Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-07-22
BY I. A. FLEMING.

| machinery LOT INC Le" AipeAeJ
issue.
| That the announcement OF an intend
ed issue will be delayed beyond next
month does not seem probable. !ndeeo
bankers are rather looking for the hrst
Issue of treasury certificates be1ore the
end of August.
| Bankers who attended the confer
ence in New York early last week were
requested by the federal reserve OH
cials not to say anything regarding
the confab. Twelve federal reserve dis
tricts were represented and the meet
ing was held at the offices of the New
York liberty loan committee.
| Topics considered were specia!izeo
under the following heads: Time sched-
ule of the campaign; method of organ
ization of central committee and its re-
llations with subcommittee in appro-
priating expense; publicity organization
and development; OF general seillhs
plans; maintenance of organization be-
tween campaigns; handling. OF reports.
receipts and payments on subscriptions;
delivery of interim certificates; time for
closing subscriptions, and numerous
| other details.
| Numerous out-of town bankers were
represented at the gathering. Paul M.
| Warburg. member of the federal re-
| serve board, represented that body:
| Delegates Of the American Bankers
Association also attended the gather
! ing.
And in the Meantime.
| And in the meantime the bond mar
ket is again experiencing perloa ol
stagnation Indeed. it has not been
! acting at all right since the hrst an
| nouncement of the proposed war loan
| II not before the actual opening OF nos
| tilities-the facts being plainly inol-
| Gated prior thereto.
The average price of forty listed
bonds on the New York Stock Exchange
| in October, 1916, was 50. The recovery
was steadily made to a little better
than SO in anuary of the current year,
from which time the declining trend
has been steady until they are BACK at
the low point again.
Various proposed issues of bonds have
been called off and but few have been
successfully fioated unless of the gilt
edge order. Recourse has been neces-
sary to short-term notes. and where
the rate is sufficiently tempting there
is always a good demand for these IA
vorites with banks and other investors,
frequently employing funds temporari-
" in this maner. for there is gen.
orally a ready market for the issues.
The Delaware and Hudson Railroad
proposed bond issue and to turn to
short-term notes, having issued ana
sold to Kuhn. Loeb & Co, 100000
three-year notes bearing per cent IN
terest, and these are being onered TO
the public at close to par.
The same story has been told else
where, only a little differently.
The problem of meeting maturities, OF
which tens of millions OF dollars are
coming due in the next six months. has
become something Of a problem IN
finance.
In Washington, D. c.
Bonds in Washington are about five
points lower on the average than they
were few years ago. Capital Traction
SIS and Washington Gas IS with Poto-
mac Electric first IS, for years stood
around 1o7 to 10S and even better. 1t
were not in accord with other bond
markets but now Gas 5s are not far
above par. with a block OF new os
waiting for the consent OF the utilities
commission to be marketed at tnat price,
and the Potomac Electric Company has
Just brought out an issue OF os at par
and interest.
Back to Liberty Bonds.
Harking back to liberty bonds. the
action OF the market in New York
bonds now selling at a slight discount
raises some little question as to wheth-
er the forthcoming issue can be readi-
ly marketed on 3 per cent basis.
Bankers bore the burden of con-
siderable cost in the last campaign.
Will they do it again? VIII they go
further with the installment plan OF
selling?
The chances are that they will do
all these things: that they will be
representatives. and that they will
promptly meet the demands.
1t would be impossible to accept in
stallment payments unless the banks
were again accorded the rediscount
privilege, with the bonds as collateral.
as they unquestionably will be. The
permission to use other securities has
also relieved the market for collateral.
But few Of the bankers have recalled
their collateral from the federal reserve
regional banks. with which all their
operations incident to the liberty loan
| v ere conducted. permitting 1t to remain
to their credit anent possible use,
while always being safe and at their
demand
Missing Their Guesses.
These are days when the confirmed
trader on Wall street is kept guessing
as to the best way to turn an honest
dollar. Many of them confess that for
the first time in many moons the tale OF
the ticker is self contradictory. Ex-
perienced tape readers assert that the
tape declares for a lower market
The uncertainty in the action of
ton to the put and call method Of
trading. which permits of limiting
losses to a few dollars, while taking
chances OF turning good profts-that
selling of puts may be attended with
considerable danger. unless protected
by short sales. But spectators are
spectators, and must be doing some
thing-safe or otherwise; hence the
market has them worrying
Guard Banking Credits Transfer.
Bankers generally are carefully guard
| ing aliens accounts and are very careful
not to transfer banking credits to neutral
countries for enemy aliens accounts
While not obligated to file applications
for the transfer of credits, most of the
larger institutions file records of trans
fers to the government, with all needed
| facts concerning the transaction
Bankers do not wait for approval but
are said to he prepared in each case to
render full details of the transaction on
request of the government. Where doubts
as to the character of the transfer are en-
| tertained. information is filed with the
government before granting the transfer
| Not long ago all member banks re-
ceived warning letters from the federal
reserve board as to the treatment of
| cases In transferring credits.