Evening star., 1943-05-21
Capital Store Sales
70 Per Cent Above
Year Ago in Week
Four Weeks Volumes
7 Per Cent Ahead
Of l942 Period
BY EDWARD C. STONE.

BY EDWARD C. STONE.
In a sudden sharp upturn, depart.
ment store sales in washington fol
the week ended last Saturday, MAY
IS, were 40 per cent above the cor.
responding week year ago, tht
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
reproted today. In the preceding
week sales were 2 per cent below
the like 1912 period.
For the week ended last Saturday
retail sales in the Fifth District were
81 per cent better than last year
were up "a per cent in Baltimore
and II per cent in a group Of Other
cities. the report said.
Sales in the Capital were of
per cent from the preceding week
this year and averaged per cent
lower in the Fifth District. In the
grouped cities sales were down q
per cent.
Cumulative sales in the Capital ir
the four weeks ending last Saturday
were 7 per cent ahead of the same
period last year.
They we're up 13 per cent in the
Fifth District, 20 per cent in Balti-
more and Is per cent in the other
cities, the survey disclosed.
Building, Loan Assets Rise.
Total resources of the Is member
associations comprising the District
Building and Loan League amounted
to s1s4,754,158 on April 80, F. Will
son Camp. secretary, reported today
an increase of s10.774,3 BOG over Apri
a year ago and another new high
mark.
Mr.. Camps report revealed that
the bond account rose sharply during
the year due to the heavy participa-
ton in the purchase of Governments
for the associations own portfolios
Last April the account listed under
this item was but s1,778,298. 1t has
jumped to $9,463 ,226.
Although loans for construction
and new building declined, sub
stantial gain in new share money
was noted. The sum of $165. .693 .657
is now due shareholders, compared
with S150,522.89l a year ago.
New accounts opened in April were
80 per cent greater than in April
1942, while closed accounts de-
creased considerably.
The member associations now
have 158,459 customer contracts, in
Guiding both borrowing and invest
Ing patrons, Mr.. Camp concluded.
Dividend Voted on Preferred.
Ralph D. Quinter, president of the
Real Estate Mortgage e. Guaranty
Corp. announced today that the
directors have voted a dividend of 8
per cent on the account of accu-
mulated dividends on the preferred
stock, payable June Is to stock
holders of record June IS.
Marshall Diggs. consultant of the
Small War Plants Corp. and former
acting controller of the currency
was slated to address today's closing
convention session of the Maryland
Bankers Association in Baltimore
DR.. Paul F. Cadman was another
speaker. Officers were to be elected
300 bankers attending the sessions
, Richard H. Stout of Washington
president of the Morris Plan Bank
ers' Association, told industrial
bankers in Chicago that consumer
credit must develop a postwar plan
which will encourage the use of pri-
vate credit rather than a run on the
Treasury through the sale of War
bonds to purchase consumer goods.
Credit. he said, should enable hold
ers to buy postwar merchandise
without disposing of their bonds.
Rail Fruit Shipments Climb.
The annual report of the Atlantic
Coast Line Railroad reflects the
benefits railroads are getting from
the transportation of citrus fruits
from Florida which were shipped by
boat before the war.
In the 1940-1 season the railroads
handled 572 per cent of the business
trucks 226 per cent. and boats 202
per cent. In the 1912 season rail-
roads carried IT'S per cent of the
fruit shipments, the trucks took 20.4
per cent while shipments by boat
had dropped to 81 per cent.
Banana and sugar shipments we're
particularly beneficial to the Atlantic
Coast Line. Bananas produced s639,
900 in revenues in 1912 over 1941, a
gain of 4l9 per cent.
Revenues from sugar amounted to
Sl.634000 in 1912, an increase of
233 per cent.
Bonds Top $1,000, ,0O0. 900.
Record subscriptions entered in
the second War loan drive in April
brought total purchases of United
States Government bonds by the
life insurance companies in the first
four months of the year up to a
total of $4,000, 100000, according to
the Institute of Life Insurance.
These new purchases were more
than four times the aggregate for
the corresponding months OF 1912
when Government bond purchases
by the life insurance companies were
reported as S53O000,000.
Life insurance holdings of United
States Government bonds represent
on the average S157 per policyholder
and 1921 per family" the Institute