Evening Star Newspaper, December 19, 1931, Page 15

FINANCIAL. THE EVENING STAR, WASHIN iTON, D CURB STOCKS RISE | INACTIVE MARKET Public Utilities Take Leader- ship in Rapidly Advanc- Stocks sold in 100-share lots excent those d ~Prev. 1931, Btock and Bales— High. Low. Dividend Rate. 121 Aero Underwriters 5l Allfed Mills Inc..... 1 224 Aluminum Co of Am 17508 109% AluCoof Ampf (6). 1 16% Alum Goods (1.20).. 1 82 Am Cigar Co ....2508 Add 00. Open. High. Low. Close. 1 13 4% NEW YORK CURB EXCHANGE Received by Private Wire Direct to The Star Office. ~Prey. 1931~ High. Low. 1% 4’ 54 20y 118% ignated by letter 13 13 % 61% 574 10 80% 13 Meriph 8tock ana Div 4 Magdalena Synd..... Mass U . Mavis Bottling (A).. May Hos cum pf (2). Mead Johnson (15).. Salea— idend Rate. Acd 00. Open High. Low. Close. W 2 24 2% H W % 18% 50 til Assoc. 50 N Gas (60c) . s&Oll., ing Market. 3874 Am City P&L (A) a! 10 Am Cit P&L Bb10% 17 Am Com P A (b10% ) 297 Am Com Pr B(b10%) 4 7 84 6 T Mid Sta Pet vic B.... Mid West Ut (h8%). Mo-Kan Pipe Line. Miller (1) & Sons BY JOHN A. CRONE. Bpecial Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK. December 19 —Opening with a burst of spesd, stocks on the Curb exchange moved forward teday in the most active Saturday trading in more than six weeks. Electric Bond & Share opened on a block of 10,000 shares at 1214, up 7, and in the next few trades a 5000- share lot came out at 125 Citles Serv- ice opened lower but quickly rallied as most of the oils, under the leadership of Standard Oil of Indiana, moved forward briskly. Public utilities, espectally the New York State power and light companies, and natural gas shares, were especially favored, following the announcement of the new deals just en:ered into by Columbia Gas & Electric and Standard Oil of New Jersey. This announcement implies a rapid completion of pipe lines under way and the nearby delivery of natural gas to all of the important in- dustrial centers of the Atlantic sea- board. Only six years ago Wall Street had scarcely heard of natural gas and less than a dozen States utilized it, but within the next two months there will be 35 States in which that fuel will be widely distributed. BONDS ON THE CURB DOMESTIC BONDS, High. Low. Close 601 801 18 ° 18 19% 35 Am Pw 518 3Am Cmwih Pw ‘65 '40 0w 65 A ‘57 32Amer G & E 55 2028 2 Amer G & Pow 65 39 32 Amer P & L 65 2016 2 Amer Rad 4725 43 2 Amer Roll Mill 55 48 13 Appalach Pow 55 ‘36 13 Asso Elec Ind 47as 53 TAS0 G & E 4.5 48, 43As50 G & E 4125 40 C 19 Asso Gas & EI 55 50 70 Asso_Gas & El 55 6§ 4 As GAE 5'35 38 in 13As50 G & F 8'as "7 23 Asso T & T 5125 A 55 16 As Tel Util §':s ‘44 5 Boldwin Loco 5125 '3 5Bell Tel Can 85 A 14 Be'l Tel Can 55 B 22 Bell Tel Can 55 C 1 Boston Con G 5s 16Can Nat Ry 3i:s 1Cap Adm 5s A 53 4 Caroiina P & L 5s '3 2 Caterpillar_Tr 55 Cent Il PS4l,s F ' Cent Pow & Lt 5 ent Pub Ser 5'5s ent Stat Elec 35 ent St Elec 5'as ' ert St P&L hic Ry cod 3 2 s 55 s Service 55 1 Serv Gas 5ias 3Cit Ser Gas P_6s '43 40 Cit Serv Pow 5! 4 Cleve Elec Tlu 5s 8 Cleve El Illu 55 A 3 Comwih Ed 412 E 2 Comwh Ed 4's D 'S 27 Comwh Edis 4s F 3Con Gas Balto 4s 5 33 50. 66, 1 5 3 12 2 3 1 A 5 c S ot & S & it 4 Gatineau Pow 65 " 7Gatineau Pw 6s B 5Gen Mot Acc 55 5Gen Pub Util 6s 56Gen Pb Ut 625 A 13 Geors E Pa 55 '47 2 Hood Rubber §1.5 8 Houst Guif G 65 A H 25 oust L&P 4125 D Pow & Lt 63 A | Pow & Lt 53 G B tern Sec Am 55 47 ta Boxer 85 157 llnves Co 55 A 47 xw 6 Iowa-Nb L&P 55 B '61 18 Jers C P&L 4125 C '61 4Jer Cen PAL 35 B '47 2 Kansas Pow 5s A ‘47 1 Kentucky Ut 5s H ‘61 5 Kopper G&C 5ias '50 17Lehigh P S 6s 2026 3 Libby McN & L 55 42 2La P & L 55 '57 3 McCord Rad 65 '43 2 Manitoba Pw 51 10 Massachu Gas 53 '3 Montr L & P Narragansett National Food 6s Nat P & L 65 A 2026 Nat P & L 55 B 2030 Nat P 8 8 '78...... 16 Nebraska Pw 4125 81 1Nevada Calif 55 S6.. 1§ New Eng G&E 55 47 7New Enz G&E 35 'S0 12 New Eng Pow. 5s 48 1§ New Eng Pw 5las '54 4 New Orleans 4'is '35 SN Y Fo In 5':s 48°A INYP &L 4is 2No Con U 5! 2No Ohio PAL 1 Nor Stat Pow 30nio Edison 90nio Pow 4! 30hio Pow § § Okia_Gas & s 15 Pacific’ GRE 4'.s '> 12Pac G & E 425 F 3Pac G & EL B 6s 2 Pacific Pw & L 55 1Pa Cen P&L 4 13 Penn O Ed 6s_'50 5 Pa_Ohio P&L 525 14 Penn W&P 4735 B 5Peop G L & G 45 | 3 Peoples L & P 55 5Phila Elec 5'as ‘12 5 Piedmt El 6125 A 60 2 Proct & Gam 4'2s '47 §P S No Il 4lac 7 Pub § P&L 5135 A '49 Pug § P&L 4135 '50 D Rel Manage 55 A_'54 Repub _Gas_ 65 Roch Cn_Pw Safe H Wat Seripps 5135 Shaw hefeld St 51 k 6 2w FoR0nDDDN g 2% uthw G&E 55 A '57 thw P&L 65 A 2022 taley Mig 65 42 tand Gas & E 65 '35 tand G&E cv_ 65 '35 tand Gas & E 6s o1 Stand Gas & E 6s '66 tand Inv 5iss 39 Standard P & L 6s '57 Sun Oil 5'zs ‘39 3 Super of Tl 41as ‘68 Super of Tllin 4135 '70 Swift_Co 55 40 wi.. Tex cfiv Sas '35 Mia 1Texas Elec 55 60 wi 3 Texas Gas Ut 65 '45 4Texas P & L 55 56 1Thermoid_ Co 6s 34 1Tri Uil 5579 47 Union Gulf 55 'S0 20Uni Am Inv 55 A 48 10Uni Lt & Ry 5155 '52 1Uni Lt & Ry 65 A '52 4Unit Lt & Ry 55 ‘32 2Unit Pub Ser 65 A 43 U S Rubber 65 '33... Va E & P 5s A 5h a5 A 46 Sery s 46 58 s Pub Serv 55 B '50 aldor{-Astor 75 ash W & Pow 5s ‘60 est_Penn 55 2030.. es Tex Ut 5s A 51 ‘estvac Chl 5'is '37 95 FOREIGN BONDS. 2Buen Air Prov Ts '52 3 3Buen Air Pr Tiss ‘i1 1Cauca Valley 7s '48 10 Cent Bk Ger 8s A ‘51 10 Gent Bk Co 6s B '31. Com Pr Bk Slas 'S7 Eur Ei cp 612 8 xw 4 Europe lh'r‘l C '87. 2 17 Ger Con: un 6s '47 8Ger Gon Mun s ‘47 1 Hamburg Elec 7s '35 2Isarco Hyd El 7s '52 2 tta Fras 7s '42 ww Sup Pow 6s A '63 anhao Braz 7 '3 F'G Co 6ss A 3 Russ 61as ctf N € ‘19 Saarbrueck 7s '35... Dea0nDEE @ v va va Va REES LN 558 NS s, 128 Am Cyanamid B. 3 Am Dept Stores 112 Am DT NJ cv pf(7). % Am Equities. ... 814 Am For Pow war bly Amn Founders. .. 5 9% Am Gas & Elec (${). 54 T8 Am Invest Inc (B) 1% Am Maracalbo 5% Am Natural Gal 19% b Am Superpower. Am Util & Gn B vte.. Appalachian Ga Arkansas Nat G: Arkans Nat Gas A. Ark N G cu pf (60c). Asso'Gas & Electric. AS80 G&EI A(bz-25) . Asso G&E all ct 1.60. Ass0 G & El war. Atl Coast Fish. Atlas Ut1) Corp. .. Auto V Macv prpt2 Bell Tel of Can (8).. 1008 Bliss Co(EW) (b8%) 2 Blue Ridge Corp.... 10 Blue Ridge cv pf(a3) Blumenthal (S). Bourjois, Ine (50¢) Brazil Trac Lt&P(1) Erit Celanese rcts. Buff N&EP pf (1.60). Bunker Hill & Sull.. Burcoflnc USSRy Burco Inc war. Kurco, Inc. conv pf Butler Bros. ... Cable & Wire B ret: Cab & W pfrets 1ue. Canadian Marcont. Carib Syndicate. Celanese Corp 1st pf. 2 Cent I'ub Central s ChiBRQR IR (1 Clties Service (g30c) Citles Serv pf (6)... Claude Neon Lts Inc. Clev El lllum (1.60). Colombla Syndicate.. Colon Ol Col OI1& Gas vie. Columbia Pic vie. ... Commwlth Edison (82, Cmwith & Sou war Comstock Tunnel Consol Auto Merch Consol Copper. .. Cou Gas Balto (3.60) ol Gas Utility A. Min&Sm (k213). Consol Theaters. Cont Shares pf (B) Cooper Bess pf (A).. Cresson Consol (4¢). Crocker Wheeler Wright war. Cusi Mex Mining.... Dayton Air & Eng. Deere & Co...... De Forest Radlo..... Doehler Die Casting. Dubller Cond & Rad Durant Motors. Duval Tex Sul wi East Sta Pow (B). st Utl Inv A Eisler Electric. S Elec Bond&Sh(b6%) 52: Elec B& Shcu pf5.. Elec B & Sh pf (6)... Elec Pow Assoc (1). Elec Pow Assoc A (1) Elec P & Lt op war.. Elec P&L 2d pL A 7.. El Shareholdg (b6 % ) Europ E Ltd A (60c) Evans Wallow Lead. Federated Metals Ford Motor, C: Ford Mot Frn 374c. Ford Mot Ltd 36 3-60 Fox Lheater (A). Gen Aviation. GenE Ltd rcs 36 3-5c. Gen Empire (1).. Gen G&E cv nf B(6).250s Gen Theat Eq cv pf.. 533 Glen Aiden Coal (4). 3 2! Globe Underwrit 40c. 1 Goldman Sachs. . 44 Gold Seal Elec new 3 Gorham Inc pf. 1 Grand Rapids Gt A&P Tea nv(1634)430s 14. Groce Strs Prod vte. . Guli Oil of Pa.. Heyden Chem ( Hires (CE) A (2). Horn & Hard (2%) Hudson Bay M & S.. Hunible Ol (1214) .. Hydro El Securities. Imp O1l of Can (50c). Insull Inv (b6%). .. Ins CoofNo Am 12% Insurance Security. . Int Petroleum (1)... Int Products. .o Int Safety Razor (2). Internatl Utility (A) Int Utilities B. % Interstate Equities. . In'state Equity cv pf. [talian Superpow A. Kress SH sp pt 60c. . Leh Co & Na (1.20) Libby McNell & L... Lone Star Gas n 88c. Long Is cu pf B(6) Long Isld Lt pf (7).. !5 Louisiana Lan & Ex. rowr X : STOTSTN o) OV ok UL o PN Tt e B W 1 1 Mohaw Mountain 1 Mount St T 4 Nat Av Nat Bd Nat El Nat Fu k Mining (1). od (80c) &T(8). fation. &S Corp (1). Pow A (1.80). el Gas (1).... Nat Investors. .. Nat Pow & Lt pf (6).150: Nat Sh T Sec A 160c. Nat Sugar NJ (2) Nat Transit (1). Nat Unlon Radio Newberry (JJ) 1.10.. New Bradford Oil. New Jers Zinc (13).. Newmont Mining handise (1) ST ok d Pow (40c) Hud Pow A w.. Hud Pow Bw.. 1 Share(Md) 20c. ip1ssin Nitrate Corp Chile B oma Elec (40c) Nor W Nor St cv pf (3). Pow A (8). Ohto Copper. ... PacG & 1318t pf 1%. ac Western Oll. ... aran e "y A unt Cab Mfg. n (2) lex Fuel t115. L Wat & Pow (3 Pennroad Corp (40c) Peoples L&PWT (A). Philip Morris Inc. I'itney Pitts & Plymo F'rod 1 Prude Pub Sy Pub Ut Pub Ut R R Sh owes (045 LK (110) ith Ol alty (b10 tial Invest. .. e N IlLn p(8). il Hold war. . il Hold xw. ares Corp. nbow Lum I'r B.., Ray 4 Relta 1e on Mg e lnt A, Ieliance Int B Ieliarce Mana Republic G Iteynol C th Sec All Segal 1 Sclecte eindalctrs(5). Sentry shenandoah Cor Sou I'ipe Line (2). SWGa SW Per 1d Stand Otiof Ind(1).. and VIl of Ky 1.60. and 1 Stand I ret 10 cu Ce Corp ds Invest. . c) onsolidated. . ny Gold. Pap A Corp (1).. b Gen (4uc). L& Hdwr hoe (1.40).... ¢ industries. . afety C ] il JUN 135 39 10 p 9 P . 2 &L (1)...1008 2 lding Cor 3 63 9 1 . 508 157 14 20 65 > & L (B) ( & Lopt( tCor ). e Starrett Corp pf... Stein(A)&Co (1.60).. Switt Tagkar Tampa Teck H Tob I't 1% ity nternat’l (14) J t Corp. . 5 24 Electric (32). 5 5 6 15hesGM 165¢ 3t i od of Del wi “ ‘iraus Air Trans. T il > ibize 83 o 5 4% 2 Un % 0% 5 4 tL L LS ba ec Pow ww.... oil (B) (50¢)... T Inter Sec 1st pt.. Lines pt... Pla ‘nit Verde Exten (1) Uil & Utility Vick Financial (30¢) Walgreen Co Walker, H (25 Wenden Copper Woolwth Ltd 17 4-5¢ 4 it in in Everybody’s Business Exchange Quotations Held Inadequate as Indicator of Real Value—Fair Eval- uation Should Be Derived From Voluntary Sales, Surety Head Holds. DR. MAX WINKLER. tch to The Star. BY. Special Dis tations of securities as recorded on the Stock Exchange are utterly inadequate to indicate their real value, according to George S. Van Schaick, New York State Superintendent of Insurance. Fair market value, says Mr. Van Schaick, as reflected by sales presup- poses voluntary selling, while present levels are the result of abnormal situa- tions, forced liquidation, short selling, stringent monetary conditions and other causes. It is for these reasons that tbe superintendent will permit in- surance companies to use average prices of their security holdings instead of precise Stock Exchange quotations as of December 31. Why could not the banking depart- ment advocate a somewhat similar pro- cedure in the case of banking institu- tions? This might put an end to liqui- dation of securities, held as collateral, at absurdly low levels. Allays Excitement. There is no reason why Washington should be excited over a report to the effect that Great Britain, France and Italy have money on deposit to pay the December installment on their debts to the United States and are ready to pay if the moratorium is not ratified. The 5388585828 4 M 12 Ru Stinnes 7s '36 xw g‘l’erm Soc Blos A ‘53 ww—With warrants. ithout warrants, £58..85: nations referred to always keep bal- ances with New York bankers. It is, however, lulfiec&lo mlous‘golxl:t whether they woul willing - lease these funds for the above purpose NEW YORK, December 19.—Quo- | | regardiess of the attitude of Congress |toward intergovernmental debts, Where is the National Credit Corp- oration and what has become of its sponsors who were scheduled to put to an end the disheartening failure of banking institutions throughout the country? ‘Twenty-three banks failed in one single day, including one with de- | posits well over $28,000.000. Questions Reassurance. | It is doubtful whether the unfortu- nate depositors will derive much cop- solation from the statement made by Alfred L. Ripley, president of the Bos- ton Clearing House Association, to the | effect that there was no reason for prehension or alarm on the part of de- positors. Some people had been led to believe that the country's financial institutions would be helped by the Credit Corpora- | tion before they are forced to close | rather than afterward. Resumption of discussions concerning | curtailment agreement in the copper | industry and prospects of a satisfac- ‘lory agreement being reached in the near future has had a somewhat favor- | able effect upon shares of leading pro- | ducers. In the course of vesterday's | trading the majority of copper shares moved against the general trend of the market. Smelting Shares an Exception. The preferred shares of American | Smelting proved an exception, drop- | ping sharply on a relatively small turn. | over, due probably to forced liquida- | tion, because even under the present adverse conditions the dividend on the stock is being earned by an adequate margin of safety. Indications are that 1932 will pre- sent a much better picture for the motor industry, says Walter P. Chrys- ler, president of Chrysler Motors. duction schedules for the company's products will be heavy for the first part of the year, Mr, Chrysler thinks in anticipation of the better demand for new cars. Motor stocks, however, do not as yet seem to reflect his optimistic forecast. According to the latest and mos | authoritative estimates, Great Britain's short-term _investments in Germany | aggregate £55,000,000, as compared with £64,000,000 at the end of July. Earlier estimates have been as high as £80.- 000,000. As the above figure is the re. sult of & questionnaire which the Lon- don clearing house had addressed to 7y Com Edison, 1% PubSve NI . id rates in dollars based on last quarterly of semi-an- *Ex dividend. or s ap- | Pro- | ans Lux DL P 1-Cont Corp war tilities. Chatel. B. ... 250, 2 Unicn Am Invest.... Un Gas ot Canada(l) em ptpt (2). Unit Corp war Cnit Founders. Unit Gas Corp Unit Gas Corp war it Gas pf (7). Unit Lt& PW A (1).. 54 b & Pwr pLi6).. Iry (A) (6). 1 13 1 cur. 33 10 1 1 11 & LL(b10%) & r & Ltpf(7). 100s ving Card 214 nd . & Ind pe(1%) 24 1 4 1 8 2w 24 8 * 8 The RIGHTS—EXPIRE — 103 eb 1 43 114 21y 113 pLY TPartly extra. iPlus b Pasable i stock € Pius 6% in stock. Kk Plus 10% in D Paid last yea 4% in stock. e Adjustment in stock. h Plus 15 in stock. ock, British banking institutions, the accu- ‘racy need not be questioned. Low Foreign Shares Watched. | New lows in the common and pre- ferred shares of American _foreign power and in the shares of Interna- tional Telephone are viewed with a considerable degree of apprehension by those interested in these concerns. Both these companies are public | utilities which own and operate exten- sive properties abroad, largely in Latin | America. Even though profits are re- ported, they are either in depreciated currencies or the money cannot be transferred out of the countries. | With relatively heavy charges on funded debts and bank loans, payable in United States dollars, little is left for the junior securities of what were not so long ago the most popular trad- ing media. Ultimately these shares will come back, but it is not impossible that | drastic changes may have to be re- sorted to in the meantime. | | Business on Upgrade. General business is definitely on the upgrade, says A. Van Der Zee, general sales manager of Dodge Brothers® Cor- poration. He also points out that the 10 or 15 per cent of the Nation's pur- chasing power that has been inactive, | due to unemployment, is fast being re- | stored to activity through the various official and unofficial agencies for em- 1 nt. | o (I’&TEVBH Der Zee feels that the Presi- dent’s Unemployment Committee, | headed by Walter S. Gifford, has al- ready done much to relieve unemploy- | e North American | | the North American -— Prices and Earnings. NEW YORK, December 19 (Spe- | cial). —An illustration of the lack of reascning on the part of holders of securities and the unwillingness to ac- cept evidence of stability and be af- & 300; S Imost Eastern and Western centers, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1931. FINANCIAL. LY s GROWTH OF TRUST (=@ BUSINESS SHOWN National Banks Increase Earnings Through Entrance Into New Field. By the Associated Press. National banks continued their pro- gressive inroad on the trust company | fleld during the last fiscal year. The report of the controller of the currency covering this period indi- cated 2,407 natioal banks had authority to exercise trust powers. These insti- | tutions had & combined capital of $1,- | 349,393,246 and banking resources of $22,618,549,042, Tepresenting 35 per cent of the number, 80 per cent of the capital, and 82 per cent of the re sources of all institutions in the na- { tional banking system. Growth Is Shown. Growth of this banking function and its increasing popularity is impressive when compared with the activities of national banks in this field five years ago. In June, 1926, national banks numbering 2,026 had authority to exer- cise trust powers with 1,104 actively en- gaged in administering trusts. These banks were then acting in a fiduciary capacity for 26,053 trusts with individ- ual trust assets of $922.328677, and were acting as trustess for bond and note fssues of $2.463,553 316 The latest figures. compiled as of June 30, 1931, represent for the five- vear period an increase in the number of national banks o authorized of 381, or 188 p°r cent: an increace in the number of trusts being administered of 76934 or 2953 per cent; an increase in_individual trust assets of $4,319,662,- 715, or 468.3 per cent, and an increase in the volume of bond and note issues outstanding for which these banks were acting as trusts of $8,256,110 or 3351 per cent. At the end of the last fiscal year trust departments had been established by 1,856 of the institutions so author- ized, and 102 987 trusts were being ad- ministered with individual trust assets aggregating $5.241,991,392. Seven hun- dred and eighty-two of these banks were also acting as truestees for bond and note issues aggregating $10,719,- 846 426. Increase in Earnings. Growth in eamnings from trust de- partment operations has kept pace with the increased volume of trust assets intrusted to national banks with trust company paers. This is revealed in the report which shows that during the last fiscal year gross earnings ag- gregating $26.888.000 were reported, as | | against $22.765.000 in 1930, representing |a gain of $3923.000, or 17.2 per cent, jover 1930. and an increase of $18433,- [ 000. or 2233 per cent over 1926. At the last vear's end 262 branches | of national banks were actively engaged in the administration of 1 4 trusts, | with individual trust assets aggregating | $1.015.325.865. and were acting as | trustees for bond and note issues out- standing amounting to $492,059,561. Baltimore Markets Special Dispatch to The Star. | 'BALTIMORE, Md., December 19— White potatoes, 100 pounds, 75a195; sweet potatoes, bushel, 35a50; yams, barrel. 1.00a1.35; beans, bushel, 1.00 1.50; beets, per 100, 2.50a3.50; brussels sprouts, per quart, 5a15; savoy cabbage, | bushel, 49a50; carrots, per 100, 2.50a ! 3.50: cauliflower, crate, 2.00a2.15; celery, | | crate, 1.00a2.00; cucumbers, hamper, 3.00a5.00. eggplants, crate. 2.00a4.00; lettuce. crate, 3.00a4.00; okra, bushel. | 1.50a2.00. onions, per 100 pounds, 3.00a | |3.50; oyster plants, 100, 4.00a5.00; neas.} | bushel,” 3.50a5 peppers, crate, 1.75a pumpkins, per 100, 5.00a10. 00; | spinach. bushel, 40a65; squash, bushel, | 2.00a2.50; kale, bushel. 35a50. tomatoes, crate, 3.00a 650; turnips, hamper, 15a 25; apples, bushel, 35al.50. Dairy Market, Young. 17a18; leghorns, 13 al5; old hens, 14a18; leghorns, old, 11a | 14; roosters, 11a12; ducks, 12a21; geese, | {15a20; pigeons, pair, 20a25; guinea | fowls, pair, 25a45; turkeys, 18a30. | Eggs—Receipts, 237 cases, current re- | ceipts, 25a26: small pullet eggs, 18a22; hennery whites, 30a32; nearby firsts 7. Western firsts, 27. 1 ! __Butter, good and facy creamery, 28a 33: ladels, 20a22; process, 24a25; store packed, 15a16. 5 Chicken: New York Cotton Special Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, December 19.—Under the most active trading of the month, prices on the Cotton Exchange today made a further slight advance and closed a point lower to 4 points higher than Friday. The improvement of quarter of a cent from Friday's low brought scattered Southern selling, which halted the improvement after January had sold around 6.31 on the opening, the best figure of the day. Spots were advanced 5 points to 6.40 Cotton range: Open. 626 630 . Close. 624 626 642 .60 679 7.07 December January March May July October . BANK CLEARINGS GAIN SHARPLY DURING WEEK By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, December 19.—Bank clearings this week are higher in amount than for any week back to the 1st of October. They are $1,677,000,- 000 in excess of those for the first week of December. The total for all leading cities in the United States, as reported to Dun’s Review, was $6,767,245.000, or 32.6 per cent under the amount of a year ago. At New York City the clearings were $4,789,521,000, a reduc- tion of 32 per cent, while the aggre- gate for cities outside of New York of $1,977,724,000 was 34.2 per cent smaller. Settlement of some corporation taxes, due at this time, have increased bank clearings this week, but they were also an important factor in the report of a year ago. Losses compared with last year continue quite heavy, especially at where at the South the declines are less severe. Bank clearings this week, as reported to R. G. Dun & Co., showing decreases compared with same period a year ago, follow: Per cent. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Boston ... Philadelphia Baltimore . Fittsburgh Buffalo Chicago Detroit ! St. Louis St Louis. Cincinnati Kansas City Omaha ... Minneapolis Richmond Atlanta . Loulsville " $287.000 324.000 68.950 113305 33,682 ¥ | instead by quoted prices may ;beec " from_ the ‘report of Florida | Power & Light Co., whose first mort- ge bonds have recently dropped from |91 to 60. This company in the 12 | months to October 31 had a net in- come larger than the year previous, and in practically every item showed gains over 1930. Even its income in the month of October was but slightly lower than in the same period last . year. & prunuapeNes WowoBLOO®O Seattle Total . New York Total all . § BRIREEERIRY pamge o) g s 9 22 .. ... 56,767,248 December to date 51,03 bio cember ate 043,008 1,160 414 144, Tisd: 43! 1,4 Second quarter First quarter . ORTS OF SUPPORT IN BOND MARKET HEARD BY TRADERS Recent Appeals to Exchange Authorities and Financial Interests May Result in Stronger Prices. BY CHARLES F. SPEARE, Special Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, December 19.—Re- ports in circulation in the past 24 hours that some of the larger banking inter- ests had formed a pool to support the bond market have, fortunately, one basis in fact. They signify the growing demand for a concentrated backing up of this market and the increasing ap- peals that are being made directly to New York Stock Exchange authorities and to large financial interests to take a_position similar t> that which was effective in checking the panic in stocks in November, 1929. At that time a consortium with re- | sources between $200,000,000 and $225.- 000,000 was formed and participated in by practically all of the banks and in- vestment houses in Wall Street and in other large financial centers as well as by some industrial corporations. It was announced by the chairman of the committee that its purp-se was to plug up the “air holes” that developed in the stock list—in other words, to put in bids in stocks that temporarily were without a market. This alleviated much of the distress at the time a pre- vented wide-open breaks that would have been damaging to the holders of the stocks affected. The pool was able to dissolve a few months later without any material loss to the participants. Air Pockets Exposed. If there is any feature more than another that is conspicuous in the pres- ent market for onds and preferred stocks, it is the number of “air h.les” exposed dally. They cover a much wider area than those in 1929 and are infinitely more damagin occuring with & price level bonds is frequently 50 per cent lower than two years ago and as much as this in preferred stocks. o, if there was justification for establishing a protec- tion against “air holes” in 1929, there is now much more reason to align financial resources to counteract the effect of & similar condition. It is realized that any consortium OCtober 2, There have been rumors of late that some part of the slaughter in bonds was due to the indiscriminate manner in which the securities of insolvent banks were being placed on the market by the recelvers of these institutions and under the direction of State banking exam- iners. port established its incorrectness. official of the New York State Banking Department said that his department had not sold a single bond in the pres- ent market without first obtaining a good bid on it. None of the sales made through the department has caused as much as a 2-point decline in any issue. | ‘The majority of the banks that have failed and whose securities were subject to liquidation were able to liquidate in | the early part of this year, when mar- kets were relatively strong compared with those of the last three months. Since the demoralization in bonds reached its present stage the policy of the department has been to withhold securities until a satisfactory bid for them was obtained. The instructions to brokers or other agents was to get a good price for the issues no matter how long this required. Security Loans Reduced. This liquidation is apart from that of solvent banks for their own account or for that of their customers. in the one case to create a more liquid condition, and in the other to close out collateral loans on which margins have become cxhausted. The extent of this volun- tary liquidation by the banks since the high peak in October, 1929, is indicated in a reduction in the loans on securiti by reporting member banks in the Fe cral Reserve System from $9.179.000,000 at that date to $5.760,000,000 last week At the same time, loans on all other securities have been reduced from $9.- 871,000,000 to $7,477.000,000. The re- duction in loans on’ securities, there- re, is 37 per cent. and in the other 'm 25 per cent. This compares with a reduction in brokers' loans since would have to be of substantial size in | OVer 90 per cent order to be of value. As a minimum $50.000.000 would be required. To guarantee the market against continued disintegration and to carry the bonds or preferred stocks purchased until markets resumed a more normal char- acter, a $100,000.000 pool would be essential. The answer to the question why such a pool. with half the resources of that quickly formed in 1929, cannot now be established as quickly is that the former participants are not so strong today as they were earlier and that now they have the foreign situa- tion to consider, whereas, two years ago, this was not a deterring factor. MANY PRICES LOWER THAN LEVELS IN 1913 Special Dispatch to The Star. MINNEAPOLIS, December 19.—Al- though some goods cost much more to- day than in 1913, so many others are selling well below those levels that the average for wholesale goods is now down to pre-war days, according to a study by Investors Syndicate. Among the items which are lower han they were before the war are auto- mobiles, petroleum products, chemicals. mixed fertilizers and cattle feed. One of the greatest bargains is in tires, which cost only one-fourth as much as they did in the Spring of 1913. Some of ‘the products still higher than in those bargain cays are fuel, lumber, brick. cement, iron and steel, paint and furniture. If wholesale prices start up again next Spring, as many commodity price experts believe, this brief chance at 1913 prices may vanish again. Mill Operations Increased. NEW YORK, December 19 (#).— Steel mill operations in the Youngs- | town district have advanced 4 per cent to a 30 per cent rate as a result of in- creased ingot production at Republic Steel Corporation’s Hazelton furnaces. Eighteen out of 66 open hearth furnaces are now m of the week and 17 last week. CHICAGO STOCK MARKET CHICAGO, December 19 (#).—Fol- lowing is the complete officlal list of transactions in stocks on the Chicago Stock Exchange today STOCKS. High. Low. Close 11 Sales. 50 Acme Steel 300 Allied Mot 100 Appalach 250 Assce Te 100 Brown F & W “B 400 Bruce (E L) 430 Butler Bros 50 Canal_Const 630 Ceco Mix & 60 Cent 11i Pub Ser pf.. 500 Cent I 500 Cent 11 600 Cen: P 75 Cert & 50 Cent & 100 Chic_Investors ... 1750 Cities_Service 850 Com'with Edis 7700 Comwith Ed 800 Cont Chicago 600 Cont Chic pl 6150 Cord Corp . 50 Corp Sec 400 Corp Sec pf 80 Crane Co 10 Crane pf . 800 Elec Household 1000 Foote G & Mac! 170 Gen_ Cand: 50 Goldbia 5 100 Gt_Lakes Dredge 2250 Grigsby-Grunow 50 Hall Print . West pf.. B Aot ot O Incull U pf 3nd Ser.. 750 fefferson _Elec .. 200 Libty-McNeill 50 Linday Nunn pf.. 50 Lion Oil Ref.... 100 Lynch- Corp 3 500 Manhat *Dearborn 3700 Marshall Ficld . 150 Materlal Sery 20 MoCord Rad A 200 McGraw Electric . 100 McWililams Dredg 100 Merch & Mfrs A 16000 Mid West Uil 50 Mid W Ut 67 pf 550 Midland United 10 Mid Ut 67~ A Pt 10 Mid Ut 6% 40 Mid Ut 17 * 630 Mo-Kans Pipe 20 Monrce Chem pi. 50 Mask Mot Spec A 150 Nachmann Spring 100 Nat Elec Pow A. 400 N oS! Inv b . B Bin e 382 IR U 50 Nor Am L & Pow. 50 No & Sl;‘ Am.. 50 Parker Pen ...... 1200 Peop Gas Lt & ity 150 Pines Winter . 100 Polymet . . 100 Potter Co . . 175 Public_Serv n »... 50 Pub Serv Lfi'v »f. 2100 Pub_Sor rts 100 QRS De Vry 290 Quaker Oats.... 10 Quaker Oats pf. 100 Railroad Sh 100 Ross Gear 200 Ryan Car 50 Ryerson & 80 Sally Frocks 138 Sienosacadl 40 So West G & E pf 1800 Swift & Co. 950 Swift Intl..... 100 Twelfth Bt St A. 250 Unit Corp of 2900 U S Gypsum. . 1100 U S Radio & Tel. 850 Util & Ind.. 100 Util & Ind pf... 300 Viking Pump bpf. 80 Vortex Cup.. 38 Yortex Cup, “A 20 Weet P L & Tel 100 Wis Bankshrs. 100 Zenith Radio... s 588 BN RERES | r ting against 16 at the start ull 6s_ 1940, i Ry COD (Copyright, 1931.) @he Forming Star ke orfl Rec You can find the Star Class » together. Star Classified practically everybody in suburbs. found a Star Cla rates are charged. 11th and Park rd.—Arm- strong’s Pharmacy. 14th and P sts.— Day’s Pharmacy. 1135 14th st. — Marty’s Cigar & Magazine Store. 17th and Que sts. — Ken- ner's Pharmacy. 15th and U sts—G. O. Brock. 2912 14th st.—Colliflower Art & Gift Co. 3401 14th st.— Bronaugh’s Pharmacy. 14th and Buchanan sts.— Hohberger’s Pharmacy. 14th st. and Colorado ave. —O'Donnell's Pharmacy. 3209 Mount Pleasant st.— Mount Pleasant Cigar and News Shop. 1823 Columbia rd. — The Billy Shop. 2162 California st. — Co- lodny Brothers. Wardman Park Pharmacy. 215 N. Y. ave. — Sanitary Pharmacy. I1st and K sts.— Duncan’s Pharmacy. 7th and K sts.—Golden- berg’s (time clerk’s desk). 7th and O sts. — Lincoln Drug Store. 7th st. and R. I. ave.—J. French Simpson. 11th and M sts.—L. H. Forster's Pharmacy. In the Southwest 10th st. and Va. ave. - Herbert's Pharmacy. 316 41 st. — Harris’ Drug Store. 4% and L sts.—Columbia Pharmacy. In the Northeast 208 Mass. ave. — Capitol Towers Pharmacy. 4th and H sts. — Home Drug Store. 4th and E. Cap. St.—Paul's Drug Store. 907 H st.—Garren’s Music Store. 12th and Md. ave—Luck- ett’s Pharmacy. 7th and Md. ave.—Louis F. Bradley. North Capitol and Eye—Ken- ealy’s Phar- macy. 20th and R. L ave. — Collins’ Pharmacy, Woodridge. 3500 12th st. — Brookland Pharmacy, Brookland. 4th and R. I ave. —John G. Biggs’' Phar- macy. Chesapeake Junction —Dr. F. L. Wight, jr. An inquiry today into this re- | An | 1929, of $6,142,000,000, or | ADVERTISENETS loser—most quickly through a HEN something of value has been lost or be almost sure to bring the interested parties Copy for The Star Classified Secticn may be left at any of the following authorized Branch Offices— all rendering their services without fee; only regular In the Northwest There's One Near You 'INCREASE IN RETAIL ' BUSINESS REPORTED | Weekly Mercantile Reviews Note Pick-up in Buying as Holi- day Approaches, By the Associated Press. | NEW YORK, December 19.—The weekly mercantile reviews today re- ported a lively increase in retall trade | due to a spurt in Christmas shopping. | “Holiday buylng was the largest of the Christmas selling period thus far,” | sald Dun's. “Trade gained steadily every day, and there was a considerable turnover in toys, novelty jewelry, chil- dren’s spparel, lingerie and undergar- ments. Despite the gain, however, the ratio of decline in dollar volume, at the low prices averages fully 10 to 15 per cent below that of last year. The pre- dominance of useful gifts, particularly furniture, home furnishings and ap- parel, hes raised the sales totals of these departments somewhat. While the hes been an improved call for expensive gifts * * * sales in the better goods are estimated at 25 to 30 per cent behind the 1930 figures.” Bradstreet’s reports from 55 cities emphasized the seasonal characteristics of business. Ly “Retail trade in general” said this review, “has increased and appears now to be in greater volume than at any time this year. This, of course, is due a most_ entirely to holiday buying, al though colder weather has helped the Winter lines also. Wholesaling appears to have fallen off somewhat from the previous week. That line of business in some cases is now going through a be- tween-season lull. In other cases it is experiencing spasmodic outbreaks of activity, due to last-minute rush and fill-in orders.” Cotton Crepes Imports. imports of cotton plain_and fancy, during d 32,000 square yards value of $5.364 of Commerce, in said the shipments the United Kingdom and the latter country replacing Japan, which formerly supplied this market jointly with England Total importations of crepes for the first 11 months of 1931 were 203,703 square yards, valued at $25,083. both 3 eclared The Department making the report came from Germa EIVED HERE lost, or locate the ified Adv. ssified Advertisement will Ads are read regularly by Washington and nearby 9th and U sts—M. Hunton's Pharmacy. Ga. ave. and Upshur st.— Petworth Pharmacy. 221 Upshur st. — Monck’s Pharmacy. 5216 Ga. ave.—Brightwood Pharmacy. Ga. ave. and Kennedy st. —Lampkin's Pharmacy. 2901 Sherman ave.—Sher- man Ave. Pharmacy. 6224 3rd st. — Stewart's Pharmacy. 1905 Mass. ave. — Dupont Pharmacy. 18th and Fla. ave.—Bern- stein’s Drug Store. Fla. ave. and Ist st.—N. Reiskin. North Capitol st. and R. L ave. — Parker’'s Phar- macy. 1742 Pa. Krick. 21st and G sts.—Quigley’s Pharmacy. 25th st. and Pa. ave. — Columbia Drug Store. 3315 Conn. ave. — Joll’'s Newsstand. 5017 Conn. ave.—Higgins’ Community Drug Store. Wisconsin ave. and Macomb st.—Harry C. Taft. 4231 Wisconsin ave.—Mor- gan Bros.’ Pharmacy. Takoma Park, 359 Cedar st. —Mattingly Bros.’ Phar- macy. ave. — J. Lonis In Georgetown 30th and P sts.—Morgan Bros.’ Pharmacy. 30th and M sts.—Brace’s Pharmacy. 3411 M st.—Moskey’s Phare macy. 1834 Wisconsin ave— Haney’s. Wisconsin ave. and O st.— Donahue’s Pharmacy. 35th and O sts.— Sugars Drug Store, 5104 Conduit rd. — Modern Drug Store. In the Southeast 3rd and Pa. ave.—O’'Don- nell's Drug Store. 8th and Eye sts. —F. P. Weller’s Pharmacy. 11th and Pa, ave. — Fealy’s Pharmacy. 1907 Nichols ave., Anacostia —Healy’s Drug Store, 13th and East Capitol sts. — Lincom Park Pharmacy. 2204 Minnesota ave. — Sloan’s Drug Store; F. S. Boisfeull- let, prop.