St. Louis Post-Dispatch
September 12, 1914

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"A . #, i \ it, is shown’in an audit of its books to Se enormous dividend was created by | Guns of 30 Tons Go 15 Miles an Hour Germany’s monsters, on cater- : pillar feet, shown in tomorrow’s Sunday Post-Dispatch 31.LOUIS POST-DISPATCH Only Evening Paper in St. Louis With Associated Press News Service. NIGHT EDITION FINANCIAL MARKETS VOL. 67. NO. 23. ST. LOUIS, SATURDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 12, 1914—10 PAGES. PRICE ONE CENT SPUR IG: =i. a GERMANS CONTINUE RETREAT; Ammunition Train 4 Miles Lon g Ca = eae ee OO ee | BANKERS TRUST C0. | i DIMDEND $213,103 ABOVE EARNINGS Appreciation of Stock Bond Values Alone Ngade It Possible for the Institution to Pay 20 Per Cent a Year to In- vestors. MONEY BORROWED ON FIRM’S ASSETS F requent i b Stock Holdings Actually Worth $200,000 Less Than Book Value, Finding of Committee of Bankers Who Made Appraisal. The Bankers Trust Co., which was taken in charge a month aco by State ‘ Bank Commissioner Mitchell following the filing of a receivership suit against have paid out in dividends in less than eight years $215,105.71 more than it ac- tually earned. It was enabled to do this by a pe- culiar system of bookkeeping by which it entered on its books an amount of | “ ishows. The company had three sources of : income from its operations. 5 \These were interest on investments, Yeommissions on financial and _ realty ‘transactions, and from dividends’ on igtocks owned by it. The total received ‘from these sources was insufficient to hmeet a 4 per cent quarterly dividend, rhich the directors declare. in a reso- ution in 1907 should be paid without Jany further action by the directors. it ‘was customary to declare an extra divi- | Wend of 4 per cent each Christinas after | 1908 until 1913, when,the Christmas divi- fend was not declared. ‘| However, an earning fund to pay this qn- ering on the books an appreciation for ithe stocks owned. ° ‘These stocks included those of more 7than 100 banks in and near St. Louis, j pin Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma < nd exas. They were carried on the books th f the Bankers Trust Co. at a valua- Ntion, according to the audit, at from HE to twice their par value. In very ew instances were they carried as low as par. Some of these stocks, the appraisers ireported, were worthless. t The earnings were built up to an ee more than necessary to meet ithe 4 per cent quarterly dividend, by Jentering on the books each year an appreciation for these stocks. The stocks were not sold to cash this supposed appreciation, but money was borrowed from time to time. In this manner the appreciation entered on the books was paid out in divi- ds, transferred to surplus or — to undivided profits. | Stocks Carried for More Than Value. Between Dec. 3 19, and May ll, 1914, the amount of this appreciation was $296,819.58 above the value at which they were ‘carried on the books. The rs, in their report, said that the value of these stocks was not even the ‘ook value at which the{ were carried, but were in reality $1884 YS less than | the book value. In othé words, the isers said the stocks” a value $1,312,802.28 instead of $i, 4157.03, at they were carried. on the books. Son the period from Dec. %, 1906, to May a | She the audit slows, the total Lmoonves sem actual earnings Daybreak in the British Trenches Painted by the Noted English Illustrator A. C. Michael From Sketch Made at the Front. 6 Coleen oe oe NRC Pn oe" sion re RESTOR 3" ae aes ome eee. Copyright by the Sun Printing and Publishing Association by Special Arrangement With ~ fs: . "70 On the Illustrated London News. ee ee MILITARISM! [5 IN TS DEATH THROES, ASSERTS BRYAN Secretary of State in pales Says War Era Is Drawing to Close in Foreign Lands. BALTIMORE, Sept. 12.—Coming as the personal representative of President Wilson® who found himself unable to attend, Secretary Bryan spoke here to- day, at the Star Spangled Banner cel- ebration. The subjject of the address was “The Flag.”’ Americans never had hesitated, Pryan said, to die if necessary in de- fense of the authority for which the flag stood. “But the war era has ended in the United States,’’ he added, ‘‘and is drawing towards its close in foreign innds:; the convulsions through which Europe is now passing are but the death throes of militarism.’’ In the course of his address Mr. Bryan sald: “During the years the flag has been ‘rallantly streaming, sometimes in ‘the rocket’s red glare,’ son has imi- tated sire in willingness to maintain, Mr. with his life if necessary, the author- | ity gor which it stands. “But the war era has ended and is drawing toward its close in foreign lands. The convulsions through which Europe is now passing are but the death throes of militarism. We are entering upon a new age in which freedom will be given new interpre- tation and bravery find new forms of expression. “The doctrine of the divine right of kings has been discarded to no purpose if the divine right of man does not lead to man’s elevation. He has become his own master, not that he may be brutish or brutal, but that he may be free to develop the best that is in him. “Let no one think that the texture of our manhood will be of a lower quality, when its strength is no longer tested by the stress of war. We could not worship God as we do if we were convinced that each gen- eration must be exercised in blood- letting in order to prevent stagna- tion. There is as much Inspiration in a noble as in a heroic deed.” German Aviator Dies From Injuries Received in a Fall LONUON, Sept. 1%.—A Reuter dispatch from Amsterdam says Count Uxkull, a German military aviator, has died from i injuries sustained in a fall of his aero- ee ee : FRENCH CAPTURE AMMUNITION TRAIN 41-4 MILES LONG Says Quantity of German Equip- ment #as Destroyed. Correspondent aS: LONDON, Sept. 12.—The Daily Tele- graph correspondent at Nanteuil, De- partment of Oise, in a dispatch dated Thursday, dealing with the turn of the tide in favor of the allies, gives the fol- lowing impression, derived in conversa- tion with many wounded French officers from the fighting line.. From this he learns that the German army, meeting forthe first time troops almost equal in number, has been rolled up and sore- ly troubled, and the nmght of the army, composed of some ef the finest German forces, has retired so far that the cen- ter must give way or risk the line of communication. Gen. Pau scored a tremendous advan- tage by capturing an enormous ammu- nition column seven kilometers (4% miles) long. This he destroyed, leav- ing the Germans very snort of ammu- nition. The correspondent adds: “The effect of the long, barren marches must have an enormous influ- ence On the conscript of the army. The huge losses in killed and wounded, the paralyzing spectacle of pyramidal fu- neral pyres on the battlefields each night and the procession of long trains of grievously wounded, must give the edu- cated Germans in the ranks food for thought. “It was all very well while the Ger- mans were marching forward, but the retrograde movement is trying on the nerves. On the other hand, the French army, stiffened by great enforcements of men, have offered a resolute and magnificent front to the enemy, for the French are twice as dangerous in at- tack as in defense."’ The correspondent thus describes the capture of the German ammunition col- umn While the Germans were feeling their way toward Parie: “The seven-kilometer column was winding its way along through Crepy- Fn-Valous when Gen. Pau sent cavalry and aftillery to intercept it. The column was too weakly guarded to cope with the attack and so was captured and destroyed. This capture had an impor- tant bearing on the subsequent fighting. “A noticeable féature of the operations has been the splendid marchine qualities ot the French troops. This was displaved when two divisions, which were sent last week to intercept the expected at- tempt of the Germans to invest Paris, covered § two stages.” ge mati ie American Promises Gold Tusk to Turco Mourning Lost One NE of the Turcos in the new American hospital at Neu- illy had been in a terrible because the doctors removed one of his huge front teeth, which was broken during the fighting. the loss of this tusk until one of the American millionaires promised to have an equally large’ gold PARIS, Sept. 12. gloom since entering the hospitai He was inconsolable because of tooth put in to replace it. Derby Winner Wrapped in U. S. Flag Escapes Draft Into War LONDON, Sept. 12.—Herbert B. Dur- yea, the American turfman, was ad- vised today that Durbar II, this vear’s and Shannon, French war Epsom Derby winner, winner of several are “safe outside the France. Ten other horses, however, still of being captured. The American negro caretaker in charge of Durbar II and Shannon, when near Chantilly, 23 miles north- cast of Paris, wrapped American flags about the horses and fastened to Durbar II a banner, reading: “This is Durbar II, the English Derby winner. He is neutral.” The horses were permitted to leave the army lines without interference, RISING TEMPERATURE AND SHOWERS FORECAST races, in race- danger the zone valuable are in TEMPERATURES, 7 10 a. m THE a a. a a High, 67,5 p. m. Low, GO at mid- night. Official fore. cast for St, Louis and vicin. ity: Partly cloudy weather tonight and to. morrow, prob.- ably with show. ers; slowly ris. img temperature, For Missouri— Partly cloudy to- night and tomor- row, probably showers; risin g temperatures. How IS COTTON BATTING TODAY? For Tllin oia« Partly cloudy to night and tomor. row, Probably BERLIN REPORT RUSSIAN DEFEAT IN EAST PRUSSIA By ASSOCIATED PRESS. WASHINGTON, Sept. 12.- -The German embassy today re- ceived the following wireless from Berlin: ‘Gen, Hindenberg’s victorious progress in East Prussia con- tinules. aN : -— rhe Russians attempted to relieve the pressure on their defeated left wing by launching the Twenty-seecond Army Corps against Gen. Hindenberg’s flank. were defeated. Russian forees.’’ but according to official reports, several batteries were captured from the main LONDON, Sept. 12. A central news dispatch ffom Rome says: A telegram received by the Messaggero in Rome from Petro- grad, states that the second battle satisfactorily to the Russians than the first. in Galicia resulted even more The losses of the Austrians are estimated at 130,000 of whom 90.000 are prisoners. —_—_—_— ——.... LONDON, Sept. 12.—A Reuter’s dispatch from Petrograd says the Russians have captured Tomaszow, a sanguinary conflict. Russian Poland, after Telegraphing from Petrograd the correspondent of the Morn- ing Post says: ‘‘The Austrian retirement on the Vistula is being conducted with a semblance of order, but the case is very different with the right wing operating near Tomaszow. routed and fleeing in the utmost. disorder, The Austrians here are Driving in between the two wings, the Russians have cut off this Austro-German army and completely surrounded it on the front and flank. The Russians have summoned this right wing to surrender. “The Russian cavalry has got behind the retreating army with guns and the storm, chance of retreat, has been taken by thus removing the last obstacle situation of the Austro-Germans now !s{to Russia's pursult southward. desperate. To cross marshes and rivers with cavalry and artillery, forcing it from the opposite bank is more tha any beaten army ever accomplished since Napoleon's time. Moreover, the Austro-Germans bave the bulk of their supply trains and the men must be Starving. “The Opole-Tourobine line of @ miles, which the Austro-Germans had strongly lost \ertified in order te secure to them a Austrians Making Stand, “The climax to this operation has ginearly been reached, for the Russian cavalry on Thursday covered ® miles, fighting all the way the enemy's rear guard. Mine - ols tortified center at ‘irodek, maintalus tov stubborn fight, but the end must be near for this front also, for the arrival of Continued om Page % Columa & istriad resting on the LLIES tured by French — |ADVANCE OF PURSUE —Paris Official Report. PRENGH GENIER FORGES THE GERMANS FROM VITRY Operations of Von Kluck and German Crown Prince Threaten to Isolate Fortress of Verdun—French Of- ficial Statement Praises Cleverness of German Commander. By ASSOCIATED PRESS. PARIS, Sept. 12, 3:03 p. m.—It was officially announced here this afternoon that the German forces to the east of Paris are gen- : erally retreating and that they are offering only a feeble resistance to the French and British troops. The official communication says: ‘‘On our left wing the Germans have begun a general retreati- ing movement between the Oise and the Marne. “Yesterday their front was between Soissons, Fismes, and the Mountain of Reims. “Their cavalry seems to be exhausted. The Anglo-French forces, which pursued them, encountered, on Sept. 11, only feeble resistance. ‘At the center, the Germans have evacuated Vitry-le-Francois, where they had fortified themselves.’ ‘‘Also they have evacuated the valley of the Soulx River. Attacked at Sermaize and at Revigny, they abandoned a large quantity of war material. Braine and ——— Soissons is about 50 miles northeast of Paris; Braine is eight miles east of Soissons, Fismes is seven miles from Braine in an easterly direction and the Mountain of Reims is W® miles southeast of Fismes and eight miles south of the city of Reims. Sermaize is 15 miles to the east of Vitry-le-Francois and Revigny is five miles east of Sermaize. The Forest of Belnoue is, roughly speaking, 10 miles east of the Argonne region and also 10 miles north of Revigny. which have been occupying the Ar- They are retreating to ‘The German forces, gonne region, have begun to give way. the north through the forest of Bellenone. ‘‘In Lorraine we have made slight progress. We occupy the eastern boundary of the forest of Champenoux, Repainvillers and Gerbenvillers. ‘‘The Germans have evacuated Saint Die. ‘In Belgium the Belgian army is acting vigorously against the German troops who are before the fortified position of Antwerp. ‘‘In the Servian field of operations, the Servians have occu- pied Semlin, Austria.’’ LONDON, Sept. 12, 12:28 p. m According to official announcement made here, the Freneit army has captured all the artillery of one German army corps. ‘‘Our aeroplanes report that the enemy’s retreat is very rapid,’’ the report says. ‘‘Our troops have crossed the River Oureq and are moving this (Saturday) morning in rapid pursuit of the enemy. ‘‘Two hundred prisoners were captured. The cavalry of the allies were between Soissons and Fismes last night. ‘‘The enemy is retreating north of Vitry-le-Francois.’’ (The artillery of a German army corps consists of two regiments of field pieces (18 batteries of field guns and six batteries of field howitzers, a total of 72 pieces), one or two batteries of Leavy field artillery, and a machine gun group.) Three tremendous struggles are waging along as many battle lines and from none of them comes a report of a decisive result. The mystery of the Western operation is complicated by the news from Berlin which ignores Gen. von Kluck’s efforts on the German right, while indicating that the German attack on Verdun is proceeding successfully. The public is warned by officials that the present situation merely is the first phase of a great battle and that the battle itself is only the first stage of a titanic struggle between the na- tions which will continue so long as the main armies remain intact as they are at present. Official thanks conveyed to the Bavarian Sixth Corps seem to indicate that that army is merely expected to prevent the send- ing of allied reinforcement northward. If the German attack on the southerly exposure of the Verdun forts, assisted by the great siege guns, succeeds, the complete investment of Verdun will ensue. * The following official German statement was received here last night by the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co.: ‘‘In the eastern theater of war the battle has been reeoin- menced and the Austrians have assumed the offensive im the. region of Lemberg. 7 — "Daten tu sine dour Settee a SE os MT ree, FRE TS : nanan NS Ae: a ie wnat GE AIRY «o sieh Sis ne ag ‘ sy May 2 aa me ~a_ RSA * * be me ty. et ; ee ee oe ” - “ PN a aad halt ¥. x PALE AERC SR Oi LEA NIE OPT TON Tit BRIS 9 tt ia Seen io weet: * ~ Cie ig.