Evening star., 1943-05-14
Wholesale Volumes
Ahead Of Year Ago
In Fifth District
a Per Cent Increase
Reported by Richmond
Reserve Bank
By EDWARD C. STONE.

10 per cent higher than in the pre-
ceding month this year, the Fedora
Reserve Bank of Richmond reported
in its monthly review today. In si1
leading lines sales were 20 per cent
ahead of last year.
Sales of dry goods and tobacco
and tobacco products made the best
showing. both lines being SO per cent
ahead of last year. Next came drugs
with a pickup of 18 per cent, fol.
lowed by groceries in which trade
was up II per cent. Sales in indus.
trial supplies recorded the same
volume as a year ago.
Other lines we're below a veal
ago, auto supply sales being down /;
per cent; shoes. per cent; elec-
trical goods, IA per cent; hardware
s; paper and paper products. II
and miscellaneous sales in SO re-
porting firms, l per cent. In al
lines except auto supplies, sales
were ahead of February.
D. c. Furniture Sales Off.
Turning to retail sales, the review
stated that furniture trade in Wash
ington in March was per cent
under March a year ago and down
Is per cent in the first quarter
Sales in the Fifth District were off
IS per cent in March in 98 big stores
Building permits in Washington
IN March totaled S1,058,682 against
S2.706,338 year ago. Building per-
mits in the Fifth District in the first
quarter totaled Sl3.729 443. against
23.448.0O7 in the like 1912 period
March bank debts in the Capita,
totaled S456,531 900 and we're 5 per
cent higher than a year ago. In
the first quarter they we're per
cent heavier.
Between March II and April IA
business and agricultural bank loans
declined s52530OO. continuing a
trend in evidence for months, the
review said. Security holdings in
creased by s21 100000
There we're 10 commercial failures
In the first quarter in the Fifth
District for S21l000 against 107 a
year ago for 1898 900 liabilities. Cot
ton consumption was up per cent
In the first quarter, electric power
production 10 per cent, life insur-
ance sales ID per cent, and depart
ment store sales 10 per cent. the
survey concluded, after reviewing a.
length the impressive results of the
second War Bond drive.
Earnshaw Heads Institute.
George B. Earnshaw was elected
president of Washington Chapter,
American Institute of Banking, for
the 1884 term at the annual cleo
tions held last night Mr.. Earnshaw
has been with the National Metro
politan Bank since 1890 and was
elected assistant cashier in 1o41 He
IS a graduate of Hyattsville High
School, attended Staunton Military
Academy, is a graduate of the
American Institute of Banking,
member of the Board of Governors.
and has been treasurer and first
vice president.
Other officers elected were B.
Bruce Frantz. American Security &
Trust Co., first vice president;
Thomas j. Norris. Bank of Com
merce & Savings, second vice presi-
dent, Kenneth O. Hulse, Hamilton
National treasurer: Miss Margaret
Allison, National Savings & Trust
Co. secretary; Mrs. Vivian McNitt,
Liberty National, assistant secre-
tary, and Theodore P. Cowgirl, Riggs
National, chief consul.
j. Earle McGeary, Hamilton Ma
tional, and Raymond L. Jones,
Treasury Department., were elected
to the Board of Governors. George
M. Rowzee, jr., Lincoln National and
retiring president of WASHINGTON
Chapter, goes on the board for a
three-vear term. Other members are
Miss Leona E. Draeger, Washington
Loan & Trust: Joseph r. Fitzpat-
rick. Second National; Robert H.
Lacey, Columbia National; Herbert
d. Lawson. jr., Washington Loan &,
Trust; Mrs. Myrtle P. Lewis. Liberty
National, and Paul J. Seltzer, Ameri-
can Security & Trust Co.
First Woman Vice President.
Vera Walton Rhine, assistant vice
president of the Morris Plan Bank
OF Washington since 1910. was today
elected full vice president bv the
Board of Directors, thus becoming
the first woman in Washington to
hold the office of vice president of
a bank.
However, 1t is no new thing for
Mrs. Rhine to pioneer, as she was
the flrst woman to pass the District
OF Columbia certified public ac-
countant's examination back in 1882,
In 1885 she was graduated from Ma
tlonal University with the degrees
Of A. B. and Ii. B. and was ad-
mitted to the District of Columbia
bar the same year.
Mrs. Rhine started with the Morris
Plan Bank in 1925 as a bookkeeper
at the time when the personnel of
the bank numbered 19. and its COM
hlned capital and surplus was $780,
300. Today the bank employs Ill,
IT'S resources have increased to over
$4,000 900 and it has over $4,000 ac-
counts Of individuals.
Louis o. Hodges, jr., assistant
cashier, was elected an assistant vice
president. He is a native of Wash
ington, graduate of Central High
School and holds law degree from
George Washington University. He
has been manager of the mortgage
lean department..
Peoples Drug Dividend Voted.
Directors of Peoples Drug Stores,
Inc, yesterday declared dividend
of 40 cents per share on the common
stock, payable July to stockholders
OF record June 8. This is a substan-
tlal advance over the first dividend
paid this year, which was 25 cents
per share.
DR.. Charles S. Tippetts, headmas-
ter of Mercersburg Academy. will
address Washington Chapter, Ma
tional Association of Cost Ac-
ceuntants, next Wednesday evening
at the Hamilton Hotel on Some
Postwar Economic Changes" He is
vice chairman of the Federal Home
Loan Bank of Pittsburgh and a
noted economist. Officers also will
be elected
Cahill Death Shocks Friends.