Evening star., 1942-04-10
Capital Store Sales
Hold II Per Cent
Above Year Ago
Gain Much Smaller
Than for Preceding
Week, Bunk Reports
By EDWARD c. STONE.

BY EDWARD C. STONE.
A., Department store sales in Wash
5 ington for the week ended last Sat-
urday, April 4, which was the final
week before Easter, registered q
per cent gain over the like period a
syear ago, the Federal Reserve Bank
tof Richmond announced today. In
.the previous week the gain over the
corresponding period last year was
'46 per cent.
In the final week of Easter trade
the fifth district revealed a gain
of Is per cent over the week ended
April 5, 1941; Baltimore trade was
20 per cent higher, and sales in a
group of other cities revealed the
same upturn as in Washington, 81
per cent.
Comparisons with the previous
week this year disclosed a gain of
per cent in the Capital, l6 per
cent in a group of other reporting
cities, an average drop of per cent
in the fifth district and decrease
of 10 per cent in Baltimore.
:. Capital Gain Tops District.
Washington led the rest of the
district in the four weeks ended
April 4. Cumulative sales were 40
per cent ahead of last year. The
fifth district upswing was So per
cent, the pickup in Baltimore 33
per cent and in the other reporting
cities % per cent, the Richmond
bank survey stated.
In commenting on the report Capt.
tai merchants said today that the
Easter holiday season ended with
the dollar volume Of sales far above
any previous year, as has been gen.
orally forecast. At times Easter
trade rivaled Christmas business,
with unprecedented crowds in the
stores.
The record trade results were
ascribed to three main reasons
sharp advances in prices of many
goods, notable increases in the num-
Der Of buyers due to population
growth and scare buying" due to
fear on the part of many purchasers
that certain goods might not be
available later on account of the
war. Easter shopping weather was
also ideal, merchants pointed out.
Crowley Urges More Capital.
In his address before Wisconsin
bankers, Chairman Leo T. Crowley
of the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corp, noted the great increase in
bank assets in these times and said
that good many banks should in
crease their capital to meet this
situation. He said:
augmentation of bank capital to-
day would appear to depend almost
entirely upon retention of a large
portion of bank earnings and upon
reduction of the claims upon capi-
tai and earnings through extraord-
mary attention to bank assets. Re-
tention Of a large proportion of
bank earnings will involve increased
attention to operating economies
within certain banks, as we'll as
ultra conservative dividend policies
so long as growth of assets con-
tinues.
"On the other hand, there are and
will be some banks with capital de-
flciencies and asset conditions in
respect to which the retention of
earnings as a means of correcting
the situation would be a fruitlessly
slow process. New capital is the
only solution in many such cases."
Wholesale Trade Climbs.
The Census Bureau and the Ma
tional Association Of Credit Men re-
port that sales of wholesalers ad-
yanced "a per cent in February over
the same month in 1941 and in the
first two months of 1912 were So
per cent better than a year ago.
g. Increases ranging from per cent
TO 116 per cent were reported in all
but one of the 35 trades for Febru-
AIRY, 1912, compared with the same
month year ago. Seven trades
gained as much as so per cent or
more for February, 1912, compared
with February, 1941. Four addi-
tional trades show gains ranging
from 40 to so per cent.
General line hardware increased
IS per cent, industrial supplies SO
per cent and plumbing and heating
supplies 80 per cent. Grocery whole
salers reported gain of 80 per cent
Drugs and sundries show a gain of
18 per cent. A decrease of 5 per
cent was reported by the metal
trades.
Bankers Join Coast Guard.
Three Riggs National Bank en-
ployes-Frank A. Gibbons, Roland
r. Carr and Harry P. Bergman
will enter the United States Coast
Guard Reserve next week, it was
learned today.
They will enter the service at
Baltimore, take their special training
in the Coast Guard work, and hope
to be commissioned as warrant
officers. They are entering the same
branch of the service that Kenneth
Birgfeld of the American Security &
Trust Co. Joined recently.
All are giving up excellent posi-
tions at Riggs. Mr.. Carr has been
with the bank 16 years, Mr.. Gibbons
10 and Mr.. Bergman years. They
have been active in Washington
Chapter, American Institute of
Banking.
Mr.. Gibbons enlisted none too
soon, as he got a draft notice today
ordering him to appear at Fort Myer
for physical examination.
Heard in Financial District.
Wide interest was manifested in
the financial district today in the
hearing set for this afternoon before
the Public Utilities Commission on
the application of the Washington
Gas Light Co. for authority to sell
10000 shares of per cent cumula-
tive preferred stock.
w. Jennings Brown, of the Per-
petual Building Association, has been
named chairman of the bowling
league made up Of members of build
ing and loan associations. The din
ner will take place May 4 at the
Mayflower Hotel, $50 bowlers plan
ming to attend Prizes will he award