Evening star., 1934-03-03
CURB BHEAD SCORES
US. CONTROL BILL
Grubb Favors Whitney Plan
of Committee to Help
Guide Exchanges.
BY EDWARD c. STONE.

BY EDWARD C. STONE.
The New York Curb Exchange,
through it's president, E. Burd Grubb,
has Endorsed the Whitney plan for
securities exchange regulation. The
Curb Exchange recognizes. he told
the House Committee, that Congress
and the public are not prepared to
leave control of exchange practices
with the exchanges. For that reason,
the curb welcomes, in the interest of
the exchanges and the public, the
advice and help of a regulatory COM
mission.
The danger is that the proposed
regulations may be destructive
rather than constructive" he said.
A Federal commission would have
two advantages over the Federal
Trade Commission Its application
would be confined to exchange prob
lens only and the commission would
not be bound by congressional limita-
tions, that is, ''it would be dynamic
and not static"
Mr. Grubb declared the work of the
specialists is especially essential to
market machinery; that the unlisted
department has definite place in
aiding and protecting the public and
always supplying liquid market for
such securities.
He also called attention to the
numerous foreign shares listed on the
New York Curb and said it is incon-
ceivable that these companies would
ever file the information called for
in the Fletcher -Rayburn bill. Trad
ing in foreign bonds alone amounted
to s74,000000 on the curb in 1888.
Transit Earnings Analysed.
An analysis of the first earnings re-
ports of the Capital Transit Co. calls
attention to the December and Janu-
ary total net income of $225. .317. as
compared with the combined earnings
of the two old companies of only S17,-
399 in the same periods in the pre-
vious year. The review by Y E. Book
er g. Co. says that even before the
marger there was a distinct I'M
provement in traffic as far back as
September. Commenting further:
while gross revenues increased
about per cent during December,
and about IL per cent in January. the
number of passengers carried in
creased by approximately 20 per cent
in December. and between 25 per cent
and 80 per cent in January. This
larger percentage of increase in the
number of passengers carried is due
to the Inauguration by the new COM
pany of the weekly pass system.
The improvement in net earnings
Is due to three factors: Increased gross
revenues, decreased expenses, and re-
duction of the amount of deprecia-
ton charged Under new method of
charging depreciation. approved by
the Public Utilities Commission. the
amount so charged is at the annual
rate of approximately 100000, while
under the old method the two sep
arate companies charged approx
mately Sl,0O0000 to this item.
While two months is too short a
period upon which to base calcula-
tions of earnings for the year, the in
crease is so large, and the change in
trend of traffic so pronounced, as to
greatly encourage the owners of the
stock and bonds of this company"
A. B. A. Notes Uncertainty.
While on the surface there are
several encouraging features in the
development of the past month, states
the American Bankers Association,
underneath the surface, things reflect
uncertainty"
Improvement in employment, sales
and similar items is more apparent
than real, it says. The increase in
employment reflects shorter hours un-
der the code system rather than an
increase in total hours worked. De-
partment store sales in January show
an increase in dollar value OF 18 per
cent over such sales in January, 1888,
but this increase does not cover the
increase in prices between this year
and last, and the logical deduction IS
that the volume of goods moved was
actually less than it was a year ago.
"All comparisons with year ago
also are deceptive, inasmuch as at this
time last year prices, employment,
business activity and everything else
we're approaching bedrock in the
March crisis. Nearly all business i'm
provement also has been in consump-
ton goods. The heavy industries as
a whole have not only shown no i'm
provement, but reflect tendency to
sag"
Treasury's Biggest Helper.
Herman Oliphant is probably the
most influential man, next to the
boss" in the Treasury, says the
magazine Sphere. He has become one
of the outstanding men in the ad-
rninistration. He was professor of law
at the Institute of Law, Johns Hop
kins, when Morgenthau brought him
to Washington on the recommended
ton of several eminent jurists. in
Guiding at least one justice of the
United States Supreme Court. Under
so, he has spent most of his life
teaching law. He gained practical
Washington experience in 1918 as
assistant director of War Trade In
telligence and, later. in industrial re-
lations with the Emergency Fleet
Corporation.
1t should be observed at this point
that Mr.. Oliphant is not only the
head of tremendous legal staff, but
Is also an intimate adviser to the
Secretary on matters of policy. He
drafted the gold reserve bill which
had almost more policy and philos-
ophy than law in it. It was he, so
the story goes, who persuaded the
Attorney General that the gold-rur-
chase policy Of last october was legal,
the magazine comments.