Evening star., 1921-02-10
gas NOTES HOLDING
!: : I FIRM AROUND PAR
~ .ns
Chapter Men Busy-Debate
-fuI
y.and Dinners-Street Rail-
sfiT-.
..e way Situation Improved.
BY 1, A. FLEMING.

~, Washington Gas 7lk per cent notes
settled steadily around par today with
a couple of 500 bonds selling at 101.
This establishes a premium 1or the
.$EhaIl bonds and demonstrates the
wisdom of the company in having so
-rnony notes of small denomination
,ftady for the market
.eay Three ten-share lots of Metropoi1-
sefan National Bank stock brought $500
a share.
80. Capital Traction stock recovered to
los. a fractional advance.
The rest of the list was entirely
neglected. save as to perfunctory max
:EfnE of quotations. which did not sho"
any changes worthy of mention
-a,s,... Richmond Bankers to Dine.
.,,nitrhe Bankers Club of Richmond will
banquet tomorrow night. on which
occasion they are confidently expect
ing a visit from W. G. F. Harding.
1.Yorernor of the Federal Reserve
Beard. and George II. O'Connor o.
this city.
Saturday, Lincoln's birthday. is
legal holiday in many states. but not
: in the District of Columbia New
York banks and the grain. stock ana
cotton exchanges will be closed II is
,preba BILE that the local stock exchange
will also close.
=. Bankerx' Meeting.
The District Bankers Association
will meet tomorrow afternoon at 20
'ir6ycIock to consider the tax situation
regard to the assessment by the
local assessor of d tax on gross earn
fngs on interest from liberty bonds.
- Southenstern Expre~~ Company.
The Southeastern Express Company
4rhas been organized under the state
Jaws of Alabama and expects TO COM
rnence business February Is, covering
icrt,t nf ~
follows: Southern Railway. iloz
miles; Cincinnati Orleans and Texas
Pacific. 33s miles; Alabama Great
Southern. 313 miles: New Orleans and
Northwestern. 207 miles: Georgia
Southern and Florida, 402 miles. and
the Mobile and Ohio, with 991 miles.
IA public offering off 10000 shares of
stock of no par value at 500 share is
being made; no preferred stock ana no
bonds This will make the capital $l.-
-ope0. 900.
:. The company estimates that 1t Will
be able to show a net income of $780,
s-0D0s annually. of which one-half goes
TO the railroad companies. Contracts
With the railroad companies provide
that il at any time the net income
below ! per cent. then the payments
ifby the express company to the rail-
road company shall be so reduced as
to insure I per cent income.
Subscription lists to this stock
close Thursday. February Il.
The District of Columbia com ttee
.for the sale of stock. etc, is conL osed
Of Messrs Milton E. Allies. Chaplin
Sacks Corporation. w. II. Harrison q
Co.. Krey. Price & Co, Miller &
Boiler, George w. White. H. F. Cary
--aand Willis Worster.
Bankers' Dinner.
>'sAt the junior bankers dinner to be
~R.. Cat, ,r1 W
evening. February 26, under the aus
sbfces Of Washington Chapter. Ameri-
can. Institute of Banking. Rev. DR..
sFreeman. rector of the Church of the
isEpiphany, will be the principal
SNEAKER.
.sss Bankers Will Debate.
New York and Pittsburgh chapter
members will debate the tax PROPOSE
t&oh tomorrow evening in the small
ballroom of the New Willard The
sntax problems of the day are interest
ing the lawmakers. especially the
subject selected. Shall Congress Re
place the Excess Profits Tax by a
SFAx on Sales"
w. L. J. Conway Of the Guaranty
5asrust Company. J. V. D. Strycke.
federal reserve bank. and n. NJ. Nc
Rernan. Irving National. are the de-
baters from New York A large con-
.tfngent of members from New York
nakers. directors of banks and bank
officials are invited to attend the de-
sbote.
Electric Railways Doing Better.
-,-E H Gadsden. president of the
American Electric hallway Associa-
EAfon! which includes the ,ocal s,re /
4sflwsys. in his address today at the
opening Of The mIdveaT con- r. nee oi
the aSsocia lion at New York said .l'1i
despite man-hand,ing by f.'i nd
md foes since the beginning of tn
war. electric re- ilways throughout TIE
United States are coming back
strong"
One of the striking cla-ations in
his address was to the effect that in
the entire electric railway field
mere Is not today an employe out
Af.Work because Of q lack of business
ito keep him engaged"
Reviewing the electric railway stu
alton since 1917. Mr.. Gadsden said:
wages and materials have advanced
tt0 per cent. but the average in
crease in fare has been but 40 per
cent. Despite this comparatively
small return. only ninety-one COM
panies out of total of S43 have gone
Into the hands of receivers. Only an
essential industry that was Inherently
part o. a community could have sur
Msed such blows
.'SsThe electric railways have been
ferced to operate unde- the worst pos
Sjble conditions conceivable. The in
dustry has been ruthlessiy exploit ed
.by labor and material men The
public on it's side has insisted on a
nickel fare long after the nickel had
shrunk to -: cents. while additional
eence ntiarions in the cities laid bur
deDs in the way OF increased service
upon us
More Pa..-ns~rs Carried.
Mr. Gadsden then declared that the
rriectric railways are carrying more
passengers than ever before in theii
fiistory. We have come out of tbis
economic ,ncouD'er strong. coIr-
a.eous and efficient. What greater evil
dence OF Inherent strength and per.
inansncy can he found as q basis, oi
Investment Everything conceivable
has happened to the electric railways
and yet they survived
contrast this with the business
world today. After four years oi
funexampled prosperity. at the first
breath of adverse conditions, textile
mills. shoe factories. automobile fac.
tories, steel mills and lumber mill.
first reduce working hours and ther
shut down. throwing thousands out Of
work. Out OF 100000 men reported
unemployed today not one is an elec
trio railway worker.
Service and Fares Correlated.
Attention was next called to tn,
fact thai the Federal l.. I t.:c ia =.
May Commission aad found oiiic.all-
that the electric railway industry i.
UithOu: credit.
In suggesting remedy for thi:
condition. Mr.. GadSden declared tina
''the price charged on electric rail
"sEs must bear some proper anc
definite relation to the service ren
der.d. Ia the character and quantit,
of the service"
II" also referred to the improve,