Evening Star Newspaper, August 29, 1931, Page 15

FINANCIAL, IN NARROW RANGE Inoreased Demand for Utili- ties Is Feature of Week End Trading. BY JOHN A. CRONE. @pecial Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, August 20.—An in- creased demand for utilities, dullness in the olls and several spurts in the higher-priced industrials featured to- day’s trading on the curb exchange. The usual market leader, Electric Bond & Share, backed and filled, while Cities Service was down a small frac- tion American Light & Traction lost more than a point and United Light & | Power was off about a half point A. O. Smith Corporation, which was whirled for a net gain of 12! points Friday, following rumors of a possible | merger with United'States Steel, quickly | advanced 3 points today. Aluminum Co. of America again swung back and forth in a range of several points. Mead-Johnson was the first of the food specialties to break to & new low level. This distinction in finance companies went to Finance Co. of America. The weakest ©of the mine group was New Jersey Zinc, which opened within a fraction of its former low. Humble Ofl, which has purchased & | soyalty interest in approximately 10U acres from Kirby Petrolocum Co. in| East Texas, was the first in the Standard | Oil division to firm as it opened up 1% points. Later Creole Petroleum stiffened. Practional declines in MacMarr Stores and Parke Davis marked trading in food chain stores. Hiram Walker paid little attention to Montreal reports in- dicating the formation of a Dominicn Distilling Corporation, which would in- clude Canadian Industrial Alcohol. in early dealings Motor of Canada A, Ford Motor Ltd. and Stuts Motors. However, this was mnot followed by any bidding up of es. BONDS ON THE CURB NDS High | g.fl : 5 i E? 2 000! L o2 £ 248 R23E 212082332228 82323BILBRINLI24L3388328 T EH % g i 5 i¥ Rt g! a 1 28 § M) 3 b PETE PR e s i 2333 LET 28 b 4 3 o g ngn 1 $sfEsgerssngs 9 1 2Tk o] %, P o v S .8 298 LS {3 2 Lt 3 ; fiseee £ o L} ! 5, ] it 2 5 B! i 34353 REd i1 9833 3 : 7. 10% 671023, 90 % 20! Q0! £ i St 1 p13 Ed 1 2 5 L3 5 s B 2 & 20 & 18 1 % t H 1 7 L 1 [ 1 2 H 2 7 4 3 12 [ 1 23 [} 2 . . 1 5 1 ] H 2 0 1 77 s hEnaFleanl i % ) 04 {down since Colorado mine owners be POREIGN BONDS. Bank 7 46 &2 k 78 47 804 s 47 50 & xsaz::ssnsg:ssg & L3 o 8288 BASE I T 32E2TRERARY; Note—All stocks are sold in’ one ~Pre; Bt High. 24 224 v, 1931 . Low. Amiiated Prod 1.60. . Aluminum Co of Am 7268 AluCoof Ampf (6). 1 i AmCit PALBb10%. 2 AmCom P A (b10%) 31 Am Equities. . 4 ‘Am For Pow war. Am Founders. A Am Gas & Elec (11).. Am Gas & El pf (8).. Am Lt & Trac (234).. Am Maracaibo...... Am St Pu Sv (a1.60). Am Superpwr (p40e) Am Util & Gn B vte 191010 N 00 1 3900 4 N 09 4 00 0 00 1 30 09 00 o 09 1 1t i 03 Ark N G cu pf (80¢). Asso GREI (A) (al). At] Coast Fish Atlas Uti] Corp. Atlas Utilities war. Bahta Corp. Blus Ridge Corp.... Blue Ridge cv pf(a3) Brazil Trac Lt&P(1) Buff N&EP pf (1.60). Bulova v pf (3%).. Canadian Mareoni Cent Pub Sv Del Cent Pub Sve A b5 % . Cent Stat El (b10%). Cent West PS Aall% Chain Store Devel. .. Citles Service (g30c) Cities Serv pf (6)... Col Picture vte(75¢). 1 Cmwith Edison (8)..176s Com Wat Ser g12%c. 4 Con Gas Balto (3.60). 1 Creole Petroleum.... 4 Crown Cork Intl (A). 1 Cuban Cane propt w. 19 Cumberland P L (2). 50s Dayton Air & Eng 13 Deere & Co De Forest Radio Detroit Afrcraft Dresser Mfg B (2) Duguesne Gas Durant Motors East Sta Pow (B) Kast il Assoc cv Elec Bond&Sh (b Elec P & Lt op war Eureka Pipe L (4) Europ Elec deb rts Fin Co Balt A (80¢) Ford M Can A (1.20). 13 Ford Mot Can B 1.20. 25s Ford M Ltd(36 3-5¢). 2 Fox Theater (A).... Gen Aviation. Gen G&E cv pf B(6) Gen Theat Eq cv pf. Glen Alden Coal (4). Goldman Sach: Graymur Corp ( .o Guif Oilof Pa (13%). 5 Hackmester Lind. Hamilton Gas rets. Hecla Mining (40¢).. Humble Oil (12%).. Imp O Can reg (50¢). Imp O1l of Can (50c) Indiana Pipe Line(1) Insurance Sec (40c). Intercontinent Pet n. Int Utilities B Leonard Oil. : Lone Star Gas n 88c. » % 49% 9% o 9 bl iy Bl B 144 hundred. excepting those l::—ld by the letter s (80s) (250s). and Bales— Dividend Rate. Add 00, Open. High. Low. Close. 1 21y 21 'HE EVENING STAR, WASHI CURB ISSUESMOVE || NEW YORK: CURB MARKE ~Prev. 1931~ . Low. Divi -share lots | Magdal Mapes ¢ o Mass P 21! 6% Nat Inv Nat §h New Je N Y Transit (180e) Niag-H Viag §h Md (40c) Nipissing. Nor Am Av Pac G & E1stpf1%. Am Alrways. ... amount Cab Mfg. Pan P Parke 1 Parker Pennroad Corp (40c) 5 Peoples L&PWT (A). perfect Petrol ¢ Phila Ct Philip Morris Inc. . Pilot Rad Tube A Pines Wintertr (1 Plymouth Ol (1) Potrero Sugar...... Premier Gold (12¢) PubSve Nolllnp. 1l Hold xw. ... Pyrene Mfg Co (40c) Republic Gas Corp. . Pub [ Ryan Ci Sec Allled Corp (1).. hattuc henandoah Corp Shenandoah pf (a3). Singer MIg (115).... Singer Ltd rets(28¢) Smith ( Solar Re Sou Pipe Line (2) Spleg May Stern pf Stand Ofl of Ind( 1) Stutz Motor Car Sun Iny Sunray Tech H Unit El nit Founders 'nit Gas Corp nit Gas war. it Lt 1 U S Ele o o Util Pw b Walker Woolworth (F Y Oil rates in ent. in_cash o £ Plus 8% stock j Plus 2% in 15% | stock. n Pius 8% in stock. p Paid Jast year—no regular rate. Stock ana MacMarr Stores (1), Mead Johnson(t414) Mesta Machine (2) Metal & Mining. Met Chain Stores. Mid West Ut (b8 Mid Sta Pet vte A 22¢ Mo-Kan Pipe L (A).. Mo-Kan Pipe L (B) .. Mohawk Hud 1st(7).225 Moody's 1S ptpt (3) Nat Fuel Gas (1). it L & Pwr pf(6) nit Verde Exten (1) 1] P&Lt(at1.02} il & Ind pf (1%).. “Ex dividend. NGTON, Received by Private Wire Dixect to The Star Office Sates— idend Rate. Add 00. Open. High. 11% 11 ena Synd. “ons Mfg( Wr&Lt pf w.1. estors. . T Sec A 360c rs Zine (13).. ud Pow (40e: X o POTYR O e 30 kGt 00 1kt Pk B 0 Ak 50 1 ek bk B avis (1 Rust Pr ).. BOs Cirele ( ‘orp war 0 new (11 P UTYRN U PN » = [ERET RO onsolidated. . k Den Min, Frmewn 2 A0) (2). efining. . » 3 T L e e L est. .. 2 Oll'(bE%) . m ughes (60¢).. ec Sv (pl.41). » &Pw A (1) c Pow ww.... r & Lt pf( (H) (5 Y. o b e &Gas.. doliars based on last quarterly or semi-an- {Partly extra. iPlus 4% in stock. | bPayable in stock. e Adjustment | ¢ Plus 6% in stock. hPlus 1% in k Plus 10% in stock. m Plus 3% 1n r stock. in stock stock. | Opinion Divided on Success of Chadbourne Plan to Curtail Output. BY CHAS. P. SHAEFFER, Associated Press Business Writer dustry exists in Washington because of the revolution in Cuba. The island is one of the chief sugar pant in t%e Chadbourne plsn to cur- tail output and restrict exports io en- able the world markets ¢ clear thewr overstuffed shelves. The uncertainty apparently lies in whether any pron- able new government in Cuba wou'ld reccgnize the island’s participation in the plan. Opinion seems divided. Cericin gov- ernment officials belisve the worth of the Chadbourne plan siready has as- serted itself in Cuba as a recognized { fact and that the public sentmment there is decidedly sympathetic On the other hand, private suzar in- terests feel that Cubans, the working class, derive less benefit producing countries. This is explained by the subnormal | scale existing in the fields, which is reported to be generally not more than 40 cents a day. It is believed by those interests that any new government in Cuba would seek first of ali a reform movement directed at the uplift of the working class through a minimum wage | scale, thus autematically raising pro- | duction costs, and disrupt certain pro- visions of the plan. | Thus far the domestic sugar market has not been affected by events there There appears to be neither fear of de- lay in shipping from the island nor any interference with the Chadbourne | plen 2s & result of internal difficulties. Raw prices have held well, around the | high levels for the year, REVOLT HITS SUGAR NDUSTRY INCUBA A new uncertainty in the sugar in-| producers of the world and a partici- | & INVESTMENT TRUSTS | NEW YORK. August 20 () —Over- | the-counter market: BY%, Ajk:d | Basic Industry . | Britisn Type Invest | Gentury s |Ghain ‘& Gen Eauities Gen Ba 8137 {Chain ‘Store | Chain_store i EuButan Invest nv Bt | tered Invest . | Cnartered Inv pt | Chelsea Exch A Chelsea Excn B | Cumulative Tr 8| | Corporate Trust Crum & Poster.. o wd Grum Orum Diversified Tr A Diversified Tr B Diversified Tr C Diversified Tr D Equity Invest Equity Invest pf | Bauity Trust Snrs First Am Corp least of all | from the plan that sccrues to other | in {1at |30t Bec Int Sec int Sec Inv Tr N ¥ Coil | invest Trustee b | Jackson & Curt Sec pi Leaders of Indust A | Leaders of Indust B | s o Low-Prie e | Major Corp Bhre | Mass Invest Tr ohawk ' Invest Mutual Mutual N Y Bk Tr Shrs Nor Am Tr Shares rt Bec The 1931 crop for Cuba, under the | Chadbourne plan, is approximately 3,118,369 long tons, the smallest ourput since 1917. It is 2037939 toms, or 39.52 per cent under the Tecord crop of 1929, and is 1,552,861 tcns less than | last yesr. World production this vear | is approximately 28,338,000 long tons. IN COLORADO MINES State Industrial Commission Pro- tests Coal Companies Pay Less Than Half Living Scale. | By the Associated Press DENVER. Colo. August 329 reductions of two Colorado coal | the State Industrial Commission. | In the second decision to be gan seeking lower wages, the commis- |slon declared the Moffat Coal Co. and the Keystone Coal Co., both of Routt County, were without justification in their demands The declaration of the commission, | however, did not block the cut which went into effect in Routt. ity mines yesterday. “The evidence shows” the decision said, “that under the | Spencer Trask Pund |8tand Am Tt shrs |SiAnd Coitat Trust | Stale sereet Tnvest Der of Am Tr A Scper of Am Tr B D m r of Am Tr per of Am Tr | Trust 8h d Invy | Trustée Stang Inv 303, 7 CANADIAN PORTS GAIN OTTAWA, August 20 (&) —Canada is routing her overseas trade through her |own ports to a greater extent every year, rather than via the United States, figures issued yesterday by the Do- | minfon Bureau of Statistics show. Canadian ports cleared approximately {83 per cent of Canada’s trade in the last fiscal year, representing 97 per cent ©f all overseas imports and 725 per cent of exports. In 1924 U;zlud lw.-: ports enjoyed more than 26 per cen of Oanada's overseas trade and Ca- nadian ports had only 74 per cent. { BUSINESS FAILURES FEWER. | By the Associated Press. 1071 LG BRIGHTER OUTLOOK ~ INTRADE IS SEEN Wall Street Waits For Con- vincing Signs of Busi- ness Revival. BY JOHN L. COOLEY, Associated Press Financial Writer. NEW YORK, August 20.—Wall Street still waited rather impatiently for con- vincing signs of the normal Autumn up- swing in trade this week, but in the meantime derived _considerable en- | couragement from the determined ef- fofts of Great Britain to put her house | financially in_order. ‘The bond market, after its long series of new lows for recent years, stiffened appreciably late in the weck, and stocks, while disinclined to move far in either direction, found it a little easier | to advance than decline. The large Franco-American banking | credit to tl British treasury overshad- owed all other developments in interna- tional finance and was regarded with | considerable satisfaction in important Wall Street banking circles, where it | was felt that all anxiety over London, | in view of its important fun.‘ion as a world banker, should be fully and ef- fectively quieted. | German Situation. ! Financial advices from Germany were | generally regarded as satisfactory, in- | cluding the plans to resume trading on | the Bourse next week. Several interna- tional bankers, however, regarded the situation as still considerably clouded by the fact that the standstill agree- ment on the $1,200,000,000 in short- term loans expires in only six months, durixg which time some more perma- nent arrangement will probably be re- quired Commodity markets, in the main, dis- | played a moderate degree of stability | during the week, although wheat broke % a new low and failed to make full | recovery. Cotton worked moderately higher, however, and crude ofl and gas- eline prices continued to gain in vari- cus parts of the country, as the shut- | downs in East Texas and Oklahoma were continued. In stocks the petroleum issues had | an interval of strength, but held station- ary during the later trading sessions of the week, despite palpable progress in the long rumored merger of Standards of New Jersey and California, and a flurry of merger gossip regarding other companies. Wall Street seemed desir- ous of seeing how production in the| East Texas field will be resumed under | | the new Texes conservation law before | drawing hasty conclusions The stock market as a whole was| extremely sluggish, sales failing to reach a million shares on any day of the week. The market poked up rather briskly on both Wednesday and Friday drifting uncertainly on other sessions Tobacco isehes encountered considerable selling for a time. Rail Bonds Stronger. In bonds, a lifting of pressure agai#st the rail Hfens was particularly encour- aging. News from the railroads was scarcely encouraging. July _earnings statements making a somewhat more | adverse showing than those of June, but an important phase of liquidation appeared to have been about completed in_the bond market. | The encouraging feature of the week- | ly trade news was a rather distinct | pickup in wholesale buyitg. Retail trade was helped a little by cooler weather. Such weekly reports as the steel trade reviews, freight car loadings | and electric power consumption failed to disclose important changes either, way. | _The weekly brokers’ loan statement, | "lhowlng a gain of $6,000,000 on top of | the vious week's advance of $14.- | 000,000, was somewhat surprising, since pri | March had loans gained in two consecu- | tive weeks. ‘ | The Federal Reserve statement showed | & gain of $38,000,000 in credit outstand- | ing. partly reflecting further buying of | bankers' acceptances in the open mar- ket. This may have been in part pur- chases of -urlm bills. Money was 1 loans being offered et at 1 per cent. lnm‘do $2,000,000,000 damage in the United each year. D. C., SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, 1931 APPAREL BUSINESS | SURVEY S PLANED Best Retail Methods Will Be Sought in Survey of Na- tional Trade. BY ALVIN RESCH. ‘Written for the Associated Press. CHICAGO, August 29 —One of the Nation's major retal industries, the $2,500,000.000 men's apparel business, is analyzing itself to determine what business methods have been most suc- cessful in combating depression. Its goal is to ascertaln hew unfavor- able economic factors have affected the industry, what has happened to profits, and what practices have been followed to adjust the retail clothing business to an abnormal combination’of conditions. The survey has been begun by the National Association of Retail Cloth- jers and Furnishers, representing 7,000 dealers throughout the country, in eo- operation with the University of Chi- cago's School of Commerce. Inquiry Planned. Questionnaires soon will be sent to 600 representative retailers in all sec- tions to get a composite set of facts that will depict a cross-section of de- pression’s results and methods of min- imizing losses. Replies will be held strictly confidential. Dozens of queries have been form- ulated on the basis of what the industry already knows about its changed meth- ods of merchandising and other re- lated aspects of its trade since 1929. Merchants will be asked to ecompare their volume of sales for the first six months of 1930 and 1931, specifying their percentage of profit or loss. Facts on methods of adjusting store operations to present conditions—such as Jower rents, wage reductions, smaller inventories, new and lower price lines, decreased customer service, increased special sales or additions of new de- partments—also will be sought. Retailers will be asked to give thelr reactions to whichever practices they have followed. Comparison of declines in retail prices from 1929 to 1931 will come in for special study. Merchants will be requested to list jtems on which they have not received a “satistactory” re- | duction in price. Credit Policles. ‘To determine trends in the purchase of Fall and Winter stocks, retailers will list the percentage of such stocks bought at different times throughout the Sum- | mer. Past and present advertising prac- | tices, and reasons therefore, | will ‘be analyzed. likewise, Changes in credit policies are to be checked by a study of answers to ques- tions regarding alterations which re- tailers propose to make on the basis of their experiences of the last two years Baltimore Markets Special Dispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE, Md.. August 29 —Po- tatoes, barrel, 1.40a1.75; sweet potatoes, bushel, 75a1.00; beans. bushel, 60a1.00; beets, ' per 100, 2.00a2.50; cabbage, bushel, 25a40; carrots, per 100, 2.00a 2.50: corn, per dozen, 10al4; cucumbers, hamper, 25a40; eggplants, hamper, 30a 35. lettuce, per crate, 2.75a6.50; lima | bean=, hamper, 1.25a150: celery, crate, 2.0083.50; okra, bushel, 2.00a2.50; pep- pers, hamper, 20a25; oaions, per 100 pounds, 1.75a2.00: squash. per bushel, 40a50; tomatoes. shel, 30a40: apples, bushel, 25a75; cantaloupes, per crate, 5082.00. Dairy Market. Poultry, alive—Chickens, young, 18 a26; oid hens, 18a25; Leghorns, 13al7; roosters, 12al5; ducks, 12a20; pigeons, pair, 15a25; guinea fowls, pair, 40a60. Receipts, 1,433 cases; current receipts, 21a23; hennery, whites, 22a28. Butter—Good and fancy, creamery, 26a31; ladles, 19a20; process, 21a22; store packed, 15a16. $90,000 ESTATE LEFT BY MRS. LA FOLLETTE Senator Given Option of Acquiring Residence Here and Remainder of Possessions Are Divided. By the Associated Press MADISON, Wis, August 29.—An estate estimated at $90,000 was left by Mrs. Belle Case La Follette, widow of the late Senator Robert M. La Follette, her will filed yesterday in Dane County Probate Court revealed. Under its terms Senator Robert M. La Follette, her elder son, is given the | option of purchasing the La Follette residence in Washington, D. C., within 80 days for $17,000. If this is not exercised, the Senator will receive from the estate money which he paid his mother for rent. The remainder of the estate is to be | divided equally_among_the four chil- dren—Robert, Phillp F., Governor of Wisconsin; Fola La Follette Middleton and Mary La Follette Sucher. CHICAGO STOCK MARKET By the Associated Press. CHICAGO, August 20.—Following is the complete official list of transactions in stocks on the Chicago Stock Ex- change today Seles. STOCKS 200 Adams Royaity ...... 200 Allied I 830 s4iy % B 9 ics Seryics omwith ' Edison Com Wat Sery nt Chicago 100 Cont Chicago pi 130 Cord Corp Sec Crane Co 100 Elec Household Elec Lakes Aircraf 50 Cireat L 50 Grigsby € ¢ ot 4 ek Rk T shares. High. Low. Close : A i | 3! I | FINANCIAL. Trade Reports at a Glance By the Assoclated Press NEW YORK, August 29.—Tablold review of wholesale ness conditions and the state of crops as week from the following centers, on reperted to the basis of comparisons with con- ditions in the same areas in the corresponding week last year: Wholessale Pittsburgh Louisville Cleveland Detroit Baltimore Retail Manufacturing nd industry. > Collections. Slow Slow Slow Slow Slow Slow Slow Slow Slow Fair Slow Slow Slow Slow Pittsburgh—Pair demand for coal; building declines. Louisville—Wholesale orders, dry goods and furnishings only flll in; building materials slightly improved. Cleveland—Steel at 35 per cent; Fall buying of apparel disappoint- ing; auto parts plants on part time. Detroit—No model changes by of Commeree until November. ‘members National Automobile Chamber Milwaukee—“Dollar day” program helps retailers; plants continue on short_schedules: corn needs rain. Chicago—Wholesale mercantile St. Louls—Flour production 50 Increased. sales larger; steel capacity increased. per cent normal; shoe manufacture Minneapolis—Low prices for crops discouraging farmers and mer- chants; retail trade better than wholesale. St. Paul—Wholesale general merchandise active, but future orders slow; department stores slightly better than 1930. Duluth—Retail apparel sales slow; manufscturing —Road butlding helps unempioyment; rain heips crops; grass- Hopbers Bl doie doun TS ng age. Des Moines— ture slo Baltimore—Cooler weather lessens interest in Fall goods; iron and steel Everybody’ on short time. Drought damage to corn increases: business quiet. Kansas City—Department store less w. demand for Summer goods; more slightly better. business s Business Second Big Credit for Great Britain, Expected to T otal $400,000,000, Planned in U. S.—Packard Buys Canadian Plant and Forms :?ub.u'diay. BY DR. MAX WINKLER. NEW YORK, August 29 —The outstanding feature at the moment in the field of finance is the planned extension of a credit of sizable | fall rapidly, even proportions to Great Britain. This is the second transaction within | intrinsic value a relatively short period of time. The first refers to the credit of $250,000,000 granted by a Franco-American group, arranged in order to support the pound, which had begun to show signs weakness as a result of heavy withdrawals. The new credit, expected to amount to $400,000,000, is to insure the restoration of confidence in the British currency, and it is] believed that a Nation-wide sy: ndicate of] banks, under the leadership of the Morgan! firm, will participate in the arrangements. The response to this transaction is likely to! be favorable, and in order to assure such response constructive activities would seem necessary. This may, in part at least, ac- count for the firmness in the markets and for the prevailing the firmness may continue. As to the transaction itself, it remembered that Great Britain's securities belief that should be credit still ranks highest in the world’s financial mar- kets, and England's centuries-old habit of faithfully meeting her contractual engage- ments is well known to bankers an alike. d investors Packard Buys Canadian Plant. ‘The future of Canaca is very bright and an active participation in its growing importance is highly desirable,” said Alvan Macauley, president of the Packard Motor Car Co., in connection with the acquisition by his company of a plant in Windsor, Ontario, and the organization of a new Canadian s ubsidiary. The step taken by Packard may have been promoted by the order in council, announced last Spring by the Canadian government, effec- doubtless Mr. | tively restricting imports of American cars. A contributory ncu}r was S Mgucnuley's desire to co-operate with his company’s dis- tributing organization in Canada by supplying it with a car produced in Canada. Pigures invariably lend more than one interpretation. On basis of the same set of statistics two analysts may and very often do reach two different conclusions. For this reason, statistical data which are laid before the public must always be taken with a certain degree of reservation, especially when those presenting them may have reasons of their own for sup- plying different interpretations. Without questioning the sincerity of the president of the American Federa- tion of Labor, his alarming estimate that the country's unemployed in the first part of August number 5,100,000 and his even more alarming prophecy that the number will exceed 7,000,000 by January need not be taken too liter- ally. South Gloomy, Rail Head Says. He informs us that in the federa- tion's four years' record of unemploy- ment among trade unionists, only once has the Fall season failed to bring at jeast a slight improvement in August, this exception being last year. Examining employment statistics fur- nished by the Federal Reserve Board for the past 12 years, we find that in 1920 employment in August was lower than in any preceding month of the year. except June. practically true of 1921. There was relatively little variation in 1923. 1In 1924 August once more registered a record low for the year to date, except for July. In the following year there was little change, while in 1926 and 1927 employment in August was ex- ceeded by that registered in the months of February, March and April. There is much gloom in the South- west, occasioned by the low price of cotton, according to M. H. Cahill, chairman and president of the Mis- souri-Kansas-Texas Railway. Le Neveu Sees France Hard Hit. The situation is ufrnv-ted by the low price of foodstuffs and the de- moralized condition of the wheat mar- ket, but Mr. Cahill does not fail to add a word of cheer. prices, he says, the harvesting is put- ting considerable sums of money into circulation, crops have been produced with less debt against them than in former years and loadings in the terri- tory served by his company are show- ing improvement, although they are not up to those of a year ago. While reports from almost every- where refer to the unparalleled pros- perity of France, contrasting rather lshnrnly with depressed conditions of Prance's neighbor, a Frenchman who ought to know tells a somewhat dif- ferent story. M. Charles Le Neveu, president of the Prench Colonial Union (L'Union Colo- niale Francaise), says that the French budget for this year will show a deficit, that colonial trade is practically at a standstill, and that relief can come only as a result of drastic measures and a prompt renewal of business, The willingness of France to co- operate may be the forerunner to such revival. . Austria Baits Tourists. Countries with adverse trade balances so-called themselves to the The same was | HOOVER RUNS TRUE - T0 AVERAGE IN AGE EEight of 29 Predecessors, Like Him, Reached 57 While President. President Hoover's celebration of his fifty-seventh birthday in the White House recalls the fact that eight of his 29 predecessors reached that ‘ofl!ce which he now hoids. ‘Mm.m Van Buren, Andrew | Rutherford B. Eayes, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, Willlam McKinley, Woodrow Wilson and Warren G. Hard ing. ;mrr Presidents had no_fifty-seventh James Knox Polk died at am Lincoln at 56 and James A. Garfield at |49, the latter two victims of assassins. John Adams and Thomes Jefferson | had their fifty-seventh birthdays in the vice presidency, while James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams and | James Buchanan attained 57 in the | post of Secretary of State. Taylor Still in Army at 57. Zachary Taylor was in the Army at |57 and Andrew Jackson was a United | States Senator—with presidential am- bitions. George Washington was at Mount | Vernon on his fifty-seventh birthday, | speaking of himself as having entered | “the sunset of life.” A few weeks later | he was to receive formal notification of his flecuon as the first Chief Executive. Despite low | | back in private life for their fifty-sev- |enth birthdays, and William Howard | Taft was in tem ry eclipse as pro- fessor of law at Yale University on the fifty-seventh return of the date tember 15 in the story of his career. | Altogether Mr. Hoover is running true |to presidential form. A little mental | arithmetic shows that 54 is about the iright age to become President, and { having done that, he achieved 57 as his | “average” predecessors did. It has been s ted that there is a sociological significance in these figures. A republic, it seems, secures more ma- | ture "executives than ever monarchies in the were » A—1S INVESTMENT BOND STATUS 1S SOUGHT Many Inquiries Made by Pur- chasers as Firms’ Earn- ings Decline. Special Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, August 29.—Prom in- terior cities have come a number of inquiries as to whether the session of the New York will take any action in re to the State’s list of bonds legal for invest- ment by savi banks and trust eom- panies. Wall Street had hopes that some action might be taken, but it was pointed out today that Gov. called the session to consider e legislation in connection with the New York City investigation and there is little likelinood that he will go into other measures at this time. This Investment problem is by no means confined to New York, for in every State where mutual savings banks are operated and a list of legal investments for them is set up, New York is looked to for precedent. one-} charges to go on the lqll‘ h.l.llt in this State. 'nu”uu able to carry their portfolios witl being forced to take heavy losses. Individual investors also are con- ecerned about the status of these bomds. pulsory for banks h immediately, the price would of be ::;lh‘ un! 3 As a matter of fact, the so-called - list” is not an absolute au- thority. Joseph A. Broderick, New York State superintendent of has stated: “The trustees of banks are not, because of this relleved of the duty of making a ecare- ful investigation on their own part mm]m&u‘mbhm In fact, it would be improper for the trustees of savings banks to place their nh‘.nlhnummh;.]tfim ‘The banking law of the State “Whenever any securities purel by any savings bank ant to the pmvlninuoluem!gn:lu the date such purchase was made, ceased to be an authorized investment (Copyright, 1031) New York Cotton Special Dispatch to The Star. net gains of 6 to 8 points. terests had few hedges for sale and trading disclosed a scarcity of con- tracts. Spots were advanced 10 points to 7.5 Cotton October December h. F. M. BELLAMY, AUTHOR OF PLEDGE TO FLAG, DIES By the Associated Press. TAMPA, Fla., August 29 —Francis M. Bellamy, author of “The Pledge to the Flag,” died at his home here last night. Bellamy wrote “The Pledge to the " in 1892 while he was a NEW YORK, August 29. orders on several Fall lines of kitchen are mainly fasl braided felts. : ; H’fl s |