Evening star., 1943-04-09
Heavy Stock Trading
Causes Daily Rush
To D. T.. Board Rooms
Revival Of Interest
Puts Severe Strain
On Office Stuffs
By EDWARD C. STONE.

Standing room has been at pre-
MUM all the week in Washington's S
New York Stock Exchange offices
due to feverish trading activity pre-
vailing every day. Many chairs
which look as if they had not seen
duty since the hectic 1929 days have
been brought back into service in
order to make patrons as comfort
able as possible as they eagerly
watch five hours of changing quo
tations.
Brokers say Interest in the market
has quadrupled as trading, has
jumped from 500.000-share days to
sessions in which more than 100000
shares have changed ownership.
The increase in telephone calls is
perhaps the best indicator of the
growing wave in investments and
speculation. Geared to very slow
trading for nearly three years, Office
STATS are now taxed to the limit to
keep up with business, lot of over
time being necessary.
Many Reasons for Upturn.
Brokers give multitude of rea-
sons for the recent market advances,
including the distinctly favorable
turn in war news, extensive invest
naent of idle funds, a more favor
able attitude in Congress toward
financial problems and belief that
the Securities and Exchange Com
mission may have passed the peak
IN the regulation of exchanges Op-
timistic views on postwar planning
aimed at industrial prosperity are
heard In every office.
Imitation psychology has been
one of the biggest factors in the
market for months, brokerage house
ohlcials point out. Taxes earnings,
dividends, management and pros
poets are still given careful atten-
ton, the feeling prevailing that the
next tax bill will not be much hard
er on big corporations than the
present law.
Brokers cite many other reasons
for the broader market activity
which has included both blue chips
GSA1o pS1ll1y otoShS NCll dS NelY
heavy trading in bonds. Trading is
still light compared with 1929 but
every brokerage firm in the Capital
calls 1t highly satisfactory" In
vestment houses are also delighted
with the new security demand.
!, Store Sales Under Year Ago.
Due to the fact that Easter was
on April S last year and comes on
the 25th this year, department store
sales in the Capital for the week
ended last Saturday, April 3, were
ID per cent lower than in the corre-
spending period a year ago, the Fed
eral Reserve Bank of Richmond re-
ported today Sales, however, were
8 per cent higher than in the pre-
vious week this year
Sales in the fifth district we're off
Z per cent, per cent in special
group of reporting cities, but were
up to last year in Baltimore, the
report said. Compared with the
preceding week this year, sales in
the fifth district scored a 6 per cent
gain.
Cumulative sales in washington
Tor the four weeks ended April 3
were 10 per cent under last year,
were down per cent in the fifth
district, 5 per cent in Baltimore and
per cent in the other cities, the
survey stated.
Gas Stock Quickly Sold.
The 1924 shares of Washington
Gas Light SIS cumula tive preferred
stock, recently offered the common
stockholders and the public, was
heavily oversubscribed, it was an
nounced today.
The present Washington Gas
stockholders took Is per cent or
$500 shares of the stock, being given
until April to put in their sub
scriptions.
The remaining 1880 shares was
offered the public by Washington
investment firms, the underwriting
group including Y E. Booker g. Co.;
Johnston. Lemon & Co.: Alexander
Brown Il Sons; Mackall & Coe: Rob-
inson, Rohrbaugh & Lukens; Auch-
incloss, Parker & Redpath; Folger,
Nolan & Co.; Brown, Goodwin &
Olds; Ferris, Exnicios & Co.; and
Robert G Jones & Co.
The stock was offered the pubic
several days ago on an "as, if and
when issued basis" a majority of
the shares being taken in Washing
ton. Stock was also sold in New
York, Chicago and as far away as
the Pacific Coast. 1t was priced at
500 share and accumulated divi-
dend.
Penn Central Has Fine Year.
c. Bedell Monro. president OF
Pennsylvania Central Airlines, re-
ported today that net income in 1912
amounted to s4O8,o ,o55, compared
with $l27,284 in 1941. Operating
profit of $350,228 was substantially
ahead of the preceding year.
Personnel expanded from 293 to
1000 employees during the year and
the company has done a great deal
of flying in the military effort.
The growth of the company has
been sensational. from an operation
spanning but 127 miles in 1927 to
its present schedule of some IS 900
miles. linking Washington with
many of the most important indus
trial cities of the country.
The common stock is soon to be
switched from the New York Curb
to the New York Stock Exchange.
it was announced today.