Evening star., 1941-09-08
POI Wholesale Firms
In This Area Report
Sharp Sales Gains
Average 43 Per Cent
Rise Over July, l940,
Bank Review Reveals
By EDWARD C. STONE.

S per cent ahead of the previous
month this year. according to the
Richmond Reserve Banks current
review.
Sales totaled SIS, 100000, against
sl5.O54, 900 in June and S1l,011,-
600 in July a year ago. Scare buy
ing, or the fear that articles IN
desired quantities may not be OBJ
tainable later, was given as one
cause of some of the heavy sales
increases. Normal business also was
heavier than usual.
Demand for industrial supplies led
other leading wholesale lines with
a jump of n per cent over july
1910. Dry goods ranked second
with orders SO per cent better than
a year ago, while shoes came third
with a 63 per cent pickup. Hard
ware sales were up SIS per cent.
Firms selling automotive suppheS
did 43 per cent more business than
last year, drugs and sundries were
In 36 per cent better demand, while
sales of electrical goods advanced
81 per cent. Fifty-siX wholesale
grocery firms reported a modest
gain of 10 per cent.
Paper and paper products showed
O. IL per cent rise, tobacco and to-
bacco products had IS per cent bet
ter sales and so miscellaneous lines
enjoyed 43 per cent more activity,
the Richmond bank reports The
best gain over June of this year
was in shoes, up 25 per cent.
81 Transit Outlay 100000.
In connection with its application
to the Public Utilities Commission
for approval of the purchase of 81
new streetcarS and 200 buses to be
delivered in 1912, President E. D.
Merrill of the Capital Transit Co.
called attention to the fact that,
including this big order his COM
pany will have purchased 204 cars
and STA buses since January l, 1899.
Those cars and buses represent
an outlay for the most modern
equipment that can be bought, of
more than S9,000,000 When they
have all been delivered Capital
Transit will have a fleet Of 3l9
streamline streetcars, one of the
largest in the United States.
ut is of some interest to note
that a feet of STA buses such as we
have ordered in the brief space OF
less than 3 years, is number
greater than the entire fleet OF
buses we were operating in the
morning peak in 1897"
Young to Address Bankers.
Commissioner John Russell Young
will be the guest speaker at the an
nual commencement exercises OF
Washington Chapter, American In
stitute of Banking at the Willard
Hotel. Thursday, September Is,
President John NJ. Christie an
nounced today. Certificates and spe-
cial prizes will be awarded the in
stitute graduates, the program to
end with dancing in the large ball
room.
William S. Knudsen, o. P. M.
chief, will be the headline speaker at
the 22d annual meeting of the
American Trade Association execu-
tives which opens at Hershey, Pa,
Thursday. Another Washington
speaker will be Carl E. Parry, statis-
tical expert with the Federal Reserve
Board.
Also on the program are Pyke
johnson, Auto Manufacturers As
sociation; John H. Martin, with
o. P. M; Joseph L. Overlook, with
o. P. M; E. C. Alvord, United
States Chamber of Commerce; John
Frey. Department of Interior; Dal
Hitchcock, Department of Labor;
Robert E. Mcconnell of o. P. M. and
John L. O'Brian, o. P. M.
Council to Select Officers.
The first fall meeting of the Sem
ior Advisory Council of Washing
ton Chapter, American Savings and
Loan Institute, will be held tomor-
row noon at the Raleigh Hotel
Clarence E. Kefauver, chairman. A
new chairman for the 1941-1942
semesters will be selected, also a
recording secretary. The council
Is made up of senior executive IN
each of the citys building and loan
associations.
Hans w. Ireland, treasurer of the
American Security & Trust Co., is
spending his vacation at Ocean City
Md.
Raymond G. Marx, controller OF
the Riggs National Bank, has re-
turned from a vacation in Michi-
gan and a motor tour through sew
eral other Midwestern States.
Today's Trading on Exchange.
Capital Traction IS opened the
weeks trading on the Washington
Stock Exchange with 81 500 trans
fer at 1861, unchanged from the
last previous sale.
One hundred shares of Mergen-
thaler Linotype appeared on the
board at .24A, up a full point from
the last transaction. This issue has
recently been considerably more
active in the trading sessions.
Peoples Drug Stores common has
been added to the ex-dividend list,
the regular payment being due in
q few days.
Heard in Financial District.
During August the voters of 6S
communities in 81 States approved
a total of S3,312,6O of new bono
issues, as compared with S4,866,25(
during August, 1910, according tt
the Daily Bond Buyer. The July
total was S6,518,60O.
Henry o. Koppang, examiner-in
chief of the field staff of the Fed
eral Reserve System, has been ap'
pointed first vice president of thu
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas
City. He has been in Washington
since 1888.
Warren S. Stone and Ralph Clip
riano of the Washington office o
the New York Life Insurance Co.
attended the annual convention o
the 100000 Club at Atlantic Cit.
last week.
Washington banks report con
tinued interest among patrons il
tax anticipation notes. The Treas
ury reports that national sales dur