Evening star., 1941-04-15
Riggs Staff Hears
Plans for Defense
Bond Sales
Arrangements to Handle
Anticipated Rush
Are ExpIoined
BY EDWARD c. STONE.

the Riggs National Bank, explained
10 ESQ members of the staff at the
United States Chamber of Com
merce auditorium last night the part
which the bank will be expected to
play IN the coming distribution of
the Treasury's defense savings bonds
which go on sale on May l. 1t is
believed to be the first meeting of
the kind any bank in the country
has yet held and proved intensely
Informative.
Riggs, like some $4,000 other bank
dng institutions, is making arrange
ments to handle postal savings
stamps and the defense savings
bonds for the convenience of their
patrons, Mr. Fleming stated that it
Us the intention of the Treasury to
distribute these bonds to individuals.
trustees, partnerships and to cor
poratlons, but they are not to be
sold to the banks.
l. Ihe banks are ready and willing
TO help in the sale. The Treasury
anticipates a huge demand for the
bonds.
New Bond Issues Described.
. Mr.. Fleming briefly described the
postal savings stamps, which will be
sold for l0c, Csc, SOC, 81 and SIS. They
DO not draw interest and are re-
ueemable at par or may be eX-
changed for defense bonds. Seventy
t1Ve 25-cent stamps can be exchanged
ior a bond costing s18.75, which in
40 years will be worth S25.
Is Series E Defense Bonds are almost
Identical to the present United
States Savings or Baby Bonds, the
sale OF which will be discontinued
on April 80, Mr.. Fleming said. In
d1vlduals only may purchase these
bonds, to a limit of $1,000 maturity
value issued in any one calendar
year.
Series F Defense Bonds may be
purchased by individuals. associa-
tions, partnerships, trustees or cor
porations except banks receiving
demand deposits, to a limit of
$4,000 cost price issued in any one
calendar year. alone or in combina-
tion with Series G Defense Bonds.
They mature in u years, to yield
253 per cent.
Wide Public Interest Seen.
Series @ Defense Bonds may be
purchased except by banks up to
$4,000. They can be purchased at
par with maturity of u years and
pay 211 per cent interest paid semi
annually by United States Treasury
check. Mr.. Fleming added many
important details about all these
issues. He urged Riggs employees to
familiarize themselves with the
bonds as soon as possible and be
ready to answer the food Of ques-
,tions which they are certain to re-
iceive from patrons.
Banks viii purchase and carry a
supply of postal savings stamps,
Mr.. Fleming said, for sale to the
public and will also sell and issue in
registered form the Series E Defense
Bonds. Banks will not carry a
supply of Series F or G. Defense
Bonds, but will accept purchase
orders for these, obtained from a
Federal Reserve bank Of the Treas
ury Department.
Bank History Recalled.
During his talk Mr.. Fleming re-
ferred to the part Riggs National
has taken in previous national emer-
gencies. Right after the Mexican
War, nearly 100 years ago, when
Government finances were very
much depleted the firm OF Corcoran
& Riggs bought $23,O00,000 in Gov
ernment bonds and sold them in this
country and abroad. In those days
that was huge sum and proved an
important step in placing Govern
ment issues on a firmer foundation
in public estimation.
At the time of the World War,
Riggs National carried $11 ,06l 900 in
deposits. The bank established a
Liberty Bond Department and sub
scribed for a total of $l9, ,750
Liberty Bonds for the bank and
customers, Mr.. Fleming stated.
lUdh nCCdnCus
Washington Permanent Building
Association, which is just complet-
ing so years service in the Capital,
has issued a commemorative book
let marking the 10th anniversary
of the savings and home-financing
business in the United States. Sec
retary Carl j. Bermann says the
booklet is being offered to all patrons
and other friends of the institu-
ton.
Covering the period since 1881,
the booklet gives history of the
first home loan made to a lamp
lighter in a Pennsylvania town and
a summary of the growth of the
business in the past IL decades.
Beginning with $375 loan to the
lamplighter, the building and loan
associations have aided in the
financing of more than IL 800 900
homes in America, the money being
advanced by 5000 active institutions,
the booklet states.
Firm 20 Years Old Today.
Nichols Co., one of the pioneer
independent insurance adjustment
firms in this section, today is cele-
brating completion of 20 years of
claim and loss service in Washing
ton and vicinity. V. A. Nichols and
w. H. Hargrave organized the COM
pany in 1921.
The main Office is located in the
Woodward Building, branch Offices
being maintained in Baltimore and
HagerStown, as well as Richmond
and Winchester. The organization,
consists of 40 persons, 25 of whom
are located in the main office.
V. A. Nichols, president, has been
active in the National Association
of Independent AdjuSters, being
president of that association during
the fiscal year 1939-1940. He has
also served for several years as
official representative of the Ma
tional Association on the National
Conference Committee on Lay Ad-
justerS.
w. H. Hargrave, vice president of
the firm, is active in American Legion
y, dov