Evening star., 1952-05-01
Vepco Increases Rate
On Common, Discioses
Plans for 0fferinq
By Donold B. HodIey


thorized an offer of 494, ,642 share:
of additional common shares tc
holders. it was announced today
Stockholders of record May %
will be entitled to subscribe fo1
the additional common stock al
the rate of one new share for each
10 shares held on that date, with
an oversubscription privilege SUBJ
ject to allotment if necessary on
account of an over-subscription
The Offering price will be fixed
later.
The plan for issuance of new
stock was tentatively approved by
directors on February Is. The
increased common divided will be
payable June 20 to holders OF
record May %. The previous rate
of 80 cents has been paid since
June. 1948.
Quarterly dividends on three
classes of preferred stock also were
= declared with the same payment
and record dates as for the COM
mon. They include: SIPS a
share on the SIS dividend pre-
ferred; $1.01 share on the $4.04
dividend preferred, and $1.O5 on
the $4.20 dividend preferred.
Jersey Standard Votes Extra.
Standard Oil Co. New Jersey
today declared a cash dividend of
81 a share, of which IS cents was
designated as regular and Is cents
as extra. payable June II to
holders of record May II. This
will raise 1852 payments to So
a share VS.. $1.62l2 in the first
half of 1851.
Offering of $40 million of
Pennsylvania serial bonds was
placed on the market today by a
group headed by Drexel & Co.,
Hartman. Ripley, First Boston
and Kidder. Peabody. The bonds
maturing from 1855 to 1879 are
priced to yield from lis per cent
to per cent:
Clearings Slightly Higher.
Washington bank clearings in
April totaled SAP, ,154,217, COM
pared with $429, ,382,555 in the
previous month and were 2 per
cent above $433, ,469,313 in April,
1851, George H. Bright, clearing
house manager, announced.
Clearings in four months this
year amounted to $1,736,832,476,
an increase of 0.2 per cent from a
year earlier.
The April and four months
totals were the highest in history
for those periods and were 1879
per cent and 224 per cent, re-
spectively, above the same periods
Of prewar 1941.
Gas Earnings Reduced.
Due to increased operating ex-
penses and lower incorporating
income. Washington Gas Light
Co. net income for the first 1852
quarter was reduced to 81 1923. .723,
compared with $1,5O4, 14O a year
earlier, the company reported.
Operating revenues rose to S.
259,674 VS.. $7,42O,694, but operat-
ing expenses climbed to $685.
O48 VS.. $6.132. .996 and non-oper-
ating income dropped to $293, ,3074
VS.. $447,688.
March net income totaled $685.
924 VS.. $315,964; operating rev.
enues. $2,686, ,329 VS.. $2,209,637;
operating expenses, $2.354,164 VS..
$1,840, 300: incorporating income,
$48.572 VS.. $36.6O2.
Consolidated three months in
come Of the company and subsidi-
aries was $4,844,291 VS.. 81, 1864, ,144,
while March net on the same basis
was $603, 1893 VS.. $515.65O.
Weights, Measures Farley.
A conference of weights and
measures officials at Baltimore
yesterday attracted more than 100
from Maryland. the District,
Pennsylvania, Virginia and other
nearby States, and pinpointed the
wide difference between Wash
ington and it's suburbs in this i'm
pOrtant field.
While Washington is tops in
the Nation for weights and meas
ures enforcement, under the di-
rection of j. T. Kennedy, the
nearby counties have been slow
to act, it was pointed out.
Montgomery County has a new
but increasingly efficient system
of inspection, but Prince Georges
County only recently moved to
set up a system. Arlington had a
budget for this purpose of 81. 200
in the last year and hired part
time inspector. For the coming
year, an increase to only $1,000
has been asked. Alexandria and
Fairfax have no county systems.
although the State does some
checking.
Thomas B. Symons, director of
public relations for the Suburban
Trust Co., told the conference that
inspection officials face a big job
of educating the public to enlist
its support. .
Named to Airlines Board.
Kenneth r. Ferguson. formerly
vice neutrality-suspicious. for
Northwest Airlines, has been
elected a director Of European
American Airlines, President
Teodore T. Ludlum announced.
The new airline proposes to
operate a transatlantic cargo
service from Philadelphia. It's
application will be heard by the
Civil Aeronautics Board next
Tuesday. =
Mr.. Ferguson was chief of the
Operations Division of the Defense
Air Transportation Administra-
ton. Department of Commerce,
during the critical period of de-
velopment Of plans for mobiliza-
ton of civil aviation.
Air Express Shipments Up.
Air express shipments flown In
and out of the Capital in the
first. two weeks Of April were 1866
per cent above the like 1851
period. the Railway Express