 horsepower. ‘The _entire initial output of the Safe Harbor development, it is_understood, will be taken by the Pennsylvania Water and the Consolidated Gas, Elec- tric Light & Power Co., a large P]rt of the power being intended for delivery to the Baltimore area. B @, IN'SMALL VOLUME Some Junior Issues Show Signs of Recovery—High Grade Paper Firm. BY F. H. RICHARDSON. Special Dispatch to The Sta NEW YORK, May 16.—Bond trading today was in small volume. Domestic issues worked irregularly higher while foreign dollar bonds were irregularly Jower. There was a tendency on the part of some junior issues, recently very weak, to recover fractionally, but this was almost offset by the marking down of inactive bonds and the con- tinued weakness of some of the indus- trials. High grade issues were firm for the most part.’ The selling in the foreign list was a continuation of liquidation "generated by the pessimism of the last few days and the increasing conviction on the part of American holders of foreign dollar bonds that in many cases de- faults or readjustment programs will oceur. German bonds sagged under s mod- erate volume of selllog. The Young Plan loan 5':s were unchanged at a 14-point discount. German Central Bank issues sagged fractionally. Rep- arations 7s were off & small fraction. Municipals such as Prussia 6s and Ber- lin 6s dropped a point or more. The same picture was presented by the South American group, with losses in Brazilian Governments, Sao Paulo, Minas Geraes, Pernambuco and Rio de Janeiro obligations and Chilean, Colom- bian ard Uruguayan credits. Argentine 6s were fractionally better. However, nowhere was there heavy trading in foreign bonds. In the domestic list, the best recov- eries in secondary carrier obligations were made by Erie 5s, Atchison con- vertible_41;s, Chicago Great Western 4s, St. Paul 5s, Denver & Rio Grande consolidated 4s, St. Louls Southwestern 4s and Western Maryland 4s. Missouri Pacific 5s were unchanged to slightly lower. Frisco bonds showed no ten- dency to recover their recent losses. Industrials that were lower included Phillips Petroleum 5%s, Goodyear 5s, Commercial Investment Trust 5%as, Chile Copper 5s and Armour 4%:s. ‘There were small gains in Colon Oil 6s, Dodge Brothers 6s, General Baking 5135, General Motors acceptance 6s, Goodrich 6s, International Paper 6s. Postal Telegraph 5s, Shell Union Ofl 5s and Texas Corporation 5s. ‘Western Union 5s, which have been sliding for some weeks, were substan- tially improved around 101z for the 1951 and 1960 maturities. United States Government issues were in heavy demand at new high levels, Liberty fourth 4's advancing over 4/32 to within a shade of 105. This is the highest p=ice for this bond since issue. Presumirg the bond will be refunded on the call date, the yield on an annual basis is reduced to about 2.15 per cent. Municipals were strong again. Next week municipalities will float about $47,000,000, which compares with an average of less than $40,000,000 a week so far this year. In its present condi- tion the market could absorb twice that amount of prime municipals. Current yields on outstanding municipals range from 3.25 to 3.80 per cent. (Copyright, 1931) Markets at a Glance NEW YORK, May 16 (#)—Stocks heavy; National Biscuit lowest since | 1929. Bonds steady: utilities improve. Curb steady: changes narrow. Foreign exchanges irregular; sterling gains. Cotton lower; favorable weather forecast. Sugar steady: improved spot market. Coffee higher’ firm Brazilian markets. Baltimore Markets Spectal Dispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE, Md, May 16—Po- tatoes, white, 100 pounds, 1.25a1.85; new potatoes, barrel, 2.50a4.00; sweet potatoes, barrel, 2.00a4.50; yams, bar- rel, 3.50a4.50; beans, bushel, 1.25a2.25; asparagus, per dozen, 1.50a3.00; beets, crate, 1.25a2.25; cabbage. bushel, 60a 1.10; carrots, bushel, 60a75; caulifiower, crate, 2.25a250; celery, crate, 1.5083.50; eggplants, crate, 2.0085.00; kale, bushel, 10a30; lettuce, hamper, 50a75; lima beans, 3.50a6.00; peppers, crate, 1.00a 4.00; Spring onlons, per 100, 50a1.00; spinach, bushel, 1215a30; rhubarb, per 100, 2.0024.00; tomatoes, crate, 3.50; apples, bushel, 7 50; 1.75a2.50; grapefruit, box. oranges, box, 2.50a4.25; strawberries, quart, 8a20. Dairy Market. Poultry, alive—Chickens, young, 25a 38; old hens, 21a23; Leghorns, 17a18; roosters, 14al5; ducks, 15a25; Guinea fowl, each, 50a75; pigeons, pair, 30a35. Eges—Receipts, 3,555 cases: nearby firsts, dozen, 17; current receipts, 161;. Butter—Good to fancy creamery, pound, 2315a26; ladles, 19a20; rolls, 16a 17; process, 21a22; store packed, 14. Buying for Profit BY GEORGE T. HUGHES. Investors make use of the stock ex- change machinery for short selling in two ways: First, it sometimes happens that an owner of stocks wishes to sell either be- cause he believes that the market price will decline or because he is satisfled with the profit accrued since his orig- inal purchase. He may, however, find it inconvenient to go to his bank, open the safety deposit box and take out the certificate to deliver to his broker. Per- haps he will be cut of town when h makes his decision to sell. In that case, assuming that he has an account with a stock exchange house, he may tele- graph his selling order and deliver the stock certificate at some later time. Meanwhile he is technically short of the stock. His broker borrows in the usual manner and makes delivery of the borrowed stock to the buyer. The second use is in case the in- vestor is uncertain whether he wants to permanently close out his interest in & corporation, but does feel that the market trend is downward. In this case he may sell his shares, not making de- livery, and again he will be technically short of the market. If the price reacts to what he regards as & more reason- able level he buys back the stock and closes out the transaction without ever withdrawing the actual certificate from the bank. He has made a profit on his short sale which he can regard as an extra dividend. ‘The danger in this course is that the investor may have misjudged the mar- ket, and instead of the price declining it will advance. In that case he will have to decide whether to take a loss on the speculation or to make delivery. The chances are that he will take a loss, because the only reason he had for selling was doubt about the market, and events showed he was wrong. It takes only a few transactions of this kind to reduce the dividend yleld. When stocks are sold without making delivery but with the seller able to deliver because he is the owner he is said to sell “against the box.” It happens at times thiat there is large scale selling of this kind, with consequent increase in borrowing de- mand, which gives the impression of an overextended short interest. To give such an impression is the design when it 1s desired to conceal the fact that actual liquidation is in roun-. i (Copyright. 1931.) < I SATURDAY, MAY 16, 1931, IBONDS IRREGULAR | Coxmw ~onx BONDS o exeman] Private Wire UNITED STATES. (Sales are in $1,000.) Sales. Higl. Low. Olose. 2-47. 2 10313 103 13 10813 3-38 178 104 81 104 26 104 31 US3%s46-66. 25 107 4 107 4 107 4 UBds44-54.... 10 109 4109 109 4 US4%s47-52., 52 11316 11315 11316 Sales. High. Low. Close AbItibI P& P Es'53, 14 504 50 50 St 51843 5 10¢ 100% 1 101% 82% b L E AmWat Wk 6575 Argentine bs ‘45 Argentine 5% s '62 Argentine May ‘61 Arm Del 5%s°43. .. Atchison adj 4s 95, Atchison gen Atchisev 4%s'41. . 1 96% 42 100% 13 101 16 9114 1 107 1101% 3 101% 3 10814 Bk of Chile 6%8°57 Bk of Chile 6% 8 '61 Batay Pet 4145 '42.. Belgium 6s ‘65 Belgium 6% s *49 Belgium 78 '65 Bolivia 7s 69, Bolivia 85" Bordeaux 6534, Bos & Me bs '5| Brazil 634 26 Brazil 634827 Bklyn Man Bklyn Un 58 Budapest 6s Buenos A 65’6 Bush T Bldg 5 Canada 4s'60. 2. 1 Can Nat 434568 Can Nat 4%s ‘65 Can Nat 5 July ‘69 Can Nor 4%4s'35. .. Can Nor 645 db ‘46 Can Nor 7s deb ‘40 Can Pac deb 48 Can Pac 43580 Can Pac 63 ctfs "¢ Cent Pac 454 Cert-td deb 63 Ches Corp 6347 C&Ogendlys Chi Grt W Chi M & St P 43°89. Chi M StP&P 5576 Chi M & St P ad) &8 Chi & NW con 4% s. Chi & NW 6%s '36. Chi RI&P gn 4s ‘88, Chi R1& Prf 4x°34 Chi RI&Pac 4% C& W ind ey Colon 011 63°38..... Col G&E 5s May ‘62 Com Inves 538 '49. C C Md 18t rf 65 '60 ConG N Y 6% 45, Copenhag 4%s '63. . Czecho 98 Del & Hud rf 45°43, 2 Det Unit 4%5 Deutsche Bk 6 Dodge Br cl Duquesne 4%s '67.. Erie 1st con L Erfecon 4s A '53. Erle Gen 4s. 10 86% 4 104% Finland 6%s ‘56 French 7s"49. French Gvt 7345 ‘41 Gelsenk’chen 63 ‘34 Gen Baking 5%s 4 Gen Motor: Gen Th Eq German Bk Ger Cen Bk 65 '60 J Goody'r Rub 68 '57. GrandTr st db 68’36 Grand Trunk 75 '40 Grt Nor 414876 D.. Grt Nor %48 '77 E. Grt Nor 58 Grt Nor gn 5% Grt Nor gen 7836 Greek 68°63.. Hoe & Co 6%8'34. Hud & M ad) 68°57 Hum O&R 6% Hungary 7548 "44. IBTIistpr6s A.. I11 Cent 6%5'36. . 11l CCStL&N &3 Imland Stl 43%s Inland Stl és Int Rap Tr bi Int & Gr Nor b Int & G N ad 6s°62. Int Cement 68 “48. . int Hydro El 68 44, Int M Co s ret *41. Int Match 68°47... Int Rys C A 53'3 Int Pap 5 A ‘47.... Int Pap 68 ‘65, Iat T&T cv 4%43°39 11 89% It T&TEs'S5.... 2 85 Irish Free St 68°60. 1 105% Italy 7s ‘61 27 1003 Italy PubSv 78'62. 3 96% 7 96% 4 106% 5 83 16 96% Japanese 648 Jugosl Bank 78 '6 Kan CFtS&M 4s v 36 50 Karstadt 6s°43. Kreug & Toll b8 53. . Lautaro Nit 54 Lig & Myers 58 °61. Lig & Myers 78 "44. Tong Isl db 5831 Long Isl db 68 '37. Lorjllard 5%8'37. Loriliard 7s ‘44. Lou G & El 53 '63.. L& Nuni 45’40 . La & Atk b McKes & R 5% '50 Man Ry 24 4s 2013, Marseille 65 '3 Midvale Stl 583 FINANCIAL. Direct to The Star Offion Sales. High. Low. 579 19 3 .42 4 Mont Pow 58 °43... 3 Mont Tr 1st s "4Y. . Montevideo 6s Nassau Elec ' 4 @ CETTS- TR TR -1 P 2 NYEd1lst6%s'4l. NY NH&H 4s ‘56 = » » Ao~ SHEE calarnSe e - c Nor Am Ed 5% NorOT&L Nor Pac 3s 2047 PacG & Kl 6342 Pan-Am Pet 65 '3 Paris-Ly M 6 Pathe Exch 7 Penna 4%s D's1 Penn gen 4% '65. .. Penn 4%s°'70 Penn 4% s '63 Penn 5s Penna gen 55 Penn 63336 Penn O&D 4% Pere Mar 43 Pei A NABE IR aR AR RARD o & Phila Co 58 o Phila & Read 63 '49 Phillip Pet 63839, P CC&StL 4%48°77. 7 forery 2528 0 L Port Gen El 415560 Pos Tel & C b5 53.. Prague 7%s '52. Prussia 68 '52. Public Serv 45 7 PubSvG 4% Queenland 7s 41 Rhinelbe 78 ‘46 Rhi; t 6 @ S o ot t 63 'b3. Rhine West 65 "55. Rhine West 7s ‘50. . Rich 0:'1 cal 68°44. . - o Sunlal Donaaida 2 Sao Pau 7s 40 rets. Saxon Pu W 6% Milan 6% Mil E Ry & L bt M BtP&BENM con Saxon Ts Seab A L cv Seine 78 ‘42 Serbs-Cr-S1 78 Serbs-Cr-S 83 Shell Un Oil 65 Shell Un Oil 58 Shinyetsu 63%s Sinclair Ol 6% Sinc O Tsev A '31.. Sine Cr O 5% Sinc P L 58 Skelly O11 5% Sotsson; Sou Bel - ™ —“nSRamSNmee > Senn - Bow Sou Pac ref 4 SouP4%s So Pacific 4 RS 2 StONNY 4%s61. Tex & Ark 5% e 28550 Third Av adj Tolio EI Pow 6 Tokio &%/ Un Pac 1st 4347 Un Pac rf 4s 200 Un Pac 4s ‘68 Unit Drug cv Utd King 6% U S Rub 1st b Un St1 W 6% 5 A 47 Ud StIW 6%sA 51 Utd St W 6 C 51 Uruguay Uruguay Uruguay Utah P& L 68 '44. . Utll Pow 58 °69 ww. Vert Sug 1st 78 "42. Vienna 68 ‘52 Va Ry & Pow Va Ry 1st 53 °62. Wabash 1st 6s°39.. Walworth 6%;s ‘35. Warn Br Pic 6s°39. Warn Quin 6s°39. .. Wat Sh 1at 4n 2361 - ave~Shoe ~Eas noaSeennaaBora © ] Win R A 73%s'41 Yokohama ... frstn Sh&T 68 '18. Yng StI&T 55 B '70. 2 U. S. APRIL EXPORTS AND IMPORTS DROP Goods Brought in by $30,000,000, Department Says. 34 99% 99% 100% 100% 100 99% » | BRo mows By the Assoclated Press. Exports from the United States totaled $217.000.000 during April as compared with $331,732,000 in the same month of last year, while imports drop- ped to $187,000,000 from $307,824,000. ‘The excess of exports over imports was listed by the Department of Com- merce as amounting to $30,000,000 last month, against an excess of $23,908,000 in_April, 1930. For the four months ending with April, ex) totaled $926,879,000, against $1,460,982,000 in the corre- sponding period of last year. Imports fell during the four months period from $1,200,959,000 to $755,279,000. of gold d the past April totaled $27,000, as compared with $110,000 dur- ing the same month of last year. Gold imports amounted to $49.543,000, against $65,835,000 in April of 1930. Silver ex- ports totaled $3,249,000, st ex- ports of $4,646,000 in April of last year. Imports of silver totaled $2,439,000, against $3,570,000. CLOTHING SALES SLUMP. NEW YORK, May 16 (#).—Unfavor- able weather during the week was re- sponsible for a considerable decline in retail sales of men’s clothing and fur- Close. % | stabilization means '+ | Philadelphia and New York COMMODITY PRICES HELDLOW ENOUGH % Banker Says Stabilizing Nec- essary to Maintain Pres- ent Wage Rates. Special Dispaich to The Star. YOUNGSTOWN, Ohlo, May 15.— Commodity price deflation has gone too far in many lines and some degree of stabilization is necessary if wage rates are to be maintained at their old levels, it was declared by Allard Smith, execu- tive vice president of the Union Trust Co., Cleveland, before the Credit Men's Assoclation of Youngstown. “Excessive deflation is just as danger- ous to a proper business equilibrium as is excessive inflation,” said the banker. “The most vital factor of the price situation, as far as the whole country is concerned, is its relation to wages. “Although in a number of lines wage reductions have been made from pure economic necessity, business men in most flelds have done their utmost to keep real wages as nearly as ible at the old level. Everything else has been cut first. ‘Wage Stability Vital. “This attitude was taken not only upon humanitarian grounds, but be- cause business has now come to recog- nize that public purchasing power is largely dependent upon wage stability and that the volume of sales is in turn dependent wupon public purchasing power. It would appear now as though no further price reductions could made without further cuts in wage rates. “The process of price deflation through which business has been pass- ing was an_inevitable economic read- justment. But somewhere and some- how there is & proper end to this proc- ess. I hope that time has now arrived. Many indications point to that con- clusion. - “Retail film recently have besn falling rapidly into line with reduced wholesale prices. “It is :l‘z actual fact ing wage very people who buy their produets. Association Can Help. we undertake the task of jon? mfi of all price engaged in similar lines must subsii. tute co-operation for cut-throat com- petition. Many industries have already set up machinery for such co-op- :nuxm the form of trade associa- “These associations deal in the direction oi‘n e 'u;n. I do not “How price stabil finite prices. The 3 far in the dtrectlnn’nl eliminating 45 ey e L e price stabilization.” g DRSS ADLN PLAN I PROPOSED Authors Declare Progress So Far Show Voluntary Action Insufficient. BY J. R. BRACKETT, Associated Press Bustness Writer. NEW YORK, 18.—A plan where= American employers would be re- quired by law to set apart a reserve to care for unemplo; following blished. The authors conclude that slightly more than 150,000 workers are protect- ed today from the risks of unemploy- ment by trade union, employer and Jjoint employment benefit plans—rep- Teserting approximately one-half of 1 per cent of thi employed wage earners and salaried workers the United States. - Can't Wait on Volunteers. “Since it has taken a decade for this number to be coversd,” uy"t;: authors, “it would seem that while such ventures are extremely valuable. both as experiment stations and to get the public mind interested in the to_the workers.” aviiod to Bt Amore ANer s sop o ot et gty P e Sithets” plan broposse, I brit: 10 aiie o e al weckets employed by employers who have thres or more workmen on their pay rolls, Sent Out Exceed Those |Electri and all clerical workers whose full-f salary is less than $2,000 a year, ou Other Proposals. ‘There should be joint contributions by workers and employers—this is the plan no;o followed by the General ic Co. The fund should be administered b; a joint body of workers and employerny. with a chairman representing the State. Benefits should be pald primarily only to those laid off because of lack of work, A jobless person, registered in a pro- posed system of national unemployment bureaus, cannot decline work at his trade in his locality at the going rate of wages (if there is no strike) and con- tinue to draw benefits, Farm Values Decrease. TOPEKA, Kans, May 16 (&) —, sharp decline in Kansas farm lnn? v-x‘- ues in the last year was officially re- ported yesterday. Average value of farm lands, with improvements, as by Federal crop correspondents E{nn 1, 1931, was placed at $50 an acre, com- pared with $62 an acre last year, 363 in rts | March, 1925, and $80 in March, 1920, NEW YORK BANK STOCKS NEW YORK, May 16 (#).— BANK STOCKS. . America ... e i Bank of U8 Uit A N ve. ational N'¥. an First Harrim nishings, New York stores reported, al- | Banks though they said a definite improve- nen:gt appeared with the sunshine yes-