Show SEEN HEARD anu around arund tl c th NATIONAL N CAPITAL py iy C Carter Field J. J. J P. P Morgan and company and other great banking firms firm which In Jn the past have marketed marketed mar huge amounts amount of foreign bonds bond to American Investors Investor may never see lee the return of the good old days day The me rne business hasn't i s been 0 a good for lor some years vears now now not not since Ince the depression began and default default- v Ing by bV so 0 many foreign govern govern- meats developed Also It has haa been i hand handicapped sharply by the Hiram Johnson law which prevents marketing marketing mar In this country of bonds of any government that has haa defaulted on Its It debts to the United States government i h But many But many bankers have thought tr all this would pass It was just temporary Some day something would be done about the war debts Y There would be settlements or V forgiveness or both Whereupon the business would go back to normal But Dut for some time the securities and exchange commission has haa had a fishy Ashy eye on these prospects prospect for another another an an- other day of foreign bond selling j and an even fishier eye Is II being cast by many members of the tho house and senate enate The most recent gesture In this direction di dl dl I was made by Senator Allen J J. J Ellender of Louisiana who in in a bill which Is receiving 10 so much quiet support that it seems seem a practical certainty something like it will be passed paned sooner loaner or later There Thero Is no hurry Americans have i not quite recovered from the burn burnIng ing they took on the tho defaulted for for- f r eign bonds bond As A. a matter of fact the tho Average investor thinks that particular partie ular debacle was worse than I 11 t was which attitude is most discouraging dis db discouraging to would-be would bond salesmen sales men for foreign issues r y The Ellender bill would add a new section to the securities act making it unlawful to sell lell in the United States securities Issued by a foreign g government unless the net proceeds derived from such securities by the issuing government are equal t to o tho the par ar value of the securities except except except ex ex- that the trie tl e securities commission may allow a service charge charce of 01 not to 10 exceed two iwo per cent 01 or the par value to be deducted from the proceeds pro reeds to be received by the tho government govern ment meet selling the bonds Enormous Profits The purpose of the bill Mr Ellender explains is Ja to reduce the spread pread between the price paid to foreign governments for their bonds and the price at which such uch bonds bondi are offered to the public A foreign bond for tor which the Issuing government receives eighty eight per cent of its It face value may now be sold old on the American market for ninety nine The Investing public is led to believe that it is getting a bargain since Ince the sale price is stilt still below par The underwriters underwriter g receive enormous profits It is be that such a situation leads to an unwarranted amount of for lor eign financing in this country an and d encourages unhealthy practices i in n the conduct of such luch financing Under the proposed bill the government government gov would receive face lace value for its bonds less leu the service charge e aU allowed owed by the commission which could not for this purpose exceed d two per cent Thus the profits o ol of df f the underwriters could be excessive only if it the bonds were offered t to o the public at a price above par It Is II l og g felt teft that this fact would tend t to o reduce the large price spread pread no now w ow possible and lead to more careful consideration of ot the value of ot sue such h bonds by the Investing public No allowance is permitted in the h e bill for lor the assumption of ot risks risk s or for the value of the Ule trade name nom e or good will of the persons renderIng render render- Ing such luch service which seems seem s rather unnecessary in view of th the a fact tact that the total service charge permitted is I. to be bo two per cent me The bond Dona salesman seems to quay Ily as the Vanishing American Irks Irk Air Official Officials Th The race between bigger am and heavier airplanes and the larger better surfaced airports that the new planes planer require is bringing gray hairs to aviation officials It seems seem seema a natural enough development but bu it has plenty of complications I It is somewhat like the older story tory o of the production of ot armor which will wll resist a shell from any existing gun iun then a bigger gun that will pierce it It and then thicker and tougher armor armor and and then repeat Perhaps an apter comparison I Is whether to build bigger locks a at t the Panama canal or build the bl big bli new ships according to freak spec so 10 they may still stilt g go through The dil difficulty in this race be tween airplanes and airports lie lies in the answer to the question Who Wh will win finance the bigger airports American cities have ha already in I vested more than In air ports They have about got Kot to th the e end of 01 their willingness to spend 1 I It t appears and many are threatening to stop paying the tho bills Both Doth airplanes and airports airport mus must t be approved for lor interstate com corn merce by the bureau of ol air com merce This body now approves ome some planes which could not with its It ts approval land at many airports So o there Is serious discussion discursion of 01 an n idea to regulate for lor two or three years yeara the size and design of cerain rain ain classes of airplanes airplane while the airports airport catch up to requirements Naturally this results In loud walls wails from the airplane tuners Also from many operating companies The proposed action both oth say would place them In a Jacket trait Jacket arrest their development develop develop- ment menti ment hold held America back while the rest of the world marches marche on to new efficiency in aviation So Fred Fagg new director of the he re organized bureau of air commerce com corn merce discovers dIscover that his predecessor cessor censor Gene Cene Vida did not have bave such a bed of al roses Airport Needs Need Most airports aIrport need longer runways runways run run- ways way for heavy ships that iy y faster and at flatter angles in the approach n and nd takeoff They That need nand rl hard sur stir faces aces for increasing g loads especially especial- especial ly y as 81 all weather schedules increase with better aids to flight And equal equal- ly y costly Is the purchase of addi- addi additional lonal land to clear obstacles around the he edges edge of the fields and to provide provide provide pro pro- vide radio beam approach lanes The American Municipal association lon tion has taken up the cudgels in to defense of the odd cities which maintain established air route terminals terminals ter ter- ter claiming the expense forthe for forthe the he needed Improvements Is not justified for lor the traffic is mostly Interstate commerce The operators not only resent the proposed limitation on airplane design de de- deign sign ign but state tate emphatically that they will not pay for airport m Their mall mail income has been cut they point out and their passenger rates have been forced down So Uncle Sam Is to be tatted called onto on I to 0 foot the bill Secretary of the Treasury Henry Jr to the he contrary notwithstanding Already Already Al Al- ready two bills are in the hopper providing for just that Already about h has a a come come ome out of the federal treasury as a contribution to the country's 2700 airports through C C. C W. W A A. F. F E. E R. R A. A W. W P. P A A. A and a little through P P. P W. W A. A But Dut that Is I. only a 1 fraction of the tho Investment by the Individual cities which the air bureau bu bu- reau eau calculates at nearly half a billion dollars Half a dozen cities have spent more than each for tor their airports Whereas much of the federal contribution due to the fact that the chief goal was job making was very Inefficiently Inefficiently expended President Wins If President Roosevelt wins on his Idea of ot having congress grant the Chief Executive the right to cut fifteen fit fil- teen per cent from Irom any Instead tion-Instead llon Instead of the ten per cent horizontal cut favored by many senators sen sen- his his hold on congress through the he remainder of this session and for lor the next year will not only be continued but strengthened The point is that the President will th then n nna na have ve- ve the d discretion discretion- discretionary I r lon ary power to cut or pare appropriations appropriations which vitally affect every state and every congressional district dis triet In the United States States States-In in short to help or hurt every individual senator and representative in theone the theone theone one argument each likes most to tomake make that make that he brings home the bacon for his constituents This is vital in view of 01 the proba bully that the President will President will suffer suITer severe reverses In two of his Important Im fights for fights for Supreme court enlargement and for government reorganization reorganization re reo organization The tide of battle ebbs and flows on the court proposition but It Is almost a certainty certainly as this Is written that the tho President will not get the six additional justices he has asked for and which he has repeatedly indicated he will insist upon As I it t looks now he will be lucky to get two additional justices It is s just possible he will not get set any This does not mean that his main objective will not be achieved for there Is practically no doubt that thai the majority of the high court will be liberal within a year But Dut II It will be liberalized in part by re to- It will not be liberalized by enlargement t to as many as fit teen justices Would Mean Loss Lou of Face But Dut the question of presidential prestige is something else again If It the President does not get six addi justices it will mean a tale tain loss Iou of face It will be the first severe defeat deleat he has taken since he was elected governor of New York in 1928 Critics Critic may point to his hi defeat deleat by the senate enate on the World court and on the St St. Lawrence Law Lat rence seaway but neither of these was considered an important reversal re re- versal for the President on Capitol Hill Hilt Congressmen are perfectly aware of the special conditions condition applying ap ap- plying to those fights And they did not regard overriding his veto of the bonus bill as a sign Ign of weakness at the White House In fact most o of them think he could have changed changet that result if he had applied sum dent clent pressure On the theory that insurgency 1 Is like a snowball tends snowball tends to grow iTow with advancement It it is rather tant tent therefore for the President to have some lome Increase in to his ability to put pressure on congress congre s should he suffer luffer reverses in the Supreme court and the thC government re organ battles That is why it Is so Important to the White House to gain this discretionary power e C nee Bell Syndicate S |