Evening Star Newspaper, June 28, 1931, Page 61

Part 6—12 Pages FINANCIAL “AND CLASSIFIED The Sunday Stad WASHINGTON, D. C, SUNDAY MORNING, JUNE 28, 1931. BANKERS SEEDET HOLIAY PROPLSA *ASBUSINESS P Improved Sentiment Has Changed Trade Outlook, Lo- cal Financiers Declare. OWEN NAMED DIRECTOR OF LIBERTY NATIONAL | Many Dividend Checks to Be Sent Out by D. C. Banks and Corporations. BY EDWARD C. STONE. In the opinion cf local bankers a much better econonaic sentiment is now spreading over this country and much of the rest of the world as a result of the Hoover moratorium proposal. ‘These financiers assert that the proved feeling is certain to have a fa- vorable effect on home and foreign trade during the last half of the year. ‘The closing days of the first half of 1931 have witnessed a surprisingly quick turn from “growing doubt to growing faith.” Busines sis believed to be rounding out the bottom of the cycle, bankers here say, and each week brings the upturn nearer. taken on new activity during the past few days. The President's proposal for a debt payment holiday should mean a stabilization of international trade which will eventually start the world surpluses into trade channels, bankers assert. Brokers in the local financial dis- trict are also enthusiastic over the turn in financial affairs that has been noted in the past few days. They consider the Hoover debt plan as the leading factor in the checking of the declines in security and commodity prices and the sharp advances that have already been scored by many stocks. However, they advise customers to proceed with caution as the financial skies will not be clear for a long time yvet. If a por- tion of the present Wall Street advance is held. it will be considered most gratifying and of more than a tem- porary importance. Local board rooms have been crowd- ed during the last few days, reminding one of the days before the stock market crash back in 1929, although lacking the feverish excitement of those wild, historic_sessions. Some traders believe & turn has really come and are getting onto the “bull market bandwagon.” Others are watching stocks which they have been carrying far longer than they wished to hold them when they put in buying orders. Investment and broker house telephones are ringing merrily again, many permanent investments are being' made, while the advice of local bankers is in active demand. Elected Liberty Bank Director. Vernon G. Owen has been elected a director in the Liberty National Bank, according to announcement by Presi- dent E. J. McQuade. Mr. Owen is a native of Montgomery County, Md., having been born and educated at Gaithersburg, later attending the public &cholos in Washington and graduating from the West Side Business College in Chicago. Mr. Owen is now engaged in the real estate auction and appraisal busi- ness, trading under the name of Thom- as J. Owen & Son, the business having been established by his father over 35 years ago. He is also president of Topham’s, Inc., manufacturers of lug- gage and traveling goods, this business having been established over 75 years ago. Mr. Owen is a director and chairman of the appraisal board of the Perpetual Building Association, also a director of the Bank of Commerce & Savings, Federal Security & Mortgage Co., Fi- delity Mortgage & Investment Corpora- tion, National Mortgage & Investment Corporation, Mutual Investment Fire Insurance Co. and Arlington Title Co. of Virginia. He is a member of the ‘Washington Board of Trade, Kiwanis Club, Argyle Golf Club and the Wash- ington Lodge of Elks. Mr. Owen has long been identified with the Masonic fraternity, being a past master of Mount Pleasant Lodge, past high priest of Mount Pleasant Royal Arch Chapter, past illustrious master of Mount Pleasant Council, a member of Almas Temple Mystic Shrine and at present junior grand warden of the Grand Lodge, F. A. A. M., of the District of Columbia. Trust Work Harmony Sought. ‘There has recently been considerable agitation throughout the country rela- tive to banks and trust companies avoid- ing the practice of law in the manage- ment of trust business, and particularly refraining from drafting wills and trust instruments. The feeling in this mat- ter has been most bitter in Chicago, although the subject has been widely discussed elsewhere. In order to avoid any misunderstand- ‘The markets of the world have | i Steadily Rising Demand for | In the Wichita Falls, Tex., Section Head AUDITORS SELECT CHAIRMAN FOR COMING YEAR. | ! ARTHUR J. LINN, { Federal-American National Bank & | Trust Co. auditor, honored by the audi- tors' division cf ‘the District Bankers' Assoclation. He has been with the bank five years—Harris & Ewing Photo. PETROLEUM TRADE SEES MARKET GAIN Gasoline Raises Hopes of Producers. Special Dispatch to The Star. ‘TULSA, June 27.—A steadily increas- ing demand for gasoline from motorists, combined with a cent advance at the filling stations in a large part of the Midcontinent area by one of the lead- ing distributors recognized as the price maker in the Southwest, has created a better feeling in the oil markets. market in one of the large independent a small supply by one of the large integrated companies, also has con- tributed somewhat to the improvement. It has had the tendency to increase the cost of the raw material by trans- ferring the cost of transportation from the producer to the refiner. Return to Regular Basis. region independent refiners are returning to the regular basis of paying the posted price for crude oil at the wells in- stead of at the refinery. The with- drawal at that time of the large pur- chasing units from these small well considerable part of the outlet the pro- ducers in this district had enjoyed for years from competitive buying. It left the market almost éntirely in the hands sorbed additional oil only at conces- sions that in this territory amounted to 1212 cents a barrel, the ccst of pipe lining ofl from the well to the con- sumer. / The change has come about by the bidding for some 8,000 barrels a day by the Texas Co. The latter has become increasingly active in this area. It is representative of the more kindly feeling the large marketers entertain for the crude oil market. They would rather, if need be, increase their in- ventories than liquidate them on the spreading to other areas. One of the large producers in the Oklahoma City field has petitioned the Oklahoma Corporation Commission for permis- to produce a larger ratio of its poten- tial, contending that it has found an additional market for its oil and that it fears premature exhaustion of its reserves under the present low ratio of production. Demand Increases. Unquestionably the demand for crude has increased this month as the motor- ist has raised his daily mileage. This gain, combined with the recovery of trade temporarily lost to the local price cutter during the price wars of last Winter, is causing the large integrated companies to make prepara- | tions for a heavy July-August trade.| Although only a sixth of the yearly consuming period, those months absorb 20 per cent of the year’s volume, which reaches the peak on Labor day. (Copyright. 1931.) MARINE MIDLAND BANK ACQUIRES ANOTHER UNIT Special Dispatch to The Star. OSWEGO, N. Y., June 27.—The| First and Second National Bank of Oswego, the only commercial bank in Oswego and one of the outstanding ing by lawyers in Washington, who are recoghized by some as being the best prospects for the obtaining of trust business by the local banks, the fidu- ciaries section of the District Bankers’ Association has taken steps aimed at greater co-operation with the legal fra- ternity. A move is under consideration the section to pledge itself to the| Thservance of certain defined policies | regarding avoidance of the practice of | the law In the management of trust| business, and particularly to refrain from drafting wills and trust inslhl-l ments. | At the suggestion of Barnam L. Col-| ton, chairman of the fiduciaries section | during the past year, the matter hasi been referred to the association's coun-} cil of administration for approval. Thus it becomes-one of the first questions put | up to the incoming administration for consideration. Many of the trust offi- cers in local banks are members of the | District Bar Association and can doubt- | Jess prevent any such friction as has, stirred up Chicago and other places. i Many Local Dividends Due. | Many dividends are due to be paid by | Jocal banks and other institutions which have securities listed on the Washing- ton Stock Exchange. Included among them are Capilal Traction Co., Norfolk & Washington Steamboat Co., National Capital Bank, Columbia National, Com- mercial National, ~Federal-American Nationals Liberty National, Lincoln Na- tional and National Metropolitan. Other banks soon to pay dividends are the Bank of Bethesda, Bank of Com- merce & Savings, East Washington BSavings, Potomac Savings, Security Savings & Commercial and the Seventh Street Savings Bank. In the miscellaneous list on the Ex- change dividends have recently been declared on Columbia Sand & Gravel preferred, Emerson Bromo Seltzer A, financial institutions in the Northern part of New York State, will become a member of the Marine Midland group of banks as soon as the stockholders of the First and Second National have ratified the recommendation of the board of directors, according to an announcement made by George F. Rand, president of the Marine Midland Corporation. Acquisition of this bank will give the Marine Midland Corporation an outstanding institution in a part of New York State where it is not at present represented. The First and Second National has deposits of £5,- 1700,000; capital of $400,000, and surplus | funds of $462,000. YIELD BASIS OF STOCKS REVISED BY RECOVERY Special Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, June 27.—The advance of over 20 per cent in stocks in the! past week and the recovery of nearly 45 per cent of the decline which oc- curred between February 25 snd June 2, has completely reviscd the yleld basis of many stocks. This has also been affected by reductions in divi- dend rates in the meanjime. The net resuit is that the average return on a selected group of shares, representing all of the different classifications, is about 1 per cent lower than it was a month ago, when the average was approximetely 615 per cent. The list of stocks now selling over a 10 per cent yield basis has also been considerably reduced from the total of more_than 200 different issues in May. Federal-American Co. preferred, Mer- chants' Transfer & Storage common end preferred, Mergenthaler Linotype, Real Estate Mortgage & Guaranty pre- ferred, Carpel Corporation and Wood- ward & Lothrop common and preferred. Many other corporations not listed on the local board have also declared divi- dends recently. What is better still, the regular disbursements gre being paid. ‘ The strengthening of the crude oil | refining centers, ‘due to the bidding for | areas in this region had canceled a | of the local refiners, who, in view of | unsettled conditions in other fields. ab- | current market. This sentiment is also | IEND OF BEAR STOCK MARKET PREDITED AFTER WEEK'S GAIN Appreciation in Securities Has Reached Billions—Av- erage Rise 20 Points. MOMENTUM OF ADVANCE HAS SURPRISED TRADERS Increase in Commodity Values Has Been Important Factor in Recovery. BY CHARLES F. SPEARE. Special Dispatch to The Star. | NEW YORK, June 27.—This has been { the most buoyant week in securities and |in commodities since September, 192! It has witnessed a sensational change | in business psychology. It is not too much to say that the end of the bear market in stocks will date from it. ‘This does not mean the beginning of a prolonged or pronounced bull market. It was not in the minds of President Hoover and his advisers to effect a sud- | den industrial revival or a boom in se- | curities from the one-year moratorium on European debts to the United States. What they were most interested in was to check the destruction of credit and | of capital that was taking place in Ger- | many as an_aftermath of the collapse in Austria. In this they have succeeded and arc entitled to unreserved praise for their statesmanship. Markets for securities are the most sensitive barometers of change in indus- try and in politics. Therefore, it is altogether normal that there should have been an immediate and extensive advance in common stocks and in for- | cign dollar bonds following the first an- nouncement & week ago that this Gov- ernment was inquiring how it could best |go about assisting Germany in her | crisis. When the plan later took the | concrete form of a proposal for a one- | year moratorium and was agreed to by {all parties in interest except France, !Wall Street remlized that an event of great consequence to this country and | to Europe had taken place and at once began to express its satisfaction through the purchase of securities. It was some- what later before the country at large | sensed the significance and the scope | of the proposal and its bearing on a market and on a commodity situation that already had given evidences of being thoroughly liquidated. Rise Runs Into Millions. { Any estimate of the appreciation in I‘ values of securities and of commodities Iln world markets—for not _only New | York, but London, Paris, Berlin and Tokio have had great demonstralions this week—growing out of the political and financial changes in the world sit- uation, would appear extravagant. The total runs into billions of dollars. Since Lr‘fldsy, June 19, for instance, the ave- rage of 50 active stocks has advanced | about 20 points. During May the mar- ket values of all of the shares listed cn the New York Stock Exchange de- | creased $6,000,000,000. This came frcm a decline in the average price of the 1,324 issues selected of less than 5 points. It is apparent, therefore, that even more than the depreciation n May has been equalized by the appre- ciation in the latter part of June. It is not improbalbe that the New York Stock Exchange average of 32.58 for all shares listed on June 1, ccin- pared with 89.13 on September 1, 1829, may be the low of the bear market and that the depreciation in values between the two dates, amounting to over $47,- | 000,000,000 may represent the full ad- Jjustment of a stock market to a period of deflation which is als> expressed in the decline of $5,400,000,000, or #bout 90 per cent, in brokers’ loans. Public Regains Confidence. It has been held for some time that the stabilization of securities, followed by a small advance, would do more to change the public mood toward business than any other one factor, owing to the widespread American ownership of them. If this is true, the recent 20 per cent rise in stocks ought to produce a distinctly different attitude among the millions of Americans whose wages and whose income from services or from in- vestments have been sharply curtailed in the last 18 months. There are still a few people who take the view that the American public should not be addi- tionally taxed in order to relieve Eu- ropean debtors. The amount commuted for one year is $246,000,000. Should it be necessary to impose additional taxes to cover an amount ordinarily used to reduce the public debt, the per capita charge would be slight. On the other hand, by giving up $246,000,000 in debt payments, the value of securities in one week has appreci- ated 25 times that amount. In three days the market worth of American Telephone & Telegraph stock, which is held by nearly 600,000 investors the world over, gained the equivalent of the debt remittance. There are a whole lot of people who would like to give up a dollar and recover their peace of mind after going through & long nightmare, to say nothing of the gain of $25 for every dollar subscribed to a good cause. The recovery in commodities has not been so great this week as that in se- curities, though ranging from 10 to 20 per cent. It has, however, been enough to change the point of view toward the future of those who are more influenced by movements in grain, metals, cotton, silver, wool, rubber and sugar than by the ups and downs of stocks and bonds. (Copyright, 1931). s GOOD GAINS REPORTED IN CANADIAN WHEAT MONTREAL, June 27.—Recent rains in the prairies provinces have bene- fited crops, but further moisture is required in Southern Alberta and most of Saskatchewan and in Manitoba, ac- cording to the latest crop report of the Bank of Montreal. Damage from drought and winds has been serious over large areas of the three provinces and prospects generally are much below the average. East of the Great Lakes crop condi- tions generally continue highly satis- factory. In Quebec, crops continue to make good progress and weather con- ditions are favorable. CHICAGO DAIRY MARKET. CHICAGO, June 27 (/).—Butter, 20,054, firm; creamery specials (93 score), 24%;a24%; extra (92 score), 23%; extra firsts (90-91 score), 22,2 23; firsts (88-89 score), 20%;a21%4; sec- onds (86-87 score), 18a19: standards (90 score centralized carlots), 23%. Eggs, 17,716, firm; extra firsts, 16'%; fresh graded fi 17; storgae packed extras, 17%» New Director LOCAL BUSINESS MAN ON BANK POABD. VERNON G. OWEN, Who has been elected to the directorate of the Liberty National. He is best known locally as an auctioneer and appraiser and is a director in many important District corporations. —Harris & Ewing Photo. COMMODITY PRICE ADVANCE IS RAPID Wall Street Encouraged by Recent Gains in Raw Ma- terial Indices. Special Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, June 27.—Commodities, the advance of which more than any- thing else would lift the world out of depression, by their action since the debt holiday proposal of President Hoover have heartened Wall Street even more than the strength of bonds and shares. The financial district realizes that commodity price levels are the most important social factor in modern economics. ‘The various commodity averages for the last week show a gain of more than 2 point, according to compilations pub- lished today. The best group advances were made by farm and food products, with metals, fuels and other divisions sharing in the upswing. Advance in Siiver. Silver, because it affects the pur- chasing power of millions of people, perhaps has had the most far-reaching effect in its rise of more than 2 cents an ounce in the last week. In world markets silver was marked up 2 cents Tuesday, the widest appreciation for any one day in 30 years. Although wheat and corn did not re- tain all of their gains made between the close last Friday and the opening of to- day's markets, both barley and rye are on the average up more than a cent a bushel. Pork loins wholesale are up about 2 cents a pound and prime West- ern lard about i cent. Fresh eggs of first quality are up 14 cents a dozen, and Wisconsin cheeses command about 14 cent a pound more than they did a week ago. Extra fine creamery butter in prime markets is quoted at 24 cents, up %, a pound. Raw sugar, duty paid, is up 5 cents, and Santos coffee No. 4 is up 15 cent a pound. -Cocoa (accra), around 6 cents, shows an appreciation of cent a pound. Thus far cannery pr ucts, such as peaches, tomatoes and salmon, have not changed their price levels. though a few fruits, including California_cherries, are higher due to crop conditions. Midland cotton in Galveston is quoted at 9.90 cents, agaipst 8.60 at last Fri- day’s close. ools have firmed in the Boston market. Native steer hides here bring 10!, cents, against 10 a week ago. Silk, crack double extra at 2.45 to 2.50 compares with 2.25a2.30 a week ago. Burlap, 107 ounces, 40-inch, is down 5 points, due to trade developments in that industry in India. Copper Price Higher. Copper, after making a low price rec- ord of 73; cents a pound last PFriday, opened at 83 cents a pound for elec- trolytic in the Connecticut Valley yes- terday. Meanwhile brass and copper products have been marked up several times successively, though copper sul- phate, over in the chemical division, re- mains unchanged. Sales of copper be- tween last Friday and Thursday, in- clusive, approximated 200,000,000 pounds, the largest week thus far this year. Of this amount, around 81,000,000 pounds were for export and more than 106,000,~ 000 for domestic purposes. This pick up in demand may keep in operation some mines that had planned to close down July 1. Sales of lead for the week ended Wed- nesday amounted to 13,500 tons, a new high record, comparing with the pre- vious record of 11,000 tons for the week ended July 30, 1930. Meanwhile pig lead rose from 3.75 to 4.40, or around $3 a ton, which was reflected in the prices asked for oxide pamts. Zinc in East St. Louis was quoted at 3.60 to 3.65 at the opening today, com| with last Friday’s close of 3.30 to 3.35. Tin in the Straits Settlements was 24.25a30, sgainst 22.75 last week. Steel and iron products show little change, theugh here and there some prices con- tinue to be shaded., Over in the textile markets 3815- inch print cloths are quoted at 5 cents a yard, egainst 42 a week ago. Sales of print cloths, including some broad- cloths, since Saturday are estimated at 60,000,000 yards. Rubber and Silk. Plantation rubber is quoted around 69-16 cents a pound, against 61-16 a week ago. This has caused tire manu- facturers, in view of the advance also of cotton, to consider higher quotations on tires. b Sales of silk on the National Silk Ex- change Thursday reached 3,740 bales, the largest day’s volume of the year to date. Silk sales since last Friday total 12,310 bales, sugar sales in the same period were 215,500 tons and coffee sales 162,600 bags. ‘The price of wholesale cigarettes was advanced 45 cents a thousand, though thus far tobacco prices have not been increased. A few gains in coal prices were due to strikes. Next week’s commodity index figures should show the llrl’ average gain this year. CURB ANNIVERSARY. NEW YORK, June 27 (#).—Today marked the tenth anniversary of the New York Curb Exchange as an indoor institution. The market moved into its original building on June 27, 1921, and the step taken at that time brought to a close the picturesque outside mar- ket which had prevailed for many years street, 2 Classified Ads 4. 5445 Pages 5 to s opnn GATLEY ELECTED TREASURER NEWU. . TTTUDE [CATLEY, ELECTED TREASURER. TOWARD SOUTHERN|veon REPUBLICS IS SEEN New York Banker Believes Action Will Be Taken to Aid Business. URGES DIRECT CREDITS FROM AMERICAN BANKS Suggests Competent Commission to Supervise Applications for Loans. Special Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, June 27.—A new Latin American policy will come out of cer- tain plans now being lald in Washing- ton, is the view of Thomas F. Lee, New | York banker, engineer and authority on_South America. ‘That the public believes there is something more than rumor in the pro- posed plan credited to President Hoo- ver to air the financial and economic recovery of the Latin American coun- tries was shown by the enthusiastic buying of the bonds of the South Amer- ican countries. both on the stock ex- changes in this city and in London at the close of last week. According to Mr. Lee, the plan is the first remdy constructive, logical, helpful and unselfish gesture the United States has made toward its southern neighbors in many years. Mr. Lee has just returned from s five-month trip through Latin America, during which time he made a close study of conditions. He discussed with practically all of the present chief ex- ecutives of those countries the prob- lems now confronting them. As a result of his study he suggests direct financial assistance from bank- ing institutions in the United States, supervised by a competent and disin- terested economic commission. This is the logical avenue open to the United States for ailding Latin America, he says. Mr. Lee warned, however, that such a commission must be composed of the best American minds and not “second- string” men, who too often in the past have represented the United States i~ the Latin American fleld. “If the President’s proposed plan is carried through,” Mr. Lee said today, *“it will do more to establish and cement harmonious relations, promote markets which we certainly need, and give ac- cess to South American raw materials, than all the neat phrasings of friend- ship and admiration in our vocabulary. Til-Advised Loans. “While it is true that many of the loans to South American countries in recent years were ill advised—many of the nations taking on greater debts than they should have assumed—their sins were no greater than those of all other optimistic peoples and corporation executives throughout the world. “During the past decade the South American people have not behaved with any worse abandon than our own peo: file or the people of Europe. Little by ittle they permitted their vision, op- timism and high hopes to exceed their better judgment. And with it all they have been hard hit by the drastic de- cline of their basic agricultural com- modities and raw materials. “Because the European situation is now holding the attention of the Amer- ican people and because the average citizen has never appreciated our po- tential markets south of the Rio Grande few in the United States realize the profound significance of President Hoover’s proposed plan and the urgent need for it. “We in the United States sometimes do not realize that south of us live more than 100,000,000 people—a great pres- ent market and an enormous potential market for the great surplus of manu- factured goods we produce annually and must find markets for. “Nor do we realize that the Latin American area (many times larger than that of the United States) is, in effect, the greatest storehouse of raw materials within our reach. “The President's proposal that these peoples, with their enormous natural resources, be not permitted to suffer a financial breakdown, an economic ca- tastrophe—that their credit be not sacrificed—that they be not plunged into an economic abyss—is timely and logical. But it is more than that. It is a sign that Washington is .deter- mined not to miss a great opportunity to build friendships and to promote trade. It seems to give warning of a new Latin American policy—one that will reap untold riches and cordial gg‘:g:n.u with our neighbors to the Like Country Banker. “The lending of money at this time to Colombia, ivia, Chile, Argentina, , Peru, in order that they may continue their functions of government and pay the service on their existing loans would be exactiy like a good country banker lending a little ad tional money to the owner of a big farm who had momentarily over- reached himself and needed but an- other season of crops to catch up with his obligations. “The Latin American countries have an enormous advantage over the rest of the world, for without exception, they are possessors of enormous na- tional wealth—wealth in agriculture, in minerals and raw materials, and this stands back of every dollar that has been loaned to these countries nationally. The stable commodities of South America have declined in price and consumption, just as have the stable commodities elsewhere. “Coffee, hides, platinum, emeralds in Colombia; cacao, sugar, rice and wool in Ecuador; copper and wool in Bra- zil; sugar in Cuba—all of them find that the products of their plantations, of their forests, of their mines, and of their ranges now command a price that in many cases does not equal the cost of production. But this is a tem- porary thing. This is a condition that will pas sas a normal mental attitude again regains its place among thinking people.”” In enlarging on his plan for a com- mission to supervise the extension of credits to the Latin Americans, Mr. Lee declared that the matter of such a commission is almost as important as the matter of tiding these governments over financially. The commission, turn, Mr, Lee explained, would select technical advisors to work with each government. Sympathetic Commission Urged. “Such a commission,” he said, “must be composed of men who know Latin America—men wl e language, who know the fundamental economic problems, -not only of this country but of the countries south of Rio Grande, who know much of the soclol- ogy, psychology and basic blems of these peoples. A thus oup of able to point SRR SR S ational Official Has Taken Keen Interest in D. C. Association. His Annual Reports Have Al- ways Shown a Surplus in Strong Box. Albert 8. Gatley, executive vice presi- dent of the Lincoln National Bank, was specially honored at the recent annual convention of the District of Columbia Bankers’ Assoclation at Hot Springs, Va., by election for the twenty-second time as treasurer of the association. ‘For many years Mr. Gatley has been one of the leading bankers in Wash. ington and has taken an intense in- terest in the affairs of the District Bankers’ Association. He rarely misses the weekly luncheons at the Willard Hotel, at which gatherings so many problems vital to banking are thor- oughly threshed out. During his long service with the Lin- coln National Mr. Gatley has witnessed a great inerease in the number of banks in Washington and also noted 'their substantial growth in resources and de- posits. He has been with the Lincoin Bank ever since it was founded. ‘The veteran Seventh street financier has made a remarkable record as treas- urer of the Bankers' Association. He always keeps the association's figures ALBERT S. GATLEY. —Harris-Ewing Photo. out of the red, which all the member banks admit was no easy task during the past year. There have been other years when the feat was not so easy, either. Perhaps he takes a few thousand | dollars out of his own pocket in leai years and keeps up the association’s finances in that way. At any rate, when he makes his annual report at | the_conventions his fellow bankers sit | back and know he will announce @& | generous balance on hand. Debt Moratorium Plan Wins Praise As a “Helpful Act” Hoover Will Do All Pos- sible for Prosperity By the Assocleted Press. ROCKFORD, Il., June 27.—Harvey T. Hill, executive vice presidenit of the Chicago Stock Exchange, said today he saw a ray of hope for better economic conditions in “what might be called political expediency.” He spoke before the annual meeting of secretarles of Illinois Chambers of Commerce. “I will vote for President Hoover again if he runs” said Hill, “but I am fully convinced that the Democrats will elect the next President unless the busi- ness situation has improved materially before next Pebruary. For this reason you can rest assured that our present administration will use every effort to bring about & period of prosperity. “We have the suggested moratorium before us, which seems to be acceptable to the thinking men of the world as a belpful act. I believe we can count on the administration soon starting con- struction of everything from the Chi- cago t Office to Boulder Dam, so that these projects will be on their way within the next eight months. “I believe in President Hoover. In my opinion, he will do everything a Presi dent can do to bring back prosperity. 'REDUCTION IN STEEL OUTPUT IS REPORTED Mills Now Operating at 36 Per Cent of Capacity, According to Estimates. By the Assoclated Press. NEW YORK, June 27.—The trend of steel ingot uction continued slowly downward in the past week, reflecting smaller orders for finished products. While President Hoover’s moratorium proposals created a more hopeful feel- ing, they failed to stimulate jmproved demand. tput is now estimated at 36 per cent of capacity, and predictions are heard in the trade of further pos- sible shutdowns. Although buying of certain lines tapered off further, an en- couraging feature was improved demand for line pipes, while awards made and pendl;r on _structural steel have in- creased. The price situation is not clearly defined, with advances for the third quarter announced in_some lines and other lists pending. Pig iron is still quiet and steady. Copper advanced sharply on active for and domestic demand stimulated by favorable reaction to moratorium proposals and strength. of the London market. Gains for the week amounted to 3 of a cent per pound, with pro- ducers restricting sales at the new quo- tation of 8% cents for electrolytic de- livered, Connecticut Valley. Sales thus far this month here and abroad total more than 130,000 tons. Domestic con- sumers have now covered about four months’ requirements, and buying was less active at the close, with prices holding steady. Tin advanced rapidly when domestic consumers, who were holding off, re- entered the market. Lead shared in the advance with other 1s on con- tinued active buying by'leading con- sumers. Although zinc prices were higher, buyers held off, limiting pur- chases to carload lots. Sellers were reserved. Antimony was firm owing to restrict- ed Chinese offerings and the higher sil- ver market. POTATO MARKET. CHICAGO. June 27 (#).—(United States Department of Agriculture).— Potatoes, on track, 265; total United States shipments, 912; weak, prices Jower; trading rather slow: sacked per cwt, Bliss Triumphs, Oklahoma, Ar- kansas, Texas, 1.20a1.30; decayed, 75 up; Louisiana, Mississippi, 1.25a1.35; few Louisiana, 1.40; decayed, 1.00 up; North Carolina barrel cobblers, few sales, 2.50. it while making friendships, would be immeasurably helpful and as impor- tant to us in our relationships with them today as it might be to them. “Our t mistake heretofore in dealing with the Latin American has been our practice of applying the same logleal yardstick. to Entinae psychol the citizen of Chile as we use in make-up and American is just as different from ours as can be imagined we , Mr. Lee con- "fndl. should be a permanent institu- jon. cial affairs and we are now the credi- tor nation of the world. The financing of Latin America will more and more 4all to us. , 1931, by North American News- %"I‘h{t by ;" ot will fail in our | 8t. Loui: It should be permanent because | N to us has fallen pre-eminence in finan- | Dal EXTENSION OF GAS - PIPELINES PUSHED |Exchange Official Sure | Various Projects Are Under Way in United States and | Canada. BY BRADLEY W. TRENT. Special Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, June 27.—Natural gas fields in this country and Canada are buzzing with activity these days, as en- gineers, drillers and cmg;;uwrs push projects to early completidn. Niagara Hudson Power Corporation, 27 per cent of whose stock is by United Corporation, is surveying its up- state industrial cities, such as Syracuse, y )y, with the probable idea of signing & contract with Colum- bia Gas & Electric Corporation for a supply of natural gas. Studying Demand. Public Service Corporation of New Jersey continues to study prospective natural gas demands around Newark and Jersey City, while Columbia Gas & Electric. in which United Corporation has & 20 per cent interest, tests and cleans the old oil line, once belonging to New York Transit Co., from Bing- hamton, N. Y., to Patterson, N. J. . Up in the Tioga field and vicinity— in Southwestern New York and North- | eastern Pennsylvania—the Lycoming Natural Gas Co. a Standard Oil of New Jersey subsidiary, and Columbia | Gas & Electric are negotiating a work- |ing agreement. It may involve sup- | plying Syracuse, Albany, Troy and other upstate cities with gas, wi b~ as later will be | ability that natural City. | brought into New Yorl Just across the international border] iSlrnlA Oil & Gas, Ltd., with leases ex- | ceeding 14,000 acres in Lambton County, | Ontario, and with pipes near such cities as London, Guelph, Woostock, Inger- soll and Stratford, opens its pipe line July 1 to Southern Ontario Gas Co., a Cities Service subsidiary, on a contract | reported to include daily deliveries up to 20,000,000 cubic feet. Sarnia has an {esumated daily capacity of 4,500,000 | cubic feet. | The government of Alberta plans to | construct a natural gas line from Turner Valley to the principal cities and towns of the province, financing such a proj- ect with government bonds. The Cana- dian Resources, Ltd., is negotiating to supply Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, with natural gas. Appalachian Field. Down in the Appalachian field Co- |lumbija Gas & Electric is working on | the line that eventually will be used to gas. That city is now getting gas in- directly from a line running from Coatesville, Pa., to the Capital. The permanent Washington line, running out of the Kentucky fields, now is cove ered up from Washington to Lexington, Va., and is being laid in the West Vir- ginia Mountains. by Appalachian Gas Corporation indi- cate that the three leading States— Texas, Oklahoma and California—since 1920 have increased their natural gas production fourfold and their number of customers by six times. The com- pany, which produces, transports and distributes in Texas, Louisiana and the Appaiachian fields, is understood to be planning further acquisitions in the latter fleld. (Copyrisht, 1931 BANK CLEARINGS DOWN AGAIN DURING WEEK Bank clearings agaln show a heavy decline. The total for this week at leading cities in th> United States, as reported to Dun's Review of $7,118,617.- 000 is 35.2 per cent below that of last year. At New York City, clearings of $4,938,664,000 are 37.1 per cent less, while the aggrezate at centers outside of New York of $2,179,853,000 is 30.6 per cent smaller. There is & reduction this week from the heavier total of last week of nearly 20 per cent, whersas a year ago the decline was only slightly in excess of 11 per cent. For the fourth week of June a somewhat smaller amount of bank clearings is to be ex- pected, but the total this week is con- siderably reduced, compared with the earlier weeks of the month. Measured by clearings, settlements through the banks for this month show quite as heavy a reduction as for January. pnessgns 228338284801 3833833333832 § B¥ EERTIRRRRRREERRRIRINR .. 222 Brmeamss g EEaEd: 129. 30.0 26,078, 131.366.000 $2,179.953.000 938,664,000 a Seattle Total . New York . Total all 1 ».a | ton), average prices for a range of | supply Washington, D. C., with natural | Industrial surveys made public today HOOVER DEBT PLAN PUTS NEW LIFE IN FOREIGN MARKETS Commodities Are Especially Benefited by Rapid Ad- vance in Prices. PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT HAS BEEN WIDESPREAD German Sentiment Undergoes Swift Change—Business Outlook Greatly Improved. Special Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, June 27.—Cable dis- patches to the Business Week give the following swift survey of business abroad for the week ending June 27: Eurbpe.—President Hoover's morato- rium proposal unleashed a dynamic re- action of FEuropean stock markets, reaching in Berlin the extreme of 25 i per cent in one day. Commodities like- wise staked a powerful recovery under the leadership of cotton and the non- ferrous metals (except tin). ‘Then profit taking, coupled with uncertainty lest the French reply prove unfavor- able and opposite anxiety for govern- ment stability in France should the reply be considered too favorable by the | excited Chamber of Deputies, brought & reaction Tuesday. There were indi- cations, however, that the rise in com- modities was more basic in character than speculative. Notwithstanding ground lost from their peaks by indi- vidual products (wheat, rubber, ‘m~ stuffs, textile fibers and metals held a net 5 per cent gain through the re- action and at midweek had resumed the advance. Hoover Proposal Acclaimed. ‘The most important development has unquestionably peychological. Europe has long believed that a respite from reparations and war debts, even a epression; has real that, collaboration of the world’s prin- cipal creditor was the first requisite. ‘The unexpected initiative taken by President Hoover and wide indorsement e eEs o ent from one of despondency, that nothing would be , into confidence, that now, with awakened American under- standing, much is possible. This reversal of sentiment has brought with it is own obvious danger. Hoover proj ter difficul diffe With each difficulty overhopeful sentiment will be sub; ;udden misgi reflected . The is one of volatile ts. The change particularly in Germay sentiment is described by local observer! as almost miraculous. From s condi- tion threatening imminent political and social upheaval—an upheaval which would have entrained economic chaos Bx"l'd w}olflfl-‘gde e} he ation has c! nnge& almost_dangerous ngmm lief. ‘To cap the climax, it has simultaneously announced that pro- tracted negotiations between Germany and Rumania have culminated in a fa- vorable tariff treaty. This treaty with a country under the political and finan- cial aegis of France is taken as another indication that Germany’s isolation, felt by the German veopie to be actual im- prisonment and subjugation, is b Perhaps the most important ultimate effect of Hoover's proposal will be in better future collaboration between France and Germany, although momen- | tarily Prance is the uncertain crux of the moratorium scheme. Her prelim- inary reply, rejecting a moratorium for {that part of repaations which are classed as non-postponable in the Young plan, will, if insisted upon, en- tail a snodification of the Hoover for- mula and will somewhat restrict the intended benefits. Paris—Despite the uncertainty over France's final reaction to debt revision, markets this week are beginning to re- flect, at least temporarily, the burst of optimism which has stirred business | in practically all countries. ‘The change in trend, however, is yet %00 new to alter appreciably the de- flation cycle through which the coun- try is passing. And because deflation has come to France so much later than to the rest of the world, it cannot yet be expected to have run its course. Trade Report. Industrial and foreign trade reports bring little encouragement. April pro- duction indices showed industrial ac- tivity was slowly but steadily declining, though the general level is still com- paratively high. The drop was most pronounced in the automotive indus- tries. May results are expected to be even worse. Building, mining and the metallurgical industries showed smaller declines. Rubber and leather main- tained March production levels. Unemployment declined another 47; per cent this week, but any favorable reaction was nullified by the serious turn in the textile strike. Berlin—After last week's panicky frenzy and Monday’s jubilation over the prospects of a moratorium, business is computing its losses and settling down to_mare normal conditions. Total Reichbank losses in gold and gold exchange up to June 20 are esti- mated at 250 millions, which reduces the bank’s gold reserves to 385 millions. With note circulation at 930 millions, the ratio is dangerously close to the 40 per cent legal minimum. though the position now is relieved all &rouns. the 7 per cent bank rate is likely to be maintained pending definite acceptance of the Hoover plan by all creditor countries. Credit restriction already is materially relaxed and may be aban- doned as business returns to normal. While business eagerly is lnoktnuor- ward to the effect of the suspens: of reparations on the capital market, for- eign ‘exchange and current industriai activities so far are little affected by the recent financial upheavel. Steel and chemicals in June have continued the May upturn. BANK STOCK.MAHKET SCORES SHARP UPTURN By the Associated Press. " NEW YORK, June 27.—The New York City bank stock market during ery as compared with on June 27 prices, 16 leading bank and trust company shares were quoted at 19.1 times known earnings, against 16.9 times at the close of the previous 308 | week. The yield now stands at 4.279 * per cent, against 4.839 per cent & ago. . b " [N