Evening star., 1937-11-24
WHOLESALE TRADE
WELL ABOVE 1885
Fifth District Total in Ten
Months Gains-Octoher
Volume Lags.
BY EDWARD c. STONE.

serve Bank of Richmond reported to-
day. October sales alone were under
the totals for the same month in
1896.
Hardware led the parade in five
leading lines, scoring a 20 per cent
gain over the 10-month record last
year. Next came wholesale drugs
with an advance of lib per cent,
followed closely by sales of groceries,
which were 10.l better than a year
ago. The wholesale shoe business
proved II per cent higher, while dry
goods stood fifth with gain of only
rs per cent.
October sales in groceries were
per cent under October 1886; dry
goods sales were down 10 per cent,
shoes 13 per cent, drugs 2.5 per cent.
Hardware sales went against the trend
and were 81 per cent better than a
year ago.
Sales in October were also below
September of this year, groceries be-
ing down 9 per cent, dry goods 20,
shoes %, harWare and drugs per
cent. The report covered 81 leading
firms in this trade area
Stocks on hand were much larger
than year ago. At the end of the
month groceries stocks were 8 per
cent higher, dry goods A per cent,
shoes 33, hardware and drugs 10.
Compared with the end of Septem-
ber, groceries stocks were up II per
cent and drugs per cent. Dry goods
were lower by II per cent shoes by
% per cent and hardware per cent.
October was firSt-claSS month for
wholesale collections, the report shows.
OF receivables due on groceries 1T
per cent was collected, on dry goods
38 per cent shoes So per cent, hard
ware 50 and drugs 81 Evidently
grocers had the best luck getting
in back bills.
Lincoln Service Votes Extra.
Directors of the Lincoln Service
Corp, meeting this noon, declared
the regular quarterly dividend of 87l2
cents share on the preferred stock,
the regular quarterly dividend of 25
cents a share on the common stock
and an extra of rs cents a share on
the common, President Charles Del
mar announced.
With the payment of four quarterly
dividends OF 25 cents share and
the 75-cent extra ordered today, the
company will pay SITS share on
the common stock this year Both
the common and preferred issues are
listed on the Washington Stock Ex-
change
The last sale of the common was
made at l8. The latest bid is is. with
20 asked. The preferred sold last
at 40, with 4612 now being asked for
the stock. The firm, which does
an industrial loan business in nearby
States. has head Offices in Washington
Another dividend announcement
was made here today by the State
Loan Co. The directors have just
declared the twenty-seventh consecu-
tive regular quarterly dividend of l 2
per cent on the preferred stock, pay
ment to be made on December / to
shareholders of record on Novem-
Der l.
Bank Advertising Stressed.
Frank P. Bennett, editor of the
United States Investor, talking to the
New Jersey Savings Banks Associa-
ton the other day, urged his hearers
to keep "sales minded" 1t is a mis-
take for savings banks to let up on
their advertising and promotional
work because they feel they have
more money than they need, he said.
If savings banks cease to advertise
and promote their business, he added,
they may wake up in 10 years or less
from now to realize that other agen-
cies, such as the Federal savings and
loan associations, have supplanted
savings banks in the public mind.
Savings banks have come through
the depression period with an un-
public should never be allowed to
forget this fact.
Willard Advanced by B. & o.
Daniel Willard, jr., has been pro-
NOTED from assistant to the general
counsel to assistant general counsel
of the Baltimore &, Ohio Railroad
He has degree from Yale, the
Harvard Law School and has been
with the road since 1924. Holding
fine World War record, he was sta
toned at Fort Myer before he went
overseas.
When the Railroad Credit Corp
was organized by the railroads, fol-
lowing the rate case in 1881, Mr..
Willard was loaned by the B. & o.
to be general counsel of the corpora
ton at the request of its chairman,
E. G. Buckland. Later he also be-
came its vice president, his head
quarters being in Washington.
Under the marshaling and dis
tributing plan adopted by the rail-
roads in this case total contributions
were about S75,000,000 large part
OF which was loaned to the lines
which were in need of it. Most of
these loans have now been repaid,
and it is expected that with the
gradual termination of the corpora
tion's work Mr.. Willard will be re-
1ieved of his duties in WASHINGTON
and devote all his time to his new
position.
T0day's Trading on Exchange.
Washington Gas Light 4s sold at
los on the Washington Stock Ex-
change today. Potomac Electric Power
6 per cent preferred stock came out
at 113. A single share of Washington
Gas Light preferred sold at 98l2 and
two other small sales took place at
SO. The bid for Capital Transit was
moved from Z to 71z, with 10 still
asked.
The Washington Stock Exchange
banks, brokerage houses, investment
firms, will all be closed tight tomorrow
for Thanksgiving.
The new attack by Chairman Doug
las of the Securities and Exchange
Commission on the New York Stock
Exchange was read with deep interest
in the financial district. It appeared