Evening star., 1915-01-03

of European news and the possible eA
feet thereof in the United States 1t re
quires confidence to a large degree u
enlarge operations in any line Oh Ell
deavor.
The year is yet too young to give
even fair consideration to its possi
bilities, and yet with the signs Oh iiii
provement that are at hand, Win th'
contingencies of finance PROVIDED io'
by the new banking law, the prevail'
ing high prices of cereals, the certalnt,
that the great railroads of the hatiot
will be in better position In their earn
ing city than in 1914. and the com
.parative ease of money, one may rea'
sonably look for some betterment.
In any review or prediction the ex'
periences of 1914 must count ior much
Corporations will be forced to go SLOW
in issues of new capitalization and VIII
have to make plain to financial inter
ests the need of new financing ana lts
safety before such a movement can De
undertaken with any prospect OF SUI
The day of such operations as the
New Haven and the Rock Island sys,
TENS is probably over. Investors VIII
scan the list of securities and the rec
ords of corporatio closer than ever
while bond houses, just beginning to
send out their inviting literature, mus'
he able to give a clean bill of health to
the securities they would market.
Washington institutions, trust com
panies, national and savings banks, en-
ter the year prepared to care for their
customers, and there are also decldeo q
evidences of a larger proportion OF
available cash for real estate opera
tions than at any time for two years.
The ruling rate on loans is s per
cent and bankers do not see much
chance of cheaper money in the near
future. The rate of the regional bank
at Richmond is per cent for thlrty
days paper and some of the local
banks are taking advantage of this
for rediscounting. A reduction in the
discount rate TO 4 y per cent would
mean a larger volume of rediscounts
Registered Commercial Paper.
Leading bankers of the country have
given hearty Endorsement to the plan
of registering the obligations of large
mercantile and manufacturing oon-
Germs with some bank or trust COM
pany in one of the central reserve
cities.
Usually the registration is with a
trust company. The plan has merits of
importance. 1t is an absolute preven-
tive against forgeries; it gives credit
information of the highest Importance
to bankers, and. as 1T is one of the
chief objects sought by the section OF
the federal reserve law, calling for
statements with paper offered for re-
discount, should solve one of the prob
lens of regulation regarding redis-
counting of commercial paper.
Attention is especially called to reg
istration Of commercial paper at this
time because Endicott, Johnson & Co.,
probably the largest shoe manufactur-
ers In the world, have just established
a registry for their paper with the
Bankers Trust Company OF New York
as registrar.
Registration is, in a way, a preyen-
tive of overexpansion of credit, as
with the obligations vized by a trust
company, open to inspection as to
amount to credit managers. the
chances for unreasonable expansion
would be greatly lessened
Creditors to Choose Trustees,
Creditors of Lewis johnson & Co.
bankrupts, will meet Thursday of this
week at room IA, city hall, for the Dur
pose OF selecting a trustee or trustees
to receive the assets from the receivers
and liquidate for the benefit Of the
creditors.
The receivers are ready to turn the
records over, and if the creditors come
70 an agreement, trustees will be
named or at least one trustee chosen.
Record Of 1914.
The record of 1914 in the bond mar
ket of the local stock exchange is in
teresting. Washington Railway IS
were the leader, a total of $4,000 face
value. changing hands at so to "a, with
soA the price at the close.
Potomac Consolidated 5s were a close
second, little under Railway As in
aggregate. with 9SA to 101 as the price
range, with 99k the official closing,
The long term bonds of the Riggs
Realty Company per cents sold to the
extent of s275.000, at 101 to 1929 clos
ing at 101. Capital Traction 5s showed
considerable variation in price range,
going from los at the opening, to
1o9A, and then dropping to 1O4A, with
1861 the closing.
Washington Gas SIS, $9s,5OO, brought
1861 early, advanced to 10s and went
off to 103, with the announcement of
an issue of 100000 new bonds coming
on the market.
other bonds were steady and not sub
1ect to anything like the fluctuations
on the two last-named issues.
Purpose of Minimum Prices,
The committee of the New York stock
Exchange having charge of minimum
price regulations, realizing that there
was considerable Misrepresentation re-
garding the purpose for which they
were established, has just issued the
following statement:
owing to the uncertain position in
cident to the war, and the abnormal
conditions of the foreign markets, it
has been deemed wise to guard against
a sudden Generalization of prices that
might come with some unlooked-for
news Minimum prices furnish this
safeguard by arresting a panicky de-
cline automatically. 1t is not the in
tention, however, that minimum prices
should be used to valorize or sustain
the market at any arbitrary level. as
such a procedure would lead to the
establishment of an unregulated out
side market If the natural trend were
ignored.
1T is therefore the object Of the
committee to keep minimum prices as
far as possible, in conformity with SUD-
ply and demand, while at the same
time using them as check against
unforeseen panic.
II. G. s. NOBLE. Chairman"
Corporate Financing.
Corporate financing in the United
States in 1914 totaled $1.332 900. 900
5-12 of which amount was for refund
ing operations. The total compared
with s1,6s0,000,00O in 1913, s1.77s,.
900 in 1912 and the high record o,
sl,946, 1000 in 1911.
Deducting the amount used in 191.
for refundinQ operationS showed tha