Evening Star Newspaper, May 31, 1931, Page 61

News Pages 1 to 5 of Markets Part 6—10 Pages VIRGINIA BANKERS PLAN INSTRUCTIVE ANNUAL GATHERING State Convention to Meet at 0ld Point Comfort June 11-13. EXPERTS WILL DISCUSS NEW FINANCIAL PHASES D. C. Clearing House Association Moves to Standardize In- terest Rates. BY EDWARD C. STONE. “Interesting. _instructive, ~construc- | tive,” is the way in which officers of | the Virginia Bankers' Asscclation de- | seribe the program for their annual | convention which mcets this year zt! Old Point Comfort on June 11,12 and 13, just one week before the Distiict of 'Columbia Bankers' Association meets at_Hot Springs. i i This will be the thirty-cighth annual meeting. The crder of the program differs from that of the Washington bankers in thet the first day includes many important. vearly reports. Presi- dent C. C. Berkside, vice president of the Morris Plan Bank of Virginia, cpens the sesson with his annual addres followed by the report of ths secretar: C. W. Beerbower, assistant cashie First National Exchange Bank, Roanoke. Other Important Reports. Other reports will be presented by! the treasurer, T. D. Neal, Richmond. | and tne sssociation’s attornsy, T. W.; O7lin, Kenbridge. The taxation rerort will be made by Chairman R. L. Burke, president, Bank of Appomatox;: zgricul- ture. Chairman W. T. Daniel. cashier, | BWink of Waverl State legislation, | Chairman S. W. Krys, cashier, Bank of | Glade Spring: Federal legislation, | Chsirman T. B. McAdams, Richmond: | bank protection. Chairman E. A. Leak | president, Hopewcll Bank & Trust Co. banking education. Ch>irman J. P. Me- | Connell, president, Farmers & Mer-| chants National Bank., East Radford: county organizations, Chairman V. N.| Vaughn, cashier, First National Bank, | Ashland; groups, Chaitman Giles H.| Miller, jr., cashier, Culpeper Natioral Bank: trusts, Chairman C. E. Tiffen: president. Farquier National Bonk,! ‘Warrenton: research, Chaiiman T. C.| Boushall, Morris Plan Bank, Richmond. | E. S. Shields, president, Planters Bank | & Trust Co.. Farmville. will report on | service charges and intereet rates, and | P. Davis, cashier. National Bank of Manassas, will report as chairman of i one of thé six groups. Large Attendance Expected. \ During the convention special ad- deesses will be given by F. G. Awalt, deputy controller of the currency: O. Howard Wolfe, cashirr, Philadelphia | National B2nk, on “Profit Producing Policles”: Thomas B. McAdams, Rich- “Bink-Bank-Bunk"; J. k. “Intercst on De- : John M. Miller, jr., Richmond. | “We Must Become Better Bankers Other speakers include T. C. Boushall and Haynes McFadden, secretary of the Georgia Bankers’ Association. Much has been provided in_the way ! of entertainment, both at the Chamber- | 1in #nd on the golf links. It will be the association’s sixteenth convention at Old Point. Owing to the popularity of the place, the transition through which business is now passing, the new prob- lems facing the banking profession. and the interesting discussions certain to develop, Secretary Beerbower expccis 2 large attendance, inclucing several bankers from Washington. visiting | financiers always being w:icomea at these meetings. Interest Rates on Savings. One of the most important announce- ments during the week came from H. H. cKee, chairman of the Washington y ing House Association, the asso- ation having adopted a rule that after 1, tomorrow, not over 3 per cent #hall be paid on any new savings ac- counts. Very few of the banks are pay- h#' more than 3 per cent now, but an effort is being made to make the rate uniform among all the banks. Mr.- McKee. who is_also president of the National Capital Bank, gave it as his personal opinion that the local| banks will not reduce the rate lower than 3 per cent. His views are of spe- cial interest considering the independ- ent action taken by some of the banks n New York on savings, th= Chase Na- ! tional, the world's biggest bank, having cut_the rate to 2 per cent. Other local bankers said yesterday #hat they agreed with Mr. McKee that the banks here are not likely to at- tempt any reduction below 3 per cent. Nearly a year ago the matter was given most esreful consideration. Competition with other financial institutions han- dling savings is expect:d to keep the Tate up in spite of low money rates in New York and all over the country. Seek to Guard Investors. Plans for safeguarding American in- vestors in foreign securiti:s were pre- sented by Allan M. Pope, First National Old Colony Corporation. and Ralph A. Stephenson, Guaranty Co. of New York, at the annual May meeting of the gov- ernors of the Investment Bankers' Asso- ciation of America at White Sulphur, W. Va. These include proposals by Chairman Rope of the association’s For- eign Securities Commitee, that the as- | sociation develop further means of ob- taining and disseminating information on foreign countries in which Americans now have $17,500.000,000 invested, ex- clusive of war debts. For more than a vear, says the re- g:n. foreign governments and forcign nkers have been accumulating foreign bonds from American investors at ad- vantageous prices because of the ig- norance or fear of for=ign conditions in the minds of American investors. The Teport also says that the American in- vesting public has made little use of the Institute of International Finance which the association established five years ago. “It is an obvious result of financial difficulties besetting the world in gen- eral in the last year and a half, which have resulted in several cases in gov- ernmental chang:s and in a very small pumber of cases in actual temporary defaults, that confidence in general in Zorel securities will be shaken to a eerta! legree. There is no question, however, but that as a whole the Amer- ican people have in the main exagger- ated the adverse conditions, undoubt:dly due largely to lack of information, and it is equally certain that if this exag- gerated lack of confidence continucs, the almost universal depr-ssion at th2 pres- ent time will be greatly retarded in its recovery.” Hilleary G. Hoskinson, chairman of the 8§ Committee for the coming vention of the District Bankers' As- Fhum. at Hot Springs, Va., June 18 {X 'FINANCIAL AND CLASSIFIED The Sunday Sta Arranges Sports SPECIAL FEATURES READY FOR HOT SPRINGS. WASHI GTON, D. C., LOAN ASSOCATONS PONT 10 EVIE OF TMDEREVAL | Home Mortgage Payments: Being Met With Much More Promptness. INTEREST IN INVESTMENT ALSO REVEALS INCREASE Building and Loan League Reports | Greater Activity in Resi- dential Buying. Special Dispatch to The Star, CHIC».GO, May 30.—Subtle signs of Given New Duties FINANCIER HONORED BY EXCHANGE. ‘side of the markct, according to his HILLEARY G. HOSKINSON, | The vice president of the Riges Na- tional Bank and chairman of tic Sports Committee of the District Banke:s' As- i sociation, announces that the program been completzd f-r the coming con- A Tom Thumb go'f tourna- on added to the long list te:ts for special cups. s {of cther cc S5000000 STOCK PO0L IS REPORTED New Attempt to Check De- cline in Market May Start Tomoriow. BY CHARLES W. STORM, Fditor the News Scrvice of Wall Street. Special Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, May 30—A pool hav- ing & capital of $500.000.000 is re- ported to have been organized to sup- port the general :tock market. The members of the syndicate are declared to consist of a number of the most imrortant banking _interests in the country. One prominent member of the New York Stock Exchange is said to have the buying orders in the stock: to which support is to be extended as conditions warrant | tioning Monday. Prominent emong the stocks which are going to be watchéd by the syndicate manager' are Steel common. ~ Westinghouse _Electric & Manufacturing, Johns.Manville, United ! Corporation, J. I. Case, Public Serv-| ice Corporation of New Jersey and | Du_Pont. | Whether or not former big profes- sional bears learncd of the formation | B.|of the huge buving syndicate, it is a | This fact all of the big operators on the short side have cov- that practically mitments. Most of them are now re- | ported to be lined up on the construc. tive side. Two of the largest bears were said to have deserted tnat side of the mar- ket this week. Although a Boston operator who travels all over the coun- try by airplane is understood to have experienced substantial losses in some stocks which he recently bought, he continues to prefer the constructive friencs. (Copyright, 1931, North American News- paper . by Altanc:, In WESTERN MA‘RYLAND NET IN FOUR-MONTH DECLINE ‘Western Maryland Railway Co. re- ports for four months ended April 30, 1931, net income of $417.473 after taxes and charges, equal to $2.35 & share on 177,420 shares of 7 per cent preferred stock on which no dividends have been paid. Allowing for only regular four months’ dividend requirements on 177,420 shares of 7 per cent first pre- ferred, balance is cqual to 5 cents a share on 64,532 shares of 4 per cent second preferted stock. This compares with $717,691, or £4.04 a share on first preferred and 40 cents a share on 526,- 195 common shares in first four months of 1930, after dividend requirements on 68,085 shares of second preferred. April net income was $68,796 after taxes and charges, against $153,785 in April, 1930. Statement for April and four months compares, as follows: 1931. 1930. -$1,285,717 $1,460,816 4 mos. gross. Net op. inc. Total inc. Surp. aft. chg . 1568722 417,473 717,691 Steel Exports Decline. By the Associated Press. Iron and steel exports from the United States dropped to 101,081 gross tons in Apuil, a decrease of 8,431 tons from March. Preliminary reports to the Commerce Department indicate the principal items in the month’s trade was scrap, 15,622 tons; black steel sheets, 10,904 tons; plain structural shapes, 9,066 tons: tin plate, 8,798 tons, and boiler and other plates, 5,112 tons. Shipments to Canada totaled 53,281 tons, those to Japan 6,451 tons, to the Philippines 5,588 tons and those to Mex- ico 4,798 tons. Imports rose 7.471 tons during the month to total 47,872 tons, principally from Belgium, India, Germany and Canada, in the order named. to 21, announced yesterday that the sports events had been completed. A special Tom Thum golf tournament has been added to this year’s list. All the other events are planned as usual, with first-class prizes for those who do not win cups. The opening event is the “Pop Fleming” golf tourna- ment. The Hibbs Cup, the Shannon- McLachlen Cup and the Richard Hat- ton Cup are on the list. The McLean top-spinning cup and the Jennings ten- nis tournament, also the ladies’ outdoor and indoor putting contests, horseshoe pitching contests and many other events will take up every minute of the dele- gat's’ time outside of the business ses- sions. ‘The Convention Committee heads re- port, that the Homestead was never quite as attractive as it is this vear and that the arrival of the Washi ers 1s especially awaited. | good times in the making are scen in | three maj-r surprisss which the invest- | ing public is spring:ng on building and ljcan assoclations, according to the Unit:d States Bui'ding an? Loan League, in its quart:rly survey ;[ coast- to-c~ast _conditions. Borre mecting their instaliment pa ts on home mortz>ges with unlcoked for promptnss, dollars seeking investment | in building and loan are m-unting, and bargain-hunting in the ior-sale resi- Cential ereas has started, the league's member essoci-tions report. The organization speaks for the lead- ing savings, building and loan associa- tons and co-operative banks in the ¢ untry, on the basis of findings during the past 10 d vs of inqurry. A general r-sioration of confidence In financiz] institutions as a substitute for safety boxes and tin cans buried in the backyard 1s indicated by these right-about face the public, says H. A cxecutive manager of the leagu porting the summary of building and ‘can conditions. The demand fcr build- ing and lcan shaves h:s increased 25 r cent oyer 1530 in sme areas. in her sectors it has gro so great that individuzl investments are limited to 5200. and in still other areas new ac- counts are being refus>d because of ~bundance of money in the associations, Mr. Bedfish points out. More Confidence Shown. “The hcme buyer and the week-by- week mioney saver will nave feal influ- ence on the business conditions this the league manager “No aiagnos things about to c:me will be complete without considering the small ccmmunity investor who is show- ing his confidence so clearly. It is lcgi- cal that the man with small sums to in- vest should be the most ciutious. Since he now shows a willingness to put his savings to work rather than continuing [to hoard them, we may be sure that | The pool is supposed fo start func-| eonfidencs is permeating the whole in- | vesting public. Too many people make the mistake of expecting prosperity to arrive with the b'are of a trumpet. Ac- tually the beginnings of revival are al- ways found in such trends as we point out here. They are never noticed by men on the street. “Collection of the installments due on home mortgags loans has rot been so easy in the past two years as it is now. indicates not only a return to teadier incomes for the moderate and low-salaried people, but also a reversion ‘ered up their outstanding short com- |t old-time enthusiasm for an owned home—a tendency which will go far to- ward stabilizing conditions in industry and community life. Paying off the installment due on the house before the pay check is consumed in the purchase of other lesser necessities and luxuries indicates that the masses are weighing values and making sound judgment, which augur well for their future standard of living. The whole survey points to increasing welfare for the great majority.” Home Buying Increases. ‘The combination of plentiful money for first mortgage loans with bargain prices in resideniial real estate is show- ing its effect in increased home buying, especially noticeable in the last few weeks, several of the league directors in varlous sections of the country re- port. Prosperity glimpses gleamed from the statements of the league’s officers and directors included in the June 1 fore- cast apply to many angles of the busi- ness. “Modernization loans are in demand probably to a greater extent than at any previous time” says Ward B. Whitlock, Springfield, TIll, second vice president of the league. “Money is_very plentiful in Boston co-operative banks (building and loan associations) and new accounts are being refused.” says Ernest A. Hale, Bos- ton, immediate past president of the league. Conditions in Washington. “Loan demand is strong in this ter- ritory, there is a noticeable increase in home buying because of the fact that this is & buyer's market and property can be bought more reasonably at this time than before the depression,” says C. Clinton James, Washington, D. C., league director in the Southeast. *Peo- ple are installing modern heating plants and modern lighting systems and mod- ernizing their plumbing. - There seems to be an optimistic trend in this terri- tory that are getting better.” “There is a very definite trend to- ward bargain hunting a home buyers at this time,” says Lee C. Stidd, Portland, Oreg., league director in the Far West. &8 “There is a demand for loans,” sa William_P. Stegert, Philadelphia, anc other director. “The lowered prices of Teal estate are beginning to bring about considerable activity with home buyers, and from all appearances this activity will increase during the next few months.” |STEADY DROP IN STOCKS HAS LASTED 3 MONTHS Special Dispatch to The Star. NE WYORK, May 30.—The thing that gets on the nerves of holders of securities these days is the persistent, though' not very great, decline in prices on the stock market from day to day. The extent of the present weak phase of the market is now over three months. Actually this collapse began about February 25. Prices are now off 35 r about the same as in the Siwiih line which E. H. H. SIMMONS, The former president cf the New York | Stock Exchange has just been appointed | to the Conference Committe He has | served the Exchange in various ca-| pacities for many years and is a per- | sonal friend of many Washington | brokers. 1 Cotton Industry Campaign May Aid Business Revival | 11,840 Retailers to A In Sales Promotion Drive This Week. st By the Associated Press NEW YORK. May 30.—The cotton | industry hopes to make a real contri- bution to the general revival of busi- ness in the promoti'n of National | Cotton week, set for the first six days of June. It is not just another ‘“week” stunt_promotion, said George A. Sloai presider.t of the Cotton-Textile Insti- tute, but it is generaily regarded as a opp:rtunity for stimulating trade and contributing fo. a general revival of business. More than 200 miles of store fronts, it is estimated. will be used to dis- play cotton merchandise. indorsed by the Secretaries of Commerce and Ag- riculture, and proclaimed by CGovern- ars. of & dozen or more States, the week’s observance will have the co- operation, Mr. Sloan aaid, of 11.840 re- | Every State is in- cluded. Twenty - one national trade assoclations and 19 of the largest chain and mail order houses are participat- in} gcods merchants. display ever undertaken by the cotton industry comes at a time when cotton clothes have a more promincnt place in the style books than in many years. Raw cotton prices are 30 per cent lower than the three-year average pe- { | | this reduction. at least. has been on to the consuming public. OUTLOOK REVEALED Trade Journal Finds Stable Under- lying Conditions—Retail Demand Improves. By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, May 30.—Dunn’s says: “Improvement in trade volume con- tinues to trail improvement in trade sentiment. There is less of the hopeless attitude in facing the future, but gains for the week in any direction were too slight to gauge a trend. she z:pect of several industries, business in general reflec's firm and stable underlying conditions. has broadened, following the turn to warmer weather. Women's footwear, hosiery, sports goods and camping out- fits were among the sales leaders.” ‘Weekly bank clearings, $7,549,122.000, a decrease of 17.1 per cent from a year ago. Outside of New York there was a decreuer«;:tl’.! per cent. radstreet’s says: E}unfl trade throughout the country, though somewhat spotty, about held its own from the preceding week, when some advance was noted. Reports to Bradstreet’s from 40 leading centers show considerable pessimism, but, on the whole, a slightly improved business sentiment. This is due partly to hope for the future and partly to better ad- justment of conditions. ~Although fu ther slackening in wholesale and. job- bing is not apparent, this branch of business is plainly much at a standstill, Industry also shows few signs of awakening. Here and there bright spots appear, but the general atmosphere is drab.” ——e lNEW' FREIGHT SCHEDULES ANNOUNCED BY PENNSY Special Dispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE, May 30.—Several in- novations in_schedules and equipment to expedite the handling of freight be- tween Baltimore and er “key” cities in the Pennsylvania Railroad system have been announced by local officials of the road. They include extension ‘to towns in the Baltimore area of the fast freight service to New England inaugurated last month by the debut of the Speed Witch, a name given to ‘a new mer- chandise freight train between Bali- more and Boston, which is being oper- be! to stand up against such a long | Wilmi reaction than to face two or three days of violent declines. The latter clear the air, if only temporarily, and they always bring in a certain amount of investment buying and banking sup- port. Existing conditions, on the other hand, lead to' selling rather than buy- ing, As they did not produce a crisis, the normal supporting interests take a passive attitude toward m. The average decline this month will be greater than either that of March or April; likewise the dollar amount of depreciation in common stocks. . operate every night ex ‘The in the provides for' through operated directly from New England to these same. cities. , Providence and Boston will belu.!ed Mfib}fi:fln points for ‘luch shipments, the freight going from m:-mw‘fu destination by motor truck, for which service there will be no extra el 4 The Speed Witch will continue to { liquidation and political troubles abroad, and also | tail distributors and 100 wholesale dry | g What Mr. Sloan terms the greatest ! riod before the World War, and part of | passed Diccounting ! seaconal activity, which has brightened | Retail demand | SUNDAY MORNING, MAY 31, 193 STOCK PRIGE DROP | LOW MARK FOR 193] Dollar Loss During Month Is Largest Since Break in September 1929. ATTEMPTS TO ARREST DECLINE PROVE FUTILE Troubles Abroad and Selling by Large Investors Have Beat- en Market Down. BY CHARLES F. SPEARE. Special Dispatch to The Sta: NEW YORK, May 30.—The deprecia- tion in securities in May represented | on2 of the largest dollar totals since the break began in September, 1929.! This is most significant, inasmuch as the average of values had declined nearly 30 points in March and April following the culmination of the rally in February. May has been a month of extended liquidation. It has witnessed several unsuccessful attempts to check the selling of both common stocks and junior bonds, to say nothing of the demoralization in half a dozen groups of foreign dollar obligations. The source of the offerings of stock is a universal _mystery. ~ Probably the greater part of it is from the army of large and small investors whose stocks cost them much more than current prices and who have not been able to endure the constant whittling away of {values and have in despair sacrificed the little they have remaining. Troubles Abroad. Thers are other contributors to the Undoubtedly the banking the effect on the foreign investor of unsettled American markets, have led to the disposal of securities held in London and on the continent of Europe. At times during the week there has been heavy Canadian selling. It would | not be unreasonable to suppose that | banks were disposing of stocks and | bonds that have been carried as col- lateral and on which they felt the (time had come when they should be | liquidated. ‘There has been evidence of selling by general management investment trusts, which also have had their pa- | tience taxed by the decline of nearly a | vear, during which the average fall in common _stocks has becn over 100 It is a ma points. ter of record also that, fixed trusts have had to dispose | Mills 2nd Bethlehem Steel Corporation | of some of their securities in order to meet thgdemand upon them from their | certific: holders. whose attitude toward these trusts has besn affected by { the position the New York Stock Ex- | chakge has taken on certain of their ! practices. | 53-Point Deciine in Averages. Whatever the source of supply. the effect on the prices of common stocks during May ha: been most damaging. | The t=p of the Winter rise was reached |on February 24. At the end of M | average prices were off 53 points. or | about 31 per cent from this peak. This is exactly the same percentage of de- cline that took plece from the cnd of August to December 17 last year, when the fury of liquidation spent itself. The market then quieted down for about 60_days. There is little blame to be attached to the individual who fears that his investment may be worthiess unless there is early evidence of a stabilization | of prices, particularly as he sees no in- dication of support for his iswues by interests that have spoasored large groups cf common stocks and_foreign {bonds in the last few yesrs. The few voices that are raised in acclaiming an approaching era of better times have not penetrated very deeply into the public mind, for there is a general disposition to suspect the motive for such utterances, inasmuch as those of a similar inaccurate character have been too frequently broadeast in the past year afid a haif. Bottom May Not Be Passed. On the question whether business has touched bottom, there has been rother common agreement that this is ihe caze, although again this week commodity prices have dropped to the lovest level so far established and the whol~sale index today pictures a curve of prices that s again distinctly down- ward. Smaller railroad car loadings, now running 20 per cent under a year ago, a lower degree of activity in the iron and steel industry, which is at about 42 per cent of capacity, another sag in electric power production and in automobile production in the latter part of this month, combine to force the general index of business back to the equivalents of last February and December. So it is not yet certain that the bot- tom of the valley of depression has yet been reached, or whether it may not eventually be June or July, rather than December or February, when the down- ward trend will have been checked. ‘The main incidents this week in in- fluencing prices of securities have been the reports of the railroads of April earnings and the rejection by the In- terstate Commerce Commission of a proposal that they should institute an inquiry into igher freight rates, the questionnaire of the New York Stock Exchange on “short selling,” banking difficulties in Austria and a recurrence in Germany of the agitation for war-debt reduction, together with a number of rzilroad and industrial dividend reductions and corporation re- ports for the month of April. These have influenced liquidation in various sections of the market, causing the average to decline to the lowest level since 1925 and bringing additional shares below the $100 mark, while en- Jarging the list of those now quoted at prices from $50 down to $10. A high percentage of the active list now moves in the price area betweed $10 and $25 & share. Railroads in Dilemma. The position of the railroads is one of extreme difficulty. To increase net now lead- Pennsylvania and decrease is much year ago. ing systems like the New York Central the hose { greater than this, Obviously, transpor- tation companies that are mainf dividends are doing so from surplus re- serves. If there is no source of increased revenue available to the carriers and jng permitted to reduce they are not per: '\ " Classified Ads Pages 5 to 12 HOWE COMPLETI SERVICE WITH TRUST COMPANY PUTS LIST AT NEW [Washington Financier Has| Had Long and Successful Career in Banking. Takes Active Part in Profes- sional and Social Life of the Capital. Charles E. Howe, American Security ‘& Trust Co. and one of the best-known bankers in Washington's Wall Street, has been with the trust company for abcut 37 years, thereby holding a most enviable record among local financiers. He has held his years. - Mr. Howe is a native of Mifflintown, Pa., and started his career in a small bank in that place as a messenger. His early training was ideal, as he was called upon to act as paying teller, bookkeeper. note teller #nd often served as assistant cashier. He displayed natural ability of banking. obtaining his first knowledge of the business under the guidance of E. P. Parker, who was at one time president of the National Metropolitan Bank in_this city, and also of the Columbia National. During the three decades that the |late Charles A. Bell was president of ! the American Security & Trust Co. | Mr. Howe was cne of his most able | assistants. Mr. Howe is too modest | | 1o talk ebout himself, but “Who's Who | in Washington” states that he is a | | member of the Wachington Stock Ex- | change, Board of Trade, the Universif | treasurer of the present position about 20 | NG 37 YEARS’ | | | CHARLES E. HOWE. _ —Harris-Ewing Photo. | Club and Chevy Chase Club. He alzo hoids a law degree from Georg> Wash- | ington University and is a thirty-sec- ond degree Mason. Last vear he was chairman of the | safe deposit section of the District | Bankers’ Association and did a great | dcal toward establishing this phase of the association’s work on a solid foot- ing. An unusually close student of cconomics and an inveierate reader, Mr. Howe did a large amount of writing years ago on various economic subjects. He has always been a greai lover cf ‘art and is an’excellent judge of rare paintings INCREASE IN STEEL OUTPUTISPLANNED !Industry Plans Enlargement . of Producing Plants—Seeks New Markets. | By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, May 30.—The steel in- | dustry. Business Week said today, is | going ahead with its prcgram of expal ision and building necessitated by new demands of its consumers. undeterred by current business conditions. which have placed all but a few stecl com- | panies “in the red.” To meet the demand from railroads | for heavier and longer rails, the United | States Steel Corporation has appro- { priated $36.000.000 to_remodel its rail {is ready fo spend a vast sum on its | Western subeidiary, Pacific Coast Stecl | Corporation. A rise in steel prices rather than a decrease js presaged, Business Week says, by the huge expenditure. In its search for new markets the steel industry believes that there is an | enormous potential field for sheet steel !in the building industry. Flat rolled steel has had a tremendous boost in recent years and most recent statistics show the sheet steel producing capacity in_the United States is 8.000,000 tons. | Inland Stecl 'Co. and Otis Steel Co. {are now building sheet mills for the | continvous rolling process 2nd Youngs- | | town Sheet & Tube Co.'s directors are | plant. {BANKERS ARE OPPOSED TO WAGE REDUCTIONS Special Dispatch to The Sta: says the American Bankers. Journal, there has been no more accurate ex- ression of the crux of the whole mat- ter than that which was made by Pre: ident Rome C. Stephenson during his address at the Spring meeting of the Executive Council in Augusta last month, when he said: “Of course, we know and any one knows who gives the matter the slight. est serious thought that wage levels are controlled by impersonal economic | principles.” If that were not so—if bankers could put wages up or wages down at will— | bankers would not permit the reduction jof the wages of monev. The wages | of money have been reduced. QUARTZERLY DIVIDEND. NEW YORK, May 30 (Special).— The directors of General Railway Sij nal Co. have declared the regular quar- terly dividends of $1.50 per share on the preferred stock and $1.25 per share on the .common stock, both payable July 1 to stockholders of record June 10. the time may come this year when emergency measures that will not be pleasing to the great body of railroad Ve may have to be carried out. Closely related to conditions in the field of industry and in the markets for securities are the loss of foreign trade, which was clearly apparent in April figures to those who were willing to look at them without political bias, and the banking and political episodes that are taking place in Cen- |tr-1 Europe. Not a little of the dis- turbance in South and Central America arises out of the loss of markets in the United States for their products, fol- lowing the deluging of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Colombia with American money when the undis- criminat; American investor and the conscienceless American salesmen were helping to distribute Latin American issues as rapidly as they were floated. Can't Shirk Responsibility. ‘We cannot today throw off the re- sponsibility for conditions created in the recent past. All the time the ques- tion of what is to be done about Ger. man reparations payments remains un- answered and demands solution, if the peace of Europe 15 to be established and the investment which the United States has made in European securities is to be_validated. It must be apparent that the com- bination of depreciation in common in junior railroad in it impaired. For this reason it interest of the general Sent out 165 Questionmalre this week sent ou week on “short selling” and should penalize to the maximum extent any members found guilty of acts that would now tend to unsettle confidence. It would be well if some of the official leadership bdl\s exhibited by the Stock Exchange could have a in the bank- « 19310 reported to have authorized a similar | NEW YORK, May 30.—In all of the | discussion rbout prosperity snd wages, | AUTO PRODUCTION KEVED T0 DEMAND Manufacturers Watch Retail] Sales Figures in Plan- ning Output. LY DAVID J. WILKIE, Associzted Press Financial Writer. DETROIT. M2y 30.—The automobile | industry, accusiomed to a seasonal Ce- | cline at this period, has begun to put | on the brakes, temporarily at least. Whether the cecline is impending or nct, the industry int:nds to avoid over-production, the one thing to which | it attributes the collapse of 1929. The cautton with which the industry is going through what it has termed iis speaks the uncer- it views the im- at there will be plant shut-downs again this Summer | | seemingly 1# accepted as assured. Their duration, of course, will depend upon the movement of retail stocks. Suo- porting the impression in some circles that most of the shutdowns will be of only nominal duraticn is the fact that the industry has production under al solute control and has mea-ured it oft fairly well with current and potential | retail demand. Basic Conditions Better. The “recovery” which many in the industry believed had started with the turn of the year has been a bit slower than was expected. Plant executives, however, have kept a sharp watch on retail developments, have recuced fac: tory inventories and the cost of pro- dueing a car gererally. The result has been that many of the producers here- | tofore_operating at a loss have been |able to show a margin of profit. Basically, leaders of the industry as- sert, it is in much better shape than it has been at any time since 1229. The “recovery” they say has not bcen alone a matter of increasing the volume oi sales; it has been a problem in reduc- ing production and sales costs. Production schedules in all plants have been more or less elastic during the last four or five months, with each month's output exceeding original esti- mates. This has been part of the dustry's policy of caution—to not place the estimates too high. It is likely that with a curtailment of output im- pending, specific production schedules will nct be fixed during the Mid- summer months. New Model Agreement. . Despite indications that the down- | ward trend in retail deliveries cue at| this season is close at hand, s | not already present, scme of the more . stubborn among the motor car in- dustry’s optimists insist that the pro- duction peak has not yet been reached. ‘The optimists have counted heavily upon the fact that current models were not to be changed in Midsummer as hes been customary in the past. Those inclined to be less enthusiastic over the immediate future in the marketing of automobiles express the opinion that too much reliance has been placed upon the results to be expected from the “no Summer models” policy. It any considerable volume of retail demand was withheld pending new model arrivals, they say, it should have been released in larger measure with the advent of good driving weather, | and it should hold through during the vacation months of July end August. Beyond this there has been some dis- cussion in automotive circles as to just how fully the agreement to intro- duce no new_ models until November or December has been lived up to by tli‘e manufacturers subscribing to the an. 2 It has been pointed out that while most, if not all, of the manufactarers presumably parties t> the agreement have not changed their present models and do not plan to do so within the next few months, not a few have brought out additions to the current lines. In somes cases these have been what properly could be termed “com- petitive types.” Spcnsors of the plan have said this does not constitute a failure to live up to the agreement. In other quarters the remark has been heard, however, that the full benefits of the arrangement cannot be realized unless there is very definite assurance to the motorist that the maker of his favorite automobile will not bring cut an additional model shortly after he { condi CREDIT INSURANCE HAS AIDED EXPORT TRADE OF BRITAIN Foreign Council Speaker Ex- plains Advantages of Gov- ernment Guarantees. ‘REPARATEiUS”lEESTIDN IS AGAIN IN LIMELIGHT German Financiers Claim Nation Cannot Long Continue Young Plan Payments. BY JOHN F. SINCLAIR. Specirl Dispatch to The St NEW YORK, May 30.—The delezates to the Foreign Trade Council Conven- tion are taking up the intricate prob- lems of money and credit in woild trade. These items appear dry and dusty to many, yet they hold dramatic possibilities for all. Suppose, for instance, the United { States Government guaranteed credits extended by American manufacturers to Soviet Russia for several huncred million dollars. This is what Germany has done for her industrialists, as Eugene P. Thomas, vice president of the United States Steel Corporation, pointed out. How much would this mean in new business and increased employment? As a matter of fact, credit” insurence policy which sev European nations have adopted, is one of the reasons why Russia is turning from the United States to Europe in her business cealings Great Britain has long pursued a credit insuiance program for her ex- ports. As one of the premier interna- tional trade unitz, Great Britain misses few of the tricks for ncreasing her foreign trade. Th> United States has held the lead since 1914 through her iechnical superfority. But Great Britain is revamping her technical procesces, | 100. and America may have to borrow some of her methods. Decline in Exports. Not many Americans realize that in provortion to America’s total export trade. her business with Eutope has declined 50 per cent since 1914, while that with Asia has incroased almost 100 per cent. There may have been some change in these percentages since the de\?rcs‘ion £t in. but the general proportions are corrsct Dunn‘! the recent bysiness confer- ences, discussions of trade and economic icns in Asia were always to be found on the agsnda.' The present foreign trade council convention is no exception. Still, one would have ex- pectad more atcention than tme subfest received. Only two spe-kers discussed the Pacific situation, follner Gov. Far- rington of Hawaii and George W. Le man, assistant secretary of the Irving Trust Co. of New York. Mr. Lebman confined himse!f pris cipally to the three largest Far Eas ern rational units—Ci Japan and Britih India — In analrzing the ex- cibanges of that area of the glebe. His mein topics were the gold standsrd in Japan, the siiver standard in China and the chznge-over frcm silver to gold in India. Oriental Trade Factors. There are two prime factors that should stand out in the future of Far Eastern trade. The first is the in- dustralization of _Oriental nations. Americans have already felt the im- pact of this growth ‘in their textile industry. Hend in hand with it goes fuiure ‘agricultural expioitation. This brings up the second factor. A great deal cf the Oriental territory lies within the tropical belt. Solar engines, hot sea water machines, wind devices, electrical refrigerstion, air- planes. the tremendous fertiiity of the soil, teeming populations and expanses of rich unexploited areas ere likely to make this tropical belt the next gar- den spot and industrial center of mod- ern civilization. In the past, without the assistance of modern science, sanitation, regrig- eration, fast transportation and me- chanical technique, the tropics meant uninbabitable jungles—tomorrow they may spell world power and eiviliza- ion. South American Trade. Wallace Thompson. editor of In- genieria International, dealt with the powerful ammunition used in mcdern international trade rivalry — advertis- .. Although not neglecting other parts of the world economic empire, where competing nations struggle for a lion’s share of the markets, Mr. Thompson kept rather close to the South American field. This is, on the whole, logical, for outside of Canada this Southern trade group has been America’s _fastest growing customer since the World War. Great Britain formerly was in con- trol there. -Trere was ccnsiderable competition from Germany in Brazil and Chile, but, never serious enough to threaten her supremacy. During the war, while British resources were being spent on armaments, the United Stetes secured the bulk of the South American trade. Now the British are striving to regain their fornier hold. ‘When America first invaded this territory on a large scale she made many mistakes. Most glaring were her advertising and selling methods. According to Mr. Thompson, the easy- going citizens of the Latin Republics were. irritated . beyond meesure by the high-pressure tactics of salesmen from the United States. Decline in German Bonds. The German crisis is rapidly ap- proaching. It should come this Sum- mer.” Germany has hoped right along that some one elsc would plead her case. Perhaps she has succeeded in securing as her ally the Bank for In- ternational Settlements. ‘The plain fact, according to the ter- man financiers, is that Germany can- not continue much longer to pay the reparations arranged for under the . Young plan. ‘The German financial situation has has ‘purchased & new car for his Spring du and Summer driving. lation of 1930 o A of 1930 passenge: firl‘n by the National Automo- le Chamber of Ccmmerce shows that seven States licensed more than 1,000,000 vehicles. New York led with 1,966,981; California was next with 1,810,969. The others were: Ohio, 1,555,003 Pennsylvania, 1,534,834; Tilinois, 1,430,676; Michigan, 1,161,051, and as, 1,159,139, ‘The New York Central Railroad re- ported for April net operating income of $2.801,600, compared with $5,489,953 for April, 1930. T CAT | the, But investors, fearing trouble in Ger- many, have been throwing them on the market with disastrous results in recent weeks. dwellers probably feel that Most city- American homes have been pretty .(Continued on Third Page. tlmvuzh!y electrified and that little expansion is possible in that directiy, _") 4