Evening star., 1930-06-19
CAPITAL TRACTION
LEADSD. c. MARKET
Utilities Stock Shows Only
Fractional Change in
Small Turnover.
BY EDWARD c. STONE.

Capital Traction proved the center
OF interest on the Washington Stock
Exchange today, leading the market in
turnover volume
The stock opened with a small sale
at 60i2, eX dividend. After call. a sale
of FIVE shares at 60ia was followed by
a 100-share block selling at 6ol4 and
two more lots of IS shares each chang
Ing hands at the same figure. The
stock closed with 60 bid and 62 asked.
Washington Railway & Electric
changed hands at 9812 and 98s4 on
sales of 35 shares Lanston was down
to 1882 on 10-Share sale, and Mer-
genthaler registered 97a4 ex dividend,
this also being under recent levels.
Potomac Electric Power 5i2 per cent
preferred came out at l07l4 on sales of
80 shares.
Norfolk e. Washington Steamboat Co.
rights were still in demand at Is The
preferred stock of Woodward g. Lothrop
was quoted ex-dividend today, follow
ing the recent dividend declaration.
This stock pays 81 a year.
In the bond division there was q
surprisingly large turnover in Wash
ington Railway e. Electric As. These
bonds opened with $1,000 sales al 85,
S534, S5ia and 85l4. The closing trans
action was a $4,000 sale at IS, the
largest bond sale in a single issue in
some years.
Four New Committee Additions.
Lanier P. McLachlen. new president
of the District of Columbia Bankers
Association. has made four additions
to his recent standing committee ap-
pointmentS, He has placed John c.
Walker, newly elected president of the
Chevy Chase Savings Bank. on the
auditing committee; Theodore Michael
80 Ktza NJ l. 81
Bank, on the committee on standardized
banking forms; Theodore F. Burton.
vice president of the Washington
Mechanics Savings Bank. on the credit
bureau committee, and Sidney F. Italia
ferro of the Riggs National Bank trust
department on the committee on taxa
ton.
The bankers luncheon group held
its second meeting of the year yester-
day at the Willard, with large
attendance.
The Fidelity Investment Association,
one of the largest institutions in the
country devoted exclusively to the sale
OF annuities, reports sales for May of
$3,946.000, establishing a new monthly
record. This compares with S3y074,000
for May. 1929. an increase of S872. 900.
Sales for the five months of the current
year totaled S18,572 900, compared with
of last year, gain of S6,112,000.
Resources of the association have
reached total of more than S22,O00.-
600 from a beginning of S62 1874 in
January. 1912. The Offices in operation
now total 26. New Offices have been
opened this year in Atlanta. Ga; Rich
mond, Va; Saginaw, Mich, and
youngstown, Ohio.
The associations board of directors
include the following Washington men:
Robert v. Fleming, president Riggs Ma
tional Bank; John Marshall, former As
sistant Attorney General of the United
States; Howard Sutherland, alien prop
erty custodian: Charles H March,
member of Federal Trade Commission.
Price Declines Are Worldwide.
In its Monthly Review presented to-
day, the Federal Reserve Board says:
AN important factor in the recent
course of business has been a continuous
decline in wholesale commodity prices.
This decline, which began in August
of last year, carried the general average
of prices in the United States to
level In April about z per cent below
that of last July and below any earlier
date in the past 13 years. There was
a further recession in prices. chiefly of
industrial products, in May while prices
of grains and livestock products became
frmer in the latter part of the month
The downward movement of prices
in recent months has not been confined
to the United States, but has teen in
progress in all the important CONNER
cial countries of the world During the
period from July, 1929, to April, 1880
the price decrease of per cent in the
United States has been paraleled by
declines of 8 per cent in Germany. 10
per cent In England and in italy, and 10
per cent in France. Other countries
including Japan and Canada, have also
experienced declines in prices"
Local Brokers More Cheerful
Local brokers were more cheerful
about the market outlook today. None
would predict any rapid improvement
In New York stocks. but several ex-
pressed the belief that the market is
que for an upturn after such a sharp
break.
Recent drastic reactions in the mar
ket can be attributed, in most cases,
70 overtrading in marginal accounts, &"
West 6 Co. declare in discussion of
this important subject. When secur-
tiles have been purchased throughout
The world on borrowed money, and With
out reserve having been established
to take care of depreciation in values,
situation is created which is certain
to bring disaster" the review says.
When the buyer of a security on
margin Is unable to deposit the required
cash to reduce his loan or the needed
collateral to increase his equity, his
securities are offered at the market for
any price that can be obtained. The
result Is obvious. The securities are
sacrihced since they are sold at a time
when offerings greatly exceed the de-
mand."
Cleaned in Financial District.
The directors of the American Secur-
ity IL Trust Co. have declared the reg
ular dividend of 3 per cent and an
extra dividend Of l per cent on the
capital stock. Both dividends are pay
able July 10, to shareholders of record
on June 80.
Harry Brisker, formerly with W. B.
Hibbs e. Co, has joined the staff of
Prince d Whitley in the Washington
Building, according To announcement
made at the broker Office today.
Maj. F. w. Patterson, formerly editor
of the Post, has returned from Hot
Springs, Ark, to his home in Manassas.
AT the recent convention of the District
Bankers Association special greetings
were telegraphed to him from Ashe-
vile, N. G. He Il in excellent health
as the result of hospital treatment.
The Commerce Department reports
that IL costs a grocery man 9 cents
every time he delivers an order. The
department has just completed special
survey of delivery costs
At a meeting of the board of direc-
tors of the Baltimore 6 Ohio Railroad
Co, held in New York today, Colder
Shumate, formerly of Washington, gen.
eral freight traffic manager, was elected
vice president in charge of the freight
traffic, mail and express and CONNER
cial development departments, succeed
ing Archibald Fries, deceased.
FOREIGN EXCHANGES.