Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-02
BY I. A. FLEMING.

In the last lot Of mobilized securities
|eent over to New York from London
was a block of Potomac Electric first
mortgage SIS, indicating that some Eng
lish investor was parting with one OF
the highest grade bonds in his or her
strong box.
There are but S1.1o0.0oo Of these
bonds outstanding and they cover the
entire assets and business. good will.
etc, of the Potomac Electric Power
Company.
A New York banker offered the block
from London to Washington oank
and was probably surprised at the
speed with which his tender was &C
copied.
Numerous other instances of mob
ilized local securities being liauldat-
ed here have been reported, over tne
counter, though 1t is also probable tnat
some have also been sold on the daily
sessions of the stock exchange.
Local bankers have been out or the
Washington market for bonds for some
time and the result has been decided
Iessening of the daily trading. SO that
bond transactions form but small
part of the daily records on change.
In New York bond transactions al
most surpassed the interest In the stock
y,
and Anglo French 5s being both de-
lcidedly active. the former at slightly
better than the underwriting price;
Washington bankers probably Will De
as their vaults are full of idle money
and desirable short term bonds ana
other issues are still taken freely.
| The local list contains few really
short term maturities; Ge9sse hot tha as
are only s250.000 of these outstanding;
Riggs Realty 5s. short maturity. are
due for redemption in 1873, put there
are only $500, 900 of these and most OF
| the bonds on the local list are long
| time maturities.
Washington bankers are making Ell
| forts to hold rates at 5 per cent ana
have turned down applications for con-
cesSions.
An Unusual Report.
The forty-sixth annual report of the
| Royal Bank of Canada is decidedly un-
usual and in a way pathetic. NOT tnat
| the condition of the great bank or it's
| many branches scattered all over the
world is anything but what is COM
mandatory, but because OF the fact that
| so many of its official staff have been
called by love of country from the
peaceful walks of life to battle IN the
| trenches
March /, 1916, there were 523 OF the
official staff of the bank in the Cana
dian contingent of the allied army or
| in training for It,
Seven members of the stan OF the
bank have been killed in action and
| two died of wounds, while many more
are in hospitals.
The Royal Bank has many branches
all over Canada and the world, some OF
| which have been closed because OF the
reduction in the force.
Waiver Of Demand.
The proposed amendment to the fed
eral reserve law, by which notes may
now be rediscounted with regional
banks, upon the Endorsement of any
| member bank, with waiver OF de-
| mand notice and protest by such bank,
| as provided in section IS. is very gen.
orally favored by bankers. who claim
that this protest and waiver exemption
should never have been inserted.
Bankers claim that this waiver
weakens the previous Endorsements
upon their paper. as 1t is believed that
| the waiver might automatically release
previous indorsers and remove recourse
| in the event of the note not being
promptly paid.
1t is claimed that the only possible
purpose OF the use of the waiver re-
lease would be to protect the federal
reserve or regional bank from it's own
| clerical error in failing to protest pa
per past due.
| The federal reserve board has eau
| toned bankers to see to it that notice
| of protest is sent to makers of notes
rediscounted, in order that these in
dorsers, who have not executed waiver
on notice and protest, may not be re-
! leased from responsibility.
| Bankers cannot always secure waiver
| of notice and protest from their own
customers, and as measure OF self
protection they are standing back of
| the amendment, which proposes to
| eliminate the provision.
A Peculiar Situation. =.
In times of prosperity there is usual
Nv a great demand for cash. and bank
| ers find no trouble in placing their sur
plus supply and demanding good rates
| of interest. A peculiar situation ex
| lists at this time. There is no ques-
tioning the presence of prosperity. The
railroads cannot handle the business
given them. shipping is inadequate to
carry the cargoes that are piled up
on the docks, factories are working
double time and sometimes in three
shifts and money goes a-begging at
unprecedentedly low rates.
The great corporations OF the United
States have been enjoying great sue
| in the banks to their credit in way
of i'm