Evening star., 1940-11-28
Later Opening Time
In Capital Banks
Starts on Monday
New $50 Schedule
Also to Be Adopted
By All Branches
BY EDWARD C. STONE.

day and close at 2 pm, excep1
Saturdays, when the hours will be
from $50 to u o'clock noon.
Although there may be some
slight differences in schedules, on
the 18th and last day of each month
the hours will be from $50 am. to
$50 pm. When the 18th or last
day of the month falls on Saturday,
Sunday or a legal holiday banking
hours will be from $50 to $50 on
the next succeeding full business
day, announcements state.
The radical change in banking
hours was made after careful in
vestigation by bank officials. The
shorter hours have already been
tested by several Washington banks;
officials reporting that the new time
has caused no hardship among de-
positors and no serious complaints.
Branches Also Adopt Change.
For a long time the Capitals
banks have been closing at 2 o'clock.
and the public has become accus-
toned to this schedule. Bankers
report that business is quiet be-
tween 9 and $50 in the morning
and that the $50 opening will be
adopted in the branches as well as
In the main offices.
Under the new schedule the banks
and trust companies will have uni
form hours, and compliance with
the wage-hour law will be much
simpler. In these days of painfully
low interest rates officials say they
are forced to avoid as much over
time as possible. While bank WIN
dows close at 2, some of the hardest
work of the day is done after Gus
toners have left the lobbies.
All the thousands and thousands
of bank depositors will have to do
is to bear in mind that the banking
institutions are not open until $3.50
in the morning and perhaps carry
more change or few more bills In
their pockets.
Notices of the change were in
cluded in the monthly statements
by some banks and merely posted
in the lobbies in others.
Insurance Trends Changing.
Nearly two-thirds of all buyers OF
life insurance prefer the policy
called straight life" or whole life" !"
according to survey of all ordinary
life insurance purchases of the past
five years, made by the Life Insur-
ance Sales Research Bureau at
Hartford
In the past five years S22, All ,o42,-
600 of whole life or straight life pol
icies has been purchased out of a
total of s34,918,000000 purchases OF
ordinary insurance.
Among outstanding developments
in insurance purchases during the
five years has been the rise in juve-
nile policies on children from birth
to age 10. Annual juvenile policy
purchases have grown from S29,-
100000 in 1885 to S142 100000 in
1889, the total for the five years be-:
ing s29700o,0o0.
Loan Plans Further Perfected.
After a conference with President
Roosevelt and top defense officials,
the American Bankers Association
has perfected plans for the creation
of special committees in each OF
the Federal Reserve districts to en-
courage and coordinate defense
financing. One particular function
of these committees will be to es-
tablish contact between banks and
local subcontractors performing de-
fense work
To facilitate this work a man.
ual of instructions" is being pre-
pared to explain and simplify for
banks the process of making defense
loans under the terms of the de-
fense contracts.
I'm this manner it is expected
that the entire machinery of Or
ganized banking will be placed be-
hind the defense program" Mr..
Houston declared.
Banks have been active in max
ing defense loans ever since the de-
fense program was announced last
summer" he continued. ut is esti-
mated that they have more than
$4,000, 100000 available for that pur-
pose now"
Exchange Trading Falls Off.
Total market value of all trading
on the Washington Stock Exchange
in October was S81 ,545, compared
with market value of $124.233 in
october a year ago. During the
month. 702 shares changed hands,
against 1,456 year ago.
The market value of stocks was
$50, ,796, the Securities and Exchange
Commission reported today, while
the market value of bonds was $21, TAG
and the principal amount, $4,000.
The value of stock year ago was
$93 ,233 and of bonds, $31 900.
The market value of stocks and
bonds traded in September of this
year on the exchange was S79 ,981.
The market value of stocks was
$37,751 on turnover of 1,143 shares.
The market value of bonds in Sep
tember was $42, 800 and the principal
amount, Sal, 900, about double the
october figure, the report shows.
American Stores Dividend Up.
Declaration by the American
Stores Co. of dividend of 25 cents
a share on the common stock, pay
able December 27 to stockholders of
record December z, brings payments
for 1910 to rs cents, against so cents
in 1899. Following the dividend
statement, the directors announced
that employees other than officers of
the company and its affiliated COM
panies will share in a Christmas
bonus amounting to $130,0oO to be
paid the week prior to Christmas.
Today's Trading on Exchange.
Trading on the Washington Stock
Exchange today opened with 10
shares of Lincoln Service Corp. COM
mon stock selling at 151a, un-
changed.
Potomac Electric Power 51a per
cent preferred opened with a 10
share sale at 11434, followed by 13
more shares moving at 114A.
The final sale was a $500 transfer
l.