Evening Star Newspaper, December 18, 1932, Page 59

FINANCIAL AND CLASSIFIED ' ' l).B '51111[1613 %iflf Classified Ads Pages 5 to 9 G, DECEMBER 18, 1932, News of Markets Pages 1 to 4 Part 6—10 Pages WASHINGTON, D. C, SUNDAY MOR IFRENCH HOLD DEBT PROVES DEFLATION (N SOME: BRANCHES IN EUROPE STANDS DISTRICT BANKERS' CONVENTION PLANS Broker Has Been Chosen as General Chairman for Annual Meeting. GUARANTEE OF DEPOSITS OPPOSED BY FINANCIER Sisson Believes Sound Banking Methods Are Only Way to In- sure Safety of Funds. BY EDWARD C. STONE. Karl W. Corby, partner in the bro- kerage firm of W. B. Hibbs & Co, has been appointed general chairman of the 1933 convention of the District of Columbia Bankers' Association, ac- cording to announcement made by President C. H. Pope yesterday. This is the first step taken toward the an- nual June meeting, which is the most important gathering of local bankers during the year. For many years the convention his been held at some noted resort outside of the Capital, so that the financiers can give their undivided attention to the various banking prob- lems considered and not be interrupted by routine matters in their individual banks. Mr. Corby, the new convention chair- men, was born in Washington in 1893. He attended the public schools and graduated from University School in 1911. Entering the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, University of Pennsylvania, he graduated there in 1915. While a student in Philadelphia the Wharton School had several un- usually widely known economists on the faculty, including Dr. Emery R. John- son, Dr. S. S. Huebner, Dr. James T. Young and Dr. Edgar Fahr Smith Returning to Washington, Mr. Corby entered the business founded by his father and uncle, remaining with the company until 1925, when the con- trolling interests were sold to a national corporation. After severing his con- nections with this firm, Mr. Corby en- tered the financial field as a_general partner in the firm of W. B. Hibbs & €o. As a member of this firm. he holds membership on the Washington Stock Exchange and was recently elected sec- retary of the organization. Complete convention committees will be announced before long. as will be the time and place of holding the con- vention. Members who are most deeply interested in the work of the District Bankers' Association believe that the annual meeting will be of unusual value, because of the host of vital prob- lems in banking which are clamoring for solution, Last year's conclave was held at Hot Springs and the bank offi- cials present considered the three fore- r.00n programs as most constructive and helpful. According to President Pope anc Chairman Corby, the standard will be kept up this year. Sisson Raps Deposits Guarantee. Francis H. Sisson, president of the American Bankers’ Association, is strongly opposed to the guarantee of bank deposits. Discussing e Strength of Our Banking System,” these conclusions in the Review of Re- views: ~Sound banking methods are the best and only guarantee of deposits. There- fore, the only laws that are justified are those that, on the basis of experience, study and careful consideration, formu- Jate sound banking methods and enforce them upon all banks alike. Most banks do not need such law enforcement, but the public interest doubtless requires it in order to insure the security of the whole banking system. “I believe that any revision of our banking laws which may be undertaken should be primarily in the hands of a non-partisan, _unprejudiced advisory commission Tepresentative of all ele- ments in the body politic. I believe such a commission would find that at heart our banking methods and princi- Ples are sound, that we have already an ample body of basic law and official su- pervision, that any changes should re- late to particular phases and not to gen- eral revision, and, finally, that the dras- tic, unfortunate, but necessary changes in the banking structure during the last three years have already gone far to correct the mistakes of the past. “I believe the present structure of 19,000 good banks—the real American banking system—has proved its strength and powers of public service in unques- tionable terms during the Nation’s greatest economic test.” Heard in Financial District, Three local banks, Union Trust Co., Liberty National and the Seventh Street Savings Bank, declared their usual dividends during the past week. Several others are expected in the next few_davs The 13 largest banks in New York are distributing $24.653,000 in dividends during the current quarter, according to a compilation by Hornblower & Weeks. ‘These banks have never passed a divi- dend, and one is 148 years old. Orrin C. Lester, vice president of the Bowery Savings Bank, who is a personal friend of several Washington bankers, declares that the economic security of the individual can be brought about only by means of better education in personal _economics. He asserts that the major economic problem of the country is to teach peo- ple to strike a rational balance between thelr expenditures for current needs and the creation of some surplus for the uncertainties and inevitable demands of the future. Business seems to be resisting the usual influences making for recession as the year ends, in striking contrast with the sharp decline of most indi- cators a year ago at this time, Business ‘Week says. The net change in the gen- eral level of business activity, after al- Jowing for seasonal fluctuations, has been surprisingly slight during the past siz months. _Similar steadiness, the re- view adds, has been evident in stock prices, the average level of which is al- most the same as it was two months ago. Ex-Dividend Stocks Recover. ‘Waggaman, Brawner & Co. Inc, in theirqweekly release call attention to the fact that New York City bank stocks now selling ex-dividend. have promptly recovered the amounts of their dividend in the market price of these stocks. The week closed with the average prices fractionally higher with stock selling ex-dividend. Gain in Employment. NEW YORK, December 17 (#).—Em- ployment in fine cotton goods mills has been better in the last three months than during the corresponding period of the previous two years, mill executives report. Production was 24 per cent greater than a year ago and 27 per cent above 1930. while unfilled orders are about 70 per cent larger than ig 1931, KARL W. CORBY. —Underwood Photo. INVESTMENT BOND | PRICES RULE FIRM DURING PAST WEEK Demand for Prime Issues In- creases—Latest Treasury Financing Sets Record. Special Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, March 17.—Much of the uncertainty that has been overhanging the investment market was removed in the past week. The war debts question, while it was far from solved in a man- ner satisfactory to all concerned, was at least put behind as an immediate market influence and the financial dis- trict was free to consider factors closer to_home. The result was a firm tone in high- grade bonds and higher prices for second and third grade descriptions, which re- flected the trend in stocks. Trading Temained quiet, but the market had a much improved undertone. Some indication of the investment demand in the market was to be gath- ered not only from the bids for large blocks of prime corporation issues placed under the market, but from the over- subscription of the latest Treasury financing and the speedy manner in which New York State disposed of its $30,400,000 offering. The Treasury's offerings of $600,000,000 in one-year s and four-year 2%s was subscribed 16 times. This broke all existing records for subscriptions and for the cheap-! ness of the accommodaticn from the Treasury's point of view. New York State sold its serial bonds | on a basis, to the public, of % per cent for the 1-year maturities, cn a rising scale to 315 per cent on the 50-year maturities. These prices rivaled _the United States Treasury's accomplish- ment. Conclusions to be drawn from this cogent evidence of the continuance of the easy money market are, first, that investors, individual and corporate, buy- ing these descriptions do not fear eventual inflation, for the first reflec- tion of coming currency in flation would be found in heaviness in high-grade bonds of this type; and, seccnd, that the movement into higher-yicld securi- ties which was in evidence in September and October has received a decided check. (Copyright, 1932.) COMMODITY PRICES WATGHED IN STREET Traders Check Up on Raw Mate- rials for Possible Turn in Business. By the Assoclated Press. NEW YORK, December 17.—Wall Street 1s keeping its weather eye on the course of commodity prices, which now are close to their 1932 low point, touched June 9. In fact, some of the leading indexes have recorded a new low this month, including the Annalist Index. Moody's Index, which is compiled on a day-to- day basis, as contrasted with the An- nalist weekly record, atill shows that the decline must go a shade further to reach a new low. ‘The margin of difference between the various records is a minor matter, at- tributable to different weights given to different commodities. In the impor- tant respect of showing the course of general commodity prices, they all agree on the following: Commodities held in a relatively nar- row range this year until around last March 15, when they dipped precip- itately. scraping a new low level for the depression early in June. In July they started a vigorous rally which carried to a year's high point in the first week of September. Followed then a brief period of stability, after which the trend line turned downward, erasing virtually all of the earlier gains. Ordinarily the stock market follows quite closely the trend of commodity prices. However, stocks have not drop- ped so precipitately as commodities since September. Some market judges attribute this relatively better tone to a belief that stocks did not share with equal sharpness in the rally of last Autumn. Moody’s index of staple commodity prices rallied from a June low of 79.3 to 103.9 last September and stood yes- terday at 80.8. thus erasing 95.9 per cent of their earlier rally. The stock market, as shown in the Standard Statistics index, rallied from a June low of 35 to 73.9 in_ September and Stood yesterday at 55.6 thus erasing only 47 per cent of its maximum gain. SR Sales Drive Planned. NEW YORK, December 17 (#).— Grocery manufacturers are planning a drive to increase first quarter sales by 10 per cent. believing that jobbers' and Tetallers' stocks are so depleted that abnormal replacement purchases must be made in the next three months. FREIGHT LOADINGS DROP. By the Associated Press. The American Railway Association announced yesterday that loading of revenue freight for the week ended De- cember 10 totaled 521,216 cars, a de- crease of 26,245 under the preceding week and 92,405 under * same week lagt year. . PERIOD IS CLOSING|OF BUSINESS NOTED December Markets Have Re- vealed Stubborn Resistance to Selling Pressure. BANKING CIRCLES CALM IN FOREIGN DEBT CRISIS Lack of Tax Liquidation Has Proved Beneficial Factor Dur. ing the Past Month. BY CHARLES F. SPEARE. Special Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, December 17.—An in- teresting comparison may be made between the action of the stock market this month and in December of 1929, 1930 and 1931. In 1929, frcm December 7 to 20, there was an average decline in industrial shares of 20 points and in rails cf 8 points. In 1930 the liquidation started late in November and ran to December 16, resulting in an average loes in industrials of 33 points and in rails of 21 points. In 1931 the last phase of the year’s liquidation developed on Nc- vember 19 and was not completed until December 17. The net result of it was an average loss of 43 points in indus- trials and 24 points in rails. This year there was a moderate Te- action in the latter part of November, following the rise in October and just after the election. Since then there has been a gradual improvement and the middle of December finds both in- dustrials and rails several points higher than at the end of last month. Deflation in Securities. This new December market trend seems to confirm other evidences that the liquidation in stocks has been com- pleted and that, cf all classes of prop- erty, securities are today the most thoroughly deflated. In December, 1929, the reaction in stocks represented a secondary liquidation movement, com- ing after the abrupt rice in November from the panic levels of that period. In 1930 heavy selling was precipitated by the closing cf the Bank of United States. Last year it was the cumuiative effect of foreign banking troubles, the suspension of gold payments by Great Britain and ruhs on numerous American banks that produced a state of excessive fear among security holders. Fortunately this year is ending with a surprising degree of calmness in banking circles, which even the de- faults this week by France. Belgium and Poland have not disturbed. Those prophets of market movements who have been proclaiming that the low prices of the year would be reached in December are now without honor in their profession, for with the market average more than 20 points above the low of last July it is a fair guess that the minimum quotations of that month will stand as the record for 1932 and, possibly, for the entire depression pe- riod. Less “Tax Selling.” One of the factors that has been of assistance in keeping stocks on an even keel this month has been an absence of large-scale selling in order to establish losses for income tax purposes. Such liquidation no doubt aggravated _the situation in the three years prior to 1932. The change in the method of compiling income tax statements, in which profits and losses offset each other where derived from securities held less than two years, and the fact that there has now been such a universal taking of losses since 1928, gives less opportunity for building up a case for small income tax payments. Still another aid to price stabilization has been the withdrawal of a large and aggressive group of speculators who ex- aggerated the fears of investors in pre- vious years through operations on the short side of the market, but who have been brought under such close super- vision by the New York Stock Exchange authorities that they now proceed with caution. It has not been found that the market has suffered any from the lack of & short interest, which is so much advocated as a necessary cushion. It is a waste of time and energy for of- ficials of the New York Stock Exchange to maintain that short selling had little part in the 1931 decline of the market. The facts are all to the contrary. Market's Calm Behavior. Compared with the happenings in this country and in other parts of the world, from October, 1929, to last July, the so-called bearish news in the past six months has been relatively unim- portant. Toward this, however, there has been an attitude on the part of ‘Wall Street of accepting~it quietly and not permitting it to prejudice its point of view that the general run of securi- ties had been so much defiated that current prices are in most cases the equivalent of intrinsic worth. It has been surprising the last three months how many stocks have advanced after their dividends were reduced or omitted and how many foreign bonds have greatly appreciated following interest (Continued on Second Page.) INCREASE IN BANK RESOURCES IS SHOWN Gain of $398,784,000 Revealed by Compilation of Federal Reserve Board. By the Associated Press. A compilation of member bank sta- tistics by the Federal Reserve Board re- vealed an increase in total resources of $398,784,000 during the third quarter of 1932. effected despite & loss in membership, the resources of the 6,904 members on September 30 amounting to $36,309,- 845,000, as compared with 6,980 mem- bers with $35,911,061,000 of resources on June 30, 1932. The quarter witnessed a gain in loans and investments, due entirely to pur- chases of obligations of the Government, and an increase in reserves and in un- Givided profits. On the other hand, de- creases were shown in the accounts of demand and tlnb:le dc&oslts.d surp! and bills payable. man slumped $122,489,000 during the three months, while time deposits were off $34,332,000. ‘Total deposits, however, registered an increase, due to heavy commitments of Government deposits and in sums due to other banks in the United States. Reserves with the Reserve banks in- creased $237,263,000 during the three months to.a total of $2,234,919,000 on Beptember 30, : ‘The report disclosed the increase was | luses deposits | Confectionery and Novelty Goods Producers Are In- creasing Their Output. AUTOMOTIVE DEMANDS | HOLD STEEL TRADE FIRM i Reports From Other Industries Re- veal Little Change in Recent Rates of Production. Special Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, December 17.—Aside from increased output to mect seasonal demands, there is little evidence of in- creased activity in industrial branches. Manufacturers of chocolate products and other confections are running on capacity schedules, and makers of toys and Christmas novelties, according to Dun’s Review. are rushing to complete last-minute orders. With the exception of some novelty lines, which sell at in- termediate prices, orders placed with manufacturing jewelers have been dis- appointing. Makers of leather products, on the other hand, note a distinct im- provement thus far in December. In the textile industry the wool goods division continues to make deliyeries of Winter jgoods, and a number of mills already have booked a fair amount of Spring business, maintaining relatively high working schedules; in some instances mills are occupied on a double-time basis. The rayon division continues to make the best showing in the textile in- dustry, with many large plants now sold closely through January. Reports ema- nating from the footwear trade are fa- vorable, with factories moderately bus; prices are substantially under last year's quotations, but retailers are beginning to note a slight shift to the better grades of shoes. Clothing Trade Dull. Hosiery manufacturers, who were well occupied from Labor day to the first of the current month, in many cases being forced to operate their milis on extra time, have cut down their schedules somewhat during the past week. Orders booked by manufacturers of lace cur- tains are below the level of last year at this period, with the bulk of the de- mand for low-priced merchandise. Man- ufacturers of knitted sport coats and bathing suits find that there has been little new business originating during the last month for current shipment, as most of the wholesalers covered their requirements during the early Fall. The little demand that does exist is for the lower grades of merchandise which fall within the popular-priced ranges. Busi- ness is improving distinctly in the large woolen and worsted plants in Lawrence, Mass, Additional employes have been recalled in fair sized number fo the three largest plants during the current month. Operations in the iron and steel in- dustry are fairly steady, with sentiment bolstered by the expectation that auto- mobile manufacturers will _assemble more cars in December than in any other month since last July. A mod- erate volume of structural awards and rail releases gives hope of early im- provement, with rail tonnages for im- mediate rolling expected to increase employment in the Chicago district in advance of the Christmas holidays. The automotive industry now is concentrat- ing its attention on the low-priced field; and, according to announcements, 14 different makes. priced under $700 per unit, will be offered to the public soon. Conditions in the clectrical | supply industry, as a whole, are not { much better than during the Summer months. Ordinarily, the ‘ast quarter of the year accounts for approximately 40 per cent of the annual business, but this year there has been £o upWar curve to the trend. Sales to industrial plants are unusually small. Coal Output Lower. Plate and window glass production is at a lower rate, and no material im- provement is anticipated for several weeks, with the exception of safety glass for automobiles, the demand for which is expected to improve at an early date. Stocks of flat glass in the hands of distributors are reported ex- tremely small, and manufacturers look for stock replenishment orders early in January. Crude oil production is at a slightly higher rate, with stocks of refined products showing some in- crease. Bituminous coal production has fallen off slightly, but compares fairly well with that of a year ago. Indus- trial demand still is slow, while do- mestic demand is being stinwulated, to some extent, by the colder weather. STEEL MILL ACTIVITY DECREASES FURTHER Ingot Output Is Now Estimated at 15 Per Cent of Capacity. Copper Steadier. By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, December 17.—Steel mill activity tapered off further this week as the end of the year approached and orders generally for immediate and first-quarter shipment were withheld. Inget production was estimated 1 point Jower at 15 per cent of capacity. How- ever, structural awards for Federal financed projects improved and reports of sustained activity from automobile factories were Teceived. Pig iron was also dull and prices generally were unchanged. Altnough copper had not rallied from the record low quotation of 5 cents for electrolytic in the Connecticut Valley, a steadier undertone was reported. Eu- Topean guotations advanced from the declines which followed the break-up of the International Producers' Con- ference and domestic inquiry for sec- ond-quarter delivery at 5 “cents in- creased. But sellers were asking Yg- cent premium for that position and were not actively seeking business. Unofficial sources reported a decline of 8,000 tons in world’s copper stocks dur- ing November. :LARGE TOBACCO SALES By the Associated Press. KNOXVILLE, Tenn, December 17. —Since the opening of burley to- bacco markets in Knoxville this season a total of 1,361,698 pounds has been sold for $197,666 or an average of $14.51 a hundred pounds, warehouse officials announced today, Friday sales §1 Greenevills totaled 223,566 pounds REPORTED FROM SOUTH an average of $14.22. DoC. TM NOT FEELIN'VERY WELL MYSELE!) Liatridy N, L) 2777721100500 > < Rt 7 =4 / NN UPTURN IN RETAIL BUSINESS NOTED {Commerce Department Also Reports Drop in Industrial Production. By the Associated Press. A seasonal upturn in various retail lines, accompanied by generally lower industrial production, was reported by the Commerce Department in weekly review of domestic business dur- ing the week ended December 10. Automobile production moved against the general trend and increased sharp- ly during the week. Steel mill activity recorded a further slight decline. Re- ceipts of cotton and live stock at pri- mary markets were lower than in the preceding week. Wholesale prices, as measured by Fisher's Index, declined to another new low. The losses recurred in the agri- cultural group as non-agricultural prices remained stationary. Quotations on cottcn middling and red Winter wheat registered slight gains, while 'd | electrolytic copper declined slightly. In contrast to the sharp rise in bank loans of Federal Reserve reporting mem- ber banks & week ago, 8 decline of $49,- 000,000 occurred for the latest week. This loss occurred in the “all other” group as advanced against securities in- creased $19,000,000. Investments stood $112,000,000 lower than the preceding level, as holdings of Government and other securities declined. All_deposits were lower. Interest rates on both call and time money showed no change from their preceding levels. Average prices of stocks showed a substantial gain, but bond prices de- clined. Money in circulation increased 2s & result of seasonal demands, Bank debits outside New York City were higher then in the preceding week and the index based on the daily average figures was the highest since October. SHUTDOWN'OF TEXAS OIL WELLS ORDERED State Commission Issues Instruc- tions to Operators in Plan to Make Survey. By the Associated Press. AUSTIN, December 17.—The Texas Railroad Commission today ordered all wells in the East Texas oil pool to cease production at noon and to remain closed until 7 a.m. on January 1. The shutdown, affecting more than 9,000 oil wells, was described by the commission as necessary to obtain “ex- act bottom hole pressures and other scientific data upon which to base orders for the prevention of waste. It came on the heels of price cuts by purchasers of crude ofl in the continent area. Members of the commission said that they planned to prosecute operators who refused to abide by the close-down order. The statute provides a penalty of $1,000 each day a commission order is violated and directs the manner in which properties shall be placed in re- ceivership under the penalty clause. Maurice Cheek, assistant attorney general, said that he believed producers Who had obtained restraining orders to prevent the commission from applying production rules to their-wells would be subject to the shut-down edict. Brewery Company Incorporated. HAGERSTOWN, Md., December 17 ial) —The old Hagerstown Brew- (Spec! €ry, one of the best known beer-making establishments in this section, is to be| put in condition for immediate oper- ation. A group of local financiers has |}y incorporated under the laws of Dela- ware, the new company to be known as the Hagerstown Brewing .Co., with a capital of $100,000, and will take oyer | the site of the former brewery here, which will be equipped with new ma- Ma chinery d led for beer making. Walter D. Willson, in charge of the racing at the Hagerstown Fair, is presi- dent of the new conoern, 15‘ ;‘France Is Second | ' In Gold Holdings, | With 83,300,000,000‘ Sale of Foreign Exchanges | Has Increased Stocks | of Yellow Metal. ! Special Dispatch to The Star. | NEW YORK, December 17—It is dif- | ficult for the American people to un- | derstand why France should have felt, compelled to default on the December | 15 pavment to the United States of less | | than "$20,000,000 when she holds the | second_largest gold stock of the coun- tries of the world. The Bank of France at the end of this week has gold in its possession rep- | resenting the fabulous sum of $3,300.- | 000,000. Since June 24 there has been | a steady accretion, due to the sale by | France of her holdings of foreign ex- changes. This policy has now been in operation for more than a year. In the past 12 months the amount of foreign exchange held by the Bank of France has decreased nearly 85 per | cent. There has been a ccntinuous | program of withdrawing balances held ‘lu the credit of France abroad and | adding_to the already unwieldly sup- plies of credit held at home. It is apparent now that there may be a reverse trend in the gold flow. This week French francs have been showing the effect of the lack of the normal French balance of trade, in which a heavy reduction in tourist ex- penditures plays & prominent part. Bankers here believe that France has recalled about as much of her foreign balances as she can afford to and still maintain her international banking position. It is expected that consider- able exports of gold to this country will take place during the Winter. In case this develops, it will not be long before the loss of ‘gold which the United States experienced in the first half of this year will be recovered. Al- ready this country’s gold stock has in- creased over $460,000,000 since the mid- dle of June. This reduces the net loss for the year to about $80,000,000. In addition to her large stock of gold, tne Bank of France has been the depository of substantial balances for the account of various continental countries. Within the last year funds that were formerly sent to Switzerland and Holland for safe-keeping have been located in France, where, in some cases, better terms have been given to deposi- tors than those which the countries already surfeited with foreign capital have been willing to grant. (Copyright, 1932.) o Canadian Export Balance. OTTAWA, December 17 (#).—Canada had an export balance of $49,113,400 for the 12 months ended November 30, the Dominion Bureau of Statistics reports. For the same period last year Canada had an import balance of $17,068,700. Canadian exports for the 12-month period totaled $504,446.000, compared with $618,900.100 in 1931 'and $907.- 697,000 in 1930. Imports were valued at $463,942,800, compared with $648,- 1;;6500 in 1931 and $1,032,506,700 in 1930. Grain Market By the Associated Press. CHICAGO, December 17.—Restrained by late selling here against purchases at Winnipeg, the Chicago wheat market made only a moderate response today to material upturns in Canadian prices. Winnipeg reports indicated that there was but little unsold Canadian wheat except that on farms. Overseas buying of Canadian wheat today totaled up- ward of 1,000,000 bushels. ‘Wheat closed firm, unchanged to 13 higher, compared with yesterday's fin- ish, corn 13 off to up, ‘oats un- changed to 14 advance, and provisions unchanged 1o & rise of 17 cents, WHEAT— Open. High. Close. Dec 441y 443 FARM ALLOTMENT PLAN S OPPOSED Millers Attack Proposal for Control of Crops—Farmers Favor Idea. Special Dispatch to The Star. fluen KANSAS CITY, Mo, December 17.— | more | The reaction in the interior this weekJ to the news from Washington, inclin- age grain raiser. Millers are bitterly attacking ABOVE L. . CLAIMS Lausanne Agreement Fixed Priority of Obligations, Is Paris Belief. GERMANY IS IMPROVING ITS FINANCIAL STATUS Freed of Reparations, Nation Is Recovery in Business. Special Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, December 17.—Cables and wireless dispatches to the Business Week give the following survey of bus ness abroad for the week ending toda: Paris.—The heroic efforts of Premicr Herriot, as head of the French ernment, in a parliamentary debate which extended over two days, to per= suade the Chamber of Deputies to honor the signature of France by mak- ing the $19,000,000 payment due the United States on December 15 on war debts, despite his own firm conviction that France has been exonerated from these obligations, caused his fall. The French agree unanimously that he sacrificed himself to a cause. The on- erous position was required of him as head of the government. But no French cabinet ever fell with greater glory. Weakness in Franc. France is firmly convinced that the Lausanne agreement definitely estabe lishes the priority of inter-European in- terests over American claims. Paris sees England as the only weak link, but as Herriot pointed out in his final speech: “That which is admirable about the British is that the more we dispute with them, the closer we come to the! In the last fortnight our cordiali grown into a true fraternity.” At no time has France pleaded in* ability to pay. Nevertheless, on the day following the French decision, aside from the firmness of the Bourse, the franc developed new weakness. Even German marks, traded only unofficially, Tose above the theoretical gold export point. While the Bank of France will attempt to continue the sale of dollars in a narrow market, it is expected that the support will prove inadequate and that at least $10.000,000 gold will be exported to New York before the end of the vear. The fall of the cabinet leaves France i & precarious position. Treasury working funds were reduced to $8.000,- 000 on December 2, requiring replace- mel:\b by parliamentary consent to bor- row. Further, commencement of the budget debate s rnow suspended until 8 new government can be formed. And, importantly, the new prime minister is unlikely to command either the esteem or the control exerted by Herriot, both of which may lead to serious complica- tions in the future. Berlin—Germany is under the in- of the Christmas spirit with of the traditional “good will” in the air than was though: possible & short time,ago. Factors which buoyed b ¢ ; ing toward an allotment plan for pro-‘; usiness sentiment this week include: duction, is decidedly in the direction of | doubt as to its acceptance by the aver- | (1) The Reichstag. after a clash at the opening a week ago, negotiated the absolutely necessary business, voted a month's recess as a sort of truce among | all parties, during whi 1 el g ch the new chan- von Schieicher, is to have a proposition as unworkable and calling | chance to consolidate recent economic for an army of inspectors to prevent | They de- | { return to the disar. “bootlegging” of production. clare that to put the project into effect would involve an endless amount of red tape and in case of a crop failure completely upset the market. Farmers' organizatiors, erally favored some method of crop con- trol without any very definite agree- ment on what system will work. The fact is that the producer is completely be{uldsdled by all the complicated pro- 2l Meanwhile the present problem of debt hangs over. The farm land banks and the joint stock banks have the most pressing problem of their history, with defaults rising and investors worrying over the securities issued by the latter. In one weekly paper. in what has been considered the richest | county in this area, were published 27 farm foreclosure notices, mostly by_in- surance and_loan _companies. This county had the highest priced land in its State in war times—probably that is what is the matter. Out in the cheaper land counties the situation is far less serious. Holiday trade, which should be reaching a high tide, is lagging behind last year in dollar volume. Stores are carrying moderate stocks and those of goods selling at low figures. But park- ing space is scarce in every town, stores are well filled and perhaps the closing days will bring about a better report than was anticipated. (Copyright, 1932.) CHEAPER AMERICAN DOLLAR ADVOGATED Revaluation of U. S. Money Urged as Means of Increasing Cost of Commodities. BY DR. MAX WINKLER. Special Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, December 17.—The value of the American dollar has again become a subject for serious discussion. According to some observers, its pre- vailing rates makes it impractical in world commerce when compared with the lower rates for other principal cur- rencies. A devalution or cheaper dollar, therefore, is advocated. ‘The problem is expected to receive early consideration from the next Con- gress. While those close to the Demo- cratic leaders are understood to be def- initely opposed to inflation, some form of controlled expansion of currency, which would permit inflation without abandoning the gold standard, is re- garded as a_probability. A lower dollar is bound to exert a favorable influence upon the pound which, despite its present difficulties, is still the emblem of international credit, |of what little there has been left of international credit. Improvement in the value of the pound should result in an advance in the price of commodities, particularly cotton and wheat, while a rise in com- modities should bring about higher in- terest, Tates, better prices for bonds of | the so-called secondary category, and higher prices for common stocks. It is possible that recent advances in the quotation for equities are in anticipa- tion of such developments. (Copyright, 1932 . 4.a. g2ins and put more plans into action. (2) Germany has been granted equality” rights by t- on something of the p | ing. Germa: | returned to fi % s to work out of the prol i however, | & g HECE holding meetings this month have gen- | S:2nd which was forced on t-clas: in th peace treaty. G «3) Business recovery—slow bu - ceptible_—is Continuing o D per (4) The country’s financial position is improving. L London.—Important as the war debt payment is to British destiny (at least as important as Britishers think it is), London_found time this week to read about Queen Mary's trips to the West End to do the royal Christmas shopping, the sensibility of the British in being patient with an impetuous Shah who wants more money for his oil, and the likelihood that Premier Bennett made his trip from Canada to corr ect som careless errors in the recent Ottawa greement (it seems some of the rates on electrical equipment were written in ;: nl:\l'elsc wm(;h make it impossible for n Cinadian firms St l to keep going at New Superhighway. Rall and truck interests have giv e good deal of attention of late |Ogrl(:;gfl's of the new superhighway being con structed between Liverpool and Man- chester. More than 25 miles of an old narrow road is being replaced by a $12,- 000.000 highway which is to be 120 feet wide, and will cross all other highways With modern overhead crossing. Some ;)‘1 bne?xin‘s"l:nviesz industrial traffic veen these twi is between these two great manufac- BANK DIRECTORS SEEK RELEASE FROM BOND WINCHESTER, Va. De: (Special) —An order Has been . ‘:fierég in Circuit Court directing C. S. Feller, Teceiver for the People’s Bank, Stephens City. to release the directors of that institution from a bond of $14,000 which they were required to post prior to the closing of the bank to guarantee the raising of $7,000 in cash for the bank. The order states that the directors acted in good faith and produced the required $7,000 in cash, but before the bond could be released the bank suspended busi- ness. Mr, Feller asked the court to instruct him relative to cancellation of the bond. Directors who gave the bond were J. . Beatty, Charles E. Staples. Benjamin Massie, F. B. Cadwallader, L. D, Pifef, R. A. Shryock, John A. Hinkle, W. B, O'Neal and F. Estes Kline. Approves Copper;fifl. NEW YORK, December 17 (#).—L. 8. Cates, president of the Phelps-Dodge Corporation, believes the American cop- per industry would now be in a chaotic state were it not for the 4-cent-a-pound import tariff adopted this year. He es- timates that foreign producers, with their low costs, could supply the entire American market in addition to the for- eign market and still have a surplus capacity of about 600,000,600 pounds annually under the present restricted world consumption. S PARIS BOURSE PRICES. PARIS, December 17 (#) —Three per cent rentes, 76 francs 60 centimes; 4%z per cent rentes, 93.75. Ex on London. 8475, The dollar was quoted at 25.62%4. .