Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-12-03
Financial Community Pleased
With Constructive Sugges-
tions of President.
BY JOHN F. SINCLAIR.

looking to a possible modification, but
opposing the repeal Of the Sherman act
| itself
| Second, that new appropriations,
| totaling from $100,000,000 to $4,000
600, be made for the public works pro-
gram If this is done the total in the
/ next fiscal year will reach the greatest
In the country's hiStory-$650,00 0,O 600.
In the matter of Government ex-
penses, the, President stands with Sec
rotary Mellon in advocating continue
! ton of the reduction of the public debt
the principal of which has been cut
over $4,000, 100000 since the close OF
the war.
Altogether, the message was q prac-
teal business address.
Col. Woods Address.
| Col. Arthur Woods, chairman Of the
Presidents Emergency Committee for
Unemployment, told the council OF the
American Society of Mechanical Engi-
neers the other day that our industrial
| system now finds itself ''in grave,
stupid and anomalous situation"
ION the one hand" said the colonel
"the United States is a land with
abundant resources of raw materials,
plenty of manpower, efficient manufac-
| turing power, transportation and dis
| tributing facilities, and a seeming
plethora of fluid capital On the other,
the country has hundreds of thousands
yes. millions of men-able to work,
anxious to work, and craving the goods
which the manufacturers have on hand
and want to sell-but the go-between
machine is dead-dark, black, colo'
dead.
"Yet we do not know how to bring
the two together" continued the colonel.
| mo one profits by the situation. Every
one loses. 1t seems to be nobody's fault.
It has come about as the result OF I'M
controlled economic forces which are
not we'll understood
Col Woods concluded his remarks
with t''s word of practical advice:
Sc submit that industrialists, econo-
miss, engineers and statesmen should
now address themselves intellectually
to the correction of this stupid situation,
with a fixed determination to stay on
the job until it has been mastered"
That's straight-from- e-shoulder
statement, worthy Of unanimous
support.
Mail Rates.
Increase first-class mail rates IS per
cent" urges Postmaster General Brown,
who closed the fiscal year on June 80,
as usual, with post Office deficit.
b. charging 10 cents for carrying
four letters instead of five, as at present,
the post Office will increase its revenue
by about $55.000,000 year, enough to
balance the post Office budget, except,
postal expenditures"
Today all post office deficits are paid
out of general funds of the Treasury
by the taxpayers at large, without re-
gard to the extent of their use of the
postal facilities, or. indeed, to whether
{ they (the taxpayers) use them at all"
Two cents postage has been in effect
for IS years, except for q short time
during the war. Yet the postmaster
points out that since 1916 there has
been an increase of 81 per cent in the
second-class rate. an increase Of 81 per
cent in the third-class rate and an
average increase Of 10 per cent in the
parcel-post rate.
The Postmaster General further says
that If the relative purchasing power
of the dollar IN 1885 and 1880 Is con-
sidered. the 2-cent rate of the earlier
date is equivalent to 81 cents today;
while If the relative wages paid to labor
is taken into account, the 2-cent rate OF
1885 equals cents today.
RAISE the rate to 2h cents-a Is per
cent increase-on the first-class mail"
Postmaster General Brown tells Con-
gress, land you will make the Post
ONCE Department self-supporting.
The United States is not supposed TO
be in the banking business per Sc. But
it is Just the same. For nearly 100000
citizens have taken their savings into
thousands of post Offices In the United
States and asked the Government to
take care of their money.
That's why, without noise or blare OF
trumpets, the postal savings deposits
N the United States post Offices totaled
Sl92, 000, 900 October 3l-an increase of
more than $15,o00,000 above the record
war peak. And nobody can deposit
ever $500 with the Government.
Now Postmaster General Brown is
asking Congress to increase the maxi
mum deposit allowed from $4,000 to
$1,000. The deposited money usually
comes not by Withdrawals from COM
mercial and savings banks, but from
old bags, cigar boxes, shoe boxes, socks,
baskets, jars and the like. It is really
new money-much of (which has
been boarded thus-through fear and
ignorance.
1.-The postal system is the logical
refuge for the tinid and functions best
in areas of financial stress" says Mr..
Brown, who reports that the total num-
Der of depositors increased during last
year from 416,584 to 466,401, while the
average amount per individual grew
from $368.82 to $375.80.
The bill to allow the deposit limit
TO be increased should be passed by
Congress.
Stock Trading Volume.
The latest figures show that the total
volume of trading on the New York
Stock Exchange has declined about Is
per cent this year below last years
figures. The record on the New York
Curb Is even more impressive, trading
having dropped more than so per cent.
For the first IL months of 1880 the
total sales traded in on the exchange
were little over S75l 900, 900 as against
SL04l 100000 a year ago, while on the
curb sales were about $447, 000,0 900 last
year for the first IL months as against
$206 000.0 900 this year.
| This indicates rather impressively the
| present condition of business.
/ Copyright, 1880, by North American News
paper Alliance.)