Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-12-24
Washington Ticker
BY CLINTON COFFIN,
Associated Press Financial Writer.

! Associated Press Financial Writer.
| Plans for expanding during 1880 for
new equipment a total of $42 100000
were announced here today by j. j.
Bernet, president of the Chesapeake &
Ohio Railroad and its subsidiaries, the
Pere Marquette and Hooking Valley
Lines. The amount-considerab in
excess of like expenditures during 1929
has been approved by the directors
| ton to President Hoover's program for
business stimulation. 1t also repre-
sents, however, provision of new and
heavier rolling stock, designed for
heavier loads and less frequent fuel
and water stops for engines, and in
dicates that the calculations of oper-
ators of one of the more prosperous and
extensive Eastern rail systems are based
on anticipations of marked increase
in traffic volume next year.
It was also understood in connec-
| ton with the announcement that the
other two roads of the Van Sweringen
group, the Nickel Plate and the Erie,
would shortly announce equipment pur-
chase budgets for 1880 that, added to
| the Chesapeake e. Ohio expenditure,
will make total of around 500, 1000 900.
Financial arrangements are tentatively
complete for meeting the entire cost.
chesapeake & Ohio system proper will
| obtain 100 new locomotives, 1850
, freight train cars of various descrip-
tons, and 301 items of passenger train
| equipment, including Al steel coaches
The freight equipment items are made
up in part of 5000 coal cars, and 1000
50-ton steel box cars, with a large
number Of engine water tank cars of
increased size to reduce stops for water
| in running.
New rolling stock to be bought for
the Pere Marquette provides $3.50 new
| freight cars among which are $3.50
| OF special design for automobile and
furniture shipment. There will be also
! provided for that road Is new switch
engines, and Is of the engine tank
cars of larger size to lengthen runs and
reduce stops, 1000 gondola cars, and
| various passenger train and special
service vehicles. To the Hooking VAL
| ley equipment will be added 40 engines
and $500 freight cars, with q small
number of passenger coaches.
The increased expenditure Of the
Chesapeake & Ohio and its subsidiaries
on equipment, it is explained by sys-
| tenn officers, represents a step in gen.
eral program instituted by President
Bernet for expediting train movement
over all its main lines. This entails
| the displacement of old and lighter
rolling stock at somewhat earlier date
than has been called for by operating
estimates previously obtaining, and
next year instead of into later periods.
When Alvan MacAuley, president of
the National Automobile Chamber of
Commerce, assured President Hoover's
business conference in Washington this
month that the automobile industry
would never be down far nor for long
he had very good grounds for the state
| ment, 1t now appears. Reports from a
sion that the Michigan automobile area
| saw the low point of activity during
| November, and has recovered some of
| its higher output levels already.
"a number Of the plants, including
the most important ones making lower
priced cars, have been gradually speed
| ing up production after the November
showdown" said l.. c. Probert, vice
| president of the Pere Marquette, rail-
road system whose trafic volume in
| important degree depends on the auto
mobile plant operations. Our traffic
has begun to register marked improve
ment from this source, at a somewhat
earlier date than we had expected.
"AS is natural automobile accessory
plants have picked up activity as well.
The general outlook is already consider
ably improved"
Executives of the extensive passenger
carrying airlines which got under way
in the United State in recent months
are not attempting to disguise the fact
| that their chief obstacle in endeavorS
! to build up business is in the public fear
of accident. The continuous effort
to trace out cause for every disaster
in flying, that 1t may be remedied, and
for the provision Of new safeguards, is
not being abandoned.
Our volume of travel Is now averag-
ing probably rs per cent of capacity"
Paul Henderson, vice president Of
Transcontinental Air Transport, which
operates coast-to-coast service, observed,
land my impression Is that a part Of
the ebb in business is traceable to feel
ing aroused by recent crashes. Un-
questionably, these have an effect"
In spite Of the deficits now encoun-
| tered in operations the Transconti-
mental company is ;till working on ten
tative plans for increasing local air
service through the central part of the
country 1t traverses. A decision upon
| these projects will probably be made
| in January.
Whatever may have been the indi-
vidual experience of spectators who
were in the stock market last month,
! it Is certain that the United States
Government came out ahead. This is
| revealed by the Treasury Departments
! detailed statistics of internal revenue
collected in November. The stamp tax
on stock sales. ordinarily minor item
! in Government receipts, brought in for
the month S5,727, 900, by far the great
est amount ever paid in during any
monthly period.
The principal source of these con-
tributions to the expense Of running
the Government is the levy ranging
| from 10 cents to 81 on each hundred
shares Of stock sold on any exchange.
the amount being determined by the
par value of the securities entering
| the transaction. Since the beginning
| of the Governments fiscal year last
July, the income from this stamp tax
has been $22, 100000, or almost twice
as much as the $11 100000 collected
from the same impost during the like
| period last year. 1t is probably safe
| to say that the Federal budget calcu-
lators will not estimate for repetition
| of sum like this from the stock ex-
change operations very soon, because
it represents a by-product of the great
! est speculative boom that has ever
passed into history, and experience
| shows that those things do not repeat