Evening star., 1936-04-03
STATISTICS BACK
OPTIMISTIC VIEWS
Banking Points to Steady
Rise in Profits of Large
Companies.
BY EDWARD C. STONE.


outlook.
Business in general continues to
plan for an active year One reason
for confidence is the increased earnings
of the leading industries. More dlvi-
dends were voted on last years bus1-
ness by industrial corporations than
In any year since 1881, with every
prospect that earnings during the cur
rent year will exceed those of 1885"
says Banking, journal of the American
Bankers Association, in the April
Issue, just out.
"Other stimuli, not of an artificial
nature, include the prospect OF good
crops. which assures that farmer buy
ing power will continue to be an i'm
portant factor in commercial and in
dustrial turnover. Also there are signs
of increasing foreign trade and i'm
provement in business in other coun-
tries, particularly Canada and several
parts of South America. Current re-
ports from the Argentine indicate that
prospects there are exceptionally good.
In both wholesale and retail fields
the volume of trade reached a new
peak during the past month. A year
ago merchandising was characterized
chiefly by a demand for cheap goods.
In recent months there has been an
increasing demand for goods Of higher
grades, and this tendency promises to
continue. 1t Is particularly notable
with regard to clothing and house
furnishings, and is reflected also in a
greater demand for higher-priced au-
tomobileS and with an increase OF
activity in all kinds of luxury goods.
Advance orders indicate that not only
good Easter season, but also an
active Summer are as certain as any,
thing in the future can be.
Apparently the average business
man is convinced that the fundamental
requirements for economic recovery
In this country are domestic, not for.
eign. He discerns no reason why prog
ress here should be halted at this time
by events abroad. There is also ac-
cumulated evidence that the United
States, all things considered. is safer
place for capital than almost any
other spot in the world" the A. B. A.
survey asserts.
Bankers Adopt Innovation.
Meeting with Charles H. Doing,
president of the District Bankers AS
sociation and first vice president of
the Washington Loan & Trust Co.,
other association officers and the
chairmen of all committees for the
coming annual convention at White
Sulphur Springs. w. Va. adopted an
innovation in the way of train sched-
ules. The bankers special will leave
at $50 in the afternoon instead of
$50 at night as formerly, and arrive
at the Greenbrier Hotel around mid
night.
The new arrangement means that
the members and guests will have
dinner on the train and get to White
Sulphur in time for good nights
rest. The party will leave here on
May 81 The new plan is expected
to make it much easier to open the
first session Thursday morning on
time The size of the party will de-
termine the number of dining cars on
the special and the delegates will be
assigned their time for dinner in ad-
vance. For the return trip the dele
gates will leave late Sunday evening
as usual, arriving here at $50 Mon
day morning.
Other officers at last nights meet
ing included Karl w. Corby. first vice
president; Thomas j. Groom, second
vice president. and Hilleary G. Hos
kinson, third vice president, and Sec
retary Donald Larson. Ord Preston,
general convention chairman, and
James B. Edmunds, C. & o. passenger
agent, were also among those in con-
sultation
Work on the program will start at
once. Even with the convention set
for the last of May, there is already
a lot of enthusiasm being manifested
in all phases of the four-day session.
Bank Auditors to Convene.
Harry L. Downey, secretary and
treasurer of the auditors section OF
the District Bankers Association, has
received the official program for the
Eastern Conference of Auditors and
Controllers, to be held in Baltimore
will be Martin NJ. Prentis, president,
State Bank g. Trust Co., Boston; Paul
D. Williams, controller of the Corn
Exchange National Bank, Philadel-
phia. and William E. Weston, another
Boston banker.
Other speakers will include Henry
W. Riley, Federal Deposit Insurance
Corp; Arthur w. Sauer. Brooklyn;
Willard S. Yeatman and Arthur J.
Linn of the Hamilton National Bank,
Washington; A. w. Bosworth, Boston:
Russell F. Thomas, New York, and
William H. Mailer of the City Bank of
Washington. P. H. Whaley of this
city will be the dinner speaker at the
end of the sessions.
Fletcher States Bills Aims.
AnalyZing the unlisted trading bill
providing amendments to the securi-
ties exchange act of 1884, Chairman
Fletcher of the Banking and Cur
rency Committee stated that the bill
was designed to create fair field of
competition among exchanges and be-
tween exchanges as a group and the
over he-counter markets, and to al
low each type of market to develop in
accordance with its natural genius
and consistency with the public in
terest"
Up to March / more than $61 ,000,-
600 has been received by the Federal
Farm Mortgage Corp. in interest and
principal payments on land bank
commissioner loans made to indebted
farmers on first and second mort
gage security during the last three
years. w. I. Myers, F. c. A. governor,
has announced.
Mergenthaler Goes Higher.
Mergenthaler Linotype stock climbed
to 43 on the Washington Stock Ex-
change today, gaining half point on
q 25-share turnover. There was an
other good demand for Capital Trac-
tion SIS at 9012.