Everyman's Investments
OEOEOE T. HUQHES
By George T. Hughes
Mr. Hughes is a bond expert
and analyst with many years' ac
tive newspaper experience. Ev
ery week day of the year he writes I
an interpretive dispatch from
New York concerning the activi
ties of the day in the bond mar
ket. He has prepared this series
of articles for Advance readers at
the request of the Consolidated
Press Association.
Spencer, an attorney and a good
one; Bartlett, a bond salesman, an
exceptionally good one. and I were
at lunch together. Spencer said he
had saved $10,000 and wished to
buy bonds. Had Bartlett anything
to offer? Bartlett asked Spencer
how many children and other de-!
pendents he had. what was his age.
his present and prospective income,
and obligations, and other intimate
questions. At first Spencer was |
evasively polite; then, heatedly, he;
said it was none of Bartlett's busi
ness. Was Bartlett selling bonds orj
was his business the gratuitous!
handing out of insults?
"Those questions are for your,
best interest, Mr. Spencer." Bart
lett replied evenly. "I have on my
list 24 different bonds. On those
we make from one- eighth of a
point to five points gross profit. Our
average gross profit is around 2
points. On every $100 in bonds I
seil you at a profit of one-eighth of
one-point, we make Just 12 l-2c
cents. On the 5-polnt profit, we
make $5 on the $100, or $50 on a
$1,000 bond. On the average we
make $2 on the $100 bond or $20
on the $1,000. You have the repu
tation of being a fine attorney. You
admit you know very little about in
vestments. It is my business to give
you the best investment counsel I
can. just as you pride yourself on1
giving your clients your best service, j
"If your income subjects you to
heavy surtaxes, if your obligations
are heavy and your dependents not
securely provided for, I will be J
guided by those conditions in select
ing your bonds. I won't consider
our profit. If you are in a position
to take a fair price for a high yield,
I will so advise. If you need safety I
above all things I shall suggest the
safest bonds I know. If, however,
the bond on which we make 5 points'
is just as good for your interests as
the bond on which we make one-1
eightht of one point. I am enough
of a salesman to try to sell you the'
bond on which we make the long
profit."
On Bartlett's advice. Spencer
bought four industrial, four utility
and two railroad bonds. Bartlett1
strongly recommended divenlfiea- j
tion; that is. securities representing!
different concerns in different lines
of business. The bonds had an av- J
erage yield of around 6 per cent.
TBe foregoing explains why re
sponsible bond houses make so lit
tle effort to reach small investors.
Their profits are so small they can
not afford it. Bartlett made a steady
customer of Spencer. The lawyer now
has several thousand dollars a year
to invest and he knows that he can
trust Bartlett's house to invest it
for him safely.
But the pedlars of worthless or
doubtful securities can afford to go
after aijy small sum because most of
what they get is profit.
, I
Obregon's Early Success
Endangered Sisal Supply
Political Disturbances of Neighbor to Southward Threat
ened for a Time ?o Seriously Affect Welfare of Amer
ican Farmer Thousands of Miles Away
By J. C. ROYLE
(Copyright. 1*24. By Th? Advtnet)
New York. April 9. ? The revo-.
lutionary outbreak in Mexico which
has been in progress some months,
promised for a time to have^a close
and important bearing on the Amerl- .
can farmer, It became known today, i
The temporary success of the De Lai
Huerta faction in Yucatan threat-'
ened. until the difficulty was over-;
come, to cut off necessary supplies
of sisal fibres essential in the manu
facture of binding twine in this
country. Conditions have not yet
returned to normal in that section
of Mexico hut there is at the present
time enough raw sisal on hand here
to take carp of the immediate re
quirements of the agricultural dis
tricts.
This supply waa secured through
efforts of the International Harves
ter Company, one of the largest man
ufacturers of binder twine. When
t4ie De La Huerta faction took pos
session of Progress, the shipping
port for the Yucatan sisal supply,
the International Company, through
a special representative, secured the
forwarding of a large amount of fi
bre. Other mills were out of raw
materials and faced the necessity of
a shut down. The International
Company, however, agreed to pro
rate Its importations among its com
petitors. and supplied their mills at ]
cost. One large shipment was sent
to the Kansas penitentiary mill at
the request of Governor J. M. Davis (
of that state.
Charges were made by representa-l
tlves in this country of some of the
Yucatan sisal producers that the!
purchases of the International Com
pany In effect constituted a "loan"'
of several millions of dollars to the I
De I>a Huerta faction, which was In j
control of the Progreso customs'
house at the time. A flat denial of
this was made today by Alexander
irge. president of the Harvester
Company.
Fullest details of the negotiations
necessary to get the fibre from tbej
plantations to this country, he said,']
had been In possession of the State!
Department at all times and It was
only after all features of the trans-1;
actions, Including the necessities of
the American farmer, had been
plated befor" Washlnuton officials, !
that exportatlons from Progreso was
undertaken. Mr. Lrgg#> added a de-{
nlal that his concern had loaned j
money in any sum to Mexican fac- i
tlonn In Yucatan or other states.
"It has not beeri easy to get sisal!
out of Yucatan and into the United ;
States," he said. In an exclusive In-,
terview today, "but the situation a
few weeks ago was serious and some-(
thing had to be done. There is suf-'
ficient now here to take care of ira
mediate needs and those of the next^
month or two. By that time, it is I
hoped, conditions will have been as
stabilized that present difficulties
will have been obviated.
"We are not making any money on
the proposition under existing cir-i
cumstances. Indeed, we lost money!
on one shipment. We let a competit-j
ing mill have a supply at cost phis
the usual charges made by shipping;
concerns. Later, when we were
billed for these charges, we found
extra lighterage and demurr#g??
costs had been tacked on. We took)
that lose."
Mr. Legge pointed out there was j
no chance of differences arising with 1
the Obregon government as a result
of the transactions in Yucatan, since:
any claim arising over alleged loss- j
es of customs duties would be han
dled between Mexico and .the L*nlted i
States Government.
According to Robert Cabrera, ofj
San Francisco, who is acting as an |
unofficial trade representative there
ntriet.
of several Latin-American cou from
including .Mexico, export trade t lstj
the Pacific coast to the West Co.
of Mexico exceeded all records las.
month. During the first two raonthsi
of the year, this trade had fallen .
materially because of the revolu
tionary disturbances. March fig- \
ure*. he said, approximated $750.
000 in value. The recovery he at
tributed. to indications that normal
conditions are being restored in the
land of the Montezumas.
It is not clean-up time until you
can leave the windows clean up.
Save Your Money
For tin
cm; CENT SALE
THE
Standard Pharmacy
The Rcxall Store
Phone 114
GOODYEAR TIRES?
At Reasonable Prices
Pathfinder Fabrics
30x3 46.73
30x3 Vz $7.59
StraiKlit Shle Wingfoot Conln
55x5 482.95
Auto Supply & Vulc. Co.
PHONE 497
Elizabeth City, N. C.
OLD FOLKS?YOUNG
FOLKS?
fat folk* and thin?com* try the
cum wl.h the flavor pr ???*</ In.
Vh ?t ? Fleer ? Checker berry Chew
ing Uum. Say: " Check - check -
Checker berry!"
EAL Suit for Heal Boys.
Good-looking all wool tans, grays and
blues in overplaids and plain effects;
good lines, good tailoring, four dandy
patch pockets, box pleated backs?^
In fact we have the best assortment of
good suits for real boys ever shown in
Elizabeth City, with the promise of
hard usage in every part of it and
sold at very reasonable prices.
All sizes from eight years up, all with
two pairs of pants.
Spencer-Walker Company
INCOMPORATED
Where every mdn finds wh&t he /ikes to wedr
Minion Building <**??? Opposite Y.NtA.
MOM'N POP Mom Krnchra Her Goal BY TAYLOIl
Chiropractic?
For Your Kidneys
QVESTIOX?"I have awful ache.t
mid pains hi my buck, especially
il licit I stoop to lift anything. Have
had thin trouble noiv for a year,
ami with it have headaches, and
feel dull and tired all over. Please
tell nle what you can do for me."
\\s\v Kit?Evidently something U
rn^-> upo,,? u tl? >???? kidneys ami
you should lose no time In >r|,nef|',,K ll. The kidneys, you
know, are constantly filtering (*. ' m . Hut
weak kidneys allow thow* poisons , ? *rcll,nulate. The effect
In Roon felt In backache, rheumatic |k' n,,, heailachea, diulne<iH
ami often bladder trouble. You feel 'r\0,M Jl?1 '^pressed,
tired, stIff and achy. Don't risk some *erk^,,H kidney sickness,
but have the cause of your |resent condlfttO rwrwted with
Spinal Adjustments. ICesults are excellent In tM*** I'ke yours,
because we are able to search out and correct lbC-r?nwUlv^
condition. A thorough Spinal Analysis will reveal thfrf cause.
BRING YOUR HEALTH TROUBLES TO *?*??
DR. A. L. PEARCE
CHIROPRACTOR
OVER WOOLWORTH '8 8 & 10c STORE
211-14 Kramer Hullillng. Bllzabeth City, N. C.
KKroilT OF CONDITION OF THK
First & Citizens Nat'l
Bank
AT KMZAHKTH CITV
N THK 8TATK OF NORTH CAROLINA, AT THK CLOSK OF IIUSINK8H
ON MARCH 31, 1024.
RemmrfCR.
Loans and discounts, Including rediscounts, acceptances of
other hanks. and foreign bills of exchange or drafts Hold
with Indorsement of this bank ?T $2,544,149.68
Customers' liability account of acceptances
of this bank purchased or discounted by it 25.000.00
Total loans ^ ; $2,569,149.63
Overdrafts, unsecured 3,667.61
I'. 8. tioveriiment mhiiiIiIw owned:
Deposited to secure circulation (U. S. bonds
par value ? $ 200,000.00
All other United States Government securities
(including premiums, if any) . ..... 99,100.00
Total 299,100.00
Other bond*, stock*, Mfui'llen, otf.: - 40,700.00
Hanking House, $72.()0t); Furniture and fixtures, $1 1.000... 83,000.00
Lawful reserve with Federal Reserve Hank .. 135,9 46.98
Items with Federal Itesrve Hank in process of collection... 56,602.60
Cash In vault and amount duo from national banks 224,944.57
Amount due from State banks, bankers, and trust com
panies In the United States (other than included In
last three items . ? 1 31,990.38
Checks on other banks In the same city or town as report
ing bank : 3,978.45
Total of last four Items $ 317,516.00
Miscellaneous cash items 4,190.87 4,190.87
Redemption fund with U. S. Treasurer and due from U. S.
Treasurer 10,000.00
Other assets. If any (Interest earned, not collected) .. . 4,000.00
Total $3,467,271.04
Liabilities.
Capita] stock paid In $ 200,000.00
Surplus fund 170.000.00
Undivided profits $53,344.77
Reserved for interest and
taxes accrued 10,000.00
Reserved for contingencies 7,650.00 $70,994.77
Less current expenses. Interest, and taxes
paid .. - 18,814.36 52,180.41
Circulating notes outstanding . ? 192,600.00
Amount due to Federal Reserve Hank (deferred credits) _ 47,644.17
Amount due to national banks ? ? 38,722.16
Amount due to State banks, bankers, and trust companies
In the United States and foreign countries (other than
included In last two items) .. 47,361.67
Certified checks outstanding ? - 1,550.20
Cashier's checks outstanding _ 1,835.67
| Total of last five Items $137,113.87
j Demand deposits (other than bank dc|M>*lts) subject to Re
serve (deposits payable within 30 days):
I Individual deposits subject to check .. ? ? $ 926,464.51
Dividends unpaid ? 210.00
Other demand deposits 11,551.97
Total of demand deposits (other than bank deposits)
subject to Reserve, last three Items) $938,226.48
Time ilepnnltM ?-iil?Jcct to Reserve (payable after 30 days, or
subject to 30 days or more notice, and postal savinusi:
Certificates of deposit (other than for money borrowed) 9,365.24
State, county, or other municipal deposits secured by pledge
of assets of this bank or surety bond 100.402.28
Other time deposits ....? ? ~ .. 1,514,400.07
Postal savings deposits 887.69
Total of time deposits subject to Reserve, last four
items _ $1,625,055.28
C. S. (lovrnnnnt securities borrowed 56,000.00
Notes and bills redlscountod, Includinu acceptances of other
banks nnd foreign bills of exchange or drafts sold with
Indorsement of this bnnk ? 71,09k.00
"Acceptances" executed by this bank for customer*, and to
furnish dollar ? xchanpe - $25,000.00 25,000.00
Total - ?... $3,467,271.04
STATK OF NORTH CAROLINA, COUNTY OF PASQUOTANK, ss:
I, CHA8. H. ROHINSON. President of the above-named bnnk, do sol
emnly swear that the above statement Is true to the best of my knowledge
and belief. CHAS. H. ROHINSON.
President.
Correct Attest:
C. E. THOMPSON,
T. P. NASH.
L. S. HLADES, Directors.
Subscribed and worn to before me thin 8th day of April, 1924.
(SEAL) KVF.LYN II HILL. Notary Public.
My commission expires Sept. 11, 1924.
J'r* tkflflfSffi&MBMNMHi
Famo and Lebanon Belie Flour
are absolutely Honrs of quality sold by ifca leading grocera.
?Distributed By?
A. F. TOXEY & COMPANY ?
I