Indianapolis Times, Volume 44, Number 307, Indianapolis, Marion County, 4 May 1933 — Page 11

Second Section

GOLD EMBARGO GIVES EUROPE DEFAULT ALIBI' Payment of Liberty Bond Interest in Paper May Stir Retaliation. BY WILLIAM PHILIP SIMMS SrriDM-Howard Foreirn Editor WASHINGTON, May 4.—Refusal of the United States to ship gold abroad to pay interest on Liberty Bonds held by foreigners may prove to be a boomerang. Foreigners today owe the people of this country a public and private debt of $28,000,000,000. Almost all of it is payable in gold of a certain weight and fineness, just as is stipulated on United States bonds. Interest and installments due the United States and its citizens on the above sum aggregate $1,250,000.000 a year—also for the mast part, payable in gold. "Retaliation" Is Considered "If the mighty United States, with a third of the world's total supply of gold in its coffers, sees fit to pay off its bonds and the interest thereon in paper,” says one of the highest economic and financial authorities in foreign diplomatic circles here, "how long do you suppose foreigners will keep up their gold payments to the United States?” The clear inference is that both private and public debts to the United States may be affected by the American policy. Europe is seen as having an added excuse for refusing to pay the $144,000,000 war debt installment due June 15. Sir Neville Chamberlain, British chancellor of the exchequer, and other members of the British government. already are avowed caneellationists. A majority of the British public is said to be behind them. Calls U. S. Defaulter The chief thing that prevented default last December, when the French refused to pay, it is said, was Britain's distaste for being called a "defaulter.” Now, however, the British press characterizes America's action as a clear case of default, thus removing from the British mind much of the epithet's sting. The United States government’s attitude is that inasmuch as Amer- I ican bondholders will not be paid in gold, foreign bondholders will not be treated any differently. MacDonald Faces Fight BY FREDERICK KUH Un.ted Prrss Staff Correspondent ll)> I llih U I’fi HR LONDON. May 4.—A treaty of open revolt against his tariff and monetary policies as voiced at Washington faced Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald on his return from the United States Wednesday night. Great Britain's labor premier found conservative opposition in the so-called national government—a coalition administration which he heads—threatening to precipitate a crisis on the eve of the world economic conference. The prime minister’s concurrence with President Roosevelt’s liberal tariff and monetary proposals caused further objections among the conservative ranks, it was apparent today. He was expected to face strong opposition by the Chainberlain-Hail-sham faction in the government. Tariff War Threatens BY RICHARD D. M’MILLAN I’nllcd Press Staff Correspondent PARIS. May 4.—A concerted move among European nations to erect higher tariff barriers against American goods as retaliation to threats of inflation of the dollar in the United °*ffes caused anxiety among A- „ncan merchants here today. A survey by the United Press showed that a number of the chief j countries on the continent were ' planning, or had taken, steps to ! counteract the fall of the dollar on foreign markets. The Flench government, for ex- j ample, threatened to clap a 15 per cent surtax on American goods if the dollar permanently depreciates | more than 15 per cent. The survey showed that: In Germany, during the last week, tariffs on vegetables, fodder, seeds, and other products have been raised, i In Switzerland, tariffs have been increased on oats, barley, and other staples. In Holland, new quotas on imports have been put into effect. In Italy, tariffs have been put on certain articles until now exempt. In Czecho-Slovakia. foreign exchange restrictions have been tightened.

New in e *s Helpful to Good Marble Shooters *n fh> city today, youngsters were putting * n P c the preliminaries in The Times city-wide mibs F - b:; hel d Saturday. May 13. at Fall Creek and Garfield

playgic The c ccreation department and sal -i Ulcers of the city are assisting -he Times in getting ready for the n'e.y. which will send The Times c 'rn.pion to Chicago for a week at the world's fair. As the b?vs start their practice, here is a note of cheer for them. The old "joker" rule, that has cost more good nibs shooters their chance at the national title than any other official rule ever adopted, has been changed. Now every mibs player has a chance, and the element of luck that has sent poor mibs shooters to the top and ‘killed of!" better ones has been abolished. Here it is: Under the old rule, a player who might have knocked six marbles from the ring, loses all six and probab.y the game il his shooter happens to remain inside the tenfoot ring after a "miss.” His op-

Kali treated Wire service of tbe Coifed Pre* A<>^latlnD

$40,000 BLOSSOMS INTO HUNDRED MILLIONS

Depression Is Merely a Tonic to Genius Who Heads Atlas Corporation

If vou had S4O Bnd succeeded in running it up to SIOO,OOO during these three vears of depression vou would be In the i same position as Floyd B Odium. Only j Mr. Odium had $40,000 and from this | developed the $100,000,000 Atlas Corpora- { tlon. How he did. how he made a fortune j while almost every one around him was , suffering the pains of economic stress. ! George Britt tells in this second of six articles on depression success. BY GEORGE BRITT Times Special Writer NEW YORK, May 4.—'Mr. Odium's office,” says a pleasant voice over the telephone, answering for that lookout point which has seen more of profit and good cheer these four years past than any spot in the financial district. "Mr. Odium's office” is the nerve center of that most vigorous and novel of depression-born money makers, the Atlas Corporation. Amid these solidly paneled walls and deeply upholstered furniture once ruled Waddill Catchings, a departed giant of finance who will be remembered as the high priest of New Era prosperity. And as Catchings symbolized the philosophy of boom Wall Street, so does Odium represent the hopes of depression Wall Street. The master of Atlas is Floyd B. Odium, a slight, sandy-haired spectacled lawyer of 41. He moved into New York seventeen years ago from Utah and Colorado, organized the corporation as a sideline and lived to see it the wonder child of a hard-hit era. Buying up one discouraged investment trust after another and never omitting profit in the transaction, he came most recently to the trusts which Catchings personally had sponsored—Goldman Sachs Trading Corporation, Shenandoah Corporation and Blue Ridge Corporation. Their scalps now hang at the Odium belt, and Atlas after three years of salvaging wrecks finds itself at last at the one-time goal of the Odium ambition, a SIOO,000.000 concern grown from initial capital of $40,000. tt a a IS there any one these days who, starting with S4O has run it up to $100,000? The ratio is the same, merely scaled up in the ca.se of Atlas a thousand times. The depression was an Odium opportunity. Os all the Wall Street men who set their minds to go forward profitably against the tide of losses, he almost alone has been outstandingly successful. He is the one man of positive acquisitive genius, and Atlas is his lengthened shadow. In the worst times within memory. from December, 1929, to December, 1932, while the market value of common stocks generally was decreasing more than 75 per cent. Atlas shares increased in value by 40 per cent. Now, having cash money in tens of millions, holding large blocks in blue chip companies throughout the country, its strong boxes bulging with select stocks bought at actually less than their listed alltime low prices, a full-fledged $100,000,000 corporation, with its structure in a state of lithe and sinewy health—what a foundation is laid for power and riches! What next? "We are going to try and make some money,” remarked Floyd B. Odium to a friend the other day. “That is what I conceive to be the purpose of an investment trust.” Without the market crash, the bank panic and the depression, still Odium would have enriched himself just as would the senior Rockefeller. He has the eye, the touch and the grasp. a tt e A METHODIST minister's son, self-supported through the University of Colorado, he came to New York as a law clerk in the Wall Street firm of Simpson, Thatcher Bartlett. In four years he was vice-president of Electric Bond and Share. His best friend by this time had come to be George H. Howard, now president of the Morgan-or-ganized United C3-n"r.-In 1923, as Cnlv'a C:~ dge entered the Wh to lieu ■ r'i prasperitv came oer tl:e i : horizon at first no more visit:; than a man's hard, tlry organ :d a little private poo: to trade in the market. They put in SIO,OOO each for themselves and their wives. Odium moet’y locked out for the trading, since he was canny at that sort of thing. The very next year they declared a stock dividend of 100 per cent to each stockholder. and they sent out to Salt Lake City for Odium's young brother-in-law, L. Boyd Hatch, to take the details of management off their hands. Friends by this time began asking to b~ let into the pool. One of the r- > • was Reeve | Sc'- ,-. rc! ( ihr trust depart-

ponent. under that rule, could knock the first player’s shooter from the ring and would be credited with the six mibs. then could resume his shooting, probably winning the game through taking out only one more marble. This rule eliminated many a good shooter simply through bad luck. The new rule allows the player whose shooter is left in the ring after a "miss.” to pick it up and await his next turn. He retains the marbles he has shot from the ring. The rule reads: "After a miss a player picks up his shooter, wherever it lies, until his next turn and then is permitted to take roundsters and shoot from any point of the ring line.” If you find an article advertised as lost in The Times, return it to its owner and receive two guest tickets to see “Sweepings” at the Ap^’io.

The Indianapolis Times

By the spring of 1929 they had rided. and Atlas began to liqui- Odium. Pllf forty stockholders, who had put date. When the crash came at ' Mm' ■ ffl . , in altogether, SBOO,OOO. And assets least $11,000,000 of the Atlas re- His gigantic Pfll. | .111111: bad swollen to 56.000.000. sources were in cash. Most of the WjtllP L tSp Still others wanted to get in. rest, were in investment trusts, Atlas Corp. ’ . <r, So an issue of stock was made, some still held by the company. reaches fro fnfq Usenfen^to'^the 5 adding ket stabilized somewhat in Novern- department M jl| 'J 1 ' 59,000,000° addhio^^^caphaT The The 1 rfglj !n|e! stores, shown T>EHIND lava record of brill- ~ bmPS ° f pub ' L_ —-1 —J

ment of the Chase National Bank, now one of the four directors of Atlas. By the spring of 1929 they had forty stockholders, who had put in altogether, SBOO,OOO. And assets had swollen to $6,000,000. Still others wanted to get in. So an issue of stock was made, almost entirely to personal friends and acquaintances without advertisement to the public, adding about 450 new shareholders and $9,000,000 additional capital. The summer of 1929 found them, the name having been changed to Atlas, with $15,000,000 in assets. BEHIND lay a record of brilliant operations, although others in Wall Street then might have matched it. But for Atlas,

BLOC K $ f,fth floor SALE! Half Gallon Old English UVx No-Rub FLOOR POLISH | CIQ Regularly $2.00 M' I I ()|4 Englisj, i;H|; ■ gsk „ m 1 a Gai. B? : j , Dries to shine in 15 minutes without rubbing j | or polishing. Just put it on the floor or lino- , 8 leum with a cloth or applier. It dries to a fi&fl Ijy beautiful shine! Protects the floors against iiL ■■ |*ra wear and lasts for weeks. 3 Old English Products at 98c Old English jgf* x or Liquid Wax j M J?| IGH, ii* rul“ An 1 wnw woodwork, fur- §1 MW M ISO m eandlino * niture' linole- . 1' t Oldfnglish jsjf^yW|M 98c §l3 Includes ope quart of jyOC bing: floor polish and ' ■—and wax applier for 98c ? f J U / mt Q U o re t^^^^ BLOCKS-Fifth Floor, polish, both for 98c. fflfl Phone (Riley 8421) and Mail Orders Filled

INDIANAPOLIS, THURSDAY, MAY 4, 1933

it was not the end—only the beginning. Prices are too high, Odium decided, and Atlas began to liquidate. When the crash came at least $11,000,000 of the Atlas resources were in cash. Most of the rest were in investment trusts, some still held by the company. After the first collapse the market stabilized somewhat in November and rose rather steadily until about April. At the right time, then, Atlas put in its ready cash and rode upward. Its one digression was to pick up its first investment trust, Widlaw, Inc., in February, 1930. Already, immediately after the crash, Odium and his fellow directors were studying what to do besides merely floating with the

Floyd B. Odium. His gigantic Atlas Corp. reaches from department stores, shown at right, to roaring turbines of public utilities.

• blocks • “You Can Expect Unusual Values From Block’s Linen Department” fin,'. * h.autifui ■ -- ■ JteSligj# s ign. These sell regularly at $2.98 Friday a limited quantity to go at / this sur P risin ßly l° w price. Better I | # § hurry! Sorry, limit one to a cus1 I # / tomer. - “Trentano” Scarfs, 29c to 59c BLOCK S—Main Floor. Special for Friday! Hundreds of Our Own Finest Decorative Linens .MK'S; Price * / *"* *c\ Madeira Scarfs, 50c Vanity Sets 50c • / *%_ A jk''' *\ Italian Scarfs, 50C Buffet Sets, SOC b*' - •^ £ Lw/ 0 °(? Lace Scarfs, SOC Guest Towels, 50c t "bjflb Bridge Sets, SOC Oblongs, now. 50c* Doilies, now. 50c -* w , VAJk/l\ .) If And many, many others drastically reduced. All taken /, i)\ WvO from our OWn re B ular stock! Come tomorrow . . . r.> see these bargains, take advantage of the tremendous savings. * * BLOCK S—Main Floor. Extraordinary Values! Large 22xU Cannon Bath Towels 8 for T.OO J X •£ 1 Large, thirsty, double thread towels! White with colored borders—- .. [ ? ?. .f \ guaranteed color-fast. Raw cotton prices are rising rapidly . . . buy , 2!“ '' ; now while this low’ price prevails! |§4 §£ Cannon Wash Cloths, 5c Each Hand-Tufted Bed Spreads $1 jjgZ 't Full size. Color-fast. Extra Special BLOCK S—Main Floor.

Second Section

Entered as Second-Class Matter at PostolTlce. Indianapolis

market tide. He was forming a plan, and it was the same one followed consistently until the present. They got in on the ground floor with it. In times like these, he said to his boarc. you've got to do something else than just sit on a portfolio. Here was his 1929 analysis and strategy:— Investment trusts are comparatively new, and their stocks ace not generally acceptable as collateral. They have suffered unusual declines. Their sponsors are sick of them. Their stockholders want to get out. So, in many instances, the owners are ready to sell at prices below the market value of securities which the trust holds. Here is the opportunity to acquire marketable securities at an actual discount. But what did the the investment trusts sell to Atlas? Why didn't they liquidate themselves and give their stockholders at least the full value of their own holdings? The reason was that liquidation meant taking a definite loss. Absorption into Atlas w y ould give the stockholders a long chance on eventual recovery. n tt a THE investment trusts in general after the crash were sitting on their portfolios, loaded up and frozen tight. Their shares were kicking around the Street at as low as 50 per cent of actual listed value of assets. So it was not difficult for a skilful negotiator like Odium quietly to buy control. Then the management would offer the outstanding minority stockholders to exchange Atlas shares for their old investment trust shares. Having bought in at such depreciated prices, Atlas then could sell the old company’s underlying securities at an assured and substantial profit. Immediately the buying organization had its cash back in hand, considerably increased in amount, and was in position to repeat the operation. On a falling market the only requirement was to sell newly acquired stocks quickly. The more rapidly this cycle revolved, the higher the profit. As the trust-buying policy got under way, Atlas in June, 1930, acquired the All America General Corporation. Other small trusts followed. Then Wall Street rubbed its eyes as the newcomer picked off a group of big ones—in April, 1931, the Ungerleider Financial Corporation, which had been rated at $9,000,000; in July. Sterling Securities. $25,000,000; August, Chatham Phenix Allied, $21,000,000; September, National Securities Investment, $10,000,000.

HITLER POSHES NEW PLAN OF FORCED LABOR Six Months' Manual Work to Be Compulsory for German Youths. BY PAUL KECSKEMETI I'nitrd Press Staff Correspond?nt BERLIN, May 4.—The govern- ; ment's seizure of the trade unions was seen today as a stepping stone I to a far larger project leading up to nation-wide compulsory labor as the keystone in Chancellor Adolf Hitler's economic policy. The trade unions, occupied in a swift move throughout the reich Wednesday by Hitlerite storm troops, opposed the chancellor's program | for labor conscription, dramatically announced on May day in his speech at Tempelhof airport. The labor leaders feared conscrip- | tion would prove competitively dangerous and ruinous in the end. How.ever, this opposition was not coni fined solely to the union ranks, and even Franz Seldte, labor minister in the reich canibet. consistently has refused to abandon a voluntary labor policy. Ridden Down by Nazis He has been overridden, however, by Nazi subordinates in the Labor ministry, who are preparing a compulsory labor bill, to be presented in the next two weeks. Its terms doubtless will be dictated by Hitler and promulgated promptly. The United Press understood his preparations, proceeding at a rapid pace, call for conscription of half the male youths born in 1913, and now 20 years of ago. These youths, like those drafted in the army in the kaiser's regime, are to undergo six months of labor service, after which the other half of the 1913 "crop” will be given a six-month similar workout. Eventually, this compulsory labor, to see to it that "every German, at least once in his life, knows manual labor,” will be enforced for a longer period and youths made to work| with their hands for a year. Appoints Trade Chief Hitler’s idea, he explains, is to abolish the idea that hand labor is menial. Meanwhile, Robert Ley, 43-year-old head of the committee in charge of the trade unions raids, was appointed trade union reich’s commissioner. He Immediately named two Nazi subcommissioners and indicated that the Nazi party’s aim was to form one national central organization with two divisions, one for manual and one for clerical workers.