Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-08-15
GREAT F1ARVESTS ASSURE
$500 BETTER BUSINESS OUTLOOK
Liquidation and Cleanup on Wall Street
Seem to- Have Been Accomplished.
~ Polish Situation Brake on Trading.

|
| ator Capper said, there will be bit
ter criticism when the bonds come
to par again and all the profits fall
, into the hands of the few persons
who, through their wealth. have been
able to gobble up the bonds and hold
on to them.
Plans for Aiding.
A number of plans for helping out
the bond situation have been sug
par in certain quantities has been
proposed.
Another plan suggested is the con-
version of the securities into serial
bonds as means of bringing them
back to par. A plan along that line
proposes that all the liberty issues be
refunded into a single serial bond is
sue, bearing interest at the rate of
5A per cent. The interest return to
bondholders would be increased from
10 to 80 per cent and the bonds would
quickly go to par.
The entire amount of the bonds. un-
der the plan, would be retired by
June is, 1947. the latest date of any
liberty issue. 1t is contended that the
whole transaction would not cost the
government any more than the pres
ent sinking fund method.
On May 81. last, there were out
standing approximately $15.3S4, 0O0,-
600 of liberty bonds, bearing interest
at from 3h per cent to Az. They
were subject to retirement from Sep
TENDER %. 1923, to June IS. 1947. The
advocates of the single serial bond
issues to be substituted for these
bonds figure that If all the liberty
bonds are retired at par on date of
maturity it will have cost the tax
payers in interest and principal from
June Is. 1921. to June Is, 1947. about
sec, JAP. 900 900.
If Congress. on the other hand,
should enact law providing for the
refunding of all these issues into
a single issue bearing 5A per cent,
all to be retired by June Is, 1947, the
cost would be approximately $685.
287, 100000. they hold and in the
meantime, the bonds will have been
nearly their face value if the owners
desired to sell or raise money on
them.
Another plan advanced by Senator
Frelinghuysen has been to retire the
bonds and substitute for them tax
exempt bonds. with the idea of fore
ing up the values. But there is strong
securities.
Local Securities.
Local securities with the exception
preferred and Capital Traction. are
grinding alongj at about the lowest
prices of the big decline.
While there have been some evil
dences recently OF sufficient interest
to relieve the market from the tedious
monot3ny of making bid and asked
quotations, the Washington public
curities for many a day.
Continual pressure from the inside
for permission to advance the price
of gas, electricity and street railway
fares may have had something to do
with keeping investors out of the
field; the passing OF a dividend now
and then or some other unfortunate
news corporationwise may also be
partially responsible for the neglect
of locals.
Low prices and a clearing up of
some of the problems would seem to
make some stocks moro attractive for
investment buying, should money
offered in sufficient supply to meet
the demand.
Capital Traction has shown the
best strength Of anything on the list
that is among the utility shares. the
general view being that the corpora
ton is making big earnings and will
show a handsome surplus from the
Both street railway companies are
expanding large sums on maintenance
of way and road.
Wall street has exerted an unfa-
vorable influence on local stocks. the
continued decline there being any
thing but an incentive for buying
here.
It il a fact that there ha&'been some
shifting of investments from local &C.
curities to take advantage Of the severe
breaks on Wall street.
1t takes practically a high-srade Z
Der cent bond to sell on a par basis
these days. United States Steel 5s are
around 80. but they are admittedly
choice issue and few 5s sell better than
so to IS, unless they have some converti-
BILE privilege, etc.
The local bond list shows some fair-
ly good margins, as does the stock list,
that may be attractive should conditions
further improve.