Evening Star Newspaper, April 3, 1932, Page 59

News of Markets Pages 1 to 4 Part 6—12 Pages DEPOSIT GUARANTY PLAN 15 OPPOSED BY D. C. BANKERS Praise Empire State Leaders for Efforts to Halt Action by Congress. DISTRICT ASSOCIATION PUSHING PARLEY PLANS Bports Program at Hot Springs Already Announced—Banking Situation Grows Stronger. BY EDWARD C. STONE. Many members of the District Bank- ers’ Association were greatly pleased yesterday with the announcement that the New York State Bankers' Associa- tion has come out against the guaranty of bank deposits and will urge Congress not to pass any bills guaranteeing such deposits, on the ground that they are unsound in principle and put a premium on mismanagement. The New York association declares that the guaranty of deposits has proved a failure under State auspices and would under national auspices. Sixteen bills have been presented in Congress calling_for the guarantee of bank deposits. In the past few weeks Washington bankers has discussed this matter very freely, and inquiry shows that the majority of bank officials are against any such measures. Eight States have such laws and the claim is made here that they have not prevented losses to depositors, but have accen- tuated them. The New York Bankers' Association has also requested its members to com- municate with the Senate Finance Com- mittee urging that section 23 of the of 1932 be amended so that not apply to banking institu- . That section provides that a cor- poration can only deduct its bond or stock losses from its bond or stock profits and not, as at present, from its gross income. Here again Washington financiers are in accord with the Em- pire State bankers, having recently ex- Ppressed their views emphatically on this subject. ¥ It has been a hectic week in finaficial circles, with so many matters of great importance before ~Congress. Local bankers to the Glass bill have kept very busy in opposition to many provisions of the bill. At the same time local brokers connected with New York Stock Exchange houses have had something to think about in the Passage by the House of the tax on stock transfers. Of course, they are Against any move that will make stock trading.or invegting, more costly. Bank Parley Plans Pushed. Rapid progress is heing made by vari- ous committees of the District of Co- Jumbia Bankers' Association toward making the coming annual convention at Hot @prings, Va., an epochal event. The Program Committee proposes to present subjects of primary importance by prominent s ers which will be of the utmost p: value. Opportunity for discussion by the delegates will also be given, As a larger number of women is expected this year, Mrs. C. H. Pope, chairman of the Ladies’ Committee and wife of the acting president of the &ssociation, has been busy planning for their comfort and enjoyment. Directors of the local banks are com- ing to appreciate the advantages of at- tendance at these annual conclaves and comment in banking circles indicates a larger number will be present of the men who are respansible for the bank’s welfare without beifig the active admin- dstrative officials. ‘The Sports Committee, headed by Sid- ney F. Taliaferro, chairman, announced yesterday the continuation of the stellar events of previous vears, including the “Pop Fleming,” “Hibbs Cup,” “Shannon & McLachlen” golf tournaments with the “Hatton Cup” for the low net score of the three preceding tournaments. There will be also a ladies’ putting con- test, pony golf and the McLean top- spinning contest, tennis tournaments and the never-omitted “barn-yard golf,” horse shoe pitching. Prizes of- fered insure a lively struggle in each event. ‘The “first call” for convention reser- vations will be made this month, the dates being June 9-12. The special train will leave Washington on Wednesday evening, June 8, and return on Monday morning, June 13. Saturday trading on the Washington Stock Exchange included a $1,000 sale in Washington Gas Light 6s, series A, at _par. Mergenthaler Linotype figured in a turnover of 27 shares during the session, selling at 40, same as the last previous sale, Quotations on the unlisted securities ‘were called off, the brokers making very few changes. The bid on Army & Navy Club 5s was raised to 91, bid on Na- tional Press Building first 5s changed to 371 with 40 asked, and the asked price on North Capitol Savings Bank stock was placed at 12 The approach of the American League base ball season finds the bid on Washington Base Ball stock at 62 with the asked price standing at 80, an unusually wide spread. The stock is closely held. Clearings’ Drop Partly Explained. As noted yesterday, bank clearings all over the country showed a drop during the week compared with the previous week and the like period a year ago. New York clearings were off 62 per cent from the same week in 1931. Washington clearings were below the figure for the previous week and 30 per cent lower than a year ago. Baltimore clearings were off 50 per cent, Rich- mond 30 per cent, Norfolk 38 per cent and Atlanta 25 per cent from the cor- responding week last year ‘The unusual difference is due large- Iy to the fact that practically all stock exchanges and commodity markets were closed on Good Friday and many on the Saturday before Easter. Last year these closings occurred much later. Furthermore, the usual heavy month- end payments came in the same week & vear ago, but will not be figured this year until this week's totals are ready. Thus, while clearings are down, the$ are not as bad as the first glance at comparisons would indicate. The American Banker reports that bank suspensions during the week heM at the low rate noted recently, while March ended with only 40 closings, “the lowest monthly figure since the 1929 mlr};tm;:llh." it Eight ¢ were reported g the week, together with one voluntary liquidation in which the depositors will get 100 per cent. Three were re-opened for business, while re-open- ings for the year now total 84. Bach week's figures are now reveal- CELEBRATES Maurice Otterback, Native of District, Has Had an In- teresting Career. Started as Messenger for National Capital Telephone Company. : Maurice Otterback, president of the Anacostia Bank, is 70 years old today. | Born here on April 3, 1862, and edu- | cated in the public schools, he started | his career as a messenger boy, became | the first cashier of the Anacostia Bank | and was elected to the presidency in | June, 1918. Today he is one of the most active business men in the south- eastern section of the city. After leaving school, Mr. Otterback became a messenger for the National Capital Telephone Co., later absorbed | by the Chesapeake & Potomac Tele- phone Co. He soon became assistant chief operator, but gave up his posi- | tion in 1891 to become note teller in the National Capital Bank of which | H. H. McKee is now president. In | October, 1907. Mr. Otterback resigned to be manager of the Anacostia branch | of the Union Savings Bank. Mr. Otterback’s next move was to assist in the organization of the Ana- costia Bank, being made cashier. Some years after he took the presidency, the bank moved into a building of its own, where it is now doing business and growing steadily. Mr. Otterback is a director in the Nataional Capital In- | surance Co. president of the Eastefn Building & Loan Association, vice pres- ident of Tidewater Lines, Inc.; trustee FINANCIAL AND CLASSIFIED he Sunday Star WASHINGTON, D. C, ANACOSTIA BANK PRESIDENT 70TH BIRTHDAY __MAURICE OTTERB! of Sibley Memorial Hospital and of the Swartzell Methodist Home for Children. He is also a member of the Board of Trade, Chamber of Commerce, Asso- ciation of Oldest Inhabitants, Anacos- tia Citizens' Association, Masonic order and Trinity M. E. Church. Mr. Otterbatk always attends the annual conventions of the District Bankers' Association. He was brouglft up in the same section of the city with the late John Phillip Sousa and for 18 years worked in the next “cage” to the' late George O. Walson, head of the Liberty National Bank at the time of his death “George Walson and I were close friends for 50 years” he said yester- day. “I think of him every day of my life and alvays shall,” he added. INCREASE IN STEEL BUYING REPORTED Railroad Orders Improve and Motor Producer Places Pre- liminary Contracts. By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, April 2—Despite | further decline in steel ingot production, | which trade estimates placed at only 22 Per ¢ent of capacity for the week, the | steel industry was hopeful of improve- ment this month based on expectations of placement of volume tonnages by | automobile manufacturers and seasonal | improvements in other consuming lines. | At the close of the week some steel | compapies were reporting receipt of priiminary orders by one motor car m‘oducer whose new models were just troduced. Slightly better buying by railroads was noted. Prices are | held steady at the new second quarter | levels, but thus far have not been fully | tested. Moderate buying of pig iron is reported at unchanged levels. Copper continued quiet but steady, a sharp break in London attributed to weakness in tin having no apparent effect on sellers’ ideas here. Although | domestic buying is at a minimum and | export sales are in small volume, it is reported that shipments to consumers | have improved somewhat, so that trade predictions are heard of possible de- creases in stocks, aided by further cur- | tailment in production to or below 20| per cent of capacity. Electrolytic con- | tinued at 6 cents delivered in the Con- LOCAL STOCKHOLDERS SEEKING PROTECTION Judge Cobb Presides at Annual Meeting of National Benefit Life Insurance Co. ‘The annual meeting of stockholders‘ of the National Benefit Life Insurance Co. was held at the Y. M. C. A., 1816 Twelfth street northwest, on Thursday, as the result of the call of the com- | mittee for the protection of stockhold- ers and policyholders of the company. The committee chairman was Judge James A. Cobb of the Municipal Court of the District of Columbia. | During the receivership proceedings | of the company, Justice D. W. O'Don- oghue instructed the receivers to dis- continue the employment of the former officers, John T. Risher, John R. Pink- ett, Huver I Brown, Mortimer F. Smith and James Arnold on March | 31, 1932. | The stockholders at the annual meet- ing, which was attempted to be en- joined by the former officers, the ap- | plication for injunction being denied by Justice O. R. Luhring, elected the following directors: John R. Hawkins, | chairman of the board; Judge James A. Cobb, Charles B. Lee, Louis C Washington. Dr. Willlam G. Lofton, A B. Ridley, J. R. Braxton, Miss Nannie | Burroughs, Rev. W. H. Jernagin, T. J Ferguson and W. H. King. ‘These directors will work in co-op- eration with the receivers appointed by | Justice D. W. O’Donoghue. e RELATIVE POSITION | OF LEADING LINES Industries whose earnings should make the best showing in the first half of 1932 are listed by the Standard Sta- tistics Co. of New York as follows Chain stores, dairy products, electric and gas utilities, flour and feed, medi- cines and drugs, package foods, refrig- | Imgly illustrates the change New Steamboat Line to Virginia Points Organized Towns on Rappahannock Will Be Served by Freight Ships. Special Dispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE, April 2—Veteran steamboating men in Chesapeake Bay service who lost their jobs when the Baltimore & Virginia Line went into Teceivership a month ago will be in charge of a new line, to be inaugurated tomorrow, which is headed by Capt. James W. Gresham, former skipper of the Potomac. Capt. Gresham, who has been mas- ter of boats in the bay trade for over 32 years, has announced the new serv- ice ‘between Baltimore and Rappaha: nock River points, which will be ope:- ated under the name of the:Western Shore Freight Line, Inc. The project has_the backing also of men in Baltimore and the territory to be covered by the line. Capt. Gresham is president and gen- eral manager. Other officers are: L. Wilson Davis, vice president, and Em- ory H. Niles, secretary. These officials will serve on the board of directors with Olin O. Ellis, H. K. Smart and three others to be appointed who will represent Rappahannock River inter- ests. The company will begin operations with ~ one steamboat—the Hampton Roads—which has been chartered frof a Norfolk firm. It has capacity for 260 tons of cargo. Three round trips will be made each week. All points on the Rappahannock from Westland to Tappahannock, in- clusive, will be served, Capt. Gresham says. The line will not carry passen- gers, Ny DECLINES IN RAILROAD TRAVEL ARE COMPARED “Perhaps no other fact more strik- that has occurred in the traveling habits of the American people during the last 12 years than the fact that in 1920 the average inhabitant of this country traveled 440 miles by railway, and in 1931 only 177 miles, a reduction of 60 per cent,” says the Railway Age. “This reduction has not been mainly due to the depression, because it occurring ever since 1920. “Forty-two years ago—in 1890—the average inhabitant made eight trips by rail, in 1920, when railway passen- ger business reached its peak, 12, and in 1931 only 5. The average passen- ger fare charged per mile amounted to 2745 cents in 1920, and to 2.513 cents in 1931, and therefore the amount paid by the average person for railway passenger service amounted to $12.08 in 1920, and to $4.45 in 1931, a reduction of $7.63, or 63 per cent. Considered in the aggregate, this meant a decrease of $738,000,000 In passenger revenues in 1931 as com- pared with 1920.” CHICAGO LIVE ST(EKA—MAB.KET CHICAGO, April 2 (£ (United States Department of Agriculture).— Cattle, receipts, 100 head; compared a week ago light steers and long yearlings grading medium to good, 25 lower; oth- er light steers and weighty offerings steady, having recovered early decline; she stock and light yearlings unevenly, 25a50 lower; bulls, 15225 off, and veal- ers mostly 50 down; late advance on steers largely a forced affair; general undertone remaining weak; extreme top light steers, 8.15; heavies, 8.10; bulk weighty steers, 6.50a7.50; few selling above 7.75; common steers, all repre- sentative weights, sold dependably at 550 downward; most light kinds, 4.75 a5.25; active stockers and feeders.buy- ing supported low price steers; best half fat feeders, 6.50; quality yearling stockers, 6.25. Sheep—Receipts, 7,000 head; today’s eration, shoes, specialty bakeries and market nominal; for week ending Fri- telephones. day 82 doubles from feeding stations, The following lines, while they make 12400 direct; mostly 25a50 higher: a poor showing currently, are listed as | sheep and feeding lambs steady; choice among those which will be among the | lambs more than recovered midweek Jeaders in the next sustained period of advancing business: Automobile parts, automobiles, pass- enger; beverages, cigarettes, metal con- tainers and welding supplies. i NEW YORK BANK STOCKS NEW YORK, April 2 Bank and trust shares were in supply today and prices eased mnkers'T‘ITust, at 541, b ggn "r’; Brooklyn Trust, 195, off 5: Hanover, 133, off 1; Chase National, 343, off Yi; Chemical, 37%, up Y%: 40, off ‘3 Corn Ex- change, 52%, off 11:° Pirst National, 1,500, off 40; Guaranty Trust, 265, off 3; ing & much sounder banking condition all over the country, this being an im- | Trust, portant reason for the reeent gain in savings deposits which has be‘;nwymd L-‘. and elsewhers. Manhattan, 26%, up V;: Manufacturers’ . 28%, off Y3; New York Trust, 811, off 15. The following were un- Commercial, 140; Conti- 5 Irvi } 18; Public, 23, and ‘Title Guaranty & (Spectal).— | break at close, reaching 17.50, the week's top; closing bulks follow: better grade wooled lambs, 7.00a7.40, includ- |ing several loads 95-98 pounds, Colora- dos at 7.00a7.35; desirable clippers, 6.25 26.50; unfinished woolskins, 6.25a6.65% throwouts, 5.5085.75; fat ewes, 3.508 4.25; few native Spring lambs, 8.50a 9.00. Hogs—Receipts, 4,000 head, including 13,000 head direct; steady to strod®; | 140-210 pounds, 4.35a4.50; top, 4.55; 1220-250 pounds, 4.2584.45; 260-320 pounds, 4.00a4.25; pigs, 3.75a4.00; | ing sows, 3.40a3.65; com ago | strong to 15 higher; shippers took | 1,000; estimated holdovers, 1,000; light | lights, good and choice, 140-160 pounds, 425a4.55; light weights, 160-200 pounds, 4.35a4.55; medium weights, 200- 250 pounds, 4.20a4. 250-350 pounds, sows, medium pounds, 3.40a3.80; pigs, good choice, 100-130 pounds, 3.50a4.36. NEW LOW IN STOCK PRICES ATTRIBUTED 10 TAX PROPOSALS Fresh Outburst of Selling Fol- lows Passage of Securities Levy by House. INDUSTRIAL HANDICAPS REMAIN UNSURMOUNTED Railroad Issues Continue in Down- ward Trend, Despite Gains in Net Income. BY CHARLES F. SPEARE. Special Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, April 2.—The end of the first quarter of the year, a period | when business traditionally casts up its accounts, takes inventory, adopts its price policy and plans its production program, finds the industrial world still under the influence of those domestic and international problems that have depressed it for so long and which are | vet to be solved. The season now being entered is normally one characterized by a quickened flow along nearly every artery of ‘trade. It gives the first | reliable suggestion as to the outlook for | the year's grain and cotton crops. It is one in which a considerable portion of the slack in employment is taken up and when buoyancy, aggressiveness and optimism are the logical outgrowth of nature’s revival. The second quarter of the years 1930 and 1931 had to suffer for the errors in business and in speculative judgment that preceded them. So these periods both witnessed ¢ heavy fall in the price of securities. Inasmuch as there have been no false moves so far this year, there is less opportunity for further deflation even if there may be small prospects for industrial progress or re- covery in stocks and bonds. Stocks at New Lows. ‘The present week has brought an im- provement in one phase of the business situation and produced new irritants. The latter have been largely responsible for the fresh outbreak of selling on the New York Stock Exchange and the lowest average for prices so far reached in the depression. Congress, having re- jected the sales tax, found itself guilty of an act that threatened the Govern- ment’s credit. All of the foreign ex- changes moved sharply against New York early in the week. Bank balances to the credit here of European institu- tions began to go out, as they did last Autumh. It seems quite unreasonable for countries whose own credit is none ‘oo good to be taking their funds away from the United States, which still has the highest financial rating in the world. It is as if a depositor in a bank that has withstood all of the runs of the months, and whose integ- rity has never been questioned, should transfer his account to an institution whose surplus has been reduced and (about whose condition rumors had been | current. However, Congress has been im- pressed with the necessity for balanc- ing the Government budget and has | swiftly passed item after item impos- |ing taxes on incomes and on various | kinds of business. In its demand that the wealthy and the members of the Wall Street fraternity shall cover a goodly proportion of the deficit, it has succeeded in upsetting what little con- fidence remained in the financial dis- trict. Investors Not Disturbed. This phase of the situation is not so serious as it appears. The taxes proposed on transactions in securities may limit the field of profit in them | during dull periods and when the pub- lic is not much given to speculation They do not, however, involve the in- trinsic values of securities. Therefore, they should be less disturbing to in- vestors than to speculators. The net gain in balancing the budget, even though it works a hardship on cer- tain profesisons, compensates for the losses of those who may not be able to survive the burden of it. It has been well said that the American idea of a good tax is one that operates against the other fellow. We have not yet in this country sufficiently realized | the peril from questioning of Govern- ment credit to be willing to make indi- vidual sacrifices for the sake of sup- porting this credit. ‘While nearly $1,000,000,000 in addi- tional taxes is being advocated, there is great resistance by all Federal agencies to a reduction in appropria- tions and to a fair cut in the salaries of Government employes. The minimum annual saving from the latter suggestion is placed at $55,000,000. Therefore the opponents of a salary reduction profess| that the amount saved is too small to have an effect. It would, however, pay the yearly carrying charges, at the present rate of interest, on $1,500,000,000 of Government bonds. It would cover the estimated cost in 1932 of the De- partment of Commerce, or nearly the combined cost of the operation of the legislative establishment of the Govern- ment, the Department of Labor and the Department of State. Viewed in this light, the argument is specious. It is but another way of protecting a strongly organized political group and “passing the buck” to the taxpayer. Collateral to the tax program is the new proposal for paying the soldiers’ bonus certificates in full. This is a much more serious matter than the moderate imposts that have been levied against individuals or business. It is not conceivable that a Congress, finally aroused to the danger of an unbalanced budget, would vote for a measure which would have serious effect on Govern- ment credit. One today has to main- tain a strong faith that the good sense and integrity of the American people will prevail and that they will, no less than their British cousins, submit to sacrifices to carry through a period that has been described by a justice of the | Rese United States Supreme Court as “one worse than war.” Trade Gains in Sight. The incidents of the week bearing directly on industry or representing tendencies in the financial world have been less important than ‘or some time. March ended with the iron and steel trade operating at a lower ratio than in January, but confident that imme- diate improvement is in sight now that the three largest manufacturers of low and medium priced automobiles have displayed their new models and an- nounced their schedule of prices. This is also the quarter of the year in which automobile output reaches its peak. Prom this fact there should be a cer- tain amount of gain not only to the iron and steel and associated industries, but to the railroads, and, in all, some absorption into manufacturing lines of the unemployed. The composite price of metals is steadier. Elsewhere there has SUNDAY MOR G, APRIL 3, 1932. 0.9.GovT GOLF -TAX HOLE N 0'!!’1 BIRDIES «05 BREAKING PAR .20 Bl s 50ME dLass! THESE TIMES, FI19H TAX BASS OVER 5185 $.25 KE Owm wse Classified Ads Pages 5 to 12 Box! \noee TS HEAVY ENOVGHY 'i |; 10 SMACKERS \. * N T’ 0LD (Copyright. 1932.) domesTI¢ TAX MONEY FOUND IN OLD CLOTHES 5% INVESTMENT BOND MARKET IN SLUMP Averages at End of Week Are Near Bear Cycle Lows. Special Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, April 2—The invest- ment market this week dropped under the lows established early in February | and was not far, measured by any of | the accepted indices or averages, from | the extreme bear market low of last | December. | Viewed on a chart, the week's decline —which started two weeks ago and reached its greatest momentum with the defeat of the sales tax and the sub- stitution for it of special imposts—was as steep as that of last November and December. But in noint of volume it | was much smaller and less significant. Standard Statistics’ index of 60 bonds dropped to within 3 points of its bear | market low and was therefore 30 points | beneath its 1930 top. Reason for Selling. ‘There was ample reason for the sell- | ing. In the first place the defeat of the original sales tax proposal caused some doubt abroad as to whether Con- gress would succeed in balancing the budget, with consequent heavy selling of American dollars and a rapid appre- ciation of all foreign exchanges. This unsettled the bond market immediately. ‘Then the substitution for the straight sales tax of taxes on stock transfers and bonds, higher income tax rates and lower exemption limits, and many other special levies, was calculated to shake out many long holders of bonds who had bought at or near the previous bot- | tom and still had a profit. 1 But the heaviest selling came when the Reconstruction Finance Corporation started to pass on some of the loan applications before it. It was evident that these were to be pared down. Railroad bonds broke severely, especial- ly the near-term issues which depend | on R. F. C. loans for their payment. Industrial bonds sold off sharply. ‘The utility list was scarcely better. At just above 80, the 20 utilities used | in Standard Statistics’ index of 60 bonds were only 1 average point above their December lows. The precarious position of a few public utility holding concerns and the aftermath of the Kreuger & Toll liquidation were re- spo le for this movement. Outlook Clouded. The outlook is somewhat clouded, owing to the pessimism engendered by a rapidly falling market, but offsetting this is the prospect that the Federal budget somehow will be balanced. No great harm is looked for from the ef- fect of the tax on bond sales. Should the taxes yield up to their estimates, Government financing. to cover the deficit will be brought down to a min- imum and it is reasonable to supposé that Liberty and Treasury issues will continue to command good prices for 'sm'ne time to come. There is still plenty of evidence of the determina- tion of the Treasury and the Federal Tve to keep money rates at low levels, In the foreign field there was some reason for optimism. Great Britain balanced her accounts at the end of the 1931-2 fiscal year, and while the surplus was not large, the rise of ster- ling was evidence of the flight to that currency. The new capital market was nat- urally inactive. Only $8,042,000 of bonds were sold, against $26,106,000 last week and $114,710,000 in the same 1931 week. (Copyright, 1932) ENLARGES PORTFOLIO. In view of fundamental develop- ments and with the Dow-Jones in- dustrial average of common stock prices at levels which had been ex- ceeded in every year since 1900 ex- cept two, the management of Incor- | will sharply curtail the already smail Stock Exchange Seats at Lowest Price Since 1924 Membership Changes Hands at $98,000—1929 Top Was $625,000. By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, April 2—A new low record since 1924 for the price of Stock Exchange seats was registered today with arrangements for the transfer of a membership at $98,000, compared with the previous sale of $101,000. In 1924 the seat price range was $101,000 to $76,000. From the low price of that year seat values rose steadily to the top level of $625,200, recorded just before the stock market collapsed in the Autumn of 1929. In the past week or so seat pricé® have declined rather sharply and Wall Street believes that many of the sales have been occasioned by fears that the tax proposed on stock transactions speculative and investment interest in the market. 100 STOCKS TUMBLE 12 PCT. IN MONTH New Bear Market Low Scored by | Common Issues—Rails in Largest Drop. SECURITIES TAXES Proposed Levy Is Not on Wall Street. BY CHARLES W. STORM. Special Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, April 2—When the United States Senate takes up the new revenue bill for consideration, the Sen- ators will have had a better opportu- | nity for studying the proposed transfer | tax of ¥ of 1 per cent on the market | price of stocks than the members of | the House of Representatives had. Reports received in Wall Street to- | day indicate that thousands of officers, stockholders and those interested in rallroads, industrial organizations and utility corporations do not see the tax in the same way that the members of the House saw it. These business men, it is said, think the tax falls down in the attempt to “soak the New York Stock Exchange” and are sending in- numerable telegrams and letters of pro- test from all sections of the country telling the Senators that it only “soaks” corporate business—an innocent by- stander. Meanwhile, the New York exchange as an institution remains silent, out the situation as the members see it is clearly set forth in a statement by John Special Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, April 2—The market | value of 100 representative common | | stocks decreased $1,358,530,000, or 121> per cent, in March to a new bear market | low of $9,500,469,000 at the end of the | | month, according to the monthly com- | pilation of Prazier Jelke & Co. The 100 | stocks on March 31 were appraised fil] 774 per cent less than at the end of | August, 1929. The appraisal gained 5 | per cent in February and increased al- | most exactly a billion dollars from De- | cember 17 to February 29. The previ- | ous low on December 17 was $9,858,- | 001,000. In March each one of the 13 sub- groups constituting the index declined. ‘The largest decline in dollars was $277,- 467,000 in the rails. The utilitles dropped $227,610,000, while the motors | slumped $212,311,000. On a percentage basis the largest de- preciation in March was 26.2 per cent in the five amusements. The motors lost 19.8 per cent, the rails, 19.5 per cent; the equipments, 18.8 per cent; the mines, 17.6 per cent; the steels, 15.7 per cent: the electrical manufacturing issues, 18.7 per cent; the utilities, 11.8 per cent; foods, 11.4 per cent; the retail | shares, 9.8 per cent; the chemicals, 8.4 per cent; miscellaneous industrials, 7 per cent, and the oils, 3.4 per cent. | RESERVE BOARD LAUDED | now places these | Corporation, or the W. Prentiss, a_prominent figure in the affairs of the Investment Bankers' As- soylauon. Mr. Prentiss says: “There seems to be a general impres- slon that the recent tax voted by the House of Representatives of % of 1 per cent on the transfer of securities Is a tax upon Wall street. Of course, this is not so. It is really a tax upon some 60,000,000 peo- Ple in the United States who own se- curities. “In addition to being a t these 60,000,000 . it it Ownel']a (Lf,.securlues. it people the sition of triple taxation. For :xnml;z:Z A stockholder in the United States Steel General Motors Co., or the General Electric Co., or the | Southern Pacific Railway Co, or, in fact, any corporation, finds ~himself taxed in this manner: “First—He has to bear his share of the corporation tax paid to the Gov- ernment of that corporation in which he is a stockholder. “Second—He has to pay his indivi- dual income tax upon the dividends re- ceived from his corporation. “Third—He now has to pay a tax on the transfer of his securities in that corporation. “The stockbrokers in New York, Bos- ton, Chicago, San Prancisco, Los An- geles, Philadelphia or other cities where there are stock exchanges and stock brokers, do not pay this tax; the fax s simply passed on {0 the cus. mer, so o ult f IN SECURITY BUYING | 100 Shares of United Stater sammchl el |lives in Houston, Tex., pays the tax gnd not the New York stock broker, gnud Investors added substantially its investment porifolio during the A continuation of the present Federal Reserve policy of buying Government | securities, states the United Business | Service, may develop considerable im- | portance, as it puts new purchasing power into the hands of those who sell the securities to the banks. New pur- | chasing power is, above all things, the | prime requirement for checking defla- | tion and starting business improvement. | OBTAINS NEW FUNDS. Paramount-Publix Corporation _has ed wif :’mhll.delphh. and Chicago banks for a credit amounting to between $13,- 000,000 and $15,000,000 on six months’ notes, renewable for an additional six months at the option of the company. Proceeds will be used to pay off pres- ent bank loans amounting to $9,500,000 and for current working capital. This is to take care of the com- ith a group of New York, |G who executes the order.” (Copyrisht, 1932.) INSURANCE STOCKS NEW YORK, April 2 (#).—Over-the- counter market: Bid. Asked. Am Surety 4% 1T Balt Amer Bosten . Conn_Gen Ll Fid & Dep Firemens Insi Franklin Fire len - Globe & Rut Great Amer Hanover ... Hartford Fire Home Insurance Mass B National Fire: .. National Liberty . BRITISH RAILROADS REPORT DECREASE IN NET THIS YEAR Other Unfavorable Trade News Dampens Optimism of London Business Circles. FRENCH ARE SKEPTICAL OF LONG-TERM PROSPECT Apparent Check to Unemployment Is Noted During Week in German Situation. Special Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, April 2—Cable and radio dispatches to the Business Week give the following survey of business abroad for the week ending today: London.—Though still in better eco- nomic condition than continental coun- tries, Britain this week was absorbed Wwith important new problems which are affecting business. Bankers and ex- porters in particular have been absorbed In sterling fluctuations. London con- tinues to show a keen demand for new capital issues, though offerings have been light over the Easter holiday period. Money remains plentiful. Hopes for a final satisfactory settlement of the textile labor troubles were virtually blasted this week when cotton workers refused to ratify the agreement on the more-looms system. Purther co-opera- tive bargaining now seems impossible. Railroads Protest Tax. Something has to be done to aid British railroads. All of the four group companies which handle the great bulk of the country’s trafic show smaller receipts this year than last. The rail- roads are urging that they are unfairly taxed in comparison with the motor transport interests and that, as public utility services, they are bound to main- tenance of their service as a whole ir- respective of whether this or that par- ticular part of it pays. Paris.—In long-term prospect, eco- nomic e%r]:mm h!n m{i; continue unfavorable, though curren there are two or three itly favorable devi ments. Ung ent last week, for instance, increased less rapidly, railroad receipts showed a slight , and there was a modest rmmmfi:xl of activ- ity in the northern textile areas. These are the first evidences of any seasonal Tecovery, but they are oo meager to offer much 3 Commodities were generally weak and volume of sales due to the expectation of further deflation. Easter mhflfllyl accentuated the inactivity on TOFALL ONPUBLIC) === tha |Financier Points Out That It Is also thought that there will be no further delay in work on either of the two liners under construction. PFrench national prestige is so bound up with the line that neither its disappearance nor any falling off in the quality of its service can be contemplated. Berlin.—Germany put / business on the shelf last week and entered whole- heartedly into the Easter holiday cele- brations. Trading on the Boerse was slow and prices were weak. So far this year there has not been a single sign of any seasonal upturn. Steel Production Low. Gloom followed the reports issued at the recent annual meetings of the stockholders of big banks and large firms and was accentuated by the re- ported insolvency of the famed Junkers airplane and engine faetory. There is no prospect of a revival in the steel and machinery industries. Iron and steel production is now scarcely 12 per cent of normal. Encouraging developments are insig- Unemployment has not creased. The total number of insol- vencies is somewhat below the total for March last year. In the industrial sit- uation, the only reassuring factor is the decision of employers in the cofl and steel industries not to avail them- selves of the right to denounce pres- ent wage agreements when they termi- nate April 1, which implies an end of wage deflation. ANXIETY IN BRITAIN. World Financial Crisis Is Watched in London. BY LEONARD J' REID. Associate Editor of the London Economist. Special Cable to The LONDON, April ‘The week ends with . anxiety undiminished over the development of the world financial crisis. Modified satisfaction is derived at the past year's achievement of a budgetary equilibrium, thanks mainly to the £40,000,000 increase in income and surtax yields, but it is noteworthy that the death duty revenue is down £18,000,000. Moreaver, though the debt redemption . fund received nomi- nally £23,000,000 from revenue, it is necessary to take account of centain contra items such as the £40,000,000 borrowing for the dole in the first half of the fiscal year, which has now ceased; the £8,000,000 borrowed for savings certificate interest, and the £9,000,000 capital asset, namely dollar exchange reserve fund, which been credited to revenue. Hence the public debt really increased £24,000,000 on the full year. A careful estimate of the outlook for the next budget suggests a prospective surplus on the existing tax basis in the region of £25,000,000 but this is subject to many qualifications, including the uncertain prolongation of the inter- national debt holiday and the incalcu- lable yield to be derived from the new tariffl. In view of the desirability of fortifying the sinking fund and the necessity of providing an ample mar- gin for contingencies, hopes for appre- ciable tax relief rest upon an unsure foundation. Copyright, 1932. Selling From “The Box.” NEW YORK, April 2 (Special).— Brokers have been impressed by the character of some of this week’s selling especially when they have discovered that certificates that were being sent in for transfer had been issued 15 and 20 years ago. It is not unlikely that many holders of rallroad stocks, for instance, who had carried them since the big bull rail in the Some discouraged and Mie reaBEing cash come discouraj for their stocks or more promising indust utility shares. Se: pany’s clal mequirements for the |3 current Tr private fortunes in railroad securities pose a element, would be appraised today at only about 25 per cent of their value Jyears ago.