Without Benefit of War

The incredible fact of war all but eclipsed the fact that last week had its full quota of peacetime business news:

>Competitive bidding for security issues suffered a setback after the Pennsylvania Public Service Commission had insisted upon it for a $5,200,000 bond issue (and for 46,292 shares of preferred stock) of Pennsylvania Telephone Corp. When the hour of sale arrived, there were no bidders.

>Dow Jones reported that Class I railroads had operated in the black during July for the first time this year (deficit for the first six months: $91,766,000).

>Union Carbide & Carbon's directors approved the purchase of Bakelite Corp. (for some $15,375,000 worth of Carbide stock), thus adding a major plastics division to its big chemical business.

>Mathieson Alkali announced that its new Lake Charles, La. synthetic salt cake plant would start operations about November 1, thus making the U. S. independent of foreign (especially German) supplies. Chief use of salt cake (sodium sulfate): kraft paper manufacture. >Paperboardcreditors' recoveries on Ivar Kreuger's great debacle in 1932 to 30.4%.

>U. S. exports for July fell below those for June and the first seven months of 1939 were almost 10% under 1938's not too exciting figures.

>On SEC Chairman Jerome Frank's suggestion for a brokerage bank for customers' cash and free securities, a special Stock Exchange Board turned thumbs down. Its alternative: a 14-point program for completion of the Exchange's extensive self-policing policy.

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