Evening star., 1936-06-23
FLEMING PICTURES
NEW BANKING ERA
More knowledge Needed
Than in Past, He Tells
Graduate Students.
BY EDWARD &. STONE.

Ihe Qer1oQ OF tranSltlOn LnrOuSH
which we have just passed has brought
vividly to our minds the fact that all
banks now have national problems to
consider, whereas but few years ago
many thousands of State banks were
concerned only with State law and
supervision" Robert " Fleming told
400 banking students at Rutgers Uni
yersity last night.
with the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corp in operation, a program OF ma
tional examination has become a
reality Both State and national banks,
as we'll as the Government itself. are
now concerned with the solvency of
all institutions as matter of ma
tional welfare" The Washington
banker added:
In addition to the F. D. I. c., as an
examining, supervising and insuring
institution, we have several other
Federal agencies, some of which sup
plement charter-b banking while others
afford business competition directly
and indirectly for chartered banks.
AL this means that 1t is more neces-
sary than ever that we, as bank
officers, understand this problem and
have an appreciation of what we must
do In order that sound banking prac-
tices may prevail. 1t will be necessary
for us to give more attention to the
affairs of the Federal Government
than ever before"
Greater knowledge Required.
The president of the American
Bankers Association declared that
present day banking requires far more
knowledge than has ever been re-
quired before. knowledge of banking
and an understanding of the rules
governing its conduct are not enough
bankers must be conversant with
worldwide economic conditions.
Modern methods of transportation
and communication have brought the
countries of the world into close re-
lationship with each other and un-
happy occurrences, upsetting to the
economic stability of other nations,
cannot take place today without our
feeling repercussions here in America.
He congratulated the bank officials
on their zeal for work and said
many of them are giving up their
vacations to take the graduate
courses. He also praised the lead
ership of DR.. Harold Stonier, who
is in charge of the school, and
of Lewis E. Pearson, head of the
Board of Regents. These men are
doing a great work, he said, in bring
ing about a better understanding Of
banking and its problems. Among
the students to whom he spoke were
II from banks in this city, including
officials from his own bank.
Kiplinger Also Speaker.
Mr.. Fleming outlined for the
students the organizat ton steps and
working procedure Of both houses Of
the Congress. THE task of legislating
for l26,00o,O00 people" Mr.. Fleming
said, ''is a tremendous one and is evi-
denced by the fact that in recent
years approximately 10000 bills have
been introduced annually in the two
houses Of Congress"
Following the opening exercises, w.
M Kiplinger, Washington business
writer, talked informally to the
seminar on Whats Ahead in Wash
ington?" Mr.. Kiplinger addressed the
students as citizens, rather than as
bankers, and urged them not to let
partisan feelings bias their political
judgments. He stated that during
this present campaign your candi-
dates would be much more important
than platforms.
S15,000,000 Bonds Awarded.
1t was expected in the financial dis
trict today that the new $15,000,000
issue of Potomac Electric Power 3l4
per cent bonds will be placed on sale
at 104, probably on Thursday of this
week AS predicted, the bidding for
the bonds was keen.
The highest bid was submitted by
Dillon, Read & Co and associates.
They offered 103027. Associated in
the group are Lehman Bros, Field,
Glore & Co., F. B. Mosely g. Co.,
Shields & Co., Bancamerica- Blair
Corp, Y E. Booker & Co., Washing
ton, and G. H. Walker & Co.
Second high bid of 102.42 was ten
dered by Kidder, Peabody & Co. and
associates and third high bid by
Brown Hartman & Co., Inc, and as
sociates. A syndicate headed by
Blythe g. Co. and associates presented
bid of 1927
The preliminary prospectus, which
appeared In Washington today, shows
that the S15000,000 issue was divided
among the successful bidders as fol-
lows: Dillon, Read & Co., $500 900;
Lehman Bros, $3,000,000; Field, Glore
& Co., $3,O00,000; F. S. Moseley g.
Co., $2000,00O; Y. E. Booker g. Co.,
$l,000,000; Shields & Co., S1,000,000;
Bancamerica-Blair Corp, S1,000,00O,
and G. H. Walker & Co., S500,00O.
Officials of the Potomac Electric
Power Co. have been anxious that
Washington investors be given oppor-
tunity to buy as many of the new
bonds as they wish. With Y. e.
Booker & Co. underwriting ST. ,000, 900
of the bonds there would appear to be
plenty Of the bonds available here.
ID. C. Bankers Praised.
Washington bankers have received
high commentator from the Treas
ury for the promptness with which
they have forwarded veteran bonds to
the department for cashing The re-
quests have been in such form that
the Treasury has handled them most
expeditiously. The few delays noted
in getting out the checks to the vet
Grams have been wholly due to the
avalanche of bonds which swamped
the Treasury temporarily.
Sales of American Stores Co. in
May totaled $8,411,3 against
$9,o10,563 in May, 1888, drop of
s5e9,1s6, or 6.6 per cent. Sales for
the first five months of this year
amounted to $47,751, 1888 compared
with $49,704,1S0 in May last year,
decrease of s1,952,792, or 3.9 per
cent Sales for the five weeks ended