Evening star., 1915-04-01
CAPITAL TRACTION Co.
| HAS A PUBLICITY PLAN
10 Give Shareholders Additional In
formation on Earnings and Con-
dition-Gas at Minimum.
MAY Be Cut in Steamboat Di--idend.
Big Day on the Washington
Stock Exchange.
BY I. A. FLEMING.

BY I. A. FLEMING.
Directors and officers of the Capita
Fraction Company have announced tina
hereafter they will, from time to time
AXE the shareholders of the corpora
ion. the real owners thereof. into thei
ronfidence, and make public, in writing
eports of the condition of the corpo
ation and of operating statistics. Thi
viii be in addition to the regular an
uual report presented to Congress ant
also to the shareholders.
No other local corporation has. a
vet made any movement In this d1rec
ton. A number of outside corporations
-eport business conditions occasion
ally, and the business of the railroads
of the country may be followed
throughout the fiscal year by weekl!
and monthly reports.
No new information Is given by tht
letter Just sent to shareholders, signed
by George Z. Hamilton. president, bu,
tttention is called to the annual report
of 1914. elucidated as follows:
The facts and figures of this report
plainly stated and unobscured, sno"
that during the past year. which was
one of marked business depression, the
company earned from railway opera
ton and paid all operating costs, In,
Guiding fixed charges. interest and
axes; carried $56.722.73 in money to
is depreciation fund and s37 1858 10
its surplus. paid out in AWARDS undet
rs merit system to conductors and
l1otormen for a year of consecutive
good service and safe operation OF cars
.21,69SI2: paid to it's stockholders IN
annual dividend 5 Y per cent. and main !,
aimed its high standard OF service anu
equipment
Due prominence was given in the let
ter to Code Of Principles ADOPTED
by the American Electric Railway AS
nnv n
mailed to each shareholder: This Is
defned by Mr.. Hamilton as follows:
"A full recognition of the rights ol
the people; the recognition by the peo-
ple of the rights of transportation
Companies and of individuals whose
money Is invested in these companies
The establishment between the people
and the companies of relations OF re-
ciprocal confidence, good will and fair
dealing; opposition to public ownership
hut a recognition of the advantage and
need of public regulation reasonably
applied as a means to protect and pre-
serve to both the public and the COM
panies their rights and relations; frank
and fair publicity In the place of the
policy of silence-these are some OF
the tenets Of present-day street rail
way management expressed in the code
and to be contended for, and applied
10y. the association and its member
companies"
Panama Savings Withdrawn.
Drafts drawn by the clerk Of the
Panama Canal Zone. to the order of the
Postmaster General Of the United States
we're paid by two Washington national
ranks this morning.
This money was part Of the saving.
~ the workers on the canal. now large.
~ scattered, returning to their homes or
leaving for other points.
District banks have been paying 2h
,er cent on these funds. the government
paving to the savers per cent.
With today's payments over 100000
II these funds have been paid out by
local banks in the last thirty days.
On Foreign Loans.
French and German bonds. part Of the
loan 3ust fioated in New York city. have
rssn offered very freely in Washington
and quite few investors have placed
orders. Some bonds have been placed
with banking institutions.
Conditions have changed materially
since last August. Then the New York
Stock Exchange closed, not for fear OF
European fotations, but because of the
dread of foreign selling of American
securities. There Is no question but
what some foreign selling has been 60
ing on in the last few days, especially
of Canadian Pacific, but this Is being
absorbed and In addition the United
states Is taking all the loans that for
German, Swiss or Italian-care to place
Eight months have served to restore
confidence in full in this country on
the New York Stock Exchange and
elsewhere.
The governors Of the exchange yester-
day ordered the abandonment with to-
day of all minimum prices, restoring
normal conditions and giving bulls and
bears free sway for the exercise OF
their speculative tendencies.
All stock exchanges. boards Of trade
curb and other markets stand ad-
iourned from the close of business to-
day until Saturday morning. The gov
ernors of the New York exchange out
voted the members. who expressed {
sentiment. by vote. against adjourn
ing. The Washington Stock Exchange
following it's usual custom. votet
unanimously In favor of adjournment
Treasury Statement.
Receipts OF the Treasury Department
exceeded disbursements for the day o
March 80 by s5ss.71sss. decreasing thu
excess Of disbursements for the fsca
wear 1915 to this date to S111,42s.39s.6o
a. compared with s53.51s.74255 for tn,
fiscal year 1914 to the corresponding
date.
The excess of payments over receipts
FOR the day OF harch JU IN tne genera
fund was 632.6s7.71. leaving net bal
ance Of $34.764.73421.
Norfolk & Washington Dividend.
The regular quarterly dividend Of thu
Norfolk and Washington Steamboa
Company, per cent for the quarter
was paid to shareholders this morning
With the dividend check letter wa.
received by each shareholder. stating
that the business Of the corporation
had not been up TO the average of pre-
vtous years, and that unless there wa,
a material increase in earnings In thu
next three months this would be th'
last payment on II per cent rate. II
the event of the directors finding 1
necessary to make cut in the distrf
button payments would be on a Pc
cent basis, any excess thereafter goins
into the surplus account
Today's action on the Washington
stock Exchange was the largest of any
days session since the reopening o
the exchange.
Bonds were the fayorites, an excel.
icnt Industrial investment demand ant
good buying on the part of bankers. II
employment of idle funds, keeping the
buying movement UP until the offer,
ings were practically exhausted
Nearly $4,000 bonds, face value. were
recorded on the sales list. Stocks, too
moved rather freely.
Another feature was offer to sci