Full text of Economic Review (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco) : March 16, 1921

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« » “NOT TO B E RELEASED FOR P U BLICA TIO N BEFO RE TH E AFTERNOON OF MARCH 28, 1921

A g r ic u l t u r a l a n d B u sin e ss C o n d it io n s
IN T H E 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

M o n th ly R e p o rt to th e F ed eral R eserve B oa rd
by
JOHN PERR IN , Chairman of the Board and Federal Reserve Agent
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

Vol. V.

San Francisco, California, March 16, 1921

SP E C T S for 1921 crops of all kinds in
P WRthisOheat
district are exceptionally favorable.
in the Pacific Northwest has come
through the winter satisfactorily and there will
be practically no reseeding. Opportune rains
and warm weather have caused deciduous fruit
trees to bud and blossom profusely and, if un­
seasonable frosts do not occur,
The Month their yields should be record ones.
The winter has continued favor­
able for the livestock industry. Hay has been
cheap where feeding was necessary and there
has been abundance of early spring grass. Spring
lambing has been unusually free from loss.
Stocks of 1920 agricultural products have
continued to move slowly but steadily to mar­
ket. Holdings of wheat on farms in this dis­
trict are one and one-half times greater than
the five-year average for this season but stocks
of millers and dealers are abnormally low, and
it is generally reported that the entire hold­
over of 1920 wheat will be marketed before
July 1st. Canners’ stocks of canned fruits
which are now approximately 26 per cent of
last year’s pack, were moving sluggishly until,
during February, substantial reductions— in
some cases 50 per cent— were made in canners’
list prices, since which time accelerated mar­
keting is reported. Canners estimate that their
1921 pack will be approximately 75 per cent of
last year’s and that costs will average 30 per
cent less. Increased export demand has re­
duced stocks held by milk condensaries and
they are now increasing output.
Approxi­
mately 60 per cent of the heavy navel orange
crop has gone to market and less than 11 per
cent of the Northwest apple crop remains to

be moved. Market demand for cotton, wool,
and rice, however, is still limited.
Lumber mills are resuming operations, al­
though production generally is but 50 per cent
of normal. Reductions have been announced
in transcontinental freight rates to St. Paul,
Omaha and Chicago as well as in ocean charter
rates to the Orient. February witnessed more
numerous inquiries for lumber from Oriental
ports. Statistics for building permits issued
indicate that spring activity in building opera­
tions is beginning.
Production of copper by the principal mines
of this district is still being curtailed in view
of the price of refined copper, which was re­
cently quoted at pre-war levels in New York
City. Production of gold, silver and lead in
the district during February was slightly
greater than in January.
The peak of unemployment in this district
has been passed. Resumption of operations in
lumber mills and the beginning of seasonal
agricultural work are rapidly relieving con­
gestion in the cities.
Although the output of petroleum in Cali­
fornia during February was 1 per cent less
than during the record month of January, 1921,
shipments were correspondingly less, and the
amount added to storage stocks (approxi­
mately 330,000 barrels) was the same in each
month.
Retail trade in the cities of the district was
more active than during February last year,
but enough less active in the country districts
to make the total value of net sales for the dis­
trict as a whole 2.4 per cent less than in Feb­
ruary, 1920. With retail prices from 10 to 30 per

Those desiring this report sent them regularly will receive it without charge upon application.




No. 3

2

cent less than a year ago it is probable that the
decline of only 2.4 per cent in value of sales
reflects an increase in volume of turn-over. All
reporting lines at wholesale show decreases in
values of sales during February, 1921, com ­
pared with February, 1920, but if allowance is
made for a drop in wholesale prices of approxi­
mately 40 per cent in this period, indications
are that wholesale business generally is not
much less in physical volume than it was a
year ago at this time.
Bank clearings and debits to individual ac­
counts are respectively 18 per cent and 11 per
cent less for February than for January, due
in part to a smaller number of business days
but also to slackening of business activity and
falling com m odity prices. Business failures
during February were 10 per cent more numer­
ous than in January, but 50 per cent less in
liabilities. The month witnessed further con­
traction in the circulation of Federal reserve
notes of this bank, which are now 12 per cent
beneath the peak of December 23, 1920. M em­
ber banks’ borrowings, which increased by ap­
proximately ten millions during the month, are
now 27 per cent beneath the peak reached on
Decem ber 10, 1920. During February also,
this bank’s secondary reserve of bankers’ ac­
ceptances purchased in the open market was
permitted to decline by 30 per cent and the
bank’s reserve percentage is now 54.1 com ­
pared with 53.9 on February 11th.
W eather conditions during the past month
have continued exceptionally favorable to the
agricultural interests of the entire Twelfth
Federal Reserve District, and
Weather
present prospects indicate larger
and Crop
and better yields of nearly all
Conditions
crops than have been harvested
for several years.
Reports from W ashington and Oregon con­
firm previous statements that the mild winter
and exceptionally heavy rainfall have proved a
boon to all farming and livestock communities.
W inter wheat is in excellent shape and practi­
cally all out of danger from frost injury. Little
re-seeding, if any, will be necessary. Spring
work has already begun in some sections and
plowing should proceed rapidly from this
time on.
All sections o f Utah and Idaho have had a
fairly heavy snowfall, without extremely cold
weather or blizzards, and soil conditions are
reported ideal for the grow ing crop of winter
wheat. Predictions are for an early spring,
and a sufficient supply of moisture to start the
growth of spring sown crops.




A g r ic u ltu r a l

and

B u sin ess

C o n d itio n s

Rainfall in the coast sections of Southern
California during the past two months has
been sufficient for seasonal needs although in
Los Angeles and San Diego the precipitation
is still below normal. The prospects for the
1921 bean and sugar beet crops along the coast
are therefore more encouraging than they have
been for some weeks past. Approximately 75
per cent of the 1920-1921 crop of navel oranges
has already been harvested under good
weather conditions. In Northern and Central
California early grain is reported further ad­
vanced than usual at this time of the year
ow ing to opportune rainfall and warm weather.
Orchard and vineyard pruning, spraying and
cultivating have been progressing in all sec­
tions whenever the weather permitted. De­
ciduous fruit trees of various varieties have
been bloom ing throughout the month in Cali­
fornia, and no serious damage has been re­
ported from frosts. Trees are now budding in
the intermountain district and in the Pacific
Northwest. Unless they are nipped by late
frosts the fruit crop should be one of the larg­
est ever grown in this section. The setting of
buds on fruit trees has been so heavy that radi­
cal thinning out will be necessary to insure
large sized fruits.
A ccording to figures compiled by the United
States Department of Agriculture, stocks of
wheat held on farms in the states of the
Twelfth Federal Reserve DisStocks
trict are w i t h o u t
exception
o f Wheat
larger than last year, as is shown
on Farms
by table “ A .” The decline in
the price of wheat which began
last September has undoubtedly caused
farmers to hold their wheat for higher prices,
but receipts at terminal points show that
there has been considerable liquidation in
spite of this tendency. Although the total
wheat held on farms in this district on March
1st, 17,284,000 bushels, is nearly one and one-

(A) Stocks o f Wheat Held on Farms—
(In th o u s a n d s o f b u s h e ls )

Five-Year
March 1 Average
1919 1914-1918

March 1
1921

March 1
1920

69
1,638
5,900
113
2,748
1,878
4,938

48
1,143
2,670
38
2,081
638
3,144

99
531
2,838
128
1,523
1,293
2,335

84
503
2,631
228
2,110
1,617
5,430

12th District .. 17,284
United States.. 207,591

9,762
164,624

8,747
128,703

12,603
165,532

Arizona...........
California ........
Id a h o ..............
Nevada............
Oregon............
U ta h ...............
W ashington......

Federal R eserve

Bank

of San

half times the five year average (1914 to 1918)
of 12,603,000 bushels, this does not indicate an
oversupply of wheat in the district, as reports
from millers and dealers show a considerable
decrease in their reserve stocks. A t no time
has there been real difficulty in securing suffi­
cient wheat to fill either export or domestic
orders, and a continuation of the present or­
derly marketing of the 1920 crop should con­
sume the present supply by the beginning of
the new crop year on July 1st.
February brought little improvement in the
flour milling industry in this district and mills
are still operating at approximately one-half
of capacity. The demand for flour
Milling
has been light, buyers conserva­
tive, and prices stationary. There
is keen competition for business on the local
markets, not only between mills within the
district, but with Middle W estern millers, and
the same competition prevails in the Southern
and Southeastern states which usually con­
sume considerable quantities of Pacific Coast
flour. Export demand has been negligible, the
only activity reported being a few small ship­
ments to Mexican and Central American ports.
Reports from 82 of the principal millers in
the district show that their February output
o f flour was approximately the same as that of
January and one-half of normal production for
the month. Stocks of wheat in millers’ hands
as reported by 21 large millers amounted to
1,762,953 bushels on March 1, 1921, compared
with holdings of 4,350,059 bushels on March
1, 1920. This decrease in the holdings of wheat
by millers is largely due to the lack of demand
for flour, although the unwillingness of many
farmers to sell their grain at the prices offered
has hindered accumulation of large stocks.
Flour stocks are slightly below those of one
year ago, the same mills reporting 452,044
barrels on hand on March 1, 1921, and 526,960
barrels on March 1, 1920.
Table “ B ” shows the February production
of the reporting mills by states and the per­
centage of mill capacity in operation this year
and last year.

(B ) Milling—

3

F r a n c isc o

According to a February survey made by
the Canners’ League of California, the unsold
carryover of canned fruit remaining in the
cannery warehouses of the state
Fruit
amounted to 3,066,871 cases, or
Canning
26.9 per cent of the 1920 pack of
11,382,863 cases. There has been
some movement since these figures were com ­
piled, but it is reported that the majority of
shipments have either gone east on a consign­
ment basis or are being shipped to consuming
centers by the canners in anticipation of an
increased demand during the next few months,
and have not actually gone into consumption.
Canners report that retailers until recently
have failed to reduce to present market levels
their quotations on stocks purchased at the
prices of last summer and fall. However, the
largest packing company in the trade has re­
duced its prices on all available lines of canned
fruit from 25 to 50 per cent, and this has stimu­
lated similar reductions at retail and has con­
tributed materially toward stabilizing the
market. It is stated that the present supply
will be entirely consumed in the five or six
months which will elapse before the new pack
is ready.
Due to the uncertainty of marketing condi­
tions, and the losses sustained on this year’s
output, reports from the entire Pacific Coast
indicate that the 1921 pack will be approxi­
mately 25 per cent smaller than last year.
Although it is estimated that the costs of
putting up fruit will be reduced approximately
30 per cent below the level of last year, the
packers have not purchased large stocks of
cans, box-shook or other supplies. The 33^§
per cent advance in freight rates to eastern
consuming centers will tend to offset some of
the reductions in the costs of labor and
materials, as applied to the price of the finished
product to the consumer in distant markets.
The estimated carryover of canned fruits in
California as reported by the Canners’ League
of California and a comparison of the 1920
opening prices of the California Packing Cor­
poration with their recently announced prices

Per Cent Mill Capacity in Operation
No. Mills Reporting
/-------------------- Output-------------------- N February January
February
February January February
January
1921
1921
1920

California.............
Oregon...............
W ashington.........
Idaho..................
U tah ...................

11
29
35
6
1

10 184,317 barrels
217,209 barrels
29 95,027
“
135,419
“
35 274,298
“
237,053
“
3
19,778
“
5,106
“
3
(Included in California Figures)

Twelfth District__

82

80




573,420 barrels

594,787 barrels

58.5
29
36
55
44.8

50.5
40.2
32.1
42.0

66
67
84.5
70

40.3

71.8

4

A g r ic u ltu r a l

on the unsold portion of their 1920 pack are
shown in table “ C.”
Interests in the dried fruit industry of Cali­
fornia have been largely occupied with the
probable results of a three-cornered controversy
between the California Prune
Dried Fruit
and Apricot Growers’ AssociaControversy tion, the independent fruit
packers, and the intercoastal
steamship companies regarding the freight
rates to be charged on dried fruits, shipped in
,bags and in boxes, to the Atlantic Coast.
Early in February the California Prune and
A pricot Growers’ Association announced that
they had secured a freight rate of 60 cents a
hundredweight on unprocessed dried fruit,
shipped in bags to New York. They further
announced that they had made the necessary
arrangements to pack the prunes thus shipped
in the Bush terminal in Brooklyn, and that
they would thereafter be able to distribute
prunes advantageously from New York to the
territory as far west as Pittsburgh. The rate
by water which had prevailed prior to this
time was $1.30 a hundredweight for fruit in
bags and 90 cents a hundredweight for fruit
in boxes. Practically all of the dried fruit
heretofore shipped from California has been
boxed in this state.
The California Prune and Apricot Growers’
Association claims that their action was taken

(O California Canned Fruits—
J

Yariety
A pples...........
Apricots..........
Blackberries....
Cherries..........
Grapes...........
Loganberries.. .
Pears.............
Free Peaches...
Cling Peaches..
Plum s............
Strawberries....
Other Fruits....

Total
Pack
(Cases)

Unsold
Stock
(Cases)

9,041
2,312,020
161,359
647,977
114,886
14,267
1,184,288
1,547,687
5,205,511
164,740
5,525
15,562

981
856,451
33,930
179,706
18,449
635
297,875
280,900
1,212,960
64,437
2,618
5,429

Totals......... 11,382,863

1920
Feb.
List
1921
Prices Prices*
$Per Doz. :{:Per Doz,
Cans
Cans
$4.00
4.75
4.50
5.25
4.50
5.25
5.00

3.25
•••
$2.35
3.10
3.20
4.15f
3.50
4.65
2.70
4.25
5.50f

3,054,371

Estimated carryover two con­
cerns from whom detailed
report not received.........

12,500

Total........................... 3,066,871
JNo. 2y2 Cans, Fancy Grade,
f Standard Grade.
* Fruits for which no quotation appears have been
sold out in this grade and size of can.




and

B u sin ess

C o n d itio n s

in order that large unsold stocks of the 1920
prune crop might be placed on the eastern
market at lower prices and in better condition
than was formerly possible, and that the dan­
ger of an embarrassing holdover would be
minimized by the anticipated increase in
consumption.
The independent packers, supported by various
civic organizations, assert that a continuation
of the newly announced rates will mean the
transference of the industry of packing Cali­
fornia dried fruit to the eastern states, with
a corresponding loss to the state of the sub­
sidiary and dependent industries connected
with it. They have petitioned the steamship
companies for a rate of 40 cents a hundred­
weight on boxed fruit so that the differential
which previously existed in favor of the pro­
cessed product will be maintained.
The steamship companies concerned have
issued a statement that due to the fact that
boxed fruit is adversely affected by the climatic
conditions encountered in the voyage through
the Panama Canal, all the boxed fruit offered
them for shipment in the past season would
not fill one boat, and that the steamship rate
on boxed fruit is therefore of no importance.
Although several conferences of the different
interests have been held, no decision has been
reached.
Harvesting of rice in California has been
resumed on a small scale during the past few
weeks, but there has been no general m ove­
ment to gather the crop which reRice mains in the fields, in many cases
because the cost of harvesting would
exceed the prospective returns for rain-damaged
paddy. O f the total crop of 4,000,000 bags of
paddy rice it is estimated that 1,400,000 bags
have been cut and shocked and allowed to lie
in the fields and that approximately 800,00C
bags are standing uncut. A recent check of the
warehouse holdings of California rice discloses
1,400,000 sacks of paddy which have not been
milled. Milling operations have been greatly
curtailed as compared with previous years and
only 400,000 bags of paddy rice or 220,00C
pockets of cleaned rice have been placed on
the market. (A pocket equals 100 pounds net
w eight).
The rice being milled either under the con­
trol milling plan of the Pacific Rice Growers1
Association, or by independent millers, is
slowly moving into distributing channels. The
outstanding feature of the month in the local
rice market was the heavy shipment of rice
from the southern states to the Pacific Coasl

F ed era l R eserve

Bank

of San

F r a n c isc o

at prices which would permit selling the rice
in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Los
Angeles at $4.25 and $4.50 per hundred pounds.
Even though California rice was reduced to
$4.40 per hundred pounds for number one
Fancy Japan, it could not compete with the
southern shipments except on the San Fran­
cisco market.
In spite of the low market prices for apples
this season as compared with last, it is esti­
mated that there are only 3000 carloads of the
apple crop of the Pacific NorthApples
west remaining unshipped out of
an estimated crop of 26,000 cars.
The bulk of the apples shipped out of the
Northwest during this season have been small
in size, and did not command the best prices
on the eastern markets, where they were
forced to meet the competition of the heavy
crop of barrelled apples grown in the eastern
states. A sustained demand prevailed for
large sized boxed apples, due to their scarcity,

(jD) Comparative Carlot Apple Shipments*Season
to
Feb. 29
1920

Feb.
1921

Feb.
1920

Season
to
Feb. 28
1921

California
81
132
Idaho.........
Oregon.......
208
5
Utah..........
Washington.. . 1,566

151
174
432
2
1,717

4,033
2,565
2,739
568
17,446

3,872
3,625
4,909
195
22,752

4,153
3,943
5,443
199
27,167

Totals.. . . 1,992

2,476

27,351

35,353

40,905

Total
Last
Season

*Carlots of 756 boxes each.

(E) Receipts o f Livestock—

Salt Lake City.
Seattle...........
Spokane........
Tacoma.........

the poorer grades of large sized apples selling
more readily and at better prices than small
stock of better grade.
Due to favorable climatic conditions which
have prevailed throughout the apple raising
districts this winter, growers are anticipating
a record crop for the 1921 season. The trees
are heavy with fruit spurs, the buds are swell­
ing much earlier than usual and provided there
is no extremely cold weather in the next thirty
days, the crop should run to large sizes and
be of fine quality.
Table “ D ” shows comparative carlot ship­
ments of apples by states during the past two
years.
Range conditions throughout the Twelfth
Federal Reserve District have been excellent
with the exception of several large dry areas
in the state of Arizona, where
Livestock the rainfall and snowfall continue
below normal. In the latter state
the water shortage has restricted the feed­
ing area for livestock to the immediate lo­
cality of the more favored water holes and
streams and as these locations are now over­
stocked, the animals are beginning to lose
flesh. In all other sections the winter has
continued mild and an abundance of moisture
in the ground has provided liberal quantities
of green feed. Favorable range conditions and
an abundance of good pasture, coupled with
the prevailing low prices of concentrated stock
feeds and hay, have made it possible and de­
sirable for the growers to hold their animals
on range and farm in anticipation of increased

Hogs
1921
1920

Sheep
1921
1920

Horses and
Mules
1921 1920

979
73
283
715
106

18,997 17,340
4,987 3,926
21,449 13,896
2,976 3,649
3,471
3,624

19,054 9,881
24,047 17,488
4,590 6,444
2,302
1,451
3,838
756

99 92
90 224
_
35
91 234
—

1,268 2,156

51,880 42,435

53,831 36,020

280 585

Cattle
1921 1920

Calves
1921 1920

8,328 10,517
3,661
3,604
3,860 5,816
1,188 7,521
1,431
1,596

535
10
317
84
322

18,468 29,054

(F) Purchases for Local Slaughter—

Portland..............................
Salt Lake City......................
Seattle.................................
Spokane..............................
Tacoma..............................

Cattle
1921
1920

Calves
1921 1920

1921

3,798
1,502
3,717
717
1,431

244
60
317
79
322

13,724
2,596
21,356
2,328
3,471

4,540
1,072
5,336
2,357
1,596

Total............................ 11,165 14,901




686
73
242
317
106

1,022 1,424

Hogs

Sheep
1920

11,148
3,713
13,896
2,792
3,624

43,475 35,173

1921

1920

8,246
3,883
4,590
2,253
3,838

4,955
1,670
6,224
334
756

22,810 13,939

6

A g r ic u ltu r a l

weights and better prices. Notwithstanding
these conditions, however, the demand for
feeder and stocker animals is still reported
slight and the livestock interests burdened by
financial responsibilities assumed during the
past two years are proceeding cautiously.
The run of cattle on the five principal mar­
kets of the district has been lighter than last
year but the demand has been strong and
trading active. T op prices ranged from $6.50
to $8.50 a hundredweight for fat steers, $5.25
to $6.00 for cows and $10.00 to $12.50 for
calves. These prices are slightly below those
quoted in January. Sheep and yearling lambs
are in considerably greater supply than in
February, 1920. There was a noticeable down­
ward trend in prices during the month, top
prices for lambs on different markets ranging
from $8.25 to $9.50 per hundredweight during
the first weeks in February and from $7.60 to
$8.50 during the last week in that month.
The outstanding feature of the month’s
trading was the continued heavy demand for
hogs. The market absorbed supplies slightly
in excess o f last year. Although prices fluctu­
ated during the month they were higher on
the 1st of March than on the 1st of February.
T op prices ranged from $9.65 to $11.00 a hun­
dredweight. Carloads of swine from middle
western points continue to pour into the
markets of the district. Although some local
feeders are enlarging their operations the dis­
trict remains strictly non-self-supporting as
far as pork and pork products are concerned.
A comparative statement of the receipts of
livestock and purchases for local slaughter at
the five principal markets of the district during
the month of February is given in tables “ E ”
and “ F.”

and

B u sin e ss

C o n d itio n s

Figures recently published by the United
States Department of Agriculture show that
there has been a reduction in the number
of all kinds of animals on the
Livestock
farms and ranges of this disStatistics
trict during the past year. The
severe winter of 1919-20 and
the abnormally high prices of feed at that
time made the carrying of large herds un­
profitable, as the prices for the finished
animals were not correspondingly high. This
resulted in the slaughter of numbers of un­
finished stock and she-animals which would
normally have been retained to build up the
herds and flocks. The decrease in the number
of animals was no greater than in other sec­
tions of the United States, however, and under
present conditions the rebuilding of local herds
can be pushed forward rapidly. Table “ G”
shows the number and value of the livestock
in this district by states in 1921 and 1920.
It is interesting to note that while this district
contains 12.1 per cent of the country’s cattle
and 29.9 per cent of the sheep, it raises only
2.8 per cent of the hogs. A t the present time
carloads of hogs are being shipped into this
district from the feed lots of the middle west
and are meeting a strong demand on local
markets.
Approximately 75 per cent of the 1920 w ool
clip of the Twelfth Federal Reserve District
(81,000,000 pounds) is still either in the hands
of the growers or on consignSheep and
ment in distributing centers,
W ool
with little prospect of consid­
erable amounts being moved
before the 1921 clip comes on the market. Due
to the favorable winter, the clip this spring will
average heavier fleeces than a year ago, and the

(G) Livestock on Farms and Ranges* —
CATTLE
,------ 1921 ----- N ,----- 1920------,
No.
A r i z o n a ...............
C a lifo r n ia
,

1,100
1,683

$

Value

No.

41,800

1,000

540

18,215

1,634
575

N e v a d a ...............
O r e g o n ................
U t a h .......................
W a sh in g to n . .

540
561
473
290

19,440
24,412
13,812
9,947

585
680
493
305

12th D i s t r i c t . ,.

5,187

Id ah o

..................

U n i t e d S t a t e s ., 42,870
P e r C ent
D is t r i c t
t o U . S ...............

* 000 om itted.




12.1

74,052

Yalue

HOGS
SHEEP
,---- 1921-----N ,------1920----- N ,----- 1921------N ,------1920------N
40

83,988
25,357
24,075

930
206
30
272

31,476
19,375
13,359

Yalue

No.

$ 44,000

$

No.

640

42

13,485
2,580

1 ,0 3 3
240
32
302

103
267

330
3,482
1,339
4,005

$

Yalue

No.

756
18,594
4,272

1,200

448
5,889
1,710
6,990

114
300

$

Yalue

No.

7,920

1,200

$ 11,520

20,060

2 ,950
2,914

31,860
30,306

Yalue

2 ,950
2,623
1?532

16,260
11,643

2,270
2,245
645

15,633
15,266
4,579

1,596
2,522
2,245
725

16,438
217,742
23,12.3
8,047

201,678

5,272

$241,630

1,848

$ 25,861

2 ,063

'38;, 659

13,4*65

$ 91,361

14,152

$149,036

$1,346,665

44,750

$1,934,185

66,649

$865,633

7 1,727

$1,363,269

45,067

$288,732

47,114

$495,660

14.9

11.7

2.9

2.8

2.8

29.9

31.6

30.0

30.0

$

12.5

2.8

$

Federal R eserve

Bank

of San

7

F r a n c isc o

wool will be o f a better quality. This fact, it
is reported, has influenced mill buyers to wait
until the new clip is available before offering to
contract for wool.
In spite of the stagnation o f the wool market,
which led some growers to send sheep to the
slaughter-house, the decrease in the number of
sheep in the district, as shown by figures issued
by the Department of Agriculture, was only
687.000 head during the past year. The outlook
for the present lambing season is generally ex­
cellent, and in sections where shed lambing is
already in progress the death-rate is reported
to be unusually low. In Arizona, however,
lambing is proceeding under unfavorable cir­
cumstances due to the poor condition of the
ewes and many losses are reported.
An added element of encouragement for the
sheep men of the district is the reduction in labor
costs this season. The wages o f experienced
herders are now $75.00 and board— in some
cases as low as $60.00 and board, compared with
$100.00 and board last year. Shearers’ wages
this year will average from 12y 2 cents to 15
cents per sheep, compared with 17 cents and
20 cents last year.
According to figures gathered by the United
States Department of Agriculture there were
1.331.000 milk cows on the farms of the Twelfth
Federal Reserve District on JanuDairying ary 1, 1921, compared with 1,342,000
on January 1, 1920. Follow ing a
year of abnormally high feed and labor costs,
which caused some dairy herds to be disbanded,
this decrease of only 1 per cent in the total
number of dairy cattle in this district is a
wholesome indication of the stability of the
dairy industry.
The value of dairy animals
showed a greater decrease than their numerical
strength, totaling $112,116,000 this year, com ­
pared with $120,987,000 last year, a decrease
of 7.3 per cent. The decline in the value of

(H) Milk Cows—

Per Cent
Compared
with 1920

r

Number

dairy products, as well as the general lowering
of livestock prices during the year, account for
this shrinkage of value. Table “ H ” shows com­
parative figures of the number and value of milk
cows on the farms of this district in 1921 and
1920.
Demand has been increasing for condensed
and evaporated milk, and the improvement noted
last month has continued. As stored stocks
decrease, condensaries are graduDairy
ally increasing their output. An
Products
encouraging factor is the improve­
ment of the export market for
canned milks.
Exports of evaporated milk
from the United States during February showed
an increase of 100 per cent over the exports of
the preceding month and the corresponding
month of last year.
Prices paid to milk producers by fluid milk
distributors continue to decline. The February
average price in the Intermountain district was
$2.79 per hundredweight of milk containing 3.5
per cent butter fat and on the Pacific Coast $3.09
per hundredweight. These prices are 10 cents
and 31 cents, respectively, below the prices paid
in January, 1921, and 15 cents and 53 cents,
respectively, below the prices paid in February,
1920. Table “ I ” gives comparative figures of
prices paid to producers in this district and in
the United States as a whole.

( I) Prices Received by Milk Producers* — Feb
f Section

Feb.
Bange

Feb.
Average

Jan.
Average

1920
Average

Mountain (128 mkts.) .$2.10-$3.50 $2.79 $2.89 $2.94
Pacific (229 mkts.) ... 2.09- 3.87 3.09 3.40 3.62
U. S. (3138 mkts.).... 1.69- 4.09 2.96 3.28 3.76
* A l l p ric e s p e r h u n d r e d w e ig h t fo r m ilk t e s t in g 3.5 p e r
c e n t b u tt e r f a t .
f M o u n t a in se c tio n in c lu d e s I d a h o , U ta h , N e v a d a a n d
A r iz o n a .
P a c ific s e c tio n in c lu d e s W a s h i n g t o n , O re g o n
a n d C a lifo r n ia .

1921---------------N
Value

,--------------1920(
Number

Value

Arizona....................
California..................
Idaho.......................
Nevada.....................
O regon.....................
Utah.........................
Washington...............

90
101
101
103
98
99
96

45,000
577,000
137,000
32,000
216,000
108,000
216,000

$4,725,000
54.815.000
9.864.000
2.752.000
16,200,000
7.560.000
16,200,000

50.000
571.000
136.000
31.000
220.000
109.000
225.000

$4,750,000
55.387.000
11.560.000
2.728.000
18.260.000
8.502.000
19,800,000

Twelfth District.........

99

1,331,000

112,116,000

1,342,000

120,987,000

United States............

98.7

23,321,000

$1,491,900,000

23,619,000

$2,010,128,000

5.7

7.5

5.7

6.0

Per cent Dist. to U. S .....




8

A g r ic u ltu r a l

Considerable reduction in cold storage holdings
of butter in the district occurred during the
month, net withdrawals of 576,162 pounds
occurring at the four principal markets. This
reduced the district holdings to 728,703 pounds,
which is no greater than the holdings of last
year when increases in urban population are
considered. The resumption of milk canning in
the condensaries o f the Pacific Northwest has
reduced the output o f butter and caused a
strengthening of the butter market in that sec­
tion. Prices fluctuated during the month but
averaged slightly higher than in January. On
the San Francisco market 93 score butter was
quoted at 45 cents a pound on March 1st, com­
pared with 4 2 ^ cents a pound on February 1st.
A comparative statement o f cold storage with­
drawals during February, 1921 and 1920, and
total holdings on March 1st at the four principal
markets of the district is given in table “ J.”
Estimates of the 1920 pack of California fish
place the output of sardines at 1,062,996 cases;
tuna at 835,645 cases; and salmon at 31,019
cases. The pack of tuna and salCalifornia
mon during the past season has
Fish
been better than any previous
year, while the pack of sardines
shows a large decrease over 1919. The decrease
was not caused by the scarcity of sardines, but
was occasioned by a decrease in demand for
the canned product. The factories in Southern
California engaged in preparing sardines ceased
operations early in the fall of 1920, whereas
they usually run throughout the winter and
early spring.
Compared with the pack of salmon in the
Pacific Northwest and Alaska which amounted
to 6,462,883 cases in 1920, the California pack
is relatively unimportant.
The California sardine is the only true sar­
dine packed in the United States. It is stated
that the Maine pack, which is labelled sar­
dines, is young herring and equal in size to the
California pack in normal years. Practically
all the tuna packed in the United States, ex­

and

B u sin e ss

C o n d itio n s

cept a small amount prepared on the Atlantic
coast, is prepared in California. There are
several varieties of fish which are sold as tuna
including albacore, yellowfin, bluefin, skip­
jacks and bonita.
Demand for these products in common with
the demand for other canned fish has not been
active this season, but due to the limited pack,
present holdover stocks are not abnormal for
this period of the year.
Comparative statistics on the pack of sar­
dines, tuna and salmon in California for the
past six years are given in table “ K .”
W ith the approach of spring, the lumber
mills of the district are gradually increasing
their output, but the combined production of
all mills in the district is still only
Lum ber 50 per cent of the normal cut. The
logging industry is also quiet, and
present indications are that large-scale logging
operations will not be resumed before April
1st, as many loggers are contracting for new
tools and machinery for April 1st delivery.
February output of lumber, according to re­
ports received from the four lumber associa­
tions of this district, amounted to 202,970,000
board feet, compared with 160,116,000 feet dur­
ing the preceding four weeks, an increase of
26.8 per cent and compared with 409,071,147
feet in February, 1920, a decrease of 50.4 per
cent. Orders increased 21.2 per cent and ship­
ments 20 per cent compared with the preced­
ing month.

(K) Estimate o f California Fish Pack
1915-1920Sardines
(Cases)
1915

Tuna
(Cases)

Salmon
(Cases)

7 5 ,0 0 0

3 5 0 ,0 0 0

2 3 ,0 0 0

191
191
191
191

6
7
8
9

1 6 6 ,3 9 5
1 ,1 7 9 ,0 4 5
1 , 4 8 3 ,9 7 8
1 ,1 5 1 ,3 2 7

3 6 7 ,0 0 0
7 0 0 ,0 0 0
2 9 0 ,0 0 0
4 6 5 ,3 7 2

4 2 ,9 0 0
3 9 ,0 0 0
2 6 ,5 0 0
3 0 ,5 2 1

192

0

1 ,0 6 2 ,9 9 6

8 3 5 ,6 4 5

3 1 ,0 1 9

(J) Holdings and Withdrawals o f Cold Storage Butter—
City

February, 1921
Net Withdrawals

February, 1920
Net Withdrawals

March 1, 1921
Holdings

L o s A n g e l e s ..................................
P o r t l a n d ..............................................
S a n F r a n c i s c o ................................

1 0 1 ,7 8 3 p o u n d s
1 0 3 ,6 9 7
“
2 2 6 ,9 7 4
“

1 ,7 0 0 p o u n d s
2 5 1 ,7 0 8
“
* 7 8 ,5 9 8
“

8 7 ,0 9 7
1 2 2 ,4 4 9
3 8 8 ,6 2 2

S e a t t l e ....................................................

1 4 3 ,7 0 8

3 0 3 ,0 8 2

1 3 0 ,5 3 5

T o t a l s ...........................................
♦Net

in c re a se .




“

5 7 6 ,1 6 2 p o u n d s

4 7 7 ,8 9 2

“
pounds

7 2 8 ,7 0 3

pounds
“
“
“
pounds

Harch 1, 1920
Holdings
2 2 ,0 6 2 p o u n d s
3 8 ,1 7 9
“
3 1 2 ,0 1 9
“
1 1 0 ,7 7 3
4 8 3 ,0 3 3

“
pounds

F ederal R eserve

Bank

of San

9

F r a n c isc o

ference maintaining a rate of $20 a thousand
board feet and independent steamers quoting
rates as low as $17.50 per thousand. Active
preparations for increased shipments through
the Panama Canal are reported. An assem­
bling and distributing yard at Baltimore with
a capacity of 100,000,000 board feet is now
being made ready to receive lumber shipments
from Puget Sound. Freight rates on ship­
ments to the Orient have again been reduced,
the present rate of $10 per thousand board
feet of lumber and timber being the result of
gradual reductions from the rate of $27.50 per
thousand which was in effect in September,
1920.
Comparative figures of cut, shipments and
orders for the reporting mills of the four asso­
ciations of this district are shown in table
“ L.” A chart showing the production of the
same associations during the past year is pre­
sented below.

N o material change in marketing conditions
which have prevailed during the past few
months was noticeable in February. Increase
in the volume of business was accompanied by
a continuance of price declines, due to active
competition for orders. Favorable factors in­
fluencing the situation are the need for addi­
tional housing facilities, the resumption of re­
pair work, the reduction of railroad freight
rates to Middle W estern points, and the re­
vival of the Oriental demand for lumber.
During the month, the western transcon­
tinental railroads announced reductions in
freight rates on lumber from 80 cents to 73
cents a hundredweight to Chicago, and 73j4
cents to 66 y 2 cents to St. Paul and Omaha. No
reductions in freight rates from Chicago east­
ward were granted.
Cargo rates by water to the Atlantic coast
have remained approximately the same during
the past month, the intercoastal shippers’ con­

(L) LumberW est C oast
L u m b e r m e n ’s
A s s o c ia tio n

4 Weeks
ending
Feb. 26

Average No.
of M ills Re porting.. ..
118
Cut*......... 162,648
Shipments* .157,970
Orders*..... 167,483

C a lif o r n ia W h ite
a n d S u g a r P in e
M a n u fa c tu re rs ’
A s s o c ia tio n

W e s te rn P in e
M a n u fa c tu re rs ’

Previous
Four
Weeks
114
130,865
133,645
140,221

4 Weeks
Ending
Feb. 26

Previous
Four
Weeks

35
16,964
37,337
36,850

36
18,203
29,942
30,300

4 Weeks
Ending
Feb. 26
6
5,378
5,827
5,587

Previous
Four
Weeks

C a lif o r n ia
Redw ood
A s s o c ia tio n

TO TAL

4 Weeks
Ending
Feb. 26

Previous
Four
Weeks

4 Weeks
Ending
Feb. 26

Prêtions
Four
Weeks

11
17,980
9,784
7,478

9
10,308
9,197
4,413

170
202,970
210,918
217,398

164
160,116
175,892
179,802

5
740
2,263
4,729

*In thousands of board feet.
TOTAL MONTHLY PRODUCTION of LUMBER ¡ntheTWELFTH FEDERAL RESERVE IDISTRICT
A S REPORTED by LUM BER ASSOCIATIONS 1920>'2 1
W iw e sfC b o st
1 1 1 W estern P /ne
■
w M Lumbermens Assn. k iiJ M om foc/urers Assn.

600
Sw

MonofocfurensA ssn.

■

HC a lifor.nia Roc/wood
8? A sso a o f/o n :

600

<0

* 500"

"500

400

4OO

0

*0 300

—

M
P

ft M

M

M

/t iM

m

.

■

1 200
■s
C;
.0
too""
1
0
ò:
o

„

'3OO

•

200

*
m m , '

■

4* W

'

™

III

e e k s E n c //n g —
Jo n .24\ Feb. 2 1 1M ar2o\ A p ril /? \ M a y,/s\ June.12\ Ju /yJO | /lu g . z \ Sept. 4 O c t 2 O ct 30 N ov.27 D ec .24 J a n .29 Feb .26




/920

1921

100
"0

10

A g ric u ltu r a l

Slight increases in the output of gold, silver
and lead and a further decrease in the produc­
tion of copper are indicated in reports covering
the January operations of twentyM ining
two of the largest mining com ­
panies in this district.
Gold mining continues at a low ebb in the
lode mining regions but dredges are operating
at practically 100 per cent of their capacity and
their operations are entirely responsible for the
increased output as compared with last year.
O f the seven reporting copper mines, four re­
port that they are curtailing production and
three were closed down during the month of
January. The mines not engaged in the pro­
duction of metal are proceeding with develop­
ment and construction work, preparing to re­
sume their mining activities when the metal
market shall provide a more satisfactory out­
let for their product.
Comparative figures of the output of metal
of twenty-two reporting mines in January,

and

C o n d itio n s

1921 ; December, 1920, and January, 1920, are
given in the follow ing table :
January,
December,
January,
1921
1920
1920
Gold (oz.)............
45,091
Silver (oz.)........... 885,306
Lead (lbs.)........... 11,987,256
♦Copper (lbs.).......16,144,980

28,129
27,595
457,542
670,511
10,587,333 9,800,000
18,688,511 16,743,931

* Blister Copper.

In February, for the first time in five
months, the increasing daily output of the
petroleum wells of California was checked and
the average daily production
Petroleum
(327,864 barrels) was 3322 bar­
rels less than in January, 1921
(331,186 barrels). Daily shipments were also
less than in January, averaging 316,812 barrels
in February compared with 319,769 barrels the
previous month, a decrease of 2957 barrels.
Stored stocks were consequently increased by
309,449 barrels during the month and now total
22,903,639 barrels.

(M) Petroleum—
February

Production (Daily Average)..................
327,864 barrels
Shipments (Daily Average)...................
316,812
“
Stored Stocks (End of M onth)..............
22,903,639
“
New Wells Opened.............................
60
15,855 barrels
With Initial Daily Production............
Wells Abandoned............................... ............. 7




B u sin ess

January

331,186 barrels
319,769
22,594,190
64
29,852 barrels
5

December, 1920
324,933 barrels
335,967
22,240,271
58
16,625 barrels
9

F ederal R eserve

Bank

of San

11

F r a n c isc o

Sixty new wells, with an initial daily pro­
duction of 15,855 barrels, were completed dur­
ing February and seven wells were abandoned,
a net gain of 53 producing wells during the
month. Statistics on oil field operations as
furnished by the Standard Oil Company of
California are given in table “ M .” A chart
showing the production, shipments and stored
stocks of petroleum by months for the past
two years is presented on page 10.
A ccording to reports submitted to this bank
by twenty-five representative department stores
and mail order houses in the Twelfth Federal
Reserve District, February sales at
Retail
retail in the principal cities of the
Trade
district were 8.1 per cent greater by
value than sales in February, 1920.
In the rural sections, largely due to their de­
creased buying power coincident with the de­
cline in value of farm products, sales were less
in amount than a year ago, offsetting the in­
crease in the cities, and for the district as a
whole retail sales were 2.4 per cent less by value
than in February, 1920. As the dollar will buy
more commodities at present prices than it

would have in February, 1920, this figure does
not mean that the volume of trade has been
smaller. Sales totals for the first two months
of this year, expressed in dollars show a 5.9
per cent decrease compared with sales during
the same period last year. Retail prices are
approximately 10 to 30 per cent less than a
year ago. It is probable therefore that a
greater volume of merchandise has been turned
over this year than last year.
The average net increase or decrease in the
value of net sales for the reporting cities is as
fo llo w s:
February, 1921, Compared to:
Feb., 1920 Jan., 1921
Los Angeles.......................
14.6
.4
San Francisco....................
Seattle.............................. — 2.4
Spokane.............................
12.2
Oakland.............................
8.2
Salt Lake City....................
5.2

— 14.9
— 7.4
— 12.0
7.3
— 11.1
— 15.2

Stocks on hand at the close of February,
1921, were 7.6 per cent less than at the close
of the same month a year ago, and 2.2 per
cent greater than at close of January, 1921.
The percentage of outstanding orders at the

(N) Retail Trade Activity—
CO N DITIO N OF R E T A IL T R A D E D U R IN G FEBRUARY, 1921
In Federal Reserve District No. 12
(25 Stores Reporting)

Percentage increase or decrease of
net sales during February, 1921,
over net sales during same month
last year...................................
Percentage increase or decrease of
net sales during February, 1921,
over net sales during January, 1921..
Percentage increase or decrease of
net sales from January, 1921, to
February 28, 1921, inclusive, over
net sales during same period last
year.........................................
Percentage increase or decrease of
stocks at close of February, 1921,
over stocks at close of same month
last year...................................
Percentage increase or decrease of
stocks close of February, 1921,
over stocks at close of January,
1921.........................................
Percentage of average stocks close
each month this season to average
monthly net sales during same
period......................................
Percentage outstanding orders close
of February, 1921, to total pur­
chases during year 1920...............




Oakland

San
Los Angeles Francisco

Seattle

Spokane

Salt Lake
City

8.2

14.6

.4

— 2.4

12.2

5.2

— 11.1

— 14.9

— 7.4

— 12.0

7.3

— 15.2

— 2.2

13.3

— 6.5

— 9.3

— 27.8

— 12.4

— 16.5

— 27.5

— 14.0

7.6

4.2

.5

6.1

6.6

4.4

2.2

467.1

355.6

444.6

468.1

610.9

448.2

11.5

8.2

6.0

5.2

8.6

.005

1.9

12

A g r ic u ltu r a l

close of February to the total purchases during
1920 was 8.6 per cent compared with 5.4 per
cent in January and 5.8 per cent in December.
O f the reporting firms 43 per cent character­
ized collections as “ g ood ” in February com ­
pared with 66 per cent in January and 50 per
cent in December. Collections were reported
as “ fair” by 36 per cent of the reporting stores
compared with 20 per cent in January.
Table “ N ” gives in detail the statistics in
regard to sales, stocks and outstanding orders,
which were supplied by 25 reporting depart­
ment and mail order houses.

and

B u sin ess

C o n d itio n s

Detailed reports received from 142 repre­
sentative wholesale firms in eight lines of busi­
ness in this district indicate that the wholesale
trade is still depressed, largely
W holesale
due to the hesitancy of retailers
Trade
to liquidate high priced inven­
tories, taking their losses, where
necessary, and to restock with goods at pres­
ent wholesale prices which could be offered to
the public at lower, but still profitable prices.
Compared with February, 1920, all lines of
business show recessions in the value of net
sales but a comparison with January, 1921,

(O) Wholesale Trade—
(la)

N o . o f r e p o r tin g

Percentage of increase or decrease (— ) in net sales for February, 1921,
over January, 1921

fir m s .

L o s A n g e l e s .............................
S a n F r a n c i s c o .......................
S e a t t l e ...........................................
P o r t l a n d .....................................
T a c o m a ........................................
S p o k a n e .....................................
S a l t L a k e C i t y .......................
S a c r a m e n t o .............................
D i s t r i c t ........................................

Hard­
ware

Dry
Goods

Gro­
ceries

22
19.4
10.7
8.7
6.6
41.6
3.9
10.9
9.5
----— 10.0

10

28
9.3
9.3
— 10.0
— 1.1
.4
7.1
1.2
9.6
----4.9

—
—
—
—

8.9

----9.1

Drugs

Shoes

10
— 5.4
— 7.3

14
40.6
38.9
— 12.8
50.0

*2.4

----— 4.4

----35.0

Sta­
tionery

Fur­
niture

24
— 8.9
— 13.4
— 2.1
— 3.7
— 38.0
— 19.0
— 22.0

15
43.7
35.7
14.9
54.7
1.7

----— 12.2

___
41.5

Auto
Tires
14
26.2
7.6
14.7
26.3
53.3
___
30.4

e increase or decrease (— ) in net sales for February, 1921,
over February, 1920

N o . o f r e p o r tin g f ir m s .
L o s A n g e l e s .............................
S a n F r a n c i s c o .......................
S e a t t l e ...........................................
P o r t l a n d .....................................
T a c o m a ........................................
S p o k a n e .....................................
S a l t L a k e C i t y .......................
S a c r a m e n t o .............................
D is tr ic t

(lc)

N o . o f r e p o r tin g fir m s .
L o s A n g e l e s .............................
S a n F r a n c i s c o .......................
S e a t t l e ...........................................
P o r t l a n d .....................................
T a c o m a ........................................
S p o k a n e .....................................
S a l t L a k e C i t y .......................
S a c r a m e n t o .............................
D i s t r i c t ........................................




Hard­
ware

Dry
Goods

Groceries

22
— 38.3
— 31.5
— 43.8
— 34.0
13.3
— 23.3
— 44.0
— 22.1
----— 35.6

10

28
19.4
— 2.4
— 28.7
— 13.1
— 23.9
— 23.2
— 8.8
16.3
----— 4.7

— 28.9

----— 33.8

Drugs

Shoes

10
— .9
— 12.2

14
— 24.1
— 37.1
— 62.6
— 48.0

— 37.3

----— 13.6

----— 39.8

Stationery
24
— 21.1
— 10.9
— 12.8
16.0
— 29.1
2.6
— 11.3
----— 8.2

Fur­
niture
—
—
—
—
—

15
2 7 .0
3 7 .7
5 .0
5 6 .9
5 4 .6

Auto
Tires
14
— 55.9
— 61.0
— 66.6
— 59.6
— 67.1

----— 35.7

----— 56.6

Sta­
tionery

Fur­
niture

Auto
Tires

24
— 8.4
— 13.3
— 17.5
10.3
— 9.0
— 5.9
— 10.1

15
— 51.0
— 40.0
— 24.4
— 62.5
— 56.1

14
— 50.4
— 63.1
— 55.6
— 60.6

----— 2.6

----— 46.6

of increase or decrease (-- ) in net sales for January 1, to
sbruary 28, 1921, over same period last year

Hardware

Dry
Goods

Gro­
ceries

22
— 32.4
— 31.0
— 43.6
— 26.6
— 1.6
— 34.6
— 35.3
— 25.7
----— 33.4

10

28
— 1.4
— 20.8
— 33.4
— 24.5
— 38.2
— 33.4
— 30.4
— 7.0
----— 20.7

— 38.8

----— 41.5

Drugs

Shoes

10
6.0
— 13.0

14
— 31.4
— 50.1
— 61.4
— 62.1

— 35.9

----— 19.6

----— 56.3

— 68.6
— 82.2
----— 61.6

F ederal R eserve

Bank

of San

13

F r a n c isc o

shows an increase in the value of net sales in
dry goods, groceries, shoes, furniture and auto­
m obile tires.
The average net increase or decrease in the
value of net sales for the eight reporting lines
o f business was as fo llo w s:
February, 1921, Compared to:
Feb., 1920
Jan., 1921
Hardware.......................... — 35.6
Dry Goods........................ — 33.8
Groceries........................... — 4.7
D ru gs............................... — 13.6
Shoes................................ — 39.8
Stationery.......................... — 8.2
Furniture........................... — 35.7
Automobile Tires................ — 56.6

— 10.0
9.1
4.9
— 4.4
35.0
— 12.2
46.4
30.4

In the automobile tire and grocery trade the
m ajority of the reports received indicate that
retailers have liquidated their high priced mer­
chandise and are now buying for stock at new
wholesale prices. In the other six lines of
business the tendency is not defined, some
firms reporting that liquidation is still going
on but that present buying is merely to fill in
depleted stocks. Current unfilled orders are
reported as considerably smaller than usual.
Prices are showing a downward tendency
except in stationery and furniture. In these
lines monthly fluctuations occur without ma­
terially lowering prices. Shoe and dry goods
prices are reported as “ steady” during the
month with yearly changes ranging from 25
to 40 per cent below the peak levels of 1920.
A ccording to Bradstreet’s Index Number of
wholesale prices based on the price per pound
of 96 articles of common consumption, prices
in the United States on March 1st showed a
decrease of 4 per cent from February 1st and
of 43.1 per cent from February, 1920.
Collections during the month were charac­
terized as “ excellent” by 2 per cent, “ g ood”
by 32 per cent, “ fair” by 59 per cent and “ poor”

by 7 per cent of the reporting firms, compared
with 4, 32, 52 and 12 per cent respectively in
January.
Table “ O ” shows the percentage increases
or decreases in sales of reporting wholesale
firms during February as compared with Feb­
ruary, 1920, and January, 1921, and for the
first two months of 1921 compared with the
same period in 1920.
The peak of unemployment in this district
has been passed, and, with the gradual reopen­
ing of lumber mills and the resumption of
agricultural activity, there has been
Labor
a steady diminution of unemploy­
ment.
In the Pacific Northwest, Seattle and Port­
land report conditions slightly better than last
month and Spokane as unchanged. Lumber
mills are slowly resuming operations and calls
for agricultural labor are beginning to appear.
In Idaho, Utah and Nevada, the principal un­
employment is in mining, railroad construction
and building trades. It is expected that the
resumption of highway construction, the re­
newal of activity on reclamation projects, and
the seasonal call for aid in spring planting and
preparation of farm lands will provide employ­
ment for all outdoor laborers during the next
few months. California reports less unemploy­
ment in February than in January, due to the
call for laborers from the country districts. In
Los Angeles a reduction of unemployment
from 25 to 30 per cent is noted, partly due to
the homeward movement of migratory labor­
ers who spend the winter in Southern Cali­
fornia.
Present wages are reported to be from 20
to 333/3 per cent below those of last year.
In the manufacturing industries, as con­
trasted with the extractive industries, unem­
ployment increased slightly during the month

(P) Los Angeles Manufactures—

r

1919
Number of establishments...............
Persons engaged in manufactures.....
Proprietors and firm members........
Salaried employes.......................
Wage earners (average number)
Primary horsepower.......................
Capital.........................................
Services......................................
Salaries.....................................
Value of products..................................................
Value added by manufacture (value of products less cost




1914

Per cent of
Increase
1914-1919

2,543
59,249
2,520
9,591
47,138
94,876
$158,861,000
71,956,000
16,721,000
55,235,000
159,718,000
279,327,000

1,911
31,540
1,767
6,029
23,744
64,665
$101,681,000
26,025,000
7,748,000
18,277,000
58,941,000
103,458,000

33.0
87.9
42.6
59.1
98.5
46.7
56.2
176.5
115.8
202.2
171.0
170.0

119,609,000

44,517,000

168.7

Agricultural and Business Conditions

14

of

F ebru ary,

le a se d
ic e

by

o f th e

p o rts

a c c o r d in g

th e U n ite d

D e p a rtm e n t o f

of

fir m s

P o r tla n d ,

a ctu a l

tr ie s

in

by

w ith

and

c itie s

th e

are

m en

3115

th e

g iv e n

u s u a lly
of

sh o w in g

in c r e a se

or

fo llo w in g

de­

fig u r e s o f o n e y e a r a g o .

th e

in g

5 .1

S a n F r a n c i s c o .......................
S e a t t l e ...........................................
P o r t l a n d .......................................

— 2 ,1 4 6
—
176
460

— 2 2 .1
^ 7 .7
7 .4

C om m erce

th a n

th e

cen su s

A n g e le s

of

on

m a n u fa c tu r e s

w ere

r e c e n tly
of

L o s A n g e le s

case

cen su s

to o k

in to

d u cte d
sh ow s
1914

th e

of

m a n u fa c tu re s
its

of

change
sary

th e

1919.

th e

o n ly

fr o m

a

in

th e

cen su s,

th e

e x c lu d e d

th e

th e

of

s ta tis tic s

T h ey

fu rth e r

L os

A s

and

“ P ”

c ity

fo r

rep resen t

th e

th e co rp o ra te

are

as

con­

T a b le
th e

s u b je c t

m ay

be

e x a m in a tio n

to

fo u n d
o f th e

Jan u ary,

9 7 2 , w h ic h

over

T h e

L os

A n g e le s
th e

w hen

ago.

T h e

p o rts

and

tiv ity

in

th e

lim ­
such

n eces­
re p o rts

of

of

num ber

o ffe r e d

at

a

L os

and

to

in ­

in

b o th

of

w as

im ­

in

ac­

to

any
b a l­

im p o r ts
w ith

a

H ea v y

and

in ­
year

in

th a n

1920,

am ount

a

O regon

d e c lin e

e x p o rts.

d is ­

rep ort

in c r e a s in g

tr a d in g .

E u rope

P o r tla n d ,

cent

Jan u ary

A n g e le s

Jan u ary,

to

com p ared

c u sto m s
to

g a in

m ore

cent

in c r e a s e
g r a in

1920.

to $ 1 4 ,9 1 1 ,-

per

O regon

w ith

fo r e ig n

w ith

cent

D ecem ber,

d is tr ic ts

due

per

le s s

per

1920.

and

of

w ere

cen t

1 4 .2

1 9 .3

sh ow ed

port

8 5 .6

cent

m ent

in

be­
d u r­

Jan uary
per

but

a

com p ared

fo rm e r

th e

an

of

a m o u n te d

a n jd

o n ly

e x p o rts,

com p ared
per

1920,

D ecem ber,

w ere

creases

th a n

1921,

la g

E x p o rts

3 9 .6

year,

T w e lfth

to

is a 5 3 .8 p e r c e n t d e c r e a s e

Jan u ary,

tr ic ts

an

as
227

m ove­

in c r e a s e

gen eral

r e s p o n s ib le

in

cargoes
fo r

th is

s h o w in g .

b u ild in g

sy ste m .

w ith in

c o r r e c tio n

of

B u reau

in d u s tr ie s

su m m ary

lo c a te d

c ity

of

th e

e s ta b lis h m e n ts

fa c to r y

T h ese

c ity .

and

1914
1919

tra d e s,

c o m p a r a tiv e

and

th e
of

n e ig h b o r h o o d

account

under
a

th e
by

C en su s.

hand
and

fo r

in

q u ic k e n in g

g e n e r a l r e s u lt s

issu e d

th e

M a n u fa c tu re s

tra d e s,

th e

la s t

g re a te r
Im p o rts

anced
fig u r e s

m o n th

$ 3 1 ,2 7 8 ,9 9 2 ,

crease

—

th e

th e

c o n tin u e

F o r e ig n

ta b le :

— 1 ,2 5 7

D is tr ic t

in

h in d

w ith

Per Cent
Increase
or Decrease ( — )
In Employment
During
February, 1 921

re tu rn s

R eserve

in d u s ­

A n g e l e s .............................

P r e lim in a r y

com m erce

F ederal

F ebru ary,

F ig u r e s

th e

re­

num ber

Increase or
Decrease ( — )
In Employment
During
February, 1 9 2 1
Los

on

m a n u fa c tu r in g
in

F o r e ig n

re­

A n g e le s ,

d u r in g

p e rc e n ta g e
in

L os
S e a ttle

Jan u ary.

e m p lo y m e n t

B ased

of

and

m ore

r e c e n tly

E m p lo y m e n t S e r v ­

c itie s

in c r e a s e d

com p ared

crease

th e

or

fig u r e s

L abor.

F r a n c is c o

500

u n e m p lo y e d

th e

in

San

e m p lo y in g

as

to

S ta te s

T h e
and

r e c e ip t

o th e r

e a r ly

of

m any

tr a n s -P a c ific

a w a k e n in g

of

m and.

T w o

to

C o lu m b ia

th e

lo a d in g ,
have

new

and

of

th e

g iv e n

in

r iv e r

have

fo r

an

lu m b e r

de­

been

e x c lu s iv e

to ta lin g

Japan

a llo c a te d
lu m b e r

3 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0

fe e t

booked.

fig u r e s

p r in c ip a l

ta b le

fro m

p resages

O r ie n ta l

ste a m e rs

been

C o m p a r a tiv e
p o rts

th e

s h ip m e n ts

a lr e a d y

in q u ir ie s
c o u n tr ie s

on

th e

p o rts

of

e x p o rts
th is

and

im ­

d is tr ic t

are

“ Q .”

s u b m itte d .

(Q )

E x p o r ts

a n d

I m

p o r t s *—

Exports

Imports

( ----------------Month ending----------------^

Jan. 31
1921

Jan. 31
1920

Jan. 31
1920

$ 7 ,9 3 8 ,4 6 1

$ 1 3 ,3 1 3 ,4 7 1

7 9 .4
2 2 7 .0

1 , 1 6 7 ,8 7 6

3 6 1 ,7 7 1

$ 3 2 , 1 9 9 ,2 0 2
1 , 2 8 9 ,7 0 0

S a n D i e g o .......................

4 ,6 3 4 ,6 8 8
1 1 ,0 2 1 ,7 8 6
3 2 1 ,8 9 1

1 ,4 1 7 ,4 5 3
1 5 ,8 8 3 ,7 5 8
1 ,0 4 8 ,4 1 0

— 3 0 .6
— 6 9 .3

T o t a l .......................

$ 3 1 ,2 7 8 ,9 9 2

$ 5 1 ,8 3 8 ,5 2 3

— 3 9 .6

F r a n c i s c o ............

Jan. 31
1921

— 5 9 .6

. $ 1 2 ,9 8 6 ,6 8 3
.
2 ,3 1 3 ,9 4 4

San

L o s A n g e l e s .................
O r e g o n .............................
W a s h i n g t o n .................

f----------------Month ending---------------- ^

Per cent
Increase
or Decrease

2 6 6 ,4 6 0
4 , 1 5 1 ,1 9 7

Per cent
Increase
or Decrease
— 4 0 .3
2 2 3 .2

1 ,8 5 6 ,6 5 3

— 8 5 .6

1 ,3 8 7 ,9 7 8

1 3 ,9 6 9 ,7 1 7
2 ,8 0 4 , 4 8 7

— 7 0 .2
— 5 0 .5

$ 1 4 , 9 1 1 ,9 7 2

$ 3 2 , 3 0 6 ,0 9 9

— 5 3 .8

* 000 o m itte d .

(R )

March 1 ,1 9 2 1

S h ip b u ild in g —

Vessels
For U .

S . S . B .................................... ..............

February 1 , 1 9 2 1
Vessels

Total D. W .
Tonnage

January 1, 1 9 2 1
Vessels

Total D. W .
Tonnage

16

1 5 5 ,7 5 0

18

1 7 3 ,9 5 0

9

1 4 2 ,9 0 0
2 6 2 ,0 9 0
8 2 ,2 8 0

24
9

2 7 8 ,1 3 0
8 2 ,2 8 0

30
9

3 4 2 ,2 7 0
8 2 ,2 8 0

44

4 8 7 ,2 7 0

49

5 1 6 ,1 6 0

57

5 9 8 ,5 0 0

14

F o r P r i v a t e A c c o u n t .................
F o r e i g n ........................................................

21

T o t a l ...................................................




Total D. W .
Tonnage

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

O n

F ebru ary

coast had
v e s s e ls

1st

s h ip y a r d s

u n d e r c o n s tr u c tio n

of

an

a g g re g a te
of

S h ip b u ild in g

in g

th a t

to n s.

m o n th

T h e

tio n

on

th o se

of

F ebru ary

of Jan uary

w h ic h
s ix

to ta lle d

fig u r e s

had

e ig h t

w ere

1st an d

been

in

N o

con -

d u r in g

d e liv e r ie s

d u r in g

of

9100

S ta te s

S h ip p in g

6 4 ,1 4 0

to n s

T w o

ary,

and

B oard

w ere

c a ll

fo r
and

to n s

th e

th e

w ith

fo r

th e

d e c lin e

p r e v io u s

44

1st
on

c o n cre te

and

th e

ste e l

F ebru ary

s e ls

(S )

“ R ”

under

th e

fir st

sin c e

th e

d u r in g

of

of

e a r ly

F ebru ­

and

a

v a lu e

th e

by

th e

tw e n ty

re­

in

F ebruary

v a lu e

by

9 .3

and

th a n

Jan u ary.

per

1 2 .8

num ber

F ebru ary,

C om -

1920,

cent

a d e c r e a s e o f 8 .3

average

of

ta n k e r

v e s s e ls

w ill

dow n

6 8 ,8 9 0

and

one

S h ip p in g

under

w ith

in

to n s

th ey

in c r e a s e

in

p e r c e n t in v a lu e .

o f p e r m its is s u e d

B oard
T h ere

be

th e

in c lu d ­

and

v e s s e ls

of

fo r
fiv e

w e re th e re ­

o f 4 8 7 ,2 7 0
on

and

dead­
M arch

5 1 6 ,1 6 0

to n s

c o m p a r a tiv e
on

fig u r e s

M arch

1 st,

of

ves­

F ebru­

w ith

$1577

F ebru ary,

p e r m its

in th e

d is ­

as

b o th

th e

com p ared

to

th e

g re a te r

in

r a tio

of

San D ie g o .
S a n F r a n c i s c o . .................
S a n J o s e .............. .................
S t o c k t o n .............. .................
B o i s e ....................... .................
R e n o ....................... .................
P o r t l a n d .............. .................
O g d e n .................... .................
S a l t L a k e C i t y . .................
S e a t t l e .................... .................
S p o k a n e .............. .................
T a c o m a ................. .................

110
1 ,8 8 7
226
587
170
163
468
63
89
41

1 1 0 ,7 4 6
1 8 9 ,6 5 0
1 6 8 ,5 1 4
3 ,1 3 1 ,6 7 0
6 1 4 ,0 0 0
9 6 6 ,2 0 3
2 9 8 ,7 0 6
2 8 8 ,1 8 0
2 6 0 ,3 8 0

a ls

S e a ttle ,
th e
has

creased
have

Spokane,

d e c lin e
been

in

th e

s m a ll

r e n ta ls

w ith

3 , 1 2 6 ,5 8 1
1 1 4 ,3 6 5
1 1 5 ,9 3 0
2 4 ,7 6 7

82
1 ,8 7 1
216
352
142
124
256

1920,

of

m a te r ia ls

w ork

c o m b in e d

to

re ta rd

O a k la n d ,

g e le s

P asad en a

and

o f b u ild in g
m ent
is

an

m ent
th e

th e

San

cost

to

w ith

ap paren t

need
a ll

g re a te st

new

of

sh ow n

fo r

c o n str u c tio n .

tw e n ty

th e

r e p o r tin g

is

1 7 8 ,8 7 2
3 4 1 ,5 5 0
1 3 8 ,5 3 3
3 ,3 0 1 ,7 1 4
4 7 2 ,5 7 0
5 4 6 ,3 2 9
1 7 9 ,0 1 6
1 4 8 ,7 1 2
4 9 9 ,3 4 2

at

tim e .

L os

A n ­

in c r e a s e

dow n w ard
and

of

and

a p a rt­

d is tr ic t

sh ow n

C o m p a r a tiv e
of

m ove­

la b o r . T h e r e

th e

b e in g

de­

th is

m ark ed

d w e llin g s

c itie s

of

c o n d itio n s

F r a n c is c o ,
a

Lake

m a te r i­

p rosp ect

b u ild in g

s e c tio n s

a c tiv ity

S a lt

la b o r

o f m a te r ia ls

h ou ses

in

th e

rep ort

a c tiv ity

o f th e

and

u n s e t t le d

th e

in

and
th is

fig u r e s

fo r

d istr ic t

are

in t a b le “ S .”

February, 1 9 2 0
No.
Value*
148
96
208
1 ,5 8 5
335
316

120
129
538
150

4 1 9 ,9 4 7
2 1 4 ,4 6 0
6 3 3 ,6 5 9
3 , 2 8 6 ,4 1 5
1 ,0 1 1 ,1 4 3
9 2 1 ,5 0 2
1 9 5 ,4 0 8
2 6 6 ,8 6 7
1 3 8 ,9 6 8
2 , 6 4 8 ,2 7 2

368
58
58

1 ,2 4 6 ,8 0 8
9 8 ,7 7 2
9 7 ,6 5 0

63

30

1 1 ,2 1 8
2 2 ,1 3 5

60

7 1 ,8 1 0

21

4 1 ,1 5 0

819
31

1 , 0 2 1 ,3 5 5
1 1 7 ,1 7 5
2 8 4 ,0 4 4

68

1 6 6 ,6 6 0
1 4 3 ,7 5 0

1 , 3 3 4 ,2 2 0
6 0 ,4 7 5

656

22

6 4 6 ,5 6 0
4 1 ,9 1 0

1 2 7 ,6 4 0

7 0 ,4 9 5
6 8 3 ,8 4 0
3 7 ,1 2 0

73
785

112

5 7 8 ,9 2 5
4 4 ,6 2 5

48
734
74

90

9 3 9 ,1 6 0
1 9 8 ,4 5 0

286

1 9 6 ,0 9 2

254

1 7 9 ,1 6 9

2 11

6 ,3 9 5

1 1 , 7 8 3 ,5 0 9

5 ,6 6 8

8 , 9 4 2 ,3 1 5

73
839

F ebru ary,
cost

R eno

13

33

v a lu e

r e p a ir

3 1 ,8 4 0

18
899

and

in

c o s t o f b u ild in g

and

and

P o r tla n d ,

January, 1 9 2 1
No.
Value*
128
182

1921,

d ecrease

decreased

its —

103
228

Jan u ary,

1920. T h e

c o n s tr u c tio n .
In

a P a c i­

in

due

ty p e

g iv e s

T o t a l ............ .................

of

C ity

1 st.

P e r m

com p ared

com ­

fr e ig h te r

c o n s tr u c tio n

49

as

$2199

dead­

tw o

2 0 ,0 0 0

D e liv e r ie s d u r in g F e b r u a r y

v e s s e ls

.................
.................
B e r k e l e y .............. .................
L o s A n g e l e s . . . ................
L o n g B e a c h . . . .................
O a k l a n d .............. .................
P a s a d e n a ............ .................
S a c r a m e n t o . . . .................




T h e

is

February, 1 9 2 1
No.
Value*

♦ 0 0 0 om itted .

tw o

U n ite d

ta n k e r s to ta lin g

e v e r la id

c o n s tr u c tio n

B u ild in g

s ix

m e r c h a n t v e s s e ls

to n n a g e

in c lu d e d
fo r

c a r r ie r s

T h ese

S ta te s

com p ared

T a b le

num ber

by

d u r in g

g re a te r

is s u e d

show

in

g re a te r

cent

th o se

c o n s tr u c tio n

each.

seven

U n ite d

w e ig h t

cent

per

p ared

th e

fu r n is h e d

d is tr ic t

A c tiv ity

each

ta n k e r s fo r p r iv a te a c c o u n t.
fo re

per

b e lo w

as

is s u e d

th e

B u ild in g

a cc o u n t.

coal

fic C o a s t s h i p y a r d .

one

3 1 .6

of

o f 8 2 ,3 4 0

announced

la r g e s t m e r c h a n tm e n

in g

w ere

p e r m its

c itie s

co n stru c­

Jan u ary

p r iv a te

ore

n u m bered

B u ild in g
p o r tin g

1 st,

R e v ie w .

under

c o n tin u e d

to n s

c o n tra c ts,

1920,

b in a tio n
w e ig h t

fo r

new

of

J an u ary

tr ic t a s a w h o le d u r in g F e b r u a r y , 1 9 2 1 , w a s $ 1 8 4 2

D e liv e r ie s

fa ll

and

M a r in e

du r­

m o n th s.

fr e ig h te r s

1st,

P a c ific

v e s s e ls

th e r e fo r e

p rogress

ary

to n n a g e
new

announced

w h ile

v e s s e ls

1st

P a c ific

w e ig h t

to n s.

w ere

Jan u ary,

th e

4 9 ste e l m e rc h a n t

dead

5 1 6 ,1 6 0

tra c ts

of

15

5 ,8 4 6

Increase or
decrease
Feb., 1 9 2 1
over
Jan., 192 1

Increase or
decrease
Feb., 1 9 2 1
oyer
Feb., 1 9 2 0

— 3 8 .0
— 4 4 .4

— 7 3 .6
— 1 1 .5

2 1.6

— 7 1 .8
— 4 .7
— 3 9 .2

—

5 .1
3 0 .0
7 6 .9
6 6 .4
9 4 .5
— 4 7 .8
1 5 0 .8
1 6 .3
1 8 .5
1 1 8 .2
4 0 .9
1 0 6 .5
2 6 .8
8 1 .4
— 1 5 .3

—

4 .8
5 2 .8

8 .2
8 8 .3
1 5 .2
— 3 1 .3
— 1 9 .5
— 6 6 .1
— 2 4 .3
3 0 .6
— 4 8 .7
— 5 5 .2

1 8 .9

— 3 8 .4
— 7 7 .7

1 3 7 ,9 8 7

9 .4

— 4 2 .3

1 2 ,8 5 8 ,1 8 2

3 1 .6

—

8 .2

16

Agricultural and Business Conditions

C o m m e r c ia l
u res,
but

in

th is

le s s

in

d e fa u lts ,
d is tr ic t

e x c lu s iv e

w ere

am ount

of

lia b ilitie s

th a n

in

Jan u ary,

B u s in e s s

b o th

in

num ber

F a ilu r e s

lia b ilitie s

th a n

1921,
and

in

a

b e tte r

th a n

as

ta lity

at

th is

w as

lia b ilit ie s

in

4 4 .5

th e

per

d is tr ic t h a d
average
R .

G .

u res

fo r

T a b le

ce n t.

D u n
th e

w ith
in

a

o f $ 1 ,1 7 1 ,9 3 0
fa ilu r e

in

com p ared

in

of

1 ,2 5 4 ,4 6 2 ,0 0 0 o r

fo r

d is tr ic t

are

g iv e n

in

1921,

c e n t le s s th a n

F a ilu r e s —

B u s in e s s

r e p o r t in g c itie s

F ebru ary,

1 8 .6 p e r

ity ,

to ta le d
Jan u ary

February, 192 1
No.

F ebru ary,

and

of

in

th o se

part
in

part

b u s in e s s

part

to

of

due

to

to

a

a c tiv -

c o n tin u -

a lly r e c e d in g p r ic e s a t w h o le and

pear
th e

e x c e p tio n

A n g e le s

th a t

in

of

th e

and

of

3 9 .8

per

in

a ll

w ith

cent

in c r e a se

in

C o n s id e r e d

r e p o r tin g

B e r k e le y ,

P asad en a.

c o m p a r is o n

g re a te st

r e ta il.

L o n g

T h e

g re a te st

F ebru ary,
S a lt

th a t

L ake

of

c itie s
B each,

50

de­

1920, w as
C ity ,

per

and

cent

in

P asaden a.
D e b its

to

banks

in d iv id u a l a c c o u n ts , a s r e p o rte d

in

th e

d u r in g

$ 1 ,7 7 0 ,3 6 7 ,0 0 0 ,
1 7 .3

of

tw e n ty

th e
a

out

th e

1920,

th e

m o n th

tre n d s.

w ith

T h ese

th e
to

bank

d ecreases
c le a r in g s

p resen t

b u s in e s s

fo r

s ix

th e

F ed -

February, 1 9 2 0
No.
Amount

5
54

4 2 3 ,4 2 6

58
12

8 0 ,0 7 5

1

1 1 ,0 0 0

1

2 0 ,0 0 0

1

5 0 ,0 0 0
4 1 ,4 1 4

10

1 3 0 ,5 2 5

2

4 ,0 0 0

5 7 ,0 0 0

to ta le d

ce n t, an d

C a l i f o r n i a ..........................................................................
I d a h o .....................................................................................

$

by
th e

Jan u ary, 1921, and

fig u r e s

Amount

per

of

A r i z o n a ................................................................................

N e v a d a .................................................................................

10

of

c itie s

F ebru ary
1 1 .9

w ith

regard

C o m p a r a tiv e

January, 1 9 2 1 *
No.

3 7 ,1 0 0

of
of

r e s p e c tiv e ly .

in d ic a tio n s

d is tr ic t

r e p o r tin g

d ecrease

per cent com p ared

bear

Amount
$

in

s a le

d is tr ic t,
fig ­

in

th a n

is

g e o g r a p h ic a lly , d e c r e a s e s a p ­

113

Jan u ary.

c o m p a r a tiv e

le s s

A c co u n ts

th e
w ith

cent

d e c lin e

in d iv id u a l

F ebru ary,

d is tr ic t

days

C le a r in g s

crease

de­

per

T h is

D e b its to

L os

lia b ilitie s
Jan u ary,

average

th is

b u s in e s s

B an k
an d

to ta l

a m o u n te d

$ 1 9 ,0 4 5

of

1 4 .7

1920.

s la c k e n in g

w ith

T h e

F ebru ary

C o m p a n y ’s

sta te s

fe w e r

m or­

in

c le a r in g s o f th e tw e n ty

th is

(T )

of

&

tre n d s

b u s in e s s

lia b ilit ie s o f $ 1 0 ,1 1 3

lia b ilit ie s

Jan u ary, 1921,

o f lia b ilit ie s

T h e

of

1920.

m o d e ra te .

fa ilu r e s

am ount

am ount

“ T .”

B ank
of

138

and

F ebru ary,

g re a te r

b u s in e s s

year

com p ared

fo r

c le a r in g s ,

F ebru ary, 1920, h o w ­

la s t

a b n o r m a lly

$ 1 ,4 5 6 ,3 6 6

crease

w ith

tim e

F ebru ary,

and

in

fa il­

num ber

F ebru ary,

p resen t

o f 1 4 4 fa ilu r e s

$ 2 ,6 2 8 ,2 9 6

or

of

th e c o m p a r is o n

ever,

to

in d e x

bank
in

in

T h e c o m p a r is o n w ith
is

of

g re a te r

8 5 1 ,7 9 3

-0 31

O r e g o n .................................................................................

30

3 4 3 ,0 8 2

18

6 3 2 ,9 6 2

7

U t a h ........................................................................................

5

1 3 6 ,2 4 3

11

5 1 6 ,0 9 6

2

W a s h i n g t o n .....................................................................

38

3 8 1 ,9 9 0

28

4 7 0 ,3 7 0

12

$ 2 ,6 2 8 ,2 9 6

54

D is tr ic t
♦The

Jan uary,

w h ic h

(1 7 )

..........................................................................

B a n k

192 1 , fig u r e s

in c lu d e d

bank

C le a r in g s

are

in

144

c o r r e c tio n

$ 1 ,4 5 6 , 3 6 6
of

1 3 ,4 2 0
3 3 9 ,2 6 7
$ 1 ,0 7 5 ,7 9 0

f i g u r e s w h i c h a p p e a r e d in t h e F e b r u a r y i s s u e o f t h e r e p o r t

f a i lu r e s .

a n d

D e b its

to

I n d iv id u a l A c c o u n ts — F e b r u a r y ,

(----------------------------- Clearings----------------------------- ^

Feb., 1 9 2 1

138

-0 —
$ 6 2 0 ,6 8 9

Jan., 1 921

Feb., 1 9 2 0

$ 6 0 6 ,0 0 0

$

Per Cent
Increase or
Decrease (— )
of Feb., 1 9 2 1
over Feb., 1 9 2 0

1 9 2 1 *—

Per Cent
Decrease ( — )
(----------- Debits to Individual Accounts----------- ^
Feb., 1 9 2 1
Feb., 1 9 2 1
Jan., 1 9 2 1
Feb., 1 9 2 0 over Feb., 1 9 2 0

S a n F r a n c is c o .$

4 8 1 ,9 0 0

5 7 9 ,1 4 7

— 1 6 .8

6 9 1 ,3 8 1

8 4 3 ,2 4 2

7 5 7 ,2 6 0

—

8 .5

L o s A n g e le s ..

3 0 4 ,3 0 8

3 6 5 ,4 6 8

2 7 7 ,6 8 2

9 .6

3 7 0 ,2 7 2

4 3 8 ,3 3 5

3 7 9 ,5 7 8

—

2 .4

P o r t l a n d ............

1 0 5 ,3 6 6

1 2 2 ,4 9 3

1 2 8 ,2 8 5

— 1 7 .9

1 3 8 ,2 8 0

1 5 2 ,9 2 3

1 6 8 ,5 0 9

— 1 7 .9

S e a t t l e .................

9 8 ,5 5 8

1 2 3 ,7 8 7

1 5 5 ,8 9 1

— 3 6 .7

1 1 6 ,6 5 1

1 5 9 ,0 9 8

1 9 4 ,7 9 8

— 4 0 .1

S a lt L a k e C it y

4 7 ,2 4 2

7 1 ,3 6 0

7 7 ,7 0 6

— 3 8 .9

5 3 ,3 6 1

8 4 ,9 3 7

6 6 ,9 6 9

— 2 0 .3

S p o k a n e ..............

3 5 ,1 7 7

4 5 ,1 4 2

4 7 ,7 2 3

— 2 5 .5

3 9 ,4 4 5

5 0 ,3 7 2

4 9 ,1 1 0

— 1 9 .6

T o t a l ................. $ 1 ,0 7 2 , 5 5 1
D is t r i c t f . . . $ 1 ,2 5 4 ,4 6 2
* 000
f 20

o m itte d .
c itie s




r e p o r tin g .

$ 1 ,3 3 4 ,2 5 0

$ 1 ,2 6 6 , 4 3 4

— 1 5 .3

$ 1 ,4 0 9 ,3 9 0

$ 1 ,7 2 8 ,9 0 7

$ 1 ,6 1 6 ,2 2 4

— 1 2 .8

$ 1 ,5 4 2 ,8 0 2

$ 1 ,4 7 1 ,3 3 8

— 1 4 .7

$ 1 ,7 7 0 ,3 6 7

$ 2 ,1 4 1 ,2 5 3

$ 2 ,0 1 1 ,1 7 1

— 1 1 .9

17

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

eral R eserv e
p a r a tiv e
are

g iv e n

A

B ank

to ta ls
in

fo r

ta b le

sta te m e n t

ch arged
B ran ch

by

and

B ran ch

c itie s

and

com ­

th e

tw e n ty

r e p o r tin g

c itie s

d is c o u n t

ra te s

of

and

F ederal R eserve

th is

In te re st a n d

d is tr ic t

ary

B ank

t a b u la te d

fo r

fo r

9th ,

s a le

som e

and

F ebru -

p r o fits

1 0 , 1 9 2 1 , is g i v e n

in t a b le

10,

1921,

th e

T reasu ry

U n ite d

S ta te s

1921,
and

is s u e d

in

one

se r ie s

b e a r in g

b e a r in g
M arch
c lo s e d

a m o u n tin g to

be

m a tu r in g
5^4

tw o

se r ie s

cent

1922.

p r o m p tly

15,

15th ,
G overn m en t

ily

F in a n c in g

fo r

in te re st

d a te

to

th o se

a fte r

th e

T h ree

and

and

th e

w h ose

by

q u o ta

and

w ere
M arch

w as

heav-

T h e

q u o ta

D is tr ic t

w as

w ere

had

r e c e iv e d

been

e n c o u r a g in g

reach ed .

fe a tu r e s

of

T h e

m ark ed

Its

q u ic k

v ie w

of

b e in g
fic a te s
per

(V )

in c r e a s e

a b s o r p tio n ,

th e

th e

red u ced

fir s t

have

a n d

tim e

been

c e n t sin c e

I n te r e s t

in

th e

num ber

of

s u b s c r ib e r s ;

in d iv id u a l

(2 )

1 1 th

in

excess

of

p a r tic u la r ly

in te r e s t
th a t

D is c o u n t

ra te ,

o n e -y e a r

o ffe r e d

M arch ,

S p o k a n e ............................




of

d o lla r s

and

excess

th is

ary
B an k

cem ber

10,

bank

its

w ere

borrow ed

p r e v io u s ly ,

1 1 th ,

m em bers
$ 9 ,6 6 7 ,0 0 0

and

on

fo u r

F ebru -

$ 2 7 ,6 2 4 ,0 0 0

be-

n e a t h t h e p e a k o f $ 1 7 6 ,8 7 2 ,0 0 0
w h ic h

1920.

w eeks

w as

T h e

e n d in g
by

reached

e n tir e
M arch

secu red

U n ite d

tio n s .

D u r i n g th e s a m e p e r io d

n o te s

in

c ir c u la tio n
th e

and

w ar

o b lig a ­

F ederal R eserve

d ecreased

now

D e ­

d u r in g

re p re se n te d

S ta te s

c o n tr a c tio n

on

in c r e a s e
1 1 th

n o te s

3 0 th ,

by

$ 1 3 9 ,5 8 1 ,0 0 0

F ederal

a

d e c lin e

th e h ig h

by

$ 7 ,4 9 4 ,0 0 0 ,

w h ic h

sta n d s

at

began

D e­

$ 2 3 9 ,8 0 9 ,0 0 0 ,

1920.
th e

at

le s s

in
th is

c e r ti­
th a n

6

of

M em ber

m o n th
d id

banks

d e c lin e d

a ls o

th is

reserve

ch ased

th e

d e c lin e
r e s u lt

in
by
of

by

1 2 .0 1

per

th ese

open

w ith

reserve

account

s lig h tly

over

m ark et
to

changes

reserves on

d e p o s it

Feb.

Mar.

6^

6^

7
7
7

7
7
7

7 3/4
7

8

8

8

m

7

yv2

none

Feb.

8
8
8
8
8

and
5 3 .9

none

Interbank
Loans

th e

on

w as

1 1 th

F ebru ary

Collateral
Demand
Loans

Feb.

Mar.

(> y 2

7
7
7
7

6

7
7
7
7

7

7
7

8
8

Feb.

its

pu r­

p e r m itte d

lia b ilit ie s

6 y2

7

$ 5 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0

to

to

A s

p e rc e n ta g e

M arch

n o te

23,

d u r in g

$ 3 0 ,2 7 6 ,0 0 0 .

Mar.

7

fro m

r e s e r v e s , w h ile

R a te s —

Mar.

cent

D ecem ber

o f b a n k e r ’s a c c e p ta n c e s

$ 1 4 ,7 0 4 ,0 0 0

b a n k ’s c a sh
b in e d

or

b a n k ’s to ta l

seco n d a ry

com p ared

1 9 2 0 ; and

$ 3 2 ,7 3 9 ,0 0 0

p o in t o f $ 2 7 2 ,5 4 8 ,0 0 0 o n

Prime Commercial Paper
Customers
Open Market

S a n F r a n c i s c o ........... . . .
L o s A n g e l e s .................
S e a t t l e ...............................
P o r t l a n d ..........................
S a l t L a k e C i t y ............

p a id

in c o m e

( $ 1 4 9 ,2 4 8 ,0 0 0 )

th e

R eserve

cem ber

been

a t a tim e w h e n

m illio n s

in

w eeks

as

th is is s u e w e r e :
(1 )

of

p a id

fr o m

M arch

c o n tin u in g

$ 3 0 ,8 1 5 ,0 0 0

ta x e s.

B o r r o w in g s

fo u r

th e

d is tr ic t h a v in g

hundreds

on

th e

of

p a y m e n ts

su b s c r ip tio n s

a p p r o x im a te ly

o rd e r to a c c o m m o ­

a p p lic a tio n s

o r ig in a l

s ig n ific a n t

m a tu r in g

is s u e

T w e lfth

$ 3 0 ,8 1 5 ,0 0 0 , in

o th e r

books

o v e r s u b s c r ib e d .
th e

15,

cash

to ta l

c e r tific a te s )

b e in g

in te r e s t

th e

c lo s e o f b u s in e s s

in c r e a se d
$ 2 ,5 0 0 ,0 0 0

cent

1921,

S u b s c r ip tio n

a t th e

M arch

of

th e

cent

th is

C e r ti­

$ 4 0 0 ,0 0 0 ,-

d a te d
per

$ y 2

S e p te m b e r
per

15,

D e p a rtm e n t

T reasu ry

to

per
in

m a tu r in g

w ere

fic a te s o f In d e b te d n e s s
0 0 0 , to

by

th e

p e r io d s

p e rce n ta g e

8

a llo tte d

and

“ V .”
M arch

la r g e

p r o p o r tio n

e n d in g

M arch

D is c o u n t R a te s

O n

in

(o n ly

in te r e s t

th ir ty -d a y

o ffe re d

T h e

“ U .”

of

b a n k s in

c itie s

(3 )

of

a

th is

its c o m ­

w as

5 4 .1 ,

11th .

Secured by
L. L. Bonds
or U. S.
Certificates of
Indebtedness
Mar.

Feb.

7

7
7

6J4
7

7

8

8

7

7

7

8
8

8
8

8
8

6y>

18

C O M P A R A T IV E
C O N D IT IO N

O F

A T

F E D E R A L

C L O S E

O F

S T A T E M E N T

R E S E R V E
B U S IN E S S

B A N K
M A R C H

RESOURCES—
and

G o ld

S e ttle m e n t

G o ld

w ith

Fund— F.

F o r e ig n

R .

4 9 ,7 5 3 ,0 0 0

5 ,1 8 8 ,0 0 0
$

5 3 ,0 0 6 ,0 0 0

1 3 2 ,6 1 8 ,0 0 0

9 2 ,1 2 5 ,0 0 0

1 0 ,8 9 2 ,0 0 0

9 ,1 1 5 ,0 0 0

$ 1 8 8 ,0 8 8 ,0 0 0

$ 1 9 3 ,2 6 3 ,0 0 0

$ 1 5 4 ,2 4 6 ,0 0 0

S i l v e r , e t c .......................................

2 ,0 0 9 ,0 0 0

1 ,9 6 2 ,0 0 0

4 0 4 ,0 0 0

R e s e r v e s ...................................................................

$ 1 9 0 ,0 9 7 ,0 0 0

$ 1 9 5 ,2 2 5 ,0 0 0

$ 1 5 4 ,6 5 0 ,0 0 0

F u nd.

N o tes,

O b lig a tio n s .

4 7 .8 1 1 .0 0 0

3 8 .2 0 9 .0 0 0

5 2 .9 5 1 .0 0 0

O t h e r ................................................................................................

1 0 1 ,4 3 7 ,0 0 0

1 0 1 ,3 7 2 ,0 0 0

6 3 .2 5 3 .0 0 0

3 0 .2 7 6 .0 0 0

4 4 .9 8 0 .0 0 0

8 0 .8 8 0 .0 0 0

$ 1 7 9 ,5 2 4 ,0 0 0

$ 1 8 4 ,5 6 1 ,0 0 0

$ 1 9 7 ,0 8 4 ,0 0 0

1 ,8 2 2 ,0 0 0

1 ,8 2 2 ,0 0 0

2 ,6 3 3 ,0 0 0

Secu red

B ills

B y

G overn m en t

B o u g h t in

O pen

U .

S.

G overn m en t

U .

S.

V ic to r y

U .

S.

C e r tific a te s

A ll

O th e r

W a r

M a r k e t .............................................

B o n d s ..........................

- 0 -

N o t e s ......................................
of

1 1 ,0 2 5 ,0 0 0

In d e b te d n e ss.

- 0 -

-O -

11, 0 1 0 , 0 0 0

- 0 1 0 ,8 8 1 ,0 0 0

- 0 -

- 0 -

$ 1 9 2 ,3 7 1 ,0 0 0

$ 1 9 7 ,3 9 3 ,0 0 0

$ 2 1 0 ,5 9 8 ,0 0 0

5 1 5 ,0 0 0

3 9 3 ,0 0 0

2 3 1 ,0 0 0

D e p o s i t s .............................................................................................

4 3 ,2 5 7 ,0 0 0

3 6 ,8 5 7 ,0 0 0

5 2 ,2 1 9 ,0 0 0

R e d e m p tio n F u n d A g a in s t F . R . B a n k N o t e s . .

6 6 5 .0 0 0

6 6 5 .0 0 0

1 ,4 6 5 ,0 0 0

C u s t o d y , o r i n T r a n s i t ...........................

1 5 2 .0 0 0

1 5 2 .0 0 0

R e s o u r c e s .....................................................................................

4 6 1 .0 0 0

4 2 1 .0 0 0

3 1 1 ,0 0 0

$ 4 2 7 ,5 1 8 ,0 0 0

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$ 4 1 9 ,4 7 4 ,0 0 0

B ank

E a r n in g

A s s e t s ..........................

P r e m i s e s ....................................................................................................

U n c o lle c te d
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D is c o u n te d :

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$

8 ,4 3 7 ,0 0 0

Legal Tender
T o ta l

5 6 ,7 9 4 ,0 0 0

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3 1 ,7 2 0 ,0 0 0

- 0 -

A g e n c i e s ....................

Mar. 1 2 , 1 9 2 0

Fell. 1 1 , 1 9 2 1
$

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R e d e m p tio n

B ills

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F R A N C IS C O

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B oard .

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C e r t i f i c a t e s .............................

G o ld

G o ld

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O F

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A b r o a d , in

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..........................................................................

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to

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F o r e ig n

C r e d i t s .................................

2 3 9 ,8 0 9 ,0 0 0

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L ia b ility . . .

8 .9 0 1 .0 0 0

8 .8 4 8 .0 0 0

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L i a b i l i t i e s .........................................................................................

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C o r r e s p o n d e n t s .................................

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