Evening star., 1939-04-02
pita| Store Sales
bId 10.2PerC Cent
Above Year Ago
Volumes Turn Down
2.62 Per Cent From
Previous Week
By EDWARD C. STONE.


partment stores during the week
ending Wednesday. continued to run
well ahead of the corresponding pc
riod year ago, partially due to the
earlier date of Easter, and registered
In advance of 1912 per cent, the
Commerce Department announced
yesterday in reviewing conditions in
IS important cities. Trade, however
was off 2.62 per cent from the pre-
vious week.
All other reporting cities in the
Fifth Federal Reserve district scored
increases in sales over the same pc
riod last year and Washington was
the only city in the territory which
did not register an increase over the
previous week this year, the survey
revealed.
Baltimore experienced notable
gains in trade. as did Richmond.
Charleston. S. c., made the best gain
in the district. Stimulated by the
largest number of tourists this sea-
son, the advance was more than II
per cent over 1888.
Building permits in the Capital for
the week totaled $222,0O0 against
S297,750 year ago. Total passenger
revenues of the Capital Transit Co.
amounted to s225,735 against the
lower figure Of $213.032 a year ago.
The Washington Monument count
showed sharp increase in the num-
ber of visitors over the previous week
but not as many as year ago, the
Commerce report disclosed.
Lacey Heads Hotel Committee.
Robert H. Lacey, cashier of the
Columbia National Bank, has been
appointed chairman of the Hotel
Committee to arrange for the an
nual convention of the District
Bankers Association to be held at
Hot Springs, Va, June 8-ll, Presi-
dent Hilleary G. Hoskinson an
nounced yesterday.
w. T. Vandoren, vice president
and cashier of the Liberty National
Bank, has been named vice chair
man, Mr. Hoskinson added, the
other members of the committee
including the following financiers:
Frank P. Harman. jr., Hamilton
National; W. Frank D. Heron and
Edward l.. Hillyer, Union Trust Co.;
Harold F. Stokes, National Metro
politan; Norman E. Towson. Wash
ington Loan g. Trust Co.. and George
o. Vass, Riggs National.
Mergenthaler Sells at 10.
Mergenthaler linotype sold at 10
on the Washington Stock Exchange
yesterday, 25 shares changing hands.
The price was under the last pre-
vious sale.
Capital Transit, which sold at 93s
Friday, the highest mark in many
weeks, was quiet yesterday. The
stock closed the week with 9 bid and
934 asked down from 10 in the pre-
vious session.
Washington Gas Light preferred
stock was the most active issue on
the board during the week. The
stock almost reached l06, all sales
being above 105. The final bid yes
terday was los, with none offered.
New York Stock Exchange Offices
were the liveliest places in town
yesterday. A grand rush to the
board rooms followed Fridays heavy
selling. There were as many opin-
ions on the immediate outlook as
there are stocks on the big board.
Market for Homes Hold Up.
c. H. Ellington, executive vice
president of the First Federal Saw
ings & Loan Association, in look
ing back over the past year, said
yesterday that one of the most en-
couraging phases of the present
home market in Washington is the
fact that in spite of the very active
building program during the past
year or more, there are no more
unsold houses being carried over
into the current year than was the
case year ago.
Ten real estate bond issues in
Washington held firm in price quo
tations during the first quarter of
this year, according to the real es-
tate bond averages reported by Burr
& Co. These issues opened the
year at an average price of 74.6
per cent and ended March at TAI.
This was change of only half
point and only OF per cent.
In an analysis of $50 Eastern real
estate bond issues, the Burr company
reports that hotel issues made the
best showing. with a 56 percentage
gain. Theater and Office building
bonds stood next in order. New
York City hotel bonds came promi-
nently into the limelight. presum-
ably because of the World Fair
business now being anticipated.
Heard in Financial District.
Chairman Jesse j. Jones of the
Reconstruction Finance Corp. said
at his last press conference that
the ratio of banks capital to de-
posits Ought to be 81 to $8." He
also said that the Government can
make loans to railroads that banks
should not make as they are not
using their own money and have
no right to take chances"
In connection with the proposed
extension of time until 1912. in which
bank executive officers will be ex-
pected to pay up their loans to
their own banks which are members
of the Federal Reserve System, Sem
ator Carter Glass told the Senate
Banking Committee that 1000 ex-
ecutive officers now owe such loans,
which total s32,0000o0. The loans
originally totaled s132 100000, he
said.
Federally chartered savings and
loan associations increased the
amount of private savings invested
in them by nearly one-half during
1887 and 1888, study prepared for
the Federal Home Loan Bank Board
showed yesterday.
A comparison of the savings, or
"private share investments" in L.
100 identical Federal savings and
loan associations on December 81