Evening Star Newspaper, December 18, 1931, Page 15

FINANCIAL, NGTOXN, D. C RIDAY DECE CURB SHARES RISt INBRISK TURNOVER Market Leaders Show Re- covery When Selling Pres- sure Lifts. BY JOHN A. CRONE. patch to The Star NEW YORK. December 18 —After & Rlow st the Curb Exchange today | showed a burst of speed which brought | the marke volume almost equal to that of last Monday. with slight gains | scattered through th> list Electric Bond & Share, the market | leader. relieved of the liquidation char- acter of selling which markod its move- ments _Thursday. rallied fractionally Citi TVic as turned over in good | volume. moving within a quarter-point range. Standard Oil of Indiana threat- ened to violate its low. but recovered every time it equaled its previous mini- | mum mark nd motors rong spots. thou pressure duri noon from the mic espee zago. and from New F was durir last two day’s ma ewmont Mining, a pany. was the chiel beneficiary of the | mark-up in red metal and the rise of | copper shares. Demand for United | Verde Extension, however, picked up. as | it declared the regular quarterly divi-| dend of cen This development | also proved constructive to Hudson Bay ! Mining, Shattuck Denn and B'wana | M _Kubwa Prices on mixed at Epecial D s n were out- ) there was the fore- | hours of Tl holding com- | the Curb openir new lows, notably in ion group. Biue ional Investors and ors all mads new lows, Middle West ies dropped to a new bottom at 43, Vick Financial | Corporation at 3%; and Transcontinen- tal Air Transport at 2%, also reached new minimum quotatior Electr md & Share. which openec on a 5.000 share block at 9, unchar later went to a small gain on the da American Gas ¢ Electric and United Light & Pow A also gained. Citics Service was unchinged at 5'y after opening. Standard Oil of Indiana lost a shade. r Oil of Kentucky ewmont at 1174 r mine shares unchanged but a small gain. Other hares were inactive and s were little_changed. In the Mc ord Motor of Canada A was off fractionally to 8%5. Cord went ® fraction higher Exchange were Prudenti: most iy Preferred Stocks. NEW YORK. December —The in_ public stocks has not left the highest grade issues unscathed. One of these | ic Service Electric & Gas 5 per a few months ago sold 107 and has just dropped to 88, e from a vield basis of less cent to one of 5%; per! nother is United Gas & Im- cment. which has dechined from | 107 to 86. A third is Consolidated Gas 5 per cent. which has gone from 107 to 91 Light 5 per cent prefer: s dropped from 107!, to below 96 All of these stocks are Tecognized as among the choicest of issues. It 1s re- t some of these today than r levels 18 (Special) fa utility preferred when they SUGAR PARLEY ADJOURNS. PARL the December 18 (P).—Leaders of ational Sugar Control con- ference d today the conference has adjourned until January 5 and no agreement to limit sugar pro- tion was reached. The ad they said, was v trade figures. It by the lack of statistics from some count Petition in Bankrupte BALTIMORE. Dec muel M. McMillan Gec County v of Riverdale, | has filed a pe- ! States District | a bank- | The petitioner has $18.403.75 as- sels and $12,380.07 liabilities Orders were signed adjudicating him 8 bankrupt and referring the case to Daniel M. Murray, referee. BONDS ON THE CURB MARKET. DOMESTIC BONI f Ol Pa 5s Hocd Rubber 5 PowkLt 65 A O Fd 65 30 x G L& Cé xw 25 D 0 59 ited P 6 S Rub 61,5 ‘36 5T S Rubber 6s '33; | Va Pb Ser 5135 A ‘46 Wes Tex Ut 55 A '57. FOREIGN BO! 75 NEW YORK CURB EXCHANGE Received by Private Wire Direct to The Star Office. Stocks sold in 100-share lots excent those designated by letter *s.” Prey Sales.~ Hizh, 95 13 5l 224 109% 1931.~ Stock and Low. Dividend Rate. 5% Adams Mill 1st pf(7) 508 5's Ainsworth Mfg.. 4 'e Alexander Indust 2 3% Allied Mills Inc 4 48 Aluminum Co of Am 17508 57 AluCoof Ampf (6). 1 12% Aluminum Co Ltd... 10 Alum Goods (1.2 131, Am Bakeries A Am Cizar Co Am City P&L (A) a3 Am Cit PRLBb10% 12 Am Com P A (b10%) 146 Am Com PrB(b10%) 2 Am Corpn (£30c) . Am Cyanamid B.... Am Equities.... Am For Pow war.... Am Founders Am Gas & Elec (t1). Am Gas & E1 pf (6). Am Hardware (4). Am Invest Inc (B Am Laundry Mch Am Lt & Trao(2%). Am Maracaibo. Am Natural Gas. .. Am St Pu Sv (a1.60). Am Superpower. . Am Superp 1st (6).. Am Superp pf (6) © Am Util & Gn B vte. Avpalachian Gas Appalachian Gas wr. Arcturns Rad Tube. Arkansas Nat Gas. Arkans Nat Gas A 80 4 50 15 R0 27 58 5 14 258 Asso G& Asso G & I3 pur rt Asso Tel Ut (b8%) Atl Coast Fish Atlas Util Corp Auto V Macvrprpt2 Babeock & Wileox (4 Bellanca Air v.t.c. Beneficial | L (133). Bell Tel of Can (8) + Bliss Co(12W) (b8 %) Blue Ridie Corp Blue Ridue ov nf(al) Blumenthal (5) Brazi] Trac Lt&P(1) Brill Corp A (340) BritATcou B 1.13 Rrit Celanese rc Buckeye 'L (4).... Ruff N&EP pf (1.60). Runker Hill & Sull. . Burma rets $27 3 Bwana M Kubwa a2 Cable Radio T vtc. .. ble & Wire A rcts. e & Wire B rets. b & W pf rets 19¢. Canadian Marconi. “arih Syndicate “arnation Co (i1 ezie Metals. . amese Corp 1st pf, ‘ent Hud G&E (80c) “ent Pub Sve A b5%. ‘entral States Elec. . ‘entrifug Pipe (60c) 3 tore Devel res Stock. h (6 QR (10) 1s Copf (T).... s Service (g30¢) 202 litles Servpf (6)... 9 SYP &L pf (7)..1008 ‘laude Neon Lts Inc. 47 “le Hlum (1.60). 1 “olombia Syndicate. &1 olon Oil. 10 bia I with Edison (§ & Sou war.. mstock Tunnel sol Aircraft ol Auto Merch. nsol Auto M cu pf. 0l Copper. ..... Gas Balto (3.60) onsol Gas Ttility A Smo(k2iy) 111 Chicago Corp. “ont Sharescv pf. hares pf (B). er Ressemer. . ‘ooper Bess pf (A) “ord Corp “orp Sec Ch (b6%) . ‘orroon& Rey pr(A). “osden Ofl.... . “reole Petroleum. ‘rocker Wheeler. *rown Cork Intl (A) ‘uban Cane pr opt w. ‘uneo Press (213).. Surtiss Wright war. Dayton Air & Eng... Deere & Co. .. De Forest Radf Derby Oil Refin pf. Detroit Afreraft. Dixon (1) Cruc (%) Doehler Die Casting. Dow Chemical (2). Duke Pow (5). Duquesne Gas Durant Motors. Duval Tex Sul wi. Fast G & F Assoc. .. Sta Pow (B)... st Uil Assoe cv st Util Assoc (2) sler Electric ¢ Bond&Sh 28 : 15 1 . 1 1108 2 1 508 e —roe c Pow Assoc A (1) c P & Lt op war. mpire Corp. . Smpire PWT pt( reka Pipe L (4).. rop E Ltd A (60c) Europ Elec deb rt ans Wallow Lead. Federated Metals. 5% Fiatrets (94%c).. ilm Inspect Mach. ischman & Sons. ord Motor, Can., A Ford Motor, Can., B., Ford Mot Frn 37%c. Ford Mot Ltd 36 3-50 oremost Fabrics Foundation For Shs. s Fox lheater (A).... Galena Oil Corp. Gen Aviation. . GenE Ltd res 36 3-5c¢. Gen Fireproof (1) Gen G&E cv pf B(6).1508 Gen Theat Eq cv pf.. 13 Glen Alden Coal ( 3 ilobe Underwrit 40c, 3 Goldfield Consol Goldman Sachs. Gold Seal Elec ne Gorham Mf vte (f2). (it A&P Tea nv(16%)2308 Gt At&Pac Tea nf(7) 40s Groc Strs Prod vte.. 1 Ground Gripper. iulf Oil of Pa. Happiness Candy. .. Hazeltine Corp (1).. Hecla Mining (40¢). Hollinger Gold t70c. Hudson Bay M & S.. Humible Oil (1233).. Hygrade Food Prod. Huyler Strs of Del.. Hydro ] Securities. 111 Pow & Lt pt (6) Imp Ol of Can (50c Indiana Pipe Line(1) Indian Ter I1lu Oil A Ind Ter Illu Oil B. ... Insull Inv (b6%). . Ins Co ofNo Am t2 Insurance Securi Int Cigar Mach (2% Int Petroleum (1) Int Safety Razor (2). Int Superpwr(+1.10). Internatl Utility (A) Int Utilities B...... Interstate Equities Tron Cap Copper. Irving Air Ch (30¢) [talian Superpow A. Italian Superp war. . Klein (DE) Co (1).. Kolster-Br (Am Sh). Kress SH sp pt 60c. . 1 100 o e el B S wn mnaT e R o wae e n— 3 30 947y 18% 2118 167 167 49% 63 9 50 1513 135 331, 45 10 4 1y 11 7 312 14 2 107 29 16 25 11t % 10 Add 00. Open. High. 54 56% 9 1% 1% 10% Stock ana Bales— Dividend Rate. ~ Add 00. Open. High. Low. Close. Leh Co& Na (1.20).. 3 100 11 Libby McNeil & L... 1 3 4 Lion Oil & Refining.. 1 Lone Star Gasn 88c. 44 Long 1sland Lt (60c) Long Is cu pf B(6)..1 Long Isld Lt pf (7).. 108 Louisiana Lan & Ex. Magdalena Synd Mangel Stores 3 Mapes Cons MTg(t4) Marconl T M 87 1-10¢ Marion Steam Shov. Mass Uti] Assoc. Mass Ut ev pf (2 Mavis Bottling (A).. Mead Johnson (15).. Meriph N Gas (60¢).. Mercantile Strs (1). Merritt Chap & Scott Met Chain Stores. Mexico Ohio Oil, Michigan Gas & Oil. Mid West Ut (b8% Mld W Ut ev pf xw Mo-Kan Pipe Line. .. Mo-Kan Pipe L (B).. Moore Drop Forg(A) Mountain Prod (80c). Nat American Co.... Nat Aviation. Nat Baking pf (7)... Nat Bd & S Corp (1). Low. Close. 80 5k W 4 o 568 15 10 80 54 t Fuel Gas (1) Nat Investors. 4 Nat Pow & Lt pf (6).17008 Nat Pub Sv B (12.20) Nat Sh T Sec A t60c. Nat Sugar NJ (2)... Nat Transit (1). Nat Unlon Radlo Newberry (JJ) 1.10.. New Bradford Ofl. .. New Eng Pow pf (6) 10 1 6 N H f 108 5 501 50w New Eng T & T (8)..1508 100 New Jers Zine (13).. 8 Newmont Mining. 3661s New York Auction. . N Y Merchandise (1) N Y Shipbuilding Cp, Y Steam Cp (2.60). ansit (11).... Hud Pow (40c) Hud Pow A w.. 1ud Pow B w. hare(Md) 20c. k] Bemt-. Niplssing e Nitrate Corp Chile Noma Elec (40c) Nor W ev pf (3), Ner Central Texas Nor St Pow A (8) Nor St Pow pf (7). Novadel Agene (4) Ohlo Ofl cu pf (6). Outboard Mot A. Overseas Sec. . Pac G & E 1t pf 1%, Pac Western Ol Pan Am Airways. Pandem OIl. . Pantepec Oil. e Paramount Cab Mfg. Parke Davis (11.63), Parker st P(t31y) 100. Patterson Sarg (2).. Pennroad Corp (40c) Penn Wat & Pow (3) Pepperell Mfg (4)... Philip Morris Inc Phoenix Secur Corp. Phoenix S C pf (3) Pilot Rad Tube A Pion G M Ltd (12¢).. Pitney Bowes (b4%) Pt LE(110) 2 Pittsbgh Plate G (2 Plymouth Ol (50¢). Polyvmet Mfg Premier Gold (12¢).. Prod Roalty (b10%). Prudential Invest. .. Pub Sve,N 1in ps)., Pub Util Hold war. Pub Util Hold xw. Fub Ut HCpcum pf. Radio Products IR Shares Corp. . Rainbow Lum Pr B,. Reiter-Foster Rellance Int A. Reliance Manag. Republic Gas Corp Reybarn Co. Reynolds Invest. Rike Krumn 115).. Rock Lt & P (90c). .. Roosevelt Field Inc. Rossia Intl (10c) Rubberoid (4). Safety Car Heat & L.475, St Anthony Gold. 3 1 1 6 4 51 1 10 Schiff Co (2). Seaboard Util Sec Allied Corp (1) Sexal L & Hdwr.. Selby Shoe (1.40) ..., Selected Industries. . Shattuck Den Min. Shenandoah Corp.... 2 Shenandoah Corp pf. Shreveport Elec D. Silica Gel ctfs. Singer Mfg (8). Smith (A. 0.). Spanish & Gen rets. . South Penn Ofl (1).. SoCalEd pt B (1%4). Southern Nat Gas. Southld Royal Stand Oll of 5 Stand Oil of Ky 1.60. Stand Oil Nebr (2).. Stand Oil Onfo (23%4) 4008 Stand Pwr & Lt (2)., 1 Starrett Corp pt. 9 Sunray Oil.... 12 Swan Finch Oil Swift & Co (2). Swift Interna Swiss-Am EI pf (6).. 50, Taggart Corp. . ‘s Tampa Electric (32). Technicolor Inc..... Teck HughesGM t65¢ Texon Oil&Land (1). rans Air Trans. : Trans Lux DL P 8 » Tri-Cont Corp war » Tri-Utilities Trunz Pork Strs (1). 1 Tubize Chatel. B.... 16 Un Gas of Canada (1) 853 Union Oil Assoc (2)., Unit Chem pt pf (2). Unit Corp war:. . Unit Dry Docks. Unit Founders. Unit Gas Corp. . Unit Gas Corp war. Unit Gas pt (7).. Unit Lt & Pw A (1).. Unit L & Pwr p£(6).. Dairy (A) (6)... Slec Pow ww. ... U S & Intl Secur. . US Inter Sec 1st pf.. 6 Unit Verde Exten (1) 8 Util o & Lt (b10%) 18518 Ut P&L(B)efs b10 % Util Pwr & Lt pf(7). Utility Equities Sl Util Equity pf(5%). 150s Util& Ind .... 3 Ulility & Ind p£(1%) 5 VanCamp Pkg...... 3 Vick Financial (30¢) 10 Vozt Mfg Co (60c) Waitt & Bond A(2).. Walgreen Co. Walgreen Co war Walker, H (25¢) . Walker Mining. ..... Watson (J W) Co. ... Wenden Copper. \\:Qsh‘rn Air Exp Wil-low Cafeteria: Woolwth Ltd 17 4-5¢. 19 RIGHTS—EXPIRE Com Edison. 9 TubSve NII .Feb 1 18 PDisidend rates in dollars based on last quarterly Dual pAYmENL “Ex dividend. }arily extra. iPlus 4% in Stock. Sivitend® i cash or stock. bPayable in stock. e Adjustme 1% | dividend, 5.5% in stock. gPlus 6% in stock. h Plis 1% o | Shock: " in stock. 'k Plus 10% in stock. mPlus 37 * In stock. p Paid last year—no regular rate. 35 5 16 4 8 32 9 5 s 3 6 206 114 17 16 87 5 2 14 in 10% in Receivership Asked. BALTIMORE, December 18 (Spe- cial).—A petition asking that receiv- ers be appointed for the Appalachian | Corporation, engaged in the investment | business, was filed in the Circuit Court | vesterday by B. Edward Cohen, stock- | holder, who alleges that the corpora- tion has lost $1.890,000, or 95 per cent, of its capital since August 30, 1929, through reckless and willful expendi- | quested that the officers be restrained tures. from disposing of the corporation’s as- Judge Alberi S. J. Owens signed an | S¢S and that an accounting be ren- order requiring the corporation to shou | 4ered.. cause by January 2 why the petition e TREASURY CERTIFICATES. sh%lkx‘ld no:u?e granted. e petition also said that S (Reported by J. & W. Seligman & Co.) Rate—Maturity. B o and employes of the corporation were paid excessive salaries and that the of . 100 2-32 ficers had purchased stock at high and 100 100 2-32 excessive prices, leaving assets of only | B um 9 e about $110,000, 99 14-32 99 18-32 e P . 3 St Cohen likewise re- 3%, Beor 15, 1533 < | fairs. | rumor says will of seml-an-! STRICTER BUDGET POLICY S URGED |Business Organizations in Movement to Reduce Gov- ernment Expenses. BY CHAS. P. SCHAEFFER. Associated Press Business Writer, Foundation for a drive to increase the purchasing power of the tax dollar was laid in Washington recently at a con- ference participated in by 11 promi- nent business organizations of the country. Held under the joint auspices of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States and the Brookings Institate, the parley stressed elimination of waste and increase of efficiency of public services as the most promising means of avoid- ing tax increases, and of bringing Gov- ernmental finances onto a basis consist- ent with current taxpaying ability. Extent of Recommendations. Recommendations of the conference covered a wide field. Among the most important of them are: Budget systems should be made to nrovide adequate control of expendi- | iives | tures. | Public officials, citizens and business |and civic agencies should co-bperate in | the appoiniment of voluntary commis- | sions to advise with officials as to possi- ble curtailments and improvements of | public_services and as to temporary uspension of secondary activities, Studies should be made of possible modernization of administrative prac~ tices States should furnish financial advice to local governments and assume more direct supervision over their fiscal af- The terms of bonds for capital im- provements sheuld not exceed the life of the improvements Local governments should be con- solidated to eliminate overlapping and duplication, Other Participants. Other organizations participating in the conference were: Detroit Bureau cf Governmental Research, Governmental Reseurch Association of New York, Mu- nicipal _Administration Service, New York, National Association of Real Estate Boards. Chicago. National Com- mittee_on Municipal Standards. Chi- cago; National Institute of Public Ad- ministration, New York: National Mu- nicipal League, New York; National Tax Asscciation, New York, and Public Ad- | ministration Clearing House, Chicago Low Steel Production. NEW YORK. December 18 (Special) This week’s figures of steel produc- tion show that the output for the en- re country has dropped down to 25 Iper cent of capacity 261, per cent previous week and 30 per cent in November. It is anticipated that t rage for the month will be |ir. the neighborhood of 25 per cent, as !the dull period is now on and there is | not likely te be much initiative shown {or,_the part of buyers There have been delays in purchases have been expected this month < as those by automobile manufac turers, but it s still the expectation of | the trade that these will come forward in larger volume than normally first months of 1932. Along with the falling off in output is a further test of the price structure, with concessions of from $1 to $2 a ton in different fin- ished steel schedules. This general sit- uation relates closely, of course, to the | market for the securities of iron and | steel companies and will affect dividend policies when they have to be deter- { mined in January. " Dividends and Non-Dividends. NEW YORK. December 18 (Special) — The stocks that are weakest are those that are paying dividends. but which be. reduced or passed. Those that show the most resistance are | from the group that no dividend or has omitted. The worst | these issues is known. is New York Central | with little check from below 2 { one of had 1ts that could befall A case in point which declined above 100 to strongest shares on the list. INVESTMENT TRUSTS NEW YORK. December 18 () —Over- | the-counter market: B E r Shrs | Am & Gi Am Br | Am | Am Fd Am Fdrs Am Fdrs Am Fd; com cv pt ctfs!] 5.1 40 com.. Stocks Atl Sec of... Atl Sec war & Pac Int i & Pac com ww Basic | British Ty Century Tt Shrs Chain & G Equities Chartered nvest . ... | Chartered Inv pf.. . Chelsea Exch A Chelsea Exch B Cumblative Corporate Trust | Corporate Trust A" ‘A Corporate Trust Accum ' Ser Crum & Fos Crim & Fost 8, pf Crum & Fost Ins | Crum & Fost 1 Depos Bk Shrs N Y Depos Bk Sh N ¥ A" Depos Ins Shrs A" Diversified Tr A Diversified Tr Bl 38 Equity Invest pf Equity Trust Shrs Five Year Fixed Tr . Fixed Trust Sh A . Fixed Trust Sh B ! Fund Tr Shrs A ... Fund Tr Shrs B Granger Trade : Gude Winmill Trad Incorp Investors Incorp Invest Eaquit Independ Tr Shrs Int Sec Corp Am A Int Sec Corp Am B Int Sec Am 6. pf Int Sec Am 63 pf Inv Tr N Y Coll “A" Invest Trustee Sh .. | Leaders of Indust A"l | Leaders of Indust B Leaders of Indust C Low Priced Shrs Major Corp Shrs . Mass Invest Tr Mur Inv Tr A Mutual Manage Nation Wide Sec Natl Indust Shrs Natl Tr Shrs ... N'Y Bk Tr Shrs Nor Am Tr Shares '’ Nor Am Tr Sh 1955 Nor Am Tr Sh 1956 Northern Secur 88 Ol ‘Shares units Old Col Tav Tt Gld GOl Tr Assoc ! Petrol Trac A Public Serv_Tr *. Repres Tt Shrs Second Int Sec A | Second Int Sec B Sec Int o', 1st pf | Secur Coip Gen 6 bt RN ot o ;4| Selected Am_Sh Selected Income Sh'’ Selected Manage Trus. Shawmut Ba - Spencer Trask_Fund Stand All Am Tr | Stand Am Tr Shr Stand Collat Trus State Street Invest Super of Am Tr A. Super of Am Tr B. Super of Am Tr C! Super of Am Tr D! Trust Shrs of Am.. Trustee Stand Inv Trustee Stand Iny D) Trustee St Oil A Trustee St O:l Shrs B. Trusteed N Y C Ban Trusteed Am Bk Sh. Tr Am Bk A... ... .0 Twentieth Cent Fixed Tr.. Two-Year Trust Sh. United Fixed Shrs.. Unit_Fdrs 1-70th Cons United Ins Shrs.. United Bank Tr U S & Brit Int Ltd A U 8§ & Brit Int $3 pf.. U S Elec Lt & Pow A u U . BB s sl meal BN S Elec Lt & Pow B. miversal Tr Sh.. compared with | in the i either has paid | ditidend | but has since Wednesday been i GLOOM SUPPLANTS OPTIMISM Bpecial Dispatch to%he Star. NEW YORK, December 18.—How times have changed! Less than two and a half years sufficed to convert the world from a place of cheer and op- timism into one of gloom and pessi- mism. In 1929, economists and statesmen on both sides of the Atlantic could see nothing but a continuation of pros- perity. They could see a securities market moving in only one direction— namely, higher. Any one who dared hold a different view was looked upon as a traitor. To be bearish on the American securities market, despite the fantastic quotations which obtained, was tantamount to high treason. Dis- counting_the future growth of the United States was the slogan of the day. Analysis of prices revealed, however, that not alone the future, but the hereafter was being discounted. It was futile to issue warnings. them seriously, and shares went mer- rily higher. Fuying Was Universal. Men abandoned their business and —the sacred bull. At his altar the Nation—nay, the whole world—brought sacrifices. Even transatlantic liners, where one could ordinarily rest from the bustle of Wall Street, had fully possible to buy and sell even while away from home. The rise in shares was greatly helped by the enormous number of so-called investment trusts which were being organized. They immediately entered the market on a large scale and pur- chased the so-called leaders The result was that the portfolio of one was almost identical with that of another. They all began with Air Reduction and ended with Woolworth Some started with Abitibi Paper and ended with Zenith Radio. They were quoted at substantially above the s called break-up or liquidating vatue. This premium, so it was said, rep- resented the ability of the management to make money. Bonds were anathema to the trusts. If it happened that one or two bonds were contained among a trust’s holdings, their presence was ex- cused on the grounds that they were cither convertible or had certain stock | purchase privileges A wave of speculation, unparalleled in the history of finance, engulfed the Nation. Many who had withstood the temptation at first succumbed sooner or later. No one took | joined the army of worshipers of Apis | equipped brokerage offices, making it | IN WORLD FINANCIAL CENTERS Seventeen months the orgy lasted Then came the crash. The sacred bull died and, with him, countless wor- shipers. The “wiser than thou” man- agement trusts were quite as helpless as all other ordinary mortals who were not regarded as experts on securities prices, and who were not known to possess the rare gifts of being able to forecast accurately future price move- ments. Stocks collapsed and shares of trusts declined even more violently. They were now selling considerably be- low " the liquidating value, the dis- count apparently representing the abil- ity of the management to lose money. Pendulum Swung Too Far. The pendulum admittedly had swung teo far in one direction in 1929. It has swung too far in the other in 1931, Fundamentals, to be sure, still leave a good deal to be desired, but the reces- sion unquestiqnably has gone too far. No one rang the bell signaling the end of the bear market, It will come when least expected. Economic_crises are not new phe- nomena. They have occurred at all times throughout the ages. It may seem strange to call attention to the fact that earlier crises were almost always regarded as the worst which had occurred up to that time Every one deemed it his duty to sub- | mit a plan to remedy the situation Ev one blamed the Government for its failure to provide profitable orders to industry and for all Threatened shortage of gold and de- preciation of silver were almost invari- ably cited as the chief cause of eco- nomic difficulties. Executives of nations ordered investigations were convened and resolutions were | adopted But prosperity could not be brought had not occurred as the result of legis- | lative acts. Just as war and peace fol- low eacl other with more or less regu- Narity, so do crises and booms. The present depression is not much difterent from previous panics. It is not the worst. Others have been just as severe. And just as others have |come to an end, so will the present crisiscollapse, to be followed, as it happened on previous occasions. by an era of prosperity of much longer dura- tion than the preceding period of stress. Those who have courage in the midst of general dismay are bound to reap substantial profits | (Copyright. 1931. by the North | Newspaper Alliance. Inc) American Everybody’s Business Rash Statements of Con- gressmen to Attract Pub- lic Attention Shown McFadden Attack Hoover—Revival of Busi- n on ness Seen as President's Objective. BY DR. MAX WINKLER. Specla! Dispatch 1o The Star NEW YORK. December gressmen do not hesitate sensational statements so keeps them before the public, particu- Ilarly before their constituents. The ac- curacy of such statements they rarely if ever, go to the trouble of verifying The latest example in this direction is the outburst of Representative Louis T. | McFadden, who accuses the President | of proposing to sell the United States | to Germany. < What the Nation's Executive actually proposes to do is to make possible a re- vival of business and an early return to prosperity. He feels, and in this Te- spect all serious-minded people will share his views. that intergovernmental | debts, including reparations, constitute the principal obstacle to & speedy re- habilitation. It is. however, unfortu- nate that statements such as that of 18—Con- to make long as 1t cause irretrievable damage The Representative from Pennsylva- {nia and many of his colleagues do not | apparently realize that a default on German commercial loans will hurt the investing public who hold these bonds and not the interests who merely sold them. M-K-T fo Show Margin. The Missouri-Kansas-Texas lines are expected to earn their fixed charges this year, with a margin of about $700.- . ‘according to a statement issued by company. This will be achieved through economies and improvement in efficiency. S The statement also calls attention o the improvement which took place in October, adding that if it had been maintained in November and through December the road would have made a most noteworthy showing for such a vear as this. The foregoing comment | was made in connection with the pass- ing of the quarterly dividend on the eferred. P A official of the Baltimore & Ohio recently estimated the road’s earnings for 1931 at $4 a share. Thus the divi- dend would seem covered. Quotations on the common stock. however, clearly indicated that payment would be omit- ted at yesterday's meeting and only the preferred dividend was declared. ~This should please some of the speculators who are understood to have been heavy sellers of common for the past several weeks. Dollar Weathers Storm. As to the road’s funded debt, it is worth pointing out that the service charges are being earned by an ade- e margin. e PAmerican dollar, the Federal Re- serve and the American banking system have weathered the storm triumphantly, fccording to Col. Leonard P. Ayres, vice president of the Cleveland Trust Co. and one of the country's best known cconomists and business forecasters. Col. Avres also points out that public confidence in money and credits has been increasing again and that hoard- ing has slowed to small proportions. The two main forces, the colonel adds, which have caused the business 50 Today....... Previous day. Week ago. Month ago. Year ago. Three years ago. Five years ago... High, 1931 Low, 1931 High, 1930 Low, 1930 High, 1929 Low, 1929 * New 1931 low. 62.3* 63.6 68.5 Today. . Previous Week ago. Month ago. Year ago. Two years ago Three years ago. High, 1931 High, 1929 Low, 1929 *New 1931 low. Mr. McFadden gain wide publicity and | STOCK AND BOND By the Associated Press. From Yesterday's 5:30 Edition. Industrials, | depression. namely, the collapse of wholesale prices and the contraction of credit un pressure of the banks. ap- parently have reached the end of their ropes. Dutch Exchange Hit. ‘The sharp setback in Dutch exchange | appears to be due almost entirely to speculative activities concentrated upon the guilder. The reasoning is fairly logical. Selling at par. further advance: bevond the gold level are not very likely. Consequently there is little risk olved in selling On the other hand, recessions may zssume sufficiently large proportions to make such transactions worth while from the standpoint of profits. The metallic cover and foreign Teported by the Nederlandsche Bank are equiva- {lent to more than 97 per cent of the total notes in circulation. Short selling is therefore fraught with danger. Spec- ulators, however, think of momentar: profits only PFrance con tration into cial transact ties her_economic pene- land. The latest finan- n reported to have been arranged in France on bel ally involves a loan of francs. equivalent The money is to be turn N 00.000.000 -d over to t onal Bank of Poland to enable it to t. among others, Soviet gov- nt trade bills. The terms of the new French credit have not been made public, but within reason to assume that they were much more favorable than quotations of Polish bonds on the New York Stock Exchange indicate, (Copyright. 1931 by the North American Newspaper Alliance, Inc.) NEW BRITISH TARIFF American Exports Hit by 50 Per Cent Ad Valorem Duty, Effec- tive After Saturday. B the Associated Press LONDON. December 18 —American exports in large number will be hit by a 50 per cent ad valorem duty to be imposed after Saturday under the terms | of the third anti-dumping order which the Board of Trade issued last night Among the items included on the list are incandescent bulbs, fittings and ac- cessories for use in connection with in- terior lighting: fuses. sockets. shades, reflectors, switches and the like. Also photographic cameras and parts. unexposed paper. plates and films other than motion picture films; lawn mowers: manufactured products wholly or partly of cotton. including tissues in | the piece. flags. hankerchiefs, shawls | and household cotton goods; cordage, | ropes and twine under one-fourth inch diameter. & Other items are garments. complete or incomplete, other than underwear; | hosiery, complete or incomplete, for men. women or children | Also citric acid. tartaric acid, cream | of tartar, aluminum sulphate, ammonia alum, soda alum. potash alum, ammon- ium chloride, and lithopone; rubber proofed tissues in the piece: loaded | cartridges or empty cartridge cases. The Board of Trade revealed figures | showing that in each case there had been large increases in the amounts of goods imported into England recent- ly apparently in anticipation of a gen- eral tariff. In two or three cases where Ameri- can _products are aflected, especially |in the case of electric fixtures, Ameri- | can firms already have begun plans to | manufacture the articles complete in England to avoid duty. The govern- ment has no abjéction to establishment of branch factories in England for that purpose. AVERAGES STOCKS. Industrials, 20 Rails. 63.0 62.3 68.6 83.2 97.9 105.2 104.9 105.7 62.3 109.8 97.3 106.0 1008 Utilities, 80.2% 81.2 853 (Copyright, 1931, Standard Statistics Co.) employment | Conferences | back by decrees, just as the depression | to about $8.000.000. | AFFECTS U. S. TRADE, GIFT TAX RETURN SEEN BY EXPERTS Substantial Amount of Holi- day Buying Expected to Yield Revenues. BY JOHN F. MILLER. Although the gifts that will be made | this Christmas may not be as large as in some former years, there will be some very substantial ones, tax ex- perts predicted today. It is now al- most certain that the old gift tax will be_reinstated, they pointed out That levy was first imposed under | section 319 of the revenue act of 1924 and was repealed as of January 1, 1926, The rates were graduated and ranged originally from 1 per cent to 40 per jcent. They were later reduced to make : the maximum levy 25 per cent. Object of Tax. The return of the gift tax, unlike some of the other 1924 levies, will not * due primarily to the fact that the ernment needs this source of reve- but to prevent evasion of the tax. Under the law gifts made lin contemplation of death are subject 1o the death tax. but for some reason the Government has never been able 9 make any use of that provision. In | AImost every case in which the point has been an issue the courts have ruled {In favor of the taxpaver and held that death was not the impelling motive When the gift tax was repealed in 1926, Congress foresaw that such a uation would probably arise and at- tempted to provide for it by a statute sunder which all gifts made within two years before death are conclustvely presumed to have been made in con- templation of death. In other words, {1 & person made a gift and died within LWo years. the amount of the gift was W be subjected to the death tax That statute is arbitrary and uncon- stitutional. several of the Federal courts have held. and the question is now be- fore the Supreme Court of the United States. Any doubt that it would affirm the decisions of the lower courts was dispelled a few days ago when Justice Roberts cited a case in point. with evi- dent approval. That case. decided by the Supreme Court several years ago, involved a Wisconsin statute under which an arbitrary period of six years \x'a:~ A;( Justice kl;lolmax registered the only dissent in the recent o Justice Roberts S Apparently the only way to take care of the situation is to do away with the two-vear limitation—in other words, to all gifts taxable regardless of \lrh‘“n made and regardless of the mo- G nue | estate Retroactive Clause Unlikely. There will be no difficulty in getting S5 to approve such a measury ! of the members have alread: expressed themselves in favor of the | levy. pointing out that the Government {has lost a large amount of revenue through its failure to collect a tax from certain large estates n all probability Congress will n attempt to make retroactive any la‘: | Which it may enact. In fact. such a statute would probably be held invalid No tax will be imposed on gifts already made or.on those made between now |and the date the new law becomes ef- fective, tax attorneys believe. (Copyright, 1931 of her | New York Cotton Specinl Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK. December 18 —Cotton brices were little changed at the open- g of the market today Trading was in slow volume. with trade purchases just about offsetting professional offer- ings December opened at 6.04. off 1: Jan- Vary, 608, up 1: March, 6.25, un- changed: May. 646. up 2: July, 662, 1p 1, and October. 6.8, up 1. Grain Market By the Associated Press CHICAGO, December 18.--Grains { scored advances today after a wavering start. Upturns in securities helped to promote purchases of wheat futures here. and so. too. did relative strength | of wheat quotations at Liverpool. Oeping '\ off to -5 up, wheat afterward rose all around. Corn started unchanged to %.-!; lower and subse- | quently rallied | " Assertions that Government crop fig- ures this afternoon from Washington were to make a bullish exhibit likely | regarding acreage and condition of the new domestic Winter wheat crop tend- |ed to give an additional upward im- | pulse to grain prices. There were also indications that French millers would soon be permitted to use 10 per cent of foreign wheat instead of only 3 per cent. Meanwhile, a sharp break in the United { States Steel stock was virtually ignored by wheat traders Evidence that standing orders to pur- chase May wheat at about 56'» cents were in the pit did much to put back- bone into all grain values. At times, the bulges from that price amounted to well above a cent a bushel. No ma- terial pressure to sell wheat Was ap- parent at this time. and traders who were short ‘of wheat turned hastily to the buying side. Corn and oats rose with wheat despite favorable weather over the corn belt. Upturns in hog values steadied the provision market. CALLS CERTAIN STOCKS IN BUYING AREAS While not all stocks and bonds are now in a buying area, and while some are likely to experience further de- clines, there are numerous issues which can now be bought with the confident expectation that they will not greatly depreciate from now on and will show good profits to investors in the rea= sonably near future, accrding to & recent market advisory bulletin of R. W. McNeel, director of McNeel's Pinan- cial Service of Boston. COPPER PRICES ADVANCED. NEW YORK., December 18 (#) —Fol- lowing yesterday's advance of !, cent in the domestic price of copper to 7 cents Copper Exporters, Inc., today ad- vanced the price of copper abroad !5 cent to the equivalent of 7!, cents. On this basis the domestic price would be T'4 cents, or 1, cent higher than the quotation in effect when the market closed last night. The copper trade expected the domestic price would soon be revised upward to conform to the new foreign price, POTATO MARKET. CHICAGO, December 18 (#).— (United States Department of Agricul- ture) Potatoes—Receipts, 48 cars; on track, 225; total United States ship- ments, 417; dull trading rather slow: sacked per hundred-weight, Wisconsin round whites, 75a85: unclassified, few sales, 70; Idaho Russets No. 1, 1.45a1.55; few higher: commercials, few sales, 1.00; Nebraskan Triumphs, 1.00a1.12%;. PARIS BOURSE PRICES, PARIS, December 18 (#).—Three per cent rentes, 79 francs 15 centimes, Five per cent loan, 99 francs 45 cen- times. Exchange on London, 85 francs 94 centimes. The dollar was quoted at 25 francs 41% centimes. 4 -