Evening star., 1934-09-29

rules of the securities act, the Wash
1ngton Exchange was not obliged to
request registration. Such action was
taken, however, to give the exchange
the best possible standing and to help
the securities listed on it. The VOL
untary action has received high COM
mendation.
Central Bank Idea Scored.
Proposals for converting the Fed
eral Reserve banks into central
Government institution are growing
in number and are being received
with increasing favor in certain po-
litical circles. BY some these pro-
posals are not considered of much
Importance, since they regard the
Federal Reserve banks as being now
so subservient to the Treasury that
their complete absorption by the Gov
ernment would not greatly change
the present situation.
AS matter of fact the Federal Re-
serve banks. says the Bankers Maya
zine, have always been largely under
Federal control. This has been true
because the Federal Reserve Board is
composed of members appointed by
the President of the United States,
and this board has had the power to
remove directors of the II banks. It
is true that. generally speaking. the
fact that the board members we're ap-
pointed by the President has not led
to the making of political appointees.
nor has the power of removal of di-
rectors been exercised.
Recent legislation, the magazine
adds, has gone in the direction of
strongly increasing the governmental
character of the Federal Reserve
banks. They have even been referred
to as Treasury door mats.
But the proposal to convert these
II banks into a single central unpo-
litical control of banking are mani
fest. Such control not only gives the
party in power a terrific influence
which 1t is almost certain to use un-
wisely, but it divorces banking from
principles that should be scrupulously
observed if our banking system is to
remain sound at the core. In fact,
even with the limited authority over
the Federal Reserve banks on the
part of the Government, the policy
of these institutions has been inf1u-
enced to no small extent by the polit-
ical exigencies of the times. With
the Government as sole owner of
central bank and having complete
control of it this unsound tendency
would grow, the magazine asserts.
Richmond CIearings Top U. S.
Richmond's business boom went on
apace during the past week, when
bank clearings totaled S37 1916, 900, a
gain of SIG per cent over the same
week year ago and by far the best
showing made by any of the % lead
ing cities covered by the Dun & Brad
street reports. A week ago Richmond
clearings were up 60.9 per cent.
Detroit came the nearest Of any
city in the United States to the record
made in the Virginia capital. The
automobile city's clearings were up
Ala per cent, compared with the cor
responding week last year. Balti-
mores business continued to improve,
revealing % per cent improvement,
in addition to last weeks gain of 80
per cent.
Richmond's 81 per cent gain con-
traSts most strikingly with Boston's
drop of 16 per cent and New York
slump of 7.8 per cent. Omaha re-
ported a gain of SO per cent, while
Kansas City was up 80. Atlanta,
which was ahead of Richmond some
weeks ago. reported IT'S per cent i'm
provement during the week ended
September 26. AS noted in yester-
days Star, the average for the whole
country was down IA per cent from
q year ago.
Merchants in Richmond say busi-
ness has got way around the corner"
The figures prove it has.
Heard in Financial District.
Ehe New York Stock Exchange has
admitted to the list, Home Owners
Loan Corp. 224 per cent bonds. series
B, due August l, 1949. The issue is
quite widely held in Warrington.
Two dividends declared this week
in which there was special local in
terest were quarterly dividends of 81
on Norfolk & Western adjustment pre-
ferred stock and S1.50 on American
Ice Co. preferred stock.
Yesterdays special session of the
District Bankers Association. at the
Willard Hotel. was one of the most
interesting in long time. Discussion
by Government officials of the securi-
ties exchange act of 1884 was most en-
tightening.
Lanier P. McLachlen, president Of
the McLachlen Banking Corp. is said
to be the busiest banker in Washing
ton just now. AS chairman of the
Hotel Committee, he is swamped with
requests for reservations for the COM
ing convention of the American Bank
ers Association. Some job, he de-
clares.