Evening star., 1923-12-26
BANK VOTESEXTRA
ONE P. c. DIVIDEND
National of Washington Also
Declares Regular Return.
Other Local Notes.

| Directors Of the National Bank Of
! Washington this morning declared
| their regular semi-annual dividend OF
/ G per cent in addition to voting an extra
! disbursement of per cent, both pay
able to stockholders of record as Of
January 2. 1924. The institution is
! definitely on an annual basis of j.
per cent, but 13 per cent has been dis
| bursed annually for the last two
years, an extra per cent also having
| been declared last year at this time.
| The capital stock Of the bank to-
/ tails s1,050,0O0 with 100000 surplus
/ This extra declaration is but an
other evidence of the prosperity en-
joyed by local banking institutions
/ during the year just drawing to
close. While deposits have not neces-
sarily made tremendous gains, gen
orally earnings have been unusually
high, as can be seen by the frequent
| extras" and the many additions to
surplus accounts during the past year.
Christmas Checks Come In.
The Washington Christmas trade
! was making itself felt in local bank
ing circles this morning when the
interchange of checks meeting iuie-
tide requirements was in full swing
1t is expected that clearings for De
cember. 1923, will eclipse eNpendi-
| lures for any other month of the year.
despite the fact that during the sum
mer they exceeded $100,00O,OOO on TWO
occasions.
For the year clearings will be NOR"
than $1.1G0. 100000, an estimate shows.
This means an increase of more thah
| 800, 100000 over last year, which
represented the peak.
| The Treasury Departments hXlnS
! of S6.000,00 as a franchise tax to he
paid by federal reserve banks for the
| current year forecasts the smallest
receipts and smallest net earnings
| since 1917.
While receipts will probably total
! two-thirds those of 1918. net earnings
those of 1918. This is accounted for,
| in part, by the fact that expenditures
have increased from S12,137.43S for
1918 to s22,559,343 for 1922. The total
ernment to date amounts t"
| $3.50, ,S53,6 645.
The federal reserve act provides
/ that after per cent dividends on
| paid-in capital stock of the reserT"
/ banks have been paid and a surplus
/ equal to 100 per cent of subscribed
| capital has been provided for, 1e per
cent of remaining earnings are to be
| paid into surplus. the balance gong
to the government as a franchise IA
| III consequence VI biiiS DlpNINloi Ith
eraI reserve banks paid no franchise
tax until 1919. In that year s2.1oS,S91
was paid by the Federal ReserTc
Bank of New York. The following
year $6O.724.742 was paid. Of which
! New York paid more than half. To
Gate the New York member has paid
about 50 per cent of the total paid 10y
/ all federal reserve banks.
/ Life Insurance Sales High.
!. November sales of ordinary lif"
! insurance in the United States APP
/ proXimdted those in October, accord
| ing to the life insurance sales re-
| search bureau of New York. Sales
! by companies doing about so per
/ cent of ordinary legal reserve bust
J $4,000 in November. 1922, an in :
| crease of 10 per cent.
| Sales for eleven months ended
November 80, were s5,242 $50. 600
! against s4.4o2. .oS5 600. in 1922 period.
/ an increase of 1S, per cent Ordinary
| life insurance business in the coun-
! try as a whole is running close To
! records established early in the year.
Local Exchange Trading.
! Preferred stock of the Washington
vanced half a point to ~, featuring
today's session. Thirtyone shares
were sold.
Trading was light. Twenty-Five
shares of Firemen's Insurance Com
pany sold at 1872, seven shares of
Lanston Monotype changed hands at
I70a4, and $100 of Washington Gas 6s
at par, the only bond sale. completed
the session.