Full text of Economic Review (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco) : April 21, 1924

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MONTHLY REVIEW
OF

BUSINESS CONDITIONS

JOHN PERRIN, Chairman of the Board and Federal Reserve Agent
Federal Reserve Bank o f San Francisco

Vol. VIII

San Francisco, California, April 21, 1924

Sum mary o f National Conditions
P ro d u ction of basic com m odities decreased
d u rin g M arch, and th ere w as a recession in
w holesale prices. D istrib u tio n , both at w hole­
sale and retail, show ed less th an th e usual
seasonal increase and w as sm aller th an a y ear
ago.
P ro d u ction. T h e F ederal R eserve B oard's
index of production in basic industries, ad­
ju sted to allow for len g th of m onth and o ther
seasonal variations, declined 3.0 per cent in
M arch. O u tp u t w as reduced by m ost indus­
tries, th e decreases being p artic u la rly large in
mill consum ption of cotton and production of
bitum inous coal and copper. D aily average

No. 4

production of steel ingots, how ever, w as larg er
th a n in any previous m onth. T h e level of
factory em ploym ent w as unchanged, b u t som e
c u rtailm en t in w orking hours w as evidenced
by a decline of 1.0 p er cent in average w eekly
earnings. C ontract aw ards for new buildings
in M arch reached the h ig h est to tal value on
record, ow ing chiefly to a large increase in th e
N ew Y ork district.
E stim a te s by th e D ep artm en t of A gricultu re
on th e basis of condition on A pril 1st indicate
a reduction of 4.0 per cent in th e yield of
w in ter w h eat and of 6.0 per cent in the p ro ­
duction of rye, as com pared w ith th e final h a r­
vests in 1923.
PER CENT

1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924
Production in Basic Industries

W holesale Prices

Index of 22 basic commodities corrected for seasonal variation (1 9 1 9 = 1 0 0 ).
Latest figure, March, 116.

Indexof U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (1 9 1 3 = 1 0 0 , base adopted by Bureau).
Latest figure, March, 150

Those desiring th is review sen t them regu larly w ill receive it w ithout charge upon application.




50

M O NTHLY REVIEW OF BUSINESS CONDITIONS

T rad e. S hipm ents of com m odities by rail­
roads declined d u rin g each w eek in M arch, and
carloadings for th e m onth w ere 4.0 per cent
less th a n a year ago. W holesale trad e in­
creased slightly d u rin g M arch b u t w as 8.0 per
cent less th an a y ear ago, ow ing to decreases
in sales of dry goods, shoes, and hardw are.

A pril, 1924

000,000 on A pril 2nd, declined by about $125,000,000 d u rin g th e first th ree w eeks in A pril to
the low est point for th e year. T h is decline rep ­
resents a reduction in discounts and in hold­
ings of acceptances, th e volum e of governm ent
securities held h aving increased som ew hat.
M oney rates in th e N ew Y ork m ark et du rin g
BILLIONS OF DOLLARS

D epartm ent Store Sales

M em ber B ank C redit

Index of 333 stores in 117 cities (1 9 1 9 = 1 0 0 ). Latest figures, March, with
correction, 115, without correction, 115.

W eekly figures for member banks in 101 leading cities. Latest figure, April 16.

M arch, 1924, sales of d ep a rtm en t stores w ere
8.0 per cent less th a n sales in M arch, 1923, and
m erchandise stocks a t the end of the m onth
w ere 8.0 per cent larg e r th an a y ear ago. Sales
of m ail order houses also show ed less th a n the
usual seasonal increase in M arch. D ecrease in
th e volum e of purchases at retail com pared
w ith last y ea r is p a rtly accounted for by the
late E a ste r and th e generally unfavorable
w eath er conditions this spring.
P rices. W holesale prices, as m easured by
th e B u reau of L ab o r S ta tistic s’ index, de­
creased slig h tly m ore th an 1.0 per cent in
M arch, and w ere 6.0 per cent low er th a n a year
ago. P rices of farm products, foods, clothing,
chem icals, and house furnishings declined,
b u ild in g m aterials rem ained unchanged, w hile
fuel and m etals w ere slightly hig h er th a n in
F eb ru ary . D u rin g th e first th ree w eeks of
A pril, quotations on pig iron, lead, coal, silk,
and su g ar declined, w hile prices of w heat, corn,
and co tton advanced.
B an k credit. T h e volum e of borro w in g for
com m ercial purposes a t m em ber banks in lead­
in g cities, afte r increasing d u rin g the early
p a rt of th e year, rem ained co n stan t a t a high
level b etw een th e m iddle of M arch and the
m iddle of A pril. D u rin g th e four w eeks period
to tal loans of these banks w ere in larg er vol­
um e th a n a t any tim e in m ore th a n tw o years.
D isco u nts and investm ents of th e F ederal re­
serve banks, w hich w ere slightly above $1,000,-

th e first th ree w eeks of A pril w ere at ab o u t
the sam e level as in the la tte r p a rt of M arch.
P rim e com m ercial paper w as quoted at Ay2
per cent and ninety days b an k e rs’ acceptances
at 4 per cent th ro u g h o u t the period.




Sum mary o f D istrict Conditions
D ue largely to special factors o p eratin g in
C alifornia, slig h t recession from th e high levels
of F eb ru a ry appeared in re p o rts of production
and d istrib u tio n in th is d istric t d u rin g M arch.
E v en ts u n related to the general business situ a­
tion have reacted u nfavorably upon tra d e in
C alifornia, w here a large p ro p o rtio n of th e to ta l
business of th e d istrict is tran sacted . T h e w in ­
te r and sp rin g seasons in th a t sta te w ere u n ­
u sually dry, re su ltin g in a condition appro ach ­
ing d ro u g h t in the so u th central and so u th ern
p arts of th e state, and w hile recent rains have
m aterially im proved th e situation, ag ric u ltu re
and livestock in m any com m unities have su s­
tained serious losses. D u rin g F e b ru a ry and
M arch foot and m outh disease of livestock ap ­
peared in th e neighborhood of San F rancisco
B ay and L os A ngeles, and in four counties of
the San Jo aq u in V alley. A lth o u g h th e o u t­
break is being com batted effectively, it has
already caused considerable direct loss to th e
livestock in d u stry and has th rea ten ed to cause
indirect losses of large proportions to general
business.
Q u aran tin e re stric tio n s im posed

April, 1924

ag ain st p roducts from infected areas by th e
large areas of th e sta te free from th e disease,
and by several o th er states ag ain st products of
the soil as well as livestock from C alifornia gen­
erally, have g re atly ham pered trad e in farm
pro d u cts both w ith in and w ith o u t th e state.
F u rth e r inform ation on th e su b ject appears
later in this Review.
In th e d istrict outside of C alifornia business
activ ity d u rin g M arch w as a t approxim ately
th e high level reported in M arch a y e a r ago,
and in m ost cases norm al seasonal increases as
com pared w ith F eb ru a ry of this year w ere re­
ported. T he am ount of checks draw n ag ain st
accounts of individuals a t banks (bank debits)
was 7.9 per cent larg er th a n in M arch, 1923, a
norm al increase over th e y ear period, although
less th an th e gain of 20 per cent (over a y ear
ago) reported in F eb ru ary . B anks continue
generally to m eet th e needs of th eir custom ers
w ith o u t ap p a ren t strain upon th e ir ow n re­
sources and w ith o u t direct assistance from th e
R eserve Bank.
L u m b er production w as curtailed d uring the
m onth, b u t not to th e ex ten t th a t had been an­
ticipated. P roduction has exceeded th e volum e
of new orders for som e w eeks past, b u t ship­
m ents on old orders have been heavy and stocks
a t m ills are n o t large. L ittle change in th e s it­
u ation in th e m ining in d u stry w as reported
d u rin g M arch. E fforts to a d ju st producing
schedules to p resen t m ark et dem ands have re­
sulted in fu rth e r slig h t declines in copper pro ­
duction and in an increase in o u tp u t of lead.
F low of petroleum from producing w ells in
C alifornia w as sm aller in am ount th an d u rin g
F eb ru ary , continuing, although at a reduced
rate, th e decline in production w hich has been
in pro g ress in th a t state since Septem ber, 1923.
A dditions to stored stocks of oil th ere durin g
the p a st tw o m onths have been sm all. T he
num ber of building perm its issued in 20 p rin ­
cipal cities of the d istrict d u rin g M arch, 1924,
was 1.5 p er cent larg e r th an d u rin g M arch,
1923, b u t th e ir value w as 2.1 per cent less, due
in large p a rt to th e decline in prices of building
m aterials over th e y ear period. E m ploym ent
conditions im proved seasonally d u rin g M arch
in all states of th e d istrict except California.
F arm labor available is slightly in excess of
curren t req u irem en ts in m ost states.
T ra d e a t retail, as reflected in sales of 35 re­
porting d ep a rtm en t stores of th e district, w as
1.3 per cent less in value d u rin g M arch, 1924,
than d u rin g M arch, 1923, b u t such a yearly
com parison is inaccurate, because the figures
for M arch, 1923, included th e E a ste r b u ying of
th a t year, w hich d u rin g th e cu rren t y ea r w as
done in A pril. A fair estim ate of retail trad e
conditions m u st be postponed until a com pari­
son can be m ade of com bined sales of M arch




51

FEDERAL RESERVE AGENT AT SAN FRANCISCO

and A pril of th e tw o years. W ith the com ple­
tion of the brief period of active buying by re­
tailers in F eb ru ary , conditions in th e w holesale
tra d e again becam e irregular, and seven of th e
eleven lines of business for w hich figures are
collected by this bank show ed declines in value
of sales durin g M arch, 1924, as com pared w ith
M arch, 1923. B usiness failures in th e d istrict
d u rin g M arch increased both in num ber (4.3
per cent) and in liabilities (14.5 per cent) as
com pared w ith F eb ru ary .
T he stre n g th of th e p resen t banking situ atio n
is show n by th e fact th a t w hile loans of re p o rt­
ing m em ber banks have been a t or close to
record levels d u rin g recent weeks, discounts
w ith the R eserve B ank have declined to th e
low est point reached since late in the year 1917.
Agriculture
W e a th e r conditions favored farm operations
and g ro w th of crops over th e g re ater p a rt of
th is d istrict d u rin g M arch and early April.
W idespread rains p artia lly relieved th e dro u g h t
in C alifornia and certain sections of the In te r­
m ountain S tates, considerably im proving ag ri­
cultural prospects in these areas. In C alifornia
th e heaviest rainfall w as reported in th e south
central and so u th ern sections of the state,
w here the d ro u g h t had previously been m ost
pronounced. T h e scan ty snow cover on Cali­
fornia m ountain ranges, th e source of supply
for a large p roportion of th e irrig atio n w ater
used in th a t state d u rin g sum m er m onths, was
also slightly deepened d u rin g recent storm s.
W in te r w h eat in th e Pacific N o rth w e st w as

(A) M ovement o f Crops to M arket *
T W E L F T H F E D E R A L R E S E R V E D IS T R IC T
1923-1924
1922-1923
1921-1922
Season to
Season to
Season to
E x p o rtsf
M ar. 31, 1924 M ar. 31,1923 M ar. 31,1922

W h eat
Portland and P u get
Sound
. , (bu.) 26,139,855
(18.3)
B arley E x p o rtsf
San Francisco (bu.) 9,130,250
(19.7)
R ice— G row ers’
S a les!
C a lifo r n ia -----(bu.)
4,211,900
(77.0)
A pple Sh ip m en tsf
T w elfth D is. (cars)
5,527
(95.7)
Orange Shipm ents^
California . . . (cars)
16,969
(30.8)
L em on Shipm ents^
California . . . (cars)
3,559
(27.9)

16,388,964
(16.7)

35,787,709
(28.2)

14,735,206
(34.4)

15,387,960
(39.2)

2,804,167
(36.4)

3,852,510
(52.8)

39,514
(88.2)

49,602
(97.0)

20,529
(41.4)

19,113
(61.9)

2,798
(28.5)

3,120
(29.9)

*F igures in p arentheses in dicate p ercentage of crop.
tS e a so n begins Ju ly 1st.
JS eason begins N ovem ber 1st.
N O T E : T he estim ates fo r rice a re based on com m ercial estim ates
of unsold paddy rice in C alifornia.

52

A pril, 1924

M ONTHLY REVIEW OF BUSINESS CONDITIONS

in excellent condition on A pril 1st. In C alifor­
nia th e g ra in crops, alth o u g h show ing im prove­
m en t since th e rains of late M arch, are still
suffering from th e effects of th e earlier drought.
P la n tin g s of o th er field crops in th a t state, es­
pecially on u n irrig ate d lands, have been som e­
w h a t curtailed. D u rin g th e last w eek of M arch
severe frosts occurred in sections of th e decidu­
ous fru it raisin g regions of th e S acram ento and
upper San Jo aq u in V alleys in C alifornia. T he
im p o rtan t clingstone peach crop, used largely
for canning, is re p o rted to have been dam aged
to th e e x ten t of approxim ately 30 per cent for
th e en tire crop of th e state, th e estim ated dam ­
age in som e sections being 75 per cent of the
crop. A pricots, cherries, pears, and plum s w ere
dam aged slig h tly by th e unseasonably low tem ­
peratu res.
M ark etin g of th e m ore im p o rtan t crops of the
d istric t d u rin g th e crop y ear to M arch 31, 1924,
is m easured in table “A .” W h e a t m ark etin g in
th e Pacific N o rth w e st is discussed m ore fully
on page 63 of th is R eview . N o indication of the
p ro p o rtio n of apple shipm ents forw arded from
th e d istrict b u t still held in cold sto rag e at
E a ste rn m ark ets is given by th e table. I t is
significant, inasm uch as a large m ajo rity of the
boxed apples produced in th e co u n try are
packed in th e Pacific N o rth w est, th a t 50 per
cent m ore boxed apples w ere held in cold sto r­
age in th e U n ited S tates on A pril 1, 1924, th a n
on A pril 1, 1923.
A stead y m ovem ent of canned fru its into con­
su m ing m arkets d u rin g recent m onths has
stren g th en e d th e m ark et position of these prod­
ucts, and m inor price advances have occurred
d u rin g th e p ast m onth. O pening prices for the
1923 pack and spot prices announced on A pril
11, 1924, by th e larg e st factor in th e tra d e are
given in the follow ing ta b le :

ful in California, and on In term o u n ta in ran g es
g ro w th of feed w as stim u lated and w a te r su p ­
plies w ere replenished. R ep o rts indicate, how ­
ever, th a t in general m ore rainfall will be
needed in C alifornia and in som e sections of
Idaho and N evada if norm al feed conditions
are to be m aintained on p astu re s and ranges
d u rin g the sum m er m onths. S h earin g of wool
is now in progress th ro u g h o u t th e d istrict. T h e
quality of th e clip is rep o rted as excellent, and
yields are generally larg e r th a n la st year.
L am bing is practically com pleted in A rizona
and California, and is pro g ressin g satisfacto rily
in In term o u n ta in S tates.
T o tal receipts of cattle and calves a t eig h t
principal m arkets of th e d istrict d u rin g M arch
w ere g re a te r th a n in F eb ru ary , and receipts of
all classes of livestock except sheep exceeded
those of M arch, 1923. F ig u res for M arch an d

Opening Price
1923 Pack
Stand­
C hoice ard
G rade G rade
N o. 2\ C ans
perdoz. per doz.
$1.65
A pricots ........... ......... $2.15
2.85
C herries, R oyal A n n e 3.25
1.75
Peaches, Yellow C ling 2.25
2.35
P ears, B a rtle tt. .......... 2.65

F eb ru ary , 1924, M arch, 1923, and th e four-year
average for M arch (for com parative purposes)
are given in th e follow ing t a b le :

f
Choice G rade
A pril 11,
1924
1923
perdoz. perdoz.
$2.45 $2.75
3.00
4.15
2.40
2.75
3.00
3.10

Standard
G rade
A pril 11,
1924
1923
perdoz. perdoz.
$1.80 $1.85
2.75
1.90
1.85
2.75
2.75

D ried fru it m ark ets continued active during
M arch, seasonally large sales reducing unsold
stocks held in first hands to m ore nearly norm al
p ro p o rtio n s th a n has been th e case for some
tim e past.
L ivestock— Anim al Products
T im ely rainfall follow ed by com paratively
m ild w e ath er caused a m arked im provem ent in
range and p astu re conditions in m ost sections
of th e d istrict d u rin g M arch and th e first half
of A pril, benefiting all branches of th e livestock
ind u stry . G reen p astu re s becam e m ore p len ti­




TH O U S A N D S

Receipts of Livestock at Eight of the Principal M arkets of the D istrict
1923-1924. (L os Angeles, Ogden, Portland, Salt Lake C ity, San
Francisco, Seattle, Spokane, and Tacom a included)

L IV E S T O C K R E C E IP T S A T E I G H T M A R K ET S
C attle
C alves
H ogs
Sheep

March,
1924............88,107
February, 1924............77,677
March,
1923............71,503
4-year average—
March ..................... .71,559

20,451
17,082
16,147

249,433
264,792
184,025

169,200
197,064
219,540

14,674

171,084

188,733

N orm al seasonal expansion of b u tte r p ro d u c­
tion d u rin g M arch increased th e m ark e t su p p ly
of fresh b u tte r in th e d istrict beyond im m ediate
needs of consum ers, and a large p ro p o rtio n of
th e b u tte r reaching central m arkets w as placed
in cold storage. H oldings of cold sto rag e b u t­
ter, p artic u la rly at Los A ngeles, increased su b ­
stan tially d u rin g th e m onth. R apid seasonal
increase in egg production d u rin g M arch w as
reflected in a sharp upw ard tren d of cold s to r­
age stocks of eggs. A sum m ary of cold sto rag e

April, 1924

FEDERAL RESERVE AGENT AT SAN FRANCISCO

holdings of b u tte r and eggs in th e chief m arkets
of th e T w elfth D istrict and th e U n ited S tates
is p resen ted in th e follow ing ta b le :
A p r. 1,

B u tte r (p o u n d s)
1924
•T w e lfth D i s tr ic t... 224,163
U n ite d S ta te s .............7,830,000
Eggs (cases)
fT w e lfth D i s tr ic t... 109,816
U n ite d S ta te s ............. 569,000
* F o u r m arkets.

fS ix m arkets.

M ar. 1,
1924

A p r. 1,
1923

F iv e -Y e a r
Average
A p r. 1st

146,887
9,873,000

66,173
4,824,000

216,661
10,627,000

1,537
44,000

145,204
453,000

754,000

$

^ F ig u res n o t available.

A v erage prices for all classes of livestock
ten d ed tow ard higher levels a t th e principal
m ark ets of the d istrict d u rin g the p ast m onth.
T h e general level of quo tatio n s as com pared
w ith a y ear ago w as definitely higher for cattle
and lam bs, and low er for hogs. C om m ercial
factors re p o rt th a t grow ers have been offered
from 35 to 47 cents per pound for w ool d uring
th e p ast m onth, th e offering price depending
CENTS PER POUND

W eekly Average Prices of W ool (Average of 98 quotations), Choice
Lambs, and Aged Sheep, 1921-1924

larg ely upon th e quality of wool and cost of
tran sp o rta tio n to term inal m arkets. P re se n t
field prices range from 5 to 8 cents per pound
below prices paid grow ers for wool d u rin g
M arch, 1923. T h e volum e of wool sold by
grow ers, both on co n tract and for cash, d u rin g
th e p re sen t season up to A pril 15th, is reported
to have been sm aller th an d u rin g corresponding
periods of im m ediately preceding years. T he
tren d of prices for sheep, lam bs, and wool from
1921 to th e p re sen t tim e is presented g ra p h i­
cally in the accom panying chart.
F oot and M outh D isease

L ate in M arch th e foot and m outh disease,
first detected d u rin g F e b ru a ry in four San
F rancisco B ay counties of C alifornia (A lam eda,
C ontra Costa, N apa, and Solano), spread to im ­
p o rta n t dairy in g and stock-raising regions in




53

south central and so u th ern C alifornia, and to
th e stock yards in Los A ngeles and San F ra n ­
cisco. O n A pril 20th the q u aran tin ed area in
C alifornia included the follow ing counties :
Closed Quarantine
( Counties in which infected areas
are located)

Provisional Quarantine
( Counties contiguous to those counties
in
ii which infected areas are located)

Alam eda
Contra Costa
Kern
L os A n geles
M ariposa
M erced
San Francisco
San Joaquin
Stanislaus
Parts o f Napa and Solano

Fresno
Madera
Marin
San M ateo
Santa Clara
Sonom a
Parts of Napa and
Solano

U p to A pril 9, 1924, it w as estim ated th a t
approxim ately 295 herds of livestock in Cali­
fornia had becom e infected w ith foot and m outh
disease, and th a t approxim ately 40,000 anim als
had been slau g h tered or w ere m arked for
slaughter. T h ere w ere included approxim ately
25,000 cattle, 9,500 sw ine, and 5,500 sheep. Con­
tro l w ork u n d ertak en to A pril 9th had cost be­
tw een $1,600,000 and $1,700,000, one-half of th is
cost being borne by th e F ederal G overnm ent
and one-half to be borne by the state. T h e in­
direct losses w hich have arisen by reason of
th e dislocation of tra d e incident to fighting th e
disease cannot be accurately estim ated. A t th e
p re sen t tim e re strictio n upon shipm ents of
spring lam bs and baby chicks from th e state
are causing serious losses.
W ith in th e sta te th e disease is being fo u g h t
by q u aran tin e of infected areas, slau g h ter of
infected and exposed anim als, and disinfection
of persons and prem ises in infected sections.
P rec au tio n ary m easures designed to prev en t
spread of th e disease to the large areas of C ali­
fornia no t already infected, and to o th er states
of the d istric t and th e country, are b eing
strictly enforced by both sta te and national
authorities. M any states, in an a tte m p t to p ro ­
te c t th eir ow n livestock industry, have placed
em bargoes upon the im portation of livestock,
and in som e cases o th er products of the soil,
from California. T hese q u aran tin e restrictio n s
are m ost severe in th e w estern ran g e states and
m ore m oderate in th e M iddle W e st and E ast.
I t is th e considered opinion of experts of th e
B ureau of A nim al In d u stry of th e U nited
S tates D e p artm en t of A g ric u ltu re based upon
experience in co m batting th e disease success­
fully in th e U n ited S tates on prior occasions,
th a t qu aran tin es ag ain st products of the soil
produced in non-infected areas are unnecessary
for protection ag a in st spread of the disease.
Serious unnecessary losses to th e agricu ltu re
and general business of th e state are inevitable
unless q u aran tin es now in effect in o ther states
are so m odified as to perm it free m ark etin g of

54

A pril, 1924

M O NTHLY REVIEW OF BUSINESS CONDITIONS

C alifornia p roducts of th e soil w hich do no t
o rig in ate in those sections of th e sta te w here
the disease actu ally exists. T h e situ atio n in
th is resp ect is acute on account of th e approach­
ing m a tu rity of th e im p o rtan t fresh fru it crops
w hich are norm ally sen t in large q uantities to
outside m arkets.

q uo tatio n s a t San F rancisco declined from $8.60
per 100 pounds on M arch 21st to $8.10 per 100
pounds on A pril 14th, th e qu o tatio n on A pril
21st. P rices for th e m ajo rity of th e m ore im ­
p o rta n t fresh and dried fru its of th e d istrict
advanced slig h tly or rem ained firm durin g
IN D E X N U M B E R S

Prices
T h e ra th e r g en eral u pw ard tren d of prices
for th e chief ag ric u ltu ral products of th is dis­
trict, first ap p a re n t d u rin g F eb ru ary , contin­
ued, b u t w ith m an y exceptions d u rin g M arch.
P rices fo r all classes of livestock a t Chicago
m ark ets advanced d u rin g th e m onth, and, ex­
cep tin g th e price of hogs, w ere h ig h er th a n a
y ear ago. W h e a t prices again m oved dow n­
w ard and on A pril 17th w ere a t levels approxi­
m ately 17.0 p er cent below those of a year ago.
W ool q u o tatio n s on th e B oston m ark et changed
little d u rin g M arch. W eekly averages of 98
q u o tatio n s rem ained co n stan t a t 82.47 cents per
p ound d u rin g th e en tire m onth, close to the
h igh p o in t (83.93) of the p a st th ree years
reached on Ju n e 1, 1923. Refined beet sugar

_____

Wholesale Prices and the Cost of Living, 1920-1924

•

United States Bureau of Labor Index of W holesale Prices (1 9 1 3 = 1 0 0 )
National Industrial Conference Board Index of the Cost of Living (July 1 9 1 4 = 1 0 0 )

*

(B) C o m m odity P rices—
Comm odity

T w en ty B asic C om m odities (F. R. B. of N. Y .) 1 9 1 3 = 1 0 0 ..
W h olesale Prices (U . S. Bureau of L abor) 1913 = 1 0 0...........
C ost of L iving (N ation al Industrial C onference Board)
July, 1914=100
P urchasing P ow er o f Farm Products (U . S. Dept, of A gri­
culture) 1913=100 ..........................................................................
Cattle (N ative B e e f ) .. .W eek ly A verage Price at C h ica g o ..
Sheep ...................
Lam bs .................
H o g s .....................
W h e a t ................... Chicago contract price for M ay W h e a t.. .
B a r le y ................... S hipping Barley f. o. b. San F r a n c isc o ...
Rice ....................... California F ancy Japan at San F rancisco.
C otton .................. M iddling U plands— W eek ly range of spot
quotations at N ew O rlea n s.......................
W o o l ..................... .A verage of 98 quotations at B o sto n .........
F l o u r ..................... F irst Grade Fam ily P atent f. o. b. Cali­
fornia m ills ...................................................
Sugar ..................... B eet Granulated f. o. b. San F r a n c is c o ...
O ranges ............... N avels, Fancy— W h olesale at San Fran­
cisco ..................................................................
L em ons ................C hoice— W h olesale at San F ra n cisco___
Dried A p p le s___ .C hoice in 50-lb. b oxes f. o. b. C a lifo rn ia ..
Dried A p r ic o ts ..,.C hoice in 25-lb. b oxes f. o. b. C a lifo rn ia ..
Prunes ................ .Size 40/50 in 25-lb. b oxes f. o. b. Calif........
R a is i n s ................ ..L o o se M uscatel in 25-lb. bxs. f. o. b. Calif.
Canned A p ricots.C h oice 2î^ s f. o. b. C alifornia.....................
Canned Peaches. .C ling Choice, 2 4 s f. o. b. C alifornia...........
Canned P e a r s___.B artlett, Standard 2 4 s f. o. b. California.
R aw M ilk ............ .Pacific C oast— March a v era g e.....................
B u t t e r ................. .93 score at San F r a n c isc o .............................
E g g s ..................... .E xtras— San F ra n cisco ...................................
Copper ............... ..E lectrolytic; N ew Y ork S p o t.......................
Lead ...................... .N ew Y ork S p o t.................................................
Silver .................. .N ew Y ork F o r e ig n ..........................................
Z i n c ...................... .E ast St. L ouis S p o t..........................................
P e tr o le u m .......... .C alifornia 35° and a b o v e ................................
D ouglas F ir ........ .2x4, 16 ft. N o. S1S1E f. o. b. S ea ttle.........
D ouglas F ir ..........12x12 T im bers f. o. b. S e a ttle.......................




U n it

100 lbs.
100 lbs.
100 lbs.
100 lbs.
bu.
cental
cental
lb.
lb.
bbl.
lb.
b ox
b ox
lb.
lb.
lb.
lb.
doz.
doz.
doz.
100 lbs.
lb.
doz.
lb.
lb.
oz.
lb.
bbl.
M ft.
M ft.

A p ril 4.1924

O ne M onth Ago

One Y ea r A go

150.9
150.0

151.3
152.0

161.3
159.0

163.2

163.9

159.2

69.0
74.0
74.0
$ 9.10
$ 9.75
$ 9.60
8.20
10.25
9.25
13.45
16.00
15.50
7.50
8.40
7.35
1.01H -1.02H 1.10^-1.11 H 1 .2 1 ^ -1 .2 3 ^
1.75-1.80
1.60-1.65
1.65-1.75
5.20
4.15
5.05
27.50-30.00tf 28.88-29.63* 28.00-29.50*
82.14*
82.47*
82.47*
7.11
8.500
3.50-5.50
2.00-3.00
.13*4

.134-.144
.1 0 ^ - . l l
.08*4
2.60
2.30
2.75
2.92
.40
.26
.1 3 ^
8.75*

.634

6.30-6.35*
1.40
17.50
21.00

7.24
8.90*
2.50-4.50
1.50-2.50
.1 3 4
.12—.13

.104

.08 4
2.60
2.25
2.40
2.89
.4 6 4
.25

.137/s

10.75*
.6 4 4
6.65 *
1.40
19.50
22.00

7.79
9.00*
2.50-4.00
3.75-5.00
.08
.21
•10&
.10
3.30
2.75
2.75
2.69
.43
.2 9 4

.17H

8.30*

.66H

7.45-7.50*
1.45
23.50
25.00

;

April, 1924

FEDERAL RESERVE AGENT AT SAN FRANCISCO

55

M arch cam e largely from m illers’ storage bins,
and to tal stocks of th a t g ra in held by th e m ills
w ere reduced by 2.0 p er cent. Stocks of w heat,
a t 3,448,892 bushels on A pril 1st, w ere, how ­
ever, 19.2 per cent larg er th a n th e five-year
average for th a t date (2,892,415 bushels).
F ig u res of o u tp u t and stocks for 16 m illing
com panies for w hich a continuous record is
kept are given in th e follow ing ta b le :

M arch, b u t in m ost cases w ere low er th an d u r­
ing M arch, 1923. T he larg e st producer of
canned fru its in th is d istrict advanced q u o ta­
tions on som e of its products on M arch 28th
and again on A pril 11th. A lthough prices now
p rev ailin g for m ost varieties and grades of
canned fru it are still low er th a n one year ago,
a few item s are quoted a t ab o u t the sam e level
as in M arch, 1923. B u tte r prices declined ap­
p ro x im ately 14.0 per cent d u rin g the m onth,
w hile quotations for eggs, and th e average
w holesale price of raw m ilk advanced slightly.
P rices for b u tte r and eggs are now low er, and
for raw m ilk higher, th a n one y ear ago.
T h e upw ard m ovem ent of non-ferrous m etals
prices, noted in th e M arch, 1924, Review, w as
checked, at least tem porarily, d u rin g th e last
w eeks of M arch. (P rices for these products
are discussed on page 56 of th is R eview .) L u m ­
ber prices have continued dow nw ard d u rin g the
p a st m onth, and th e general level of prices
quoted a t Pacific N o rth w e stern producing cen­
ters rem ains low er th a n one year ago. C rude
petroleum prices w ere unchanged d u rin g the
m onth.

A sm all increase in dom estic dem and and
continued inactivity in foreign m arkets w ere
reported by m illers d u rin g M arch. P rices for
flour declined slig h tly d u rin g the m onth.

M illing

Lumber

F lo u r production continued m oderately large
d u rin g M arch, 1924. D espite fu rth e r seasonal
declines, the to tal o u tp u t of sixteen large com ­
panies reg u larly re p o rtin g to this bank w as 3.0

Some effect of recen t declines in lum ber
prices, w hich have follow ed a production som e­
w h a t in excess of cu rre n t dem and, w as visible
in production re p o rts for M arch. A ltho u g h
total production for th e m onth w as g re a te r
th an d u rin g F eb ru ary , average daily production
w as sm aller, m any m ills hav in g curtailed o u t­
p u t at least d u rin g p a rt of M arch. N ew orders
received by m ills d u rin g th a t m onth w ere
slightly g re a te r th a n in th e previous m onth,
b u t w ere still considerably below production.
S hipm ents d u rin g M arch w ere approxim ately
equal in volum e to those of F eb ru ary . Com ­
p arin g M arch, 1924, w ith M arch, 1923, lum b er
o u tp u t of the district, as rep o rted by four lum ­
b er associations covering th e activ ity of ap­
p roxim ately 200 m ills, w as 5.7 per cent g reater,
and new orders received and shipm ents m ade
w ere respectively 3.4 per cent and 5.9 per cent
sm aller th is y ear th a n last. A ctual figures are
given in the follow ing table (000 om itted ) :

______

T H O U S A N D S OF B A R R E L S

900

^

'X

w

o ff¡

V

o

*%„STO : k s

500

k% i

/

\

y

%

OUT P UT

OF

FLOUR

100
1923

1924

M onthly F lo u r O utput, and Stocks of W heat and F lo u r at E nd of M onth
of 16 R eporting M illing Companies

per cent g re a te r th an d u rin g M arch, 1923. F lo u r
sales d u rin g th e p a st m onth exceeded pro d u c­
tion, and m illers’ stocks of flour w ere reduced
to 476,362 barrels on A pril 1st, th e low est figure
reported for A pril 1st since 1921, and 5.7 per
cent less th a n th e five-year average for th a t
date (505,191 b arrels). W h e a t ground d u rin g




M ar., 1924

Feb., 1924

M ar., 1923

F ive-Y ear
A verage
IMarch

O utput (bbls.)
512,639 578,314 497,545 496,255t
Stocks*
Flour (bbls.)
476,362 508,699 549,582 505,191
W h eat (bu.) 3,448,892 3,520,908 3,146,340 2,892,415
*As of the first day o f the follow ing m onth,
t F our-year average.
N O T E : O u tp u t of th e 16 re p o rtin g m ills d u rin g F e b ru a ry , 1924,
th e la te st m onth fo r w hich com plete com parative da ta a re
available, re p re sen te d approxim ately 64.8 per cent of th e to ta l
p ro duction o f all m ills in th e d istric t producing 5,000 or m ore
b a rre ls of flour an n u ally (as re p o rte d to th e B u re au of th e
C ensus).

M ar., 1924 F eb., 1924

M ar., 1923 F eb., 1923

(board feet)

(board feet)

(board feet) (board feet)

586,050
620,421
573,624
559,399

573,471 442,466
659,718 577,945
601,543 564,721
637,694 673,696

P roduction .............606,686
Shipm ents ..............620,201
Orders ................... ..580,829
U nfilled O r d e r s ... 529,699

D om estic lum ber m ark ets generally are re­
ported to have been relatively inactive durin g
M arch, b u t increased activ ity w as noted d u rin g
th e early w eeks of A pril. S tro n g er dem and w as
reported in foreign m arkets d u rin g M arch th an
d u rin g previous m onths of 1924, sales for

April, 1924

MONTHLY REVIEW OF BUSINESS CONDITIONS

56

M arch being approxim ately 80 per cent of the
total for the first quarter of the year. The total
am ount of foreign sales reported during the
p ast three m onths was less than one-third as
g reat as th at reported during the same period
in 1923. More than 60 per cent of the new or­
ders received during M arch were from m arkets
on the W est Coast of South America.

cents per pound on April 20, 1923. This metal
has continued in active demand. Zinc and silver
prices declined slightly during the past month.
Present quotations are approxim ately 16.0 per
cent and 5.0 per cent, respectively, lower than
one year ago. Average prices paid for the prin­
cipal non-ferrous m etals during March, 1924,
and 1923, and February, 1924, are given in the
following ta b le :

MILLIONS OF BOARD FE E T

Copper (lb.)
(cents)
N ew York Electrolytic., . 13.52
Lead (lb.)
N ew Y o r k ........................ 9.01
Silver (oz.)
63.96
Zinc (lb.)
St. L o u is .......................... 6.49
Quicksilver (dollars per
flask) San Francisco___ 63.07

eoo

600

400

200

(cents)

(centi)

12.71

16.83

8.55

8.25

64.36

67.56

6.76

7.71

59.67

69.91

Petroleum

-

1929

1924

Lumber Production« Orders Received, and Shipments in Twelfth
Federal Reserve District as Reported by Four Lumber
Associations, 1923-1924

M in in g

Prelim inary reports indicate little change in
non-ferrous metal production at the mines of
this district during M arch, although a ten­
dency tow ard an increased output of lead has
been reported. Figures for national production
of copper, silver, zinc, and quicksilver during
F ebruary, 1924, the latest month for which final
statistics are available, January, 1924, and Feb­
ruary, 1923, are given in the following table :
Copper (lbs.) (mine Feb., 1924
Jan., 1924
Feb., 1923
production) . . . . 128,260,000 132,817,000 102,515,000
Silver (oz.) (com ­
mercial b a r s ) ...
5,426,776
5,221,000
4,729,000
Zinc (tons)
(slab) ..................
43,933
49,709
42,443
Quicksilver (flasks—
75 lbs., estim ated)
900
800
550
Figures for lead are not available.

Follow ing a period of activity during the first
tw o weeks of M arch, dem and for the principal
non-ferrous m etals, excepting lead, declined
and price advances of the earlier period were
not m aintained. Copper, which in response to a
rising foreign demand, had risen in price from
13}4 cents to 14 cents per pound during early
M arch, again declined to 13f4 cents per pound
on A pril 10th, where it now stands, compared
w ith 17 cents per pound on April 21,1923. Lead
prices declined from the recent high point of 10
cents per pound reached on F ebruary 29th to
9 cents per pound on M arch 20th, later (April
10th) declining fu rther to 8.20 cents per pound,
th e present quotation. Lead was quoted at 8



For the sixth consecutive m onth production
of petroleum in California during March was
less than in the preceding month, and the aver-|
age daily flow of oil from producing wells inth a t state on April 1st was 32.1 per cent below !
the peak of September, 1923. Consumption of'
oil (as indicated by shipm ents) declined during;
the month by an am ount approxim ately equal
to the decline in production, and stored stocks,,
as in February, showed a relatively slight in­
crease. From January 1st to M arch 31, 1924/
stored stocks of petroleum in California in*;
creased 4,741,566 barrels or 5.1 per cent. Dur*
ing the same period of 1923 they increased by
5,408,643 barrels or 8.8 per cent. A statistical
sum m ary of the petroleum industry in Califor­
nia is presented in the following ta b le :
C A L IF O R N IA P E T R O L E U M S IT U A T IO N
Indicated
Average
Average
Daily
Daily
Consumption
Production (Shipments)
(barrels)
(barrels)

Mar.,
Feb.,
Sept.,
Mar.,
____

1924
1924
1923
1923

642,363
666,939
858,750
632,522

603,453
625,364
779,657
575,065

Stored *New W ell, ->
Daily
Stocks at
Produc­
End of
tion
Month
Number
(barrels)
Opened
(barrels)

96,666,719 131
95,460,505* 102
85,496,609
93
66,593,571
71

62,771
44,471
139,960
97,425

•C orrected figure. Figure given in this table of M arch, 1924,
Review was in error.

Production of gasolene at California refin­
eries declined slightly during F ebruary as com­
pared w ith January, 1924. Total output of 41
reporting plants, at 106,086,405 gallons for Feb­
ruary, 1924, was 2.9 per cent less than reported
output of 42 refineries during January, 1924,
b u t 12.5 per cent greater than production dur­
ing February, 1923, as shown by comparable
figures. Indicated consum ption of gasolene
(83,271,000 gallons) during F ebruary was 21.5
per cent less than production during th a t m onth

FEDERAL RESERVE AGENT AT SAN FRANCISCO

April, 1924

and stored stocks rose to 224,097,304 gallons on
February 29, 1924, 11.3 per cent above the figure
reported for January 30, 1924, and 85.6 per cent
above that reported on February 28, 1923. Out­
put and stocks of gasolene at California re­
fineries for February and January, 1924, and
1923, are given in the following tab le:
Feb., 1924
(gallons)

Jan., 1924
(gallons)

Feb., 1923
(gallons)

Jan., 1923
(gallons)

R efinery O u tp u t. 106,086,405 109,307,994 92,852,538 92,686,090
S to red Stocks* .. 224,097,304 201,281,887 120,680,550 116,433,560

centage comparisons of sales by certain indus­
tries and by sections of the district are pre­
sented in the following tab le:
Percentage Increase or Decrease (— ) February, 1924, compared
with February, 1923
Total
A gricul­
M an u­ Industrial
Sales
M ining facturing
ture

California ....................
153.8
Pacific N o r th w e st__ -- 18.9
Interm ountain States. 137.0
T w elfth D istr ic t......... 152.0

M IL L IO N S
4 0 0

Num ber of
Industrial Consumers
Feb.,
Feb.,
1924
1923

3 0 0
S T O R E D S T 3CK'S o f g a
(G A L L O N S )

C alifornia .................. 77,023
Pacific N orthw est . . 12,686
In te rm o u n ta in S tates 5,165
T w elfth D istric t . . . . 94,874

IO O
8 0
6 0

15.3
8.9
6.9
12.3

34.3
12.9
28.3
28.3

18.0
49.4
16.5
27.9

Figures showing the number of industrial
consumers and the volume of industrial sales
of reporting companies during February, 1924,
and 1923, follow:

*As o f th e last day o f th e m onth.

200

57

Industrial Sales K . W . H .
Feb.,
Feb.,
1923
1924

56,919
11,164
4,980
73,063

163,910,221
63,482,863
42,359,847
269,752,931

220,220,511
71,721,734
54,388,412
346,330,65 7

MILLIONS OF KILOW ATT HOURS
500

STORED S' OCKS OF P
(BBLS.)

4 0

450
2 0

✓

✓

s

y

400
f

*
%
\

\

\

r

IO

1924

[ i r i i H i i~ i 111~~i

1923

i iii

i i in

i~ t

ii i

1924

Industrial sales of 20 of the largest producers
of electric power in this district were 28.3 per
cent larger in amount during February, 1924,
than during February, 1923, while the number
of industrial consumers increased 29.8 per cent.
How much of this increase represents greater
industrial activity in the district it would be
difficult to determine, as electric energy has
undoubtedly been substituted for other types
of power by many industries.
Increased consumption as compared with
February a year ago was reported for all in­
dustries for which segregated figures are avail­
able. The largest percentage increase (152.0
per cent) was in agricultural sales, due to
urgent power needs for pumping irrigation
water in California and some sections of the
Intermountain States, where rainfall has been
deficient. Sales to farm consumers, however,
comprised only 5.9 per cent of total industrial
sales during February, 1924, compared with 3.0
per cent during February, 1923. Increases in
sales to other industries, such as general manu­
facturing and mining, were substantial. Per-




\

^ '¡ 9 2 3

350
f

Production, Shipments, and Stored Stocks of Petroleum, and Refinery
Stored Stocks of Gasolene, 1923-1924

Electric Energy

\

'/

*

\

V

✓

9

/

300

/
✓

250
1

I

-1

...1____J - ---- L_

,i

.....i

i

í. i _

i

T7I

Total Industrial Sales (K . W . H . ) of 20 Power Companies in Twelfth
Federal Reserve District, 1923>1924

Employment
Employment in the Pacific Northwest and
Intermountain States increased slightly in vol­
ume during March to levels as high as a year
ago, due to seasonal expansion of operations in
agriculture, lumbering, mining, building con­
struction, and other outdoor industries. In Cali­
fornia, on the contrary, a slight increase of un­
employment is reported, due to curtailed agri­
cultural activity as a result of inadequate rain­
fall during the winter and spring, and com­
paratively slow expansion in other seasonal in­
dustries.
Figures compiled by the United States De­
partment of Agriculture show that the supply
of farm labor in all states of the district except
Arizona, California and Washington was less
than normal on April 1st. The need for farm

58

M O NTHLY REVIEW OF BUSINESS CONDITIONS

laborers except in Washington, however, was
below normal and the supply generally was
somewhat greater than the demand. Detailed
figures by states in the Twelfth District and
for the United States for April 1, 1924, and
1923, are given in the following tab le:
Supply
Per Gent of
Norm al
A p ril 1,
1924
1923

A rizona ..........102
C alifornia ... 102
Idaho ..............94
N e v a d a ...........83
O r e g o n ...........91
U tah .............. ..98
W ash in gto n .. 102
U n ited States 83.4

98
94
92
84
89
96
88
83.6

Demand
Per Gent of
N orm al
A p ril 1,
1924
1923

97
85
92
90
88

90

100
90.4

96
96
92
95
93
92
95
94.6

Supply
Per Cent ot
Demand
A p ril 1,
1924
1923

104
120

102
98

102

100

92
88
96
103
109 102
102
88
92.3 88.4

Automobile Registrations
A marked decrease in purchases of new auto­
mobiles in California during the first two
months of 1924 as compared with the first two
months of 1923 and a marked increase in such
purchases in other states of the district during
the same period are shown by figures of regis­
trations of new cars now available for five
states. Registrations of new passenger cars and
new commercial vehicles in California during
January and February, 1924, were 10.3 per cent
and 19.4 per cent, respectively, smaller in num­
ber than during the same two months of 1923.
In the district as a whole, notwithstanding the
declines in California, where more than 75 per
cent of total new car sales of the district are
usually made, there was a slight increase in
sales of new automobiles during this period as
compared with a year ago. An increase of 2.6
per cent in district sales of passenger automo­
biles more than offset a decline of 4.1 per cent
in total sales of commercial machines. Figures

April, 1924

per cent). Detailed figures showing registra­
tions during the first quarter of 1924 and 1922
by states of this district (figures for Nevada
are not available) follow :
January 1 to A p ril 1,
1924
1923

Percentage
Increase
1924 over 1923

A rizona ..............., ..
44,776
California ........... . , 1,082,436
77,593
, . . 271,723
U t a h .....................
49,498
W ash in gton . . . . . . .
191,087

35,259
808,719
32,789
172,585
27,240
148,906

27.0
33.8
136.7
57.4
81.7
28.3

1,717,113

1,165,498

47.3

Motor vehicle output in the United States,
which had risen to record levels during January
and February, 1924, increased by less than the
usual seasonal amount during March. Produc­
tion was approximately 10 per cent greater than
in March, 1923, whereas in the previous months
of 1924, gains of more than 30 per cent over
corresponding months of 1923 were reported.
Output during the first quarter of 1924, as com­
pared with the first quarter of 1923, was greater
by approximately 21.5 per cent. Preliminary
figures showing production of identical com­
panies during March and February of this year
follow :
M arch.
February,
1924

1924

P assen ger C ars.............................. 304,248
Trucks .............................................. 26,962

293,236
23,209

T otal ............................................. 331,210

316,445

Retail Trade

Retail sales during March, 1924, as reported
by 35 department stores in seven cities of this
district, were 1.3 per cent smaller in value than
during March, 1923. This is the first time since
April, 1922, when a decline of 1.3 per cent was
reported, that current monthly sales have not
been greater in value than during the corre­
sponding month of the previous year. The de­
f0 ll0 W :
Total
Total
N e w Passenger
N e w Commercial
cline may be attributed, at least in part, to the
Cars Registered
Cars Registered
fact that Easter Sunday occurred on April 20th
Jan. 1 to M ar. 1,
Jan. 1 to M a r. 1,
1924
1923
1924
1923
this year, whereas in 1923 it came on April 1st,
210
67
A rizona .................. 1,8151,276
so that most of the Easter buying of 1923 was
California .............. 26,524
29,570
2,323
2,883
done in March while that for 1924 was done in
Idaho ......................
1,154638
140
70
April.
O r e g o n ................... 5,7023,350
391
197
Stocks of goods held by the reporting stores
U tah ......................... 1,017463
72
53
were 11.4 per cent greater in value on April 1,
W ash in gton ..........
*4,809
*
698
1924, than on April 1, 1923. A reported in­
crease of 24.9 per cent in the value of stocks
T otal (5 S tates) 36,202
35,297
3,136
3,270
held by reporting stores in Los Angeles was
*N ot available.
largely responsible for the increase in the dis­
Total registrations of old and new automo­ trict. To a certain extent, no doubt, the present
biles in this district during the first quarter of increase reflects the difference in dates of
1924 were 47.3 per cent greater than registra­ Easter Sunday in the two years.
All cities reported increases in the value of
tions during the first quarter of 1923, due prin­
cipally to large increases in Idaho (136.7 per sales during March as compared with Febru­
cent), Oregon (57.4 per cent) and Utah (81.7 ary.




April, 1924

FEDERAL RESERVE AGENT AT SAN FRANCISCO

A detailed statement of the percentage
changes in the value of sales and stocks of re­
porting department stores in this district fol­
lows .
Percentage increase Percentage increase
or decrease ( — ) in
value of
sales M ar., 1924,
compared with
N o . of
M a r.,
Feb.,
Stores
1923
1924

or decrease (— ) in
value of
stocks M ar., 1924,
compared with
M a r.,
Feb.,
1923
1924

L os A n g e le s ......... 6
Oakland ............... 4
San F ra n cisco __ 10
Seattle .................. 5
Spokane ............... 5
Salt Lake C it y .. . 4

6.2
— 9.9
— 5.6
— 0.7
— 16.0
— 4.0

5.8
13.4
12.0
26.2
6.5
18.7

24.7
10.2
6.6
1.6
7.6
11.2

4.9
8.5
10.8
11.3
7.7
9.9

D is t r ic t * ...........35

— 1.3

11.0

11.4

8.4

of sales during March, 1923, and February,
1924, are presented in the following tab le:
Number
of Firm s

M ar., 1923

Agricultural Im p lem en ts. . . . 23
18
A utom obile S u p p lies........
19
A utom obile T ir e s ..............
9
D ry G o o d s...........................
15
Electrical S u p p lies............
8
Furniture .............................. . . 1 7
Groceries .............................
28
Hardware ............................ . . 20
14
Stationery ...........................,
26

— 8.6
4.6
—24.8
3.8
— 13.1
7.2
— 3.5
2.4
— 7.2
— 19.9
— 1.5

Feb., 1924

31.4
16.1
5.9
8.4
3.9
8.8
— 0.7
4.3
10.9
13.1
8.8

Collections during the past three months
have been reported as follow s:
Num ber of Firm s Reporting Collections as
Excellent
Good
Fair
Poor

•Figures for one store included in district figures but not included
in figures for cities shown above.
M IL L IO N S O F D O L L A R S

59

January, 1924.
February, 1924.
March,
1924.

... 4
... 1
... 3
MARCH PRICES

33
35
33

85
84
78

12

16
16

1923= 100%= MARCH 19235ALES

U.S.BUREAU OF UBOft INDEX
NO. WHOLESALE PRICES
AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS
AUTOMOBILE SUPPLIES
AUTOMOBILE TIRES
DRUGS
DRY GOODS
FURNITURE
GROCERIES
HARDWARE
SHOES
S TATIO N E R Y
100

Net Sales of 31 Department Stores in Tw elfth Federal Reserve District
( i n M illio n s of D o lla r s )

W holesale Trade
Retailers, having satisfied urgent spring
needs in January and February, resumed their
former cautious attitude regarding future com­
mitments during March, and as a result the
wholesale trade situation of the district again
became slightly irregular. Of the eleven whole­
sale lines for which this bank compiles figures,
seven reported decreases in the value of sales
during March, 1924, as compared with the same
month a year ago, and five reported increases.
All lines except furniture reported increases
(largely seasonal) in the volume of sales as
compared with February, 1924.
Percentage increases or decreases (—) in the
value of March sales of all reporting firms in
each line of business, compared with the value




120

140

Dollar Value of Sales of Representative Wholesale Firm s and General
Wholesale Prices in M arch, 1924, compared with M arch, 1923

Building Activity
Building permits issued in 20 principal cities
of the district during March, 1924, were 2.1 per
cent less in value than during March, 1923, the
first decline reported in such yearly compari­
sons since July, 1921. The number of permits
issued during March, 1924, however, was
slightly greater than the number issued during
March, 1923, and if figures of value of permits
are corrected for price changes during the past
3^ear it appears likely that the physical volume
of building proposed during March, 1924, was
greater than that proposed during March, 1923,
inasmuch as there has been a greater percent­
age decline in building materials prices since
March, 1923, than in the value of permits.
(W ages in the building trades, the other prin­
cipal element entering into cost of construction,
have changed little.) The United States De-

60

A pril, 1924

M O NTHLY REVIEW OF BUSINESS CONDITIONS

partment of Labor index number of building
materials prices stood at 182 in March (1913
prices=100). The figure was unchanged as
compared with one month ago, 8.0 per cent
lower than a year ago, and 10.8 per cent below
the peak of April, 1923. The Aberthaw index
number of the cost of constructing a reinforced
concrete factory building remained unchanged
during March and stood at 202 on April 1, 1924
(100 in 1915), compared with 204 on April 1,
1923. The latest figure is 2.4 per cent below the
recent peak (207) reached June 1, 1923.
Percentage increases or decreases (—) in
the number and value of building permits is­
sued in 20 cities of this district during March,
1924, as compared with February, 1924, and
March, 1923, follow :
Percentage Increase or Decrease (— ) in the Number and Value of
Building Permits issued in 20 Cities
M a r., 1924, compared with
Feb., 1924
M ar., 1923

N um ber o f P erm its Is su e d .............
V alue of P erm its Is su e d .................

11.0
15.1

1.5
— 2.1

6 0
4 0

Business Failures
The number of business failures in the dis­
trict during March, 1924, was 9.0 per cent less
than during March, 1923, but liabilities in­
volved were greater by 4.2 per cent. Compared
with February, 1924, there was an increase both
in the number and in the liabilities of failing
concerns.
Percentage Increase or Decrease ( — ) in the Num ber and Liabilities of
Business Failures in the Tw elfth Federal Reserve District
M a r., 1924, compared with
M a r., 1923
Feb., 1924

N um ber of B u sin ess F a ilu r e s ... — 9.0
L iabilities of B usiness F ailu res.
4.2

R. G. Dun & Company’s preliminary figures
of the number and liabilities of business fail­
ures in the states of the district during March,
1924, and February, 1924, follow:
No.

A rizona
Californi
Idaho . .
N evada .
O regon
U tah . . .

NT OF PER MITS IN
M IL L IO N S OF DOLLARS

2 0

M arch, 1924
Liabilities

$

4,329
985,091
71,572
0
199,443
275,300
750,024

0
91
12
2
26
12
40

191

$2,285,759

183

/ \ AM<)UNT OF

LIABILITI :s#

2000

\

A

Vv

A

$

0
776,406
224,245
9,548
245,622
314,935
425,154

$1,995,910

N O .O F F A I L U R E S
---------- -------------- , 5 0 0

5000

IO

February, 1924
No.
Liabilities

1
103
6
0
27
14
40

O M IT T E D )

NUME
IN TH

4.3
14.5

\

Jr*

K

200

c ..

NUMBER 0 'FAILURES V

I » i i iT i_i_t71.,.i_i_l_l1j_i_I_lLj_i—i—Li—i—»—i—l
1 9 2 3

IO O

IO O O

1924-

Building Permits Issued in 20 Principal Cities, Tw elfth Federal
Reserve District, 1923-1924

50

500

100 1 1 1 . I....! r. L_1— 1—lLj— 1— 1—L
1923

(C) B u ild in g P erm its—
M arch, 1924
No.
Value

B e r k e le y .........
B o i s e ...............
F resno ............
L o n g B e a c h ..
L o s A n g e le s ..
O akland .........
O gden ............
Pasadena ----P h oen ix .........
P ortland ........
R eno ...............
Sacram ento . .
Salt L ake C ity
San D i e g o . . . .
San F rancisco.
San J o s e ..........
Seattle ............
Spokane .........
Stockton ........
T acom a ..........

286
75
130
469
5,256
1,386
36
353
76
1,528
14
324
156
496
994
122
1,040
312
118
391

D istric t ....1 3 ,5 6 2




j lO

1924

Business Failures, Tw elfth Federal Reserve District, 1923*1924
M arch, 1923
Value
No.

956,950
71,777
175,943
2,287,240
17,279,758
2,896,416
204,500
885,252
118,010
3,247,290
26,900
622,072
833,020
800,739
4,652,933
217,175
2,151,860
359,485
810,140
763,102

238
83
211
517
5,556
1,014
34
350
66
1,316
21
347
90
500
977
139
1,052
242
159
446

$39,360,562

13,358

$

_1_L 1 1 1 1 i «

$

703,095
45,895
520,668
1,974,618
21,196,087
2,581,989
90,600
1,001,770
585,843
2,761,220
83,875
728,688
380,356
1,409,013
3,229,672
280,605
1,362,985
221,205
533,720
511,536

$40,203,440

Bank Debits
The volume of business transacted in this
district during March, 1924, as indicated by
checks drawn against accounts of individuals
at banks (bank debits), continued large. Total
debits at banks in 20 principal clearing house
centers during the month showed an increase
of 7.9 per cent over March, 1923, which was a
month of great activity in business. This in­
crease is slightly in excess of the estimated
normal annual increase (approximately 6 per
cent in this district). An increase of 3.1 per
cent in bank debits during March as compared
with February was less than the normal
seasonal increase between these two months,
but unusual activity during February rather
than dullness during March was responsible
for this movement.

April, 1924

The following table shows total debits by
months for the past six months, as computed
by this bank from weekly figures reported by
20 clearing house associations (000 om itted):

1924

61

FEDERAL RESERVE AGENT AT SAN FRANCISCO

Percentage
Increase or Decrease (—)
as compared with
One
One
Year Ago
Month Ago

Amount

M a r c h ....................... $2,698,824
February .................. 2,501,242
January ................... 2,646,762

7.9
20.4
6.9

3.1
— 5.5
1.2

7.4
18.9
18.4

1.2
— 3.6
12.3

1923

D ecem ber ................ 2,614,713
N ovem ber ............... 2,582,887
O ctober ................... 2,679,253

Detailed data showing debits for 21 individ­
ual cities for the four weeks ended March 26,

1924, and for the corresponding period a year
ago, are presented in table “ D.”
Savings Accounts
Savings deposits in 72 banks in seven prin­
cipal cities of the district amounted to $1,010,941.000 on March 31st, a figure 0.4 per cent
greater than the previous record total of $1,006,480.000 reached on February 29, 1924. The ad­
vance during the month was due to increases in
savings deposits at San Francisco, Oakland,
Seattle, and Salt Lake City, the latter city
showing a gain of 4.6 per cent. During the year
period March, 1923, to March, 1924, reported
savings deposits increased 12.5 per cent, an
M ILLIO NS OP DOLLARS

M IL L IO N S O F D O L L A R S

Savings Deposits of 73 Banks in Seven Cities of Twelfth District
(B ase year 1919.)

Debits to Individual Accounts in 20 Principal Cities, Twelfth Federal
Reserve District, 1923-1924

(D )

B a n k Debits * —

B e r k e le y ................................
B oise ......................................
F resno ...................................
L o n g Beach ........................
L os A n g e le s .........................
Oakland ................... ............
O g d e n ....................................
Pasadena ..............................
P h oen ix ................................
P o r tla n d ................................
Reno ......................................
Sacram ento ..........................
Salt Lake C ity ....................
San D iego ............................
San F ra n cisco ......................
San J o s e ................................
Seattle ...............................;.
Spokane ................................
Stockton ...............................
Tacom a ................................
Yakima .................................
T otal . . .
*000 omitted.




Four weeks
ending
Mar. 26,1924

.. $
.. .
,. ,

,
.
.

,
,
.

15,555
9,798
26,732
57,491
826,422
125,076
22,210
37,371
19,400
148,967
6,686
35,805
56,151
43,677
806,464
19,112
181,817
45,783
22,504
48,672
9,603

.$2,565,296

Four weeks
ending
Mar. 28,1923

$

16,059
10,914
45,563
56,335
668,447
121,055
26,370
33,646
17,287
132,835
8,161
31,895
55,063
44,887
799,321
19,785
160,505
45,411
20,824
36,789
9,084

$2,360,236

amount considerably in excess of the increase
which could be attributed to interest accruals
alone. Detailed changes in the amount of sav­
ings deposits during the month and year, as
reported by the 72 banks, are presented in the
following table:
PerCent IocreMe
or Decrease (—)
Mar., 1924,

Number
*Mar.,
of
*Feb., *Mar.,
Banks
1924
1924
1923
Los Angeles ... 13 $ 342,459 $; 343,125 $295,074
7
93,588
92,854
86,526
9
49,805
50,079
44,011
Salt Lake City. 8
26,452
28,669
27,385
San Francisco $ 14
414,387
411,380 374,090
Seattle^ ........... 15
65,113
64,705
55,604
6
16,952
16,920
15,925
72

$1,010,941 $1,006,480 $897,682

Mar.,
1923
16.0
8.1
13.1
8.3
10.7
17.1
6.2
12.5

Feb.,
1924
— .1
.7
— .5
4.6
.7
.6
— .1
.4

*000 omitted.
flncludes one bank in Berkeley which was formerly a branch of
an Oakland bank.
$The consolidation of reporting banks has reduced their number
but has not affected the value of reported figures for compara­
tive purposes.

Banking and Credit Situation
Total loans of 67 reporting member banks,
after increasing to the record figure of $1,027,000,000 on February 20th, declined during the
last week of February and during the greater

62

A pril, 1924

M O NTHLY REVIEW OF BUSINESS CONDITIONS

part of March, reaching $1,013,000,000 on
March 26th. During the two weeks ending
April 9, 1924, however, loans again increased,
and on the latter date amounted to $1,020,000,000, a decrease of $3,000,000 (0.3 per cent) from
the figure reported a month before, and of
$7,000,000 (6.8 per cent) from the high figure
of February 20, 1924. L ast year during Febru­
ary, March and early April loans expanded
steadily without check, and at this time a year
ago were $49,000,000 or 5 per cent less than
they are now.
Despite the decline in loans, the total volume
of credit (total loans and investments) ex­
tended by these banks increased during the
period under review, as a result of increases in
their investment holdings, which, at $359,000,000 on March 19, 1924, were higher than at any
time since July 3, 1923. Total loans and invest­
ments at $1,376,000,000 on the same date also
approximated the peak figures of the mid-sum-

than a month before and $43,000,000 (3.2 per
cent) greater than one year ago.
Member banks have continued to finance
business and industry of the district largely
independently of the Reserve Bank. Reserve
Bank discounts and holdings of banker’s ac­
ceptances have declined during recent weeks
and total earning assets at $77,586,000 on April
16,1924, were at the lowest point reported since
July, 1918. Total discounts, at $35,738,000 on
that date, were lower than at any time since
November, 1917. Federal Reserve note circula­
tion declined $2,000,000 or 0.1 per cent during
the month, but at $204,000,000 on April 16,
1924, was $7,000,000 greater than a year ago.
Interest rates eased during the month ending
April 12th. The initial downward movement ,
was the result of Treasury operations in the i
New York market (a temporary excess of dis- \
bursements over receipts) during the mid- I
M IL L IO N S OF D O L L A R S

M IL L IO N S O F D O L L A R S

Total Reserves, Federal Reserve Note Circulation, Bills Discounted,
and Investments, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

mer of 1923. Declining investment holdings
subsequent to March 19th partially offset the
gains of previous weeks, but at $1,374,000,000
on April 9, 1924, total loans and investments
were still $16,000,000 (1.2 per cent) greater

March tax payment period, but easiness con­
tinued after that date. Weekly average in­
terest rates on various classes of paper in the
New York market as reported by the Federal
Reserve Bank of New York are given in the
following table (figures are for the week end­
ing on date shown) :
A p r. 12,
1924

M ar. 15,
1924

Autum n
Peak A p r. 14,
1923
1923

T im e M o n ey ............... 4 j4 -4 ^ % 4 ^ - 4 ^ % 5y2% S% %
C ommercial P a p e r ...
4 y2
4^[
5%
S-5%
B ankers'A cceptances
4
4$i
4%
4

PRINCIPAL RESOURCE AND LIABILITY ITEMS OF REPORTING MEMBER BANKS IN RESERVE
CITIES IN TWELFTH FEDERAL RESERVE DISTRICT
A p ril 9,1924

February 6,1924

A p ril 11,1923

N um ber o f R eporting B a n k s........................................................................
67*
68*
66*
L oans and D iscou n ts (including r e d isc o u n ts).................................... $1,019,848,000 $1,022,874,000 $ 970,893,000
Investm en ts ......................................................................................................
353,966,000
334,882,000
369,435,000
Cash in V ault and w ith Federal R eserve B a n k ....................................
116,975,000
117,214,000
111,048,000
T otal D e p o sits.................................................................................................... 1,336,403,0001,316,230,000
1,328,106,000
Bills Payable and R ediscounts w ith Federal R eserve B an k .............
27,534,000
34,215,000
35,310,000
*Due to changes in the composition of the list of reporting banks, current figures are not exactly comparable with those of a year ago.




F inancial Co n d itio n s

in th e

T w elfth F ed er a l R e se r v e D istr ic t
by

JOHN PERRIN, Chairman of the Board and Federal Reserve Agent
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

San Francisco, California, April 21, 1924
SU RV EY of financial conditions in the
Twelfth Federal Reserve District based
upon reports of condition of all banks (State
and National) as of December 31, 1923, is pre­
sented herewith in comparison with a similar
survey made a year ago on December 29, 1922.
Considering the district as a whole, comparison
of the two surveys shows little change in finan­
cial conditions during the year 1923, both sets
of figures revealing a generally sound banking
situation. Within the district there has been a
slight shifting of banking strength, gains in
some sections, notably southeastern Idaho, be­
ing offset by losses in such widely scattered
areas as the middle San Joaquin Valley in
California, the Yakima Valley in Washington,
and the counties of eastern Utah.
As in previous surveys, the ratio of total
loans and discounts to total deposits of all
banks, State and National, in a given area was
used in determining the financial condition of
that area. Where the total of loans and dis­
counts was less than 80 per cent of total de­
posits, financial conditions were characterized
as "good” (colored blue on accompanying
m aps); where the ratio was between 80 per
cent and 100 per cent, financial conditions were
characterized as “ fair” (colored yellow on
maps) ; and where the ratio was over 100 per
cent, financial conditions were characterized as
“poor” (colored green on maps).
This study relates primarily to conditions in
the agricultural regions of the district, as have
A




previous studies. The following summary,
which excludes figures for the cities of Berke­
ley, Los Angeles, Oakland, Portland, Salt Lake
City, San Francisco, Seattle, and Spokane,
shows the continued improvement in condition
since the end of 1921:
P R O P O R T IO N O F T O T A L D E P O S IT S O P B A N K S I N
C O L O R E D A R E A S T O T O T A L D E P O S IT S O F
A L L C O U N TR Y BANKS
Deo. 31.
1921

D o«. 29.
1922

Dee. 31,
1923

. . 80.3%
“Good” areas..........
“Fair” areas.......... ........ 12.7%
“Poor” areas.......... ........ 7.0%

89.0%
7.4%
3.6%

87.9%
10.0%
2.1%

Total deposits of all banks included in the
above summary—the so-called country banks—
were, on December 31, 1923, approximately 33
per cent of total bank deposits in the Twelfth
Federal Reserve District, and the ratio of their
total loans and discounts to their total deposits
was, on December 31, 1923, 68.3 per cent, com­
pared with 70.7 per cent on December 29, 1922.
Deposits in the cities above mentioned
equalled 67 per cent of total bank deposits in
the district, and the ratio of their combined
loans to deposits was 67.6 per cent compared
with 64.9 per cent on December 29, 1922.
The above figures indicate that financial con­
ditions generally are “good” in the principal
cities of the district and in those agricÉmiral
areas in which approximately 88 per cent of the
banking resources of-the agricultural sections
are to be found.

April, 1924

63

FEDERAL RESERVE AGENT AT SAN FRANCISCO

WHEAT MARKETING IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST

Harvesting of wheat in the Pacific North­
west begins late in June, increasing in volume
until the peak is reached in August and is or­
dinarily completed early in September. It is
thus practically the first wheat of the cereal
year (July to June) to reach international mar­
kets, where most of the large annual surplus of
wheat in the Pacific Northwest above seed and
feed requirements is normally sold. The accom­
panying chart shows graphically the harvest­
ing periods (immediately following which the
heaviest shipments are normally made) of the
chief surplus wheat producing countries of the
world, and the proportion which each country
contributes to the total amount contributed by
all to the international wheat trade. It appears
therefrom that competition in. world markets
between the wheat grown in the Pacific North­
west and wheat grown in other parts of the
United States and in foreign countries will nor­
mally be least during the weeks immediately
following the harvesting in the Pacific North­
west. Each week that wheat of the Pacific
Northwest is “held” after October brings more
new crop wheat from other countries into com­
petition with it in world markets; first, from
Canada in October and early November, then
from Argentine in January and from Australia
in February.
Whether or not the farmers of the Pacific
Northwest sell the bulk of their wheat imme­
diately after harvest, it is difficult to estimate,
because the Department of Agriculture's first

report on “stocks of wheat held on farms” is
as of March 1st. These figures for the current
year show a record number of bushels (15,511,000) of wheat held on Pacific Northwestern
farms, due in large measure to the record crop
of 118,665,000 bushels harvested in 1923. Measf f f f > Z J o a i - > u 2 a i
< a < 3 3 D U I U O U < U J

PERCENT
OF
TOTAL*

* 20
TW ELFTH
D IS T R IC T
U N IT E D
STATES
CANADA

!

A R G E N T IN A

: ::

A U S T R A L IA
B R IT IS H
IN D IA

Wheat Harvest Periods in Principal Wheat Exporting Countries
•Percentage of combined total exports from all countries named, based on five-year
average expons. 1919-1923. Percentage for Twelfth District also included in
that given for the United States.

ured in percentage of the total harvest, these
farm stocks on March 1, 1924, at 13.1 per cent
of the crop, were exceeded twice before in re­
cent years, once in 1918, a war year when they
were 14.8 per cent, and again in 1921 following
the drastic price decline of 1920 when they
(C ontinued on page 64.)

COMPARATIVE STATEM ENT OF CONDITION OF FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF SA N FRANCISCO
AT CLOSE OF B U SIN E SS APRIL 16, 1924
R ESO U R C E S
April 16.1924

March 12, 1924

April 18.1923

T otal R eserves ............................................................................................................. $293,080,000
B ills D iscounted ......................................................................................................... 35,738,000
B ills Bought in Open M arket ............................................................................. 14,471,000
United States Government Securities ............................................................. 27,377,000

$291,006,000

$229,877,000

T otal Earning A sse ts .............................................................................................
A ll Other R esources* .............................................................................................

77,586,000
55,578,000

Total Resources......................................................................................................$426,244,000

42,893,000
21,021,000
22,304,000

58,749,000
37,267,000
27,617,000

86,218,000
56,900,000

123,633,000
55,528,000

$434,124,000

$409,038,000

Federal Reserve N otes in Actual Circulation .......................................... $203,727,000
Total D ep osits .............................................................................................................. 156,553,000
Capital and Surplus .................................................................................................. 23,156,000
A ll Other L iab ilitiesf ............................................................................................... 42,808,000

$206,479,000
158,461,000
23,201,000
45,983,000

$196,796,000
148,996,000
23,040,000
40,246,000

Total Liabilities......................................................................................................$426,244,000

$434,124,000

$409,038,000

L IA B IL IT IE S

♦Include« “Uncollected Items'* ...........................................................................
fln clu d es “Deferred Availability Item s” ......................................................



45,221,000
41,356,000

45,691,000
44,396,000

42,350,000
38,743,000

64

MONTHLY REVIEW OF BUSINESS CONDITIONS

April, 1924

WHEAT MARKETING IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST—Continued

vnere 16.1 per cent of the then record crop of sponsible for the small crop of that year. The
110,561,000 bushels. Figures for Idaho, Oregon, table also shows that farmers were holding on
and Washington combined showing acreage March 1st last 15,511,000 bushels (13.1 per cent
planted to wheat, total production and stocks of the crop), as compared with average hold­
remaining on farms on March 1st and July 1st ings on this date over a five-year period of
during each of the past seven years are pre­ 10,022,000 bushels (11.9 per cent), and, what is
sented in the following table (000 omitted) :
more significant, that there has been a tendency
over recent years to market a diminishing per­
Stocks on Farms*
Acreage
Production
M ar. 1st
July 1st
centage of the crop before March 1st. It seems
Year
(aerei)
(bushels)
(bushels) (bushels)
desirable that this situation be recognized if
1917
3,474
45,690
7,363
970
abnormal carryovers are to be avoided.
(1 0 .2 )
(1.3)
1918

4,213

64,690

1919

4,596

79,300

1920

4,632

88,692

1921

4,755

110,561

1922

4,702

75,279

1923

4,633

118,665

1924

..

5 - y e a r a v e r a g e 4 ,5 8 0 f
____

8 3 ,7 0 4 f

6,754
(1 4 .8 )
6,696
(1 0 .3 )
8,333
(1 0 .5 )
14,257
(1 6 .1 )
11,762
(1 0 .6 )
9,062

366
(0 .8 )
809
(1 .3 )
1,438
(1 .8 )
4,093
(4 .6 )
2,623
(2 .4 )
1,390

(12.0)

( 1.8)

15,511
(1 3 .1 )
10,022*
(1 1 .9 )

M IL L IO N S O F B U S H E L S IQ 2 0 3 0 4 0 5 0 6 0 7 0 flO 9 0 100 110 120

PRODUCTION
f § TOTAL SHIPMENTS*
H MAR. IS IÏ FARM
■ JU L. 151/STOCKS
■SHIPMENTS FIRST 9 M05.11910-19TO1922-23
•TOTAL ANNUAL SHIPHENTSJS YEAR A/ERAGE

2,071$
(2.2)

*Figures in parentheses indicate percentage of crop of previous
year.
+1918-1922 average.
¿1919*1923 average, to compare with 1918-1922 production average.
Source; U nited States Department of Agriculture.

The table shows that the 1923 crop was
raised on an acreage only 1.2 per cent larger
than the preceding five-year average acreage,
but that the yield was 41.7 per cent greater.
Favorable growing and harvesting weather in
1923 was primarily responsible for this great
increase in yield, just as a deficient rainfall in
wheat growing sections during 1922 was re­

Wheat Production, Shipments, and Farm Stocks in Pacific Northwest—
_____
Crop Years 1918-19 to 1923-24
•includes Foreign (export) and Domestic Shipments from Portland and Puffet Sound
ports. Other shipments not included.
fShipments are for first nine months only, July I, 1923, to March 1, 1924.

FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC SHIPMENTS OF WHEAT AND WHEAT AS FLOUR FROM
PORTLAND AND PUGET SOUND

Crop Year
July 1st to
June 30th

1918-19
1919-20
1920-21
1921-22
1922-23
1923-24*
5-Y ear A v e r a g e t ........

t------------ Domestic Shipments-------------v
Total Foreign and
.------------------ Foreign Shipments--------------------*
Total Wheat
Total Wheat -— Domestic Shipments— %
Wheat
and Wheat
Wheat
and Wheat
First Nine
Wheat
as Flour
as Flour Wheat
as Flour
as Flour
Months
Annual
(bushels)
(bushels)
(bushels)(bushels)
(bushels)
(bushels)
(bushels)
(bushels)

1,315,725 24,656,961
3,653,604 29,167,471
29,251,663 13,577,008
42,719,581 16,190,835
19,985,229 16,276,887
25,467,004 22,875,939
19,385,160 19,973,832

25,972,686
122,558 3,841,674
32,821,075
64,732 4,346,111
42,828,671
460,515 5,391,269
58,910,416 549,410 7,313,089
36,262,116
346,849 6,307,066
48,342,943 1,979,336 6,369,881
39,358,992
308,813 5,439,842

3,964,232
4,410,843
5,851,784
7,862,499
6,653,915
8,349,217
5,748,655

18,409,580
26,536,581
35,145,193
55,102,159
36,085,228
56,692,160
34,255,748

29,936,918
37,231,918
48,680,455
66,772,915
42,916,031
45,107,647

•First nine months— Ju ly 1, 1923, to March 31, 1924.
tl918-19 to 1922-23.
Source: Commerciai R tv itw , Portland, Oregon.

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R ed isco unt O pe r a t io n s in t h e
T w elfth F e d e r a l R ese r v e D istr ic t

COMPARATIVE REDISCOUNT OPERATIONS, 1920-1924
(Borrowings of City and Country Member Banka)
(A* o f the end o f ««eh month)

NOTE: City banks include all member banks in Berkeley, Los Angeles, Oakland, Portland, Salt Lake City,
San Francisco, Seattle, and Spokane. Country banks include all other member banks.

BORROWINGS FROM THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK
AND WHOLESALE PRICES
C ity Bank
Borrowing*

Country Bank
Borrowings

$ 62,088,000

$21,978,000

$ 84,066,000

233

Date

1920-1921 Peak.

1922-1923 Low P oint.

1923 Peak.




United States
Bureau of Labor
Wholesale Price
Index
(1913=100)

A ll
Member Bank
Borrowings

Oot. 5.1920

Aug. 23,1921

Oet. 5,1920

May, 1920

$116,286,000

$68,985,000

$174,699,000

247

An*. 8» 1922

$

8,264,000
Oct. 2.1923

Dee. 11,1923

Jan. 16,1923

Jan., 1922

$18,430,000

$ 35,576,000

138

Aug. 28,1923

Oct. 2,1923

M a r.-A p ril

$ 64,269,000

$32,698,000

$ 92,092,000

159

$ 31,491,000

$20,771,000

$ 52,262,000

150