Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-05
STEEL FIGHT TURNS
ON STOCK BUYING
Eaton Attempts to Prove
SChwab Bought Securities
in Violation of Law.
BY JOHN F. SINCLAIR.


Special Dispatch to The Star.
e. NEW YORK, June 5.-Bradstreets
: monthly price index of June / shows a
~ decline for May, making it the eighth
: consecutive month to show a decrease.
There was slight advance in bread
: stuffs, live stock and fruit during last
month, but nine other groups, including
hides and leather, provisions and gro
ceries, metals, textiles, oils. naval stores,
coal and coke, business materials and
miscellaneous products, all showed de-
clines.
Only one group remained unchanged
chemicals.
The decline for the month eQualed
= IS per cent. The price level is down
~ per cent since January / and 1874
per cent from June year ago.
Cyrus Eaton of Cleveland has begun
his big fight in the courts against the
Bethlehem Steel Co. to set aside the pro-
posed Youngstown Bethlehem merger.
Much apparently hinges on whether
Charles NJ Schwab bought and paid for
the, Youngstown stock of Julien Ken
-, nedy of Pittsburgh, a half-century- old
friend of Mr.. Schwab last April in
order to swing the merger If he did,
Mr.. Eaton and his Cleveland group
maintain that such an act was def
mite violation of the Sherman anti
trust law
The Eaton attorneys, too, make much
of the choice positions in Bethlehem
offered to the two big executive officers
of the youngstown Co.-James A.
Campbell, chairman, and Frank Bur-
rel, president-in order to bring about
the merger. Both were offered vice
presidencieS.
How many vice presidents do you
have, anyway" asked counsel for Mr..
Eaton. LAS many as a bank?"
oh, no." said Eugene Grace, seri-
ously. Not that many"
It is Mr. Eaton's contention that
fabulous salaries, amounting to a mill
lion or more, are being paid to several
Bethlehem officials. The Eaton forces
!, wish to bring out this fact to the pub
lie. The Bethlehem officials object.
It's the bitterest steel fight of this
generation, for each group is determined
and has millions with which to fight.
Americas money doctor, Prof. E. w.
Kemmerer of Princeton University, just
back from China, Is now wanted by the
Republic of Colombia to make special
study of that country's present eco
nomic situation.
A Colombia financial mission, con-
sisting of a secretary and four experts
on budget, taxes, customs and public
credit, has been appointed by President
elect Olaya at the request Of the present
cabinet.
Asked recently for a statement on
business conditions, Prof. Kemmerer re-
piled:
-. 1.-The immediate problems of banking
and business become, to large extent,
one of so economizing the available sup
ply of gold that there will always be an
ample margin above the needs of busi-
ness and by means of central banking
policies so controlling the use of this
gold, as a basis for note and deposit
currency, that neither imitation nor de-
. fation can ensue."
This is the Kemmerer point of view
In nutshell.
9 Hernand Behn, president of the in
ternational Telephone & Telegraph Co..
watches the ups and downs OF world
: business as carefully as any other
American, for his company has its mil
lions invested in Al different countries.
The I. T. & It's assets at the end Of
1925 amounted to $3.50, 600 900. IL months
later they were $238, 000, 900, still IL
months later-the end of 1928-they
: had reached 1889 100000. BY 1929 the
total assets had expanded to $685. ,000,-
600. But the growth in the number of
stockholders is just as impressive. In
1928 the I. r. & T. had 1888 and at
the end of last year 1884.
Both the Behn NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
and Hernand-were born on the Island
Of st. Thomas and educated in Paris.
= Beginning their work in the telephone
field in the West Indies and Cuba, they
expanded to Central and South America
and of recent years have been concen-
trating in Europe.
Sosthenes Behn is 4S and his brother,
Hernand, is so.
The Chase National Banks first re-
port, as of June 2, the date of the
tional with the Equitable Trust Co. and
the Interstate Trust Co., shows deposits
of slightly under $4,000, 900 900.
The bank owes no money to the Fed
eral Reserve. has capital of $148, 000,-
600, a surplus of another $148, 900 900
and undivided profits of over $50, 000,-
900. Think Of bank having capital
account exceeding 1856, 000, 900!
The report also shows loans and dis
counts of SLABS, 5000 Government
and other securities of $685. ,00o, 900 and
cash due from other banks of over
1892, 000, 900.
While responsibility for handling
this enormous institution rests with its
board of directors of "a well known
men, the real work of the bank CEN
tiers in Albert H. Wiggin, John Nc
Hugh, Charles s. Mccain, Robert L.
Clarkson and Winthrop W. Aldrich.
~ The Chase stands today as the
largest commercial bank in the world.
Ten million dollars day! That's
what the United States Government
is costing the people.
For IL months of the fiscal present
year S3,577,000,000 we're spent and
1894 100000 was raised to pay the
items.
The Federal Government expenses
are rising-this much is true. The
full ordinary expenditures for IL
months reached $1,000, 922. 000-an in
crease of SLOT 100000 over the cor
responding period of last year.
The public debt continues to shrink.
1t is down more than $4,000 600, 900
since the peak of $26.596, 70l 900 was
reached in August, 1919. At the end
. of May it stood at SIS 1893, 460, 900. There
was a reduction Of $767 $4,000 during
last year.
Any country paying OF its debt at
the rate of better than $4,000, 900
day Is getting along pretty well.
AS matter of fact, the combined
debt deductions of all other countries
In the world have not equaled the
amount paid of by the United States
Government alone in the last 10 years.