Evening star., 1934-11-02
CHARGES STUDIED
CLOSELY BY BANKS
Uniform Program Result of
Exhaustive Work on
Problem Here.
BY EDWARD C. STONE.

BY EDWARD C. STONE.
Action of the Washington Clearing
House Association in adopting uniform
service charges for all banks in the
city brought to climax a long and
exhaustive study of this problem. As
the banks have had service charges
of their own for a long time, the
standardized charges will cause little
If any surprise among depositors.
The purpose is to make the charges
the same for all banks and to make
them fair for the public. Members
of the clearing house have been con-
vinced for long time that the meas
ured charge was more desirable than
the fiat charge. The fat charge now
goes into the discard.
The basic methods of computing the
charges will not be the same in all
the Washington banks. Depositors
having large accounts will not know
there has been any change unless they
doC q NCiy AAdAibCi Va NAiSNtAo.
Depositors having monthly balances
of sl00 or less, will have to pay 81
a month and be allowed to draw 10
checks.
Examples of Charges.
Depositors carrying a monthly av-
erage of S101 up to 5000 will not be
given a service charge provided they
do not draw more than eight checks.
An account averaging $50 with IL
checks, or items, would be charged
SIPS. An average balance of $3.50
with % checks would be charged rs
cents.
Likewise an account that averages
$3.50 with 16 items would receive
charge of Is cents. Elsewhere in to-
days Star, the complete schedule of
charges as adopted by the clearing
house appears.
Chairman H. H. Mckee made the
announcement of the new charges after
a meeting of the association held late
yesterday at the Hamilton National
Bank. The new charges have nothing
to do with the National Recovery Ad-
ministration's banking code. They
come wholly under the authority of
the cleraing house, Mr.. Mckee ex-
planned.
Uniform Banking Hours Fixed.
AS noted elsewhere, after January
2, 1885. all the banks in the city are
to close at 2 O'Clock, except on Gov
ernment pay days when they remain
r1,,ti1 ~ ns, Gotnrdo
when they close at noon.
The clearing house resolution.
adopted yesterday, settles long drive
by some local bankers to get all the
banks to close at o'clock all the
year.
This schedule has worked with
marked success in nearby cities such
as Baltimore. Alexandria and Rich
mond, and in a host of other cities
comparable in size to Washington.
One of the big points in its favor is
that bank officials take very short
lunch periods and are at their desks
at noon when so many depoSitorS are
obliged to do all their banking bust
ness.
Last nights session of the Clearing
House was referred to today as one OF
the most important in years. The
banks will no longer handle small ac-
counts at a loss With the new plan
already in effect, it is probable that
depositors will begin to keep track of
the number of checks they draw In a
manner never known before. Thcu-
sands of depositors have no idea of
the exact number of checks they have
been drawing each month. In the
future they will know. They may re-
duce the number materially.
Local Bonds in Demand.
On the Washington Stock Exchange
today Washington Gas SIS. 1860, were
in most favor. Five separate trans
actions were recorded in 81 600 de-
nominations at 100.
Washington Gas IS, series B, ap-
peared on the board today at 1895.
City g. Suburban SIS also changed
hands, two ST 900 sales taking place
at 78. Stocks were entirely neglected
today. Bid and asked prices were
practically unchanged.
The head of the North American Co.
reported today that air conditioning
installations in Washington during
the first nine months of 1884 added
total of $500 kilowatts of connected
load to the company's lines. This new
business is expected to result in in
creased sales Of electricity of approxi-
mately IL 900 900 kilowatt hours an
nually.
The continued sales promotion by
the institute and its members has
added to the demand of home builders
for the fully equipped electric health
kitchen" During the third quarter
installations were made in "a of the
so new residences completed in the
District of Columbia and the adjacent
section of Maryland served by the
Potomac Electric system.
Heard in Financial District.
Next Tuesday, Election day. the
New York Stock Exchange will be
closed, notices in the brokerage Of
fees here announce. A week from
next Monday, the day on which
Armistice day will be observed, will
also find Exchange offices closed.
David Pender Grocery Co. has de-
clared a special dividend of so cents
on the class 3 stock. payable De-
cember 81 to stock of record Decem-
ber 10, and the regular quarterly
dividend of 8712 cents on the con-
vertible class A stock, payable Decem-
ber / to stock of record November l9.
Last dividend on the class B stock
was Is cents quarterly and Is cents
extra paid on April l. 1890.
Bucket shops" an investment
bankers association says, are still
too much in evidence" and the tipster
sheet '"is not without its full measure
of victims among the uninformed who
are unable to distinguish between the
legitimate and the spurious invest
rnent advice"