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FEDERAL

RESERVE

BOARD

STATEMENT FOR THE P R E S S

X-3256
For R e l e a s e i n Morning Papers,
Thursday, December 1, 1 9 2 1 .
The f o l l o w i n g i s a review of g e n e r a l b u s i n e s s and
f i n a n c i a l c o n d i t i o n s t h r o u g h o u t t h e s e v e r a l Federal
Reserve D i s t r i c t s d u r i n g t h e month of November, a s
contained i n t h e forthcoming i s s u e of t h e Federal
Reserve B u l l e t i n .
Improvement i n b u s i n e s s c o n d i t i o n s i n November h a s not been
a s pronounced a s d u r i n g t h e p r e c e d i n g two months.

Several f a c t o r s

a r e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h i s r e l a t i v e "slowing down".

The seasonal

peak of demand h a s , f o r t h e time being, been reached and p a s s e d .
U n c e r t a i n t y r e g a r d i n g p r i c e s of s t a p l e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y of c o t t o n ,
h a s i n t e r f e r e d somewhat w i t h t r a d e buying, w h i l e t h e p o s s i b i l i t y
of f u r t h e r r e d u c t i o n s of f r e i g h t r a t e s h a s a p p a r e n t l y tended t o
u n s e t t l e p r i c e s and t o r e t a r d t h e a c t i v i t y of i n d u s t r y i n some
of t h e chief m a n u f a c t u r i n g s e c t i o n s .

Recovery i n t h e s t e e l and

i r o n t r a d e has come t o a h a l t f o r t h e t i m e b e i n g , and s t a b i l i t y
has not y e t been achieved i n t h a t branch of p r o d u c t i o n .
N e v e r t h e l e s s , t h e p r o g r e s s toward normal c o n d i t i o n s achieved
d u r i n g November has been c o n t i n u o u s , a s may be s e e n by a comparison
w i t h t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g month of a y e a r ago, or w i t h t h e g e n e r a l
movement of economic c o n d i t i o n s s i n c e t h e b e g i n n i n g of t h i s y e a r .




x-3256

-2-

Cotton and woolen t e x t i l e s i n some of t h e p r i n c i p a l p r o d u c i n g d i s t r i c t s a r e almost on a normal b a s i s .

S t e e l and i r o n , w h i l e working

a t about f i f t y p e r cent 'of c a p a c i t y , a r e i n much b e t t e r c o n d i t i o n
t h a n was t r u e a few months ago*

In soma i n d u s t r i e s which had a c -

cumulated l a r g e s u r p l u s s t o c k s , such a s z i n c , demand h a s been
s u f f i c i e n t t o c a r r y off a p a r t of t h e oversupply#
at l e a s t s l i g h t l y decreased.

Unemployment h a s

Export t r a d e c o n t i n u e s i n s u b s t a n t i a l

volume, showing an i n c r e a s e over October, and w h i l e l a b o r i n g under
many h a n d i c a p s due t o u n s e t t l e d exchanges, shows t h e r e s u l t of s t r o n g
foreign demand,especially f o r s t a p l e s .

This i s p a r t i c u l a r l y n o t e -

worthy when i t i s remembered t h a t t h e p r i c e s a t which c o t t o n and
c e r e a l s a r e now b e i n g shipped a r e so much lower t h a n t h o s e of a
year ago.

Banking c o n d i t i o n s a r e r e p o r t e d s l i g h t l y improved

p r a c t i c a l l y throughout t h e United S t a t e s .
Reduction of p r i c e s f o r c e r e a l s , and f a i l u r e of c o t t o n t o
m a i n t a i n a s high a l e v e l a s had been expected d u r i n g October have
proven a s e r i o u s handicap to farming i n t e r e s t s .

R e s u l t s of t h i s r e l -

a t i v e l y low r e t u r n f o r output have been a r e d u c t i o n i n t h e demand of
f a r m i n g communities i n some p a r t s of t h e country f o r consumable goods
and a simultaneous tendency t o check somewhat t h e p r o c e s s of l i q u i d a t i n g l o a n s a t banks,

Nevertheless, r e t a i l business continues to

improve, t a k i n g t h e country a s a whole, and has been m a t e r i a l l y helped
by t h e improvement which h a s t a k e n p l a c e i n employment c o n d i t i o n s
d u r i n g t h e p a s t few months.

Improvement i s a l s o o b s e r v a b l e i n w h o l e -

s a l e t r a d e , s a l e s comparing f a v o r a b l y w i t h a y e a r ago.




P r i c e s continue

-3-

X-3256

to maintain a s u b s t a n t i a l l y s t a b l e p o s i t i o n ,

Tne F e d e r a l Reserve

Board*s index f o r October shows a r e c e s s i o n of l e s s t h a n two p o i n t s ,
and i t i s e v i d e n t t h a t t h e p r i c e changes which a r e now o c c u r r i n g
do not r e p r e s e n t any e x t e n s i v e movement toward m o d i f i c a t i o n of t h e
average level*
Important f i n a n c i a l developments have t a k e n p l a c e d u r i n g t h e
month.

I n a d d i t i o n t o a general r e d u c t i o n of F e d e r a l Reserve d i s c o u n t

r a t e s , t h e r e h a s been a d i s t i n c t tendency toward d e c l i n e i n t h e l e v e l
of market r a t e s both f o r s h o r t and l o n g t e r m f u n d s .

This h a s been

accompanied by a decided advance i n t h e p r i c e s of bonds, and p a r t i c u l a r l y of s t a n d a r d s e c u r i t i e s *

New o f f e r i n g s of c a p i t a l i s s u e s have,

i n many c a s e s , been r e a d i l y absorbed, and t h e g e n e r a l c o n d i t i o n of
c r e d i t h a s become e a s i e r .

The one p o i n t a t which f i n a n c i a l c o n d i t i o n s

have shown l i t t l e or no improvement i s i n f o r e i g n exchange, where t h e
German mark has continued i t s downward movement w h i l e o t h e r European
c u r r e n c i e s have been g e n e r a l l y u n s e t t l e d w i t h only s p o r a d i c tendency
t o improvement.
The g e n e r a l s i t u a t i o n of t r a d e and i n d u s t r y i s unmistakably more
h o p e f u l , and i s improving a s s t e a d i l y a s can be e x p e c t e d i n view of
t h e slowness of economic p r o g r e s s i n o t h e r p a r t s of t h e world, p a r t i c u l a r l y i n Western Europe.

Another handicap t o complete r e a d j u s t m e n t

c o n t i n u e s t o be t h e f a i l u r e t o b r i n g about a p r o p e r c o - o r d i n a t i o n and
mutual r e l a t i o n s h i p of p r i c e s *

This i s r e s p o n s i b l e f o r no small p a r t

of t h e slowness of economic recovery i n c e r t a i n b r a n c h e s of b u s i n e s s *
On t h e whole, t h e b e s t opinion now l o o k s t o a s t e a d y , even if l o c a l l y
i n t e r r u p t e d , p r o g r e s s back t o normal c o n d i t i o n s , a l t h o u g h no immediate
or sudden expansion



or"boom" i s now i n sight*

-4•AGRICULTURE.

X-J256

The p r e l i m i n a r y e s t i m a t e s f o r t h e crops of 1921,

i s s u e d a s of November 1, i n d i c a t e t h a t t o t a l a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n
i n 1921 w i l l be much lower t h a n i n 1920, and a l s o c o n s i d e r a b l y l e s s
than t h e average p r o d u c t i o n i n t h e y e a r s 1915 t o 1919-

The e s t i m a t e d

volume of every i m p o r t a n t crop i s s m a l l e r f o r 1921 than t h a t of 1920,
but t h e 1921 p r o d u c t i o n of corn, sugar b e e t s , sweet p o t a t o e s , and
k a f i r s exceeds t h e average p r o d u c t i o n i n t h e p r e c e d i n g f i v e - y e a r
period.

The p r e l i m i n a r y e s t i m a t e f o r corn p r o d u c t i o n i s 3,151,&98,000

b u s h e l s which i s 2 . 5 p e r c e n t l e s s t h a n t h e crop of 1920, but 12.u
p e r c e n t g r e a t e r t h a n t h e average o u t t u r n i n t h e y e a r s 1915 t o 1919Both D i s t r i c t No. 10 (Kansas C i t y ) and D i s t r i c t No. 8 ( S t . Louis)
r e p o r t t h a t corn h u s k i n g has made r a p i d p r o g r e s s and t h a t a c o n s i d e r a b l e
p o r t i o n of t h e crop has been c r i b b e d .

Reports from D i s t r i c t No. 8

( S t . Louis) i n d i c a t e t h a t corn i s w e l l matured and t h e y i e l d f o r
both s i l a g e

and g r a i n i s good.

The stock of old corn on f a r x s i n

tne United S t a t e s was e s t i m a t e d a t 281,4^2,000 b u s h e l s on November 1
which i s over t h r e e t i m e s the average h o l d - o v e r d u r i n g t h e p a s t f i v e
years.

The c o n d i t i o n of t h e white p o t a t o crop continued t o improve

d u r i n g October, but t h e e s t i m a t e d p r o d u c t i o n on November 1 was 1 6 . 9 p e r
cent s m a l l e r t h a n t h e crop of 1920 and 4 . 1 p e r cent l e s s t h a n t h e
average t o t a l

y i e l d i n t h e y e a r s 1915 t o 1919-

D i s t r i c t No. 9

(Minneapolis) s t a t e s t h a t over 60 p e r c e n t of t h e c u r r e n t p o t a t o crop
was shipped from t h e farms by t h e end of October, whereas oiJLy 28 p e r
cent of l a s t y e a r ' s crop was marketed a t t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g d a t e i n
1920.

R e p o r t s from D i s t r i c t No. 7 (Chicago), on t h e o t h e r nand, i n d i c a t e

t h a t a l a r g e p o r t i o n of t h e Wisconsin p o t a t o crop i s being s t o r e d .



- 5 -

x-3256

The e s t i m a t e d p r o d u c t i o n of sugar b e e t s on November 1, amounted t o
7,480,000 t o n s which was 1 2 . 5 P e r cent l e s s t h a n i n 1920, but 20,3 P e r
cent more than the average p r o d u c t i o n i n the p r e v i o u s f i v e y e a r s .
Reports from D i s t r i c t No. 6 ( A t l a n t a ) i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e L o u i s i a n a
cane sugar y i e l d w i l l amount to about 223,000 tons, a s compared w i t h
a p r o d u c t i o n of 169,127 t o n s i n 1920.

The new w i n t e r wheat crop h a s

made good p r o g r e s s i n most s e c t i o n s , but has s u f f e r e d from a l a c k of
r a i n i n Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Colorado,

D i s t r i c t No. 8

( S t . Louis) s t a t e s t h a t w i n t e r wheat i s i n prime c o n d i t i o n t o e n t e r
cold weather, although u n o f f i c i a l r e p o r t s i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e acreage
w i l l be s l i g h t l y l e s s t h a n l a s t y e a r .

The w i n t e r wheat and rye crops

a r e w e l l advanced i n D i s t r i c t No, J (Chicago), and i t i s r e p o r t e d t h a t
a l a r g e r acreage has been sown i n Wisconsin t h a n i n 1920.
COTTON:

Cotton ginned p r i o r t o November 14, amounted t o

7,270,575 b a l e s , a s compared with 8,914,642 b a l e s i n t h e corresponding
p e r i o d of 1920.

This i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h e c o t t o n crop of 1921 w i l l

probably exceed 8,000,000 b a l e s , whereas t h e l a s t Government e s t i m a t e ,
a s of September 25, p r e d i c t e d a crop of 6,537#000 b a l e s .

As a r e s u l t

of t h i s i n c r e a s e i n the known supply of c o t t o n , the p r i c e of spot
c o t t o n a t New York has d e c l i n e d from over 20 c e n t s i n September t o
18.4- c e n t s on November 23, but i s s t i l l about 50 p e r cent h i g h e r t h a n
t h e p r i c e s p r e v a i l i n g i n August.

D i s t r i c t No. 5 (Richmond) s t a t e s

t h a t t h e crop i n t h e s o u t h e r n half of South C a r o l i n a was p r a c t i c a l l y
a f a i l u r e , whereas a f a i r crop was gathered i n the s e c t i o n n o r t h of
Solumbia and i n North C a r o l i n a .

Reports from D i s t r i c t No. 6 (Atlanta,?

i n d i c a t e t h a t c o t t o n c u l t i v a t i o n d u r i n g t h e p a s t season was r e l a t i v e l y




-6-

X-3256

much more s u c c e s s f u l in M i s s i s s i p p i , Alabama, and Tennessee t h a n i n
t h e e a s t e r n s e c t i o n of t h e D i s t r i c t .

Continued dry weather has been

f a v o r a b l e t o t h e h a r v e s t i n g of the c o t t o n crop i n D i s t r i c t No, 11
( D a l l a s ) and very l i t t l e c o t t o n remains t o be picked i n any p a r t of
that District.
TQBACCO,

The November 1 e s t i m a t e f o r tobacco showed an i n c r e a s e

t o 1 , 0 2 0 / 3 7 4 , 0 0 0 pounds, b u t t h e crop i s s t i l l only about t w o - t h i r d s
t h a t of l a s t year, t h e r e d u c t i o n being found v e r y l a r g e l y i n t h e
manufactured and export t y p e s .

The markets of North C a r o l i n a and

V i r g i n i a were a c t i v e during October, but s t i l l l a r g e r s a l e s were
w i t n e s s e d d u r i n g the f i r s t two weeks of November because of b e t t e r
weather f o r t h e p r e p a r a t i o n of l e a f f o r market.
averaging

$30,87

par

100

Better prices,

pounds, were r e a l i z e d d u r i n g October t h a n

d u r i n g e i t h e r September, lg21 o r October, 1$20, and g r a d e s coming on
the market d u r i n g November have shown soms f u r t h e r improvement, so
t h a t s t i l l b e t t e r p r i c e s have been r e a l i z e d .

Medium and f i n e grades

are advancing s t e a d i l y , and buyers appear t o be anxious t o secure
a l l good leaf o f f e r e d , but t h e demand c o n t i n u e s poor f o r low grade
tobacco, which comprises a l a r g e p a r t of t h i s y e a r ' s crop.

In t h e

w e s t e r n d i s t r i c t s of Kentucky-Tennessee, whose tobacco moves t o market
l a t e r t h a n i n t h e e a s t , t h e o u t s t a n d i n g f e a t u r e h a s been t h e announcement t h a t t h e Burley Tobacco Growers Cooperative A s s o c i a t i o n h a s signed
up about 85 p e r cent of t h i s y e a r ' s crop and can now proceed w i t h
marketing arrangements.

The c i g a r l e a f tobacco market i n D i s t r i c t

No. 3 ( P h i l a d e l p h i a ) has had the d u l l e s t f a l l i t h a s experienced f o r
y e a r s , and the q u e s t i o n of p r i c e s i s a stumbling block t o recovery.



—7~

X—3 256

October was t h e b e s t month experienced t h i s y e a r by the c i g a r manuf a c t u r i n g i n d u s t r y i n t h a t D i s t r i c t , but t h e r e a r e now some evidences
of d i m i n i s h i n g demand, although the m a j o r i t y of m a n u f a c t u r e r s c o n t i n u e
t o r e c e i v e o r d e r s f a s t e r t h a n they can f i l l them.

The demand f o r

manufactured tobacco i n D i s t r i c t No. 5 (Richmond) has been a s s t r o n g
d u r i n g October a s d u r i n g any e a r l i e r month t h i s y e a r , although export
t r a d e c o n t i n u e s l i g h t , most of t h e o r d e r s coming from L a t i n America,
In both c i g a r s and manufactured p r o d u c t s , t h e o f f e r i n g of new brands
a t p r i c e s lower t h a n t h o s e f o r e s t a b l i s h e d goods c o n t i n u e s .
FRUIT. The a p p l e crop continued t o d e t e r i o r a t e d u r i n g October
and t h e estimated p r o d u c t i o n i s only 102,290,000 b u s n e l s , which i s
p e r cent l e s s t h a n t h e p r o d u c t i o n i n 1920.

The crop h a s been a f a i l u r e

i n almost a l l s t a t e s e a s t of t h e Rocky Mountains, wnereas apple p r o d u c t i o n
i n s t a t e s west of t h e Rocky Mountains w i l l amount t o about k l , 3 9 2 , 0 0 0
b u s h e l s i n 1921, a s compared w i t h 30,952,000 b u s h e l s i n I92O,

Apples

matured so r a p i d l y i n D i s t r i c t Bo. 12 (San F r a n c i s c o ) t h a t s t o r a g e
f a c i l i t i e s were i n a d e q u a t e , and a temporary g l u t of t n e market ensued.
Total p r o d u c t i o n of c i t r u s f r u i t s i n 1921 w i l l probably be c o n s i d e r a b l y
l a r g e r t h a n i n 1920, d e s p i t e the d e s t r u c t i o n of about 10 p e r c e n t of
t h e F l o r i d a crops by a r e c e n t storm.

D i s t r i c t No. 6 ( A t l a n t a ) r e p o r t s

t h a t more g r a p e f r u i t w i l l be shipped from F l o r i d a t h i s year t h a n l a s t
y e a r , b u t t h e r e may be some diminution i n the shipments of o r a n g e s .
R e p o r t s from D i s t r i c t No. 12 (San F r a n c i s c o ) i n d i c a t e t h a t shipments of
t h e new crop of oranges and lemons from C a l i f o r n i a should be l a r g e r
during t h e crop year ending October 31»

P r i c e s of between $6 and $7 a

box a r e being paid f o r t h e b e t t e r grades of F l o r i d a oranges, w n i l e small




-8-

X-325b

&nd p o o r l y colored f r u i t h a r d l y f e t c h e s a s u f f i c i e n t p r i c e t o c o v e r
f r e i g h t charges.

P r o d u c t i o n of wine and t a b l e g r a p e s in C a l i f o r n i a

only amounted t o about 388,000 t o n s d u r i n g 1921, a s compared w i t h
540,000 t o n s i n 1920, but shipments t o t a l e d 2$,$1$ c a r s up t o November
5, a s compared w i t h 25,309 c a r s i n t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g p e r i o d of 1920.
The C a l i f o r n i a p r o d u c t i o n of r a i s i n s was a l s o u n u s u a l l y l i g h t d u r i n g
1921, but t h e q u a l i t y i s e x c e p t i o n a l l y good, due t o a f a v o r a b l e d r y i n g
season.
GRAIN MOVEMENTS.

The volume oL g r a i n movements showed some

f u r t h e r c u r t a i l m e n t d u r i n g October, but t o t a l shipments of 1921 c r o p s
from t h e farms have been very heavy.

Wheat r e c e i p t s a t l e a d i n g primary

m a r k e t s i n October were s m a l l e r t h a n i n September, but were s l i g h t l y
l a r g e r t h a n i n October, 1920.

R e c e i p t s of wheat a t Minneapolis and

Duluth amounted t o 27,744,836 b u s h e l s i n October, a s compared w i t h
32,108,426 b u s h e l s i n September and 26,278,983 b u s h e l s i n October, 1920.
In t h e f o u r p r i n c i p a l markets of D i s t r i c t No. 10 (Kansas C i t y )
12,653#800 b u s h e l s of wheat were r e c e i v e d i n October i n comparison w i t h
21,981,400 b u s h e l s i n September and 1 2 , 3 9 4 , 1 5 0 b u s h e l s i n October, 1520.
R e c e i p t s a t t h e s e f o u r markets from J u l y 1 t o October 31 were about
82 p e r cent g r e a t e r t h a n i n the c o r r e s p o n d i n g p e r i o d of 1920, Corn
r e c e i p t s showed a s l i g h t d e c l i n e i n October, b u t were very much l a r g e r
t h a n i n October, 1$20.

D i s t r i c t No. 1 0 (Kansas C i t y ) r e p o r t s t h a t new

corn i s b e g i n n i n g t o move t o t h e markets, but t h a t r e c e i p t s c o n t i n u e
l i g h t due t o t h e low p r i c e a t which i t has been s e l l i n g .

Movement of

o t h e r i m p o r t a n t g r a i n s was a l s o somewhat abated i n October,

Stocks of

gi-a-in a t 11 i n t e r i o r c e n t e r s were, however, f u r t h e r augmented d u r i n g



-9the month-

X-3256

At Minneapolis and Duluth stocks of wheat increased 43

per cent, corn 124 per cent, c a t s 15 per cent, barley 13 p e r cent, and
rye 21 per c e n t .

The most noteworthy change i n volume of g r a i n stocks

at eight seaboard c e n t e r s was an increase of 73 per cent i n the stocks
of corn.
SiQJIE,

Output of m i l l s r e p r e s e n t i n g 75 per cent of t o t a l pro-

Auction i n D i s t r i c t No. 9 (Minneapolis) was 2,969,0o9 b a r r e l s during
October, an increase of 7 per cent as compared with 2, 66,421 b a r r e l s
during September, and an increase cof 23 per cent as compared with
2,427, 749 b a r r e l s during October, 1920.

Production of m i l l s in

D i s t r i c t $0. 10 (Kansas City) r e p r e s e n t i n g 6$ p e r cent of the t o t a l
output of t h a t D i s t r i c t , amounted during October t o 2,295/7*9 b a r r e l s ,
an i n c r e a s e of 53 per cent over the October, 1920 f i g u r e of 1,502,721
barrels.

In D i s t r i c t No, 12 (San Francisco), production of 63 m i l l s

during October was 997/325 b a r r e l s , an i n c r e a s e of 2,6 per cent over
the September f i g u r e of 970,632 b a r r e l s for 64 m i l l s .

Price declines

were reported on a l l grades of f l o u r during October, but a p a r t i a l
recovery was noted during November.

The t r a d e i s s t a t e d t o have been

somewhat depressed by the d e c l i n e i n wheat p r i c e s .

This was evidenced

i n D i s t r i c t No. 10 (Kansas City) by r e p o r t s of curtailment of shipping
i n s t r u c t i o n s on old orders, as well as bytthe slowing down of new
orders.

Business i n D i s t r i c t No. 8 ( S t . Louis) has been i r r e g u l a r

and u n s a t i s f a c t o r y to the s e l l e r .

Domestic demand continues i n f a i r

volume, but i s on a hand t o mouth b a s i s .

Some export business i s r e -

ported in t h e D i s t r i c t , mainly to western Europe, but export demand
i n D i s t r i c t No, 12 (San Francisco) dwindled to small p r o p o r t i o n s in



-10October,

x-325b

M i l l e r s i n t h a t s e c t i o n a r e r e p o r t e d t o be a w a i t i n g

f u r t h e r developments i n t h e wheat market b e f o r e buying s t o c k s of
wheat and expanding o p e r a t i o n s .
LIVE

STOCK.

Heavy movement of l i v e stock t o market was r e -

p o r t e d d u r i n g October*

R e c e i p t s of c a t t l e and c a l v e s a t 15 w e s t e r n

m a r k e t s d u r i n g t h a t month were 1, J12,917 head, c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o a n
index number of 170, a s compared w i t h 1 , 4 1 7 , 2 5 9 head d u r i n g September,
c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o an index number of 141, and 1 , 6 2 1 , 2 9 5 head d u r i n g
October, 1920, corresponding t o a n index number of l 6 l _

Receipts

of hogs i n c r e a s e d from 1,733,827 head d u r i n g September t o 2,057* 231
head d u r i n g October, a s compared w i t h 1 , 7 9 1 , 8 8 1 head d u r i n g October,
1920, t h e r e s p e c t i v e index numbers b e i n g 81, 9^ and 82.

October

r e c e i p t s of sheep were 1 , 5 4 2 , 1 4 3 head, as compared w i t h 1 , 6 5 1 , 6 5 9
head d u r i n g September and 1 , 8 6 4 , 7 2 8 head d u r i n g October, 1920, t h e
r e s p e c t i v e index numbers b e i n g 13$, 121, and 136.

October shipments

of s t o c k e r and f e e d e r c a t t l e and c a l v e s from 34 m a r k e t s were 57 p e r
c e n t l a r g e r t h a n d u r i n g September, a l t h o u g h shipments of sheep and
lambs were s l i g h t l y l e s s , but i n both c a s e s t h e f i g u r e s were very
much l e s s t h a n a y e a r a g o .

Southern c a t t l e have been shipped t o

Montana t h i s f a l l f o r w i n t e r f e e d i n g , due t o the abundance of good
w i n t e r range and t h e l a r g e f o r a g e supply of h i g h q u a l i t y hay.
P r a c t i c a l l y a l l c a t t l e and sheep i n D i s t r i c t No. 11 ( D a l l a s ) have
been d r i v e n t o w i n t e r r a n g e s and g r a z i n g c o n d i t i o n s a r e r e p o r t e d above
normal, although r a i n f a l l i s now needed t o s t a r t growth of w i n t e r and
spring

feed.

The a c t i v i t i e s of t h e War Finance C o r p o r a t i o n i n t h a t

D i s t r i c t have engendered b e t t e r f e e l i n g among c a t t l e m e n .



—3.1. —

X-3250

Twenty-five r e p r e s e n t a t i v e p a c k e r s r e p o r t an i n c r e a s e of
6 % 3 p e r - c e n t i n October s a l e s (measured i n d o l l a r s ) over t h o s e
d u r i n g September, but a d e c l i n e of 2$.6 p e r c e n t a s compared w i t h
October, 1920.

Fresh meats and l a r d f o r domestic t r a d e have been

moving w e l l and t h e r e h a s been an improvement i n t h e demand f o r
cheaper c u t s of beef and pork i n many l o c a l i t i e s *

There was

improvement i n November i n t h e demand from Great B r i t a i n and
t>jie Continent f o r p a c k i n g house p r o d u c t s .

The f r e s h meat t r a d e

was r e p o r t e d g e n e r a l l y slow d u r i n g October i n D i s t r i c t No. 10
(Kansas C i t y ) , and c o n d i t i o n s were more s t a b l e t h a n i n September,
a l t h o g g h r e t a i l e r s bought only f o r t h e immediate r e q u i r e m e n t s of
their trade.
P r o d u c t i o n of bituminous coal i n October was l a r g e r t h a n
d u r i n g any month of t h e c u r r e n t y e a r .

The s t e a d y improvement

e v i d e n t d u r i n g September and October was m a t e r i a l l y a c c e l e r a t e d
d u r i n g t h e l a s t t e n days of October, when, under t h e t h r e a t of t h e
s t r i k e , heavy demands f o r spot d e l i v e r i e s a p p e a r e d .

After the

s t r i k e c a l l was r e s c i n d e d , a c t i v i t y i n t h e market ceased*

Pro-

d u c t i o n i n c r e a s e d from 35,105,000 t o n s i n September t o 43,741,000
t o n s i n October, which was, however, below t h e October, 1920
p r o d u c t i o n of 52,144,000 t o n s .
95, 113, and 14.

The r e s p e c t i v e index numbers a r e

D i s t r i c t No. 3 ( P h i l a d e l p h i a ) r e p o r t s t h a t

a l t h o u g h p r i c e s r o s e somewhat when t h e s t r i k e t h r e a t e n e d , they




-12-

X-3256

have g r a d u a l l y r e a c t e d and a r e now a t t h e l e v e l s p r e v a i l i n g d u r i n g e a r l y
October.

D i s t r i c t No. 7 (Chicago) r e p o r t s t h a t t h e r e d u c t i o n i n th-e p r o -

d u c t i o n of domestic s i z e s has caused a d ecreas e i n t h e amount of s c r e e n i n g s
i n t h e hands of o p e r a t o r s , so t h a t t h e p r i c e i n t h e open market h a s r e mained throughout October a t a l e v e l h i g h e r t h a n d u r i n g September.

Dis-

t r i c t No. 1 0 (Kansas C i t y ) s t a t e s t h a t g e n e r a l l y t h e coal s i t u a t i o n i s
c o n s i d e r e d d u l l , a l t h o u g h t h e October p e r c e n t a g e of l o s s of a c t i v i t y a t
t h e mines on account of "no market" was very m a t e r i a l l y reduced i n Colorado,
M i s s o u r i , and Oklahoma, a s compared w i t h t h e month of September.
The i n c r e a s e d p r o d u c t i o n of a n t h r a c i t e coal d u r i n g October was no
doubt caused by t h e s p e e d i n g up a t t h e time of t h e t h r e a t e n e d r a i l r o a d
strike.

P r o d u c t i o n was lower, however, t h a n i n any month of October f o r

the l a s t eight years.

The output t h i s October was 7> 530,000 t o n s a s com-

pared w i t h t h e September f i g u r e of 7 , 1 2 4 , 0 0 0 t o n s .
numbers a r e 102 and $6.

The r e s p e c t i v e index

Although t h e demand was s t i m u l a t e d t e m p o r a r i l y

consumers a r e now w i l l i n g t o purchase only i n small l o t s .

D i s t r i c t No. 3

( P h i l a d e l p h i a ) r e p o r t s t h a t t h e demand f o r steam coal i s g r e a t e r than i t
was i n t h e summer, but o r d e r s a r e small and due t o t h e i n s t a l l a t i o n of o i l
h e a t i n g p l a n t s i n many h o t e l s and o f f i c e b u i l d i n g s , t h e market may be p e r manently narrowed.
The improvement i n t h e i r o n and s t e e l i n d u s t r y i n September and
October continued t o be r e f l e c t e d i n an i n c r e a s e d p r o d u c t i o n of coke. Beeh i v e coke p r o d u c t i o n i n c r e a s e d from 289,000 t o n s i n September, c o r r e s p o n d i n g
t o an index number of 11, t o 4 l 6 , 0 0 0 t o n s i n October, c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o an
index number of 16.

By-product coke p r o d u c t i o n i n c r e a s e d s i m i l a r l y from

1,423, 000 t o n s i n September t o 1 , 7 3 4 , 0 0 0 t o n s i n October, t h e r e s p e c t i v e
in*ax numbers b e i n g l 6 l and 197.



- 13 p

£TROTJSUM:

x-3256

During October t h e r e was a f u r t h e r n a r r o w i n g of t h e s l i g h t

margin between d o m e s t i c p r o d u c t i o n of crude o i l and i t s consumption. Beports
f o r the several important o i l f i e l d s i n d i c a t e t h a t output i s s t i l l c u r t a i l e d .
I t i s r e p o r t e d t h a t t h e demand f o r and p r i c e of g a s o l i n e weakened c o n s i d e r a b l y , due m o s t l y t o t h e "bad weather p r e v a i l i n g i n t h e norbh and north-vest
and t h e normal f a l l i n g o f f of consumption a t t h i s time of t h e y e a r .

The

p r i c e of c r u d e p e t r o l e u m advanced i n p r a c t i c a l l y a l l f i e l d s .
D i s t r i c t No. 10 (Kansas C i t y ) r e p o r t s t h a t October development o p e r a t i o n s show a s l i g h t d e c r e a s e i n t h e number of w e l l s completed and a l s o i n
t h e number of b a r r e l s d a i l y new p r o d u c t i o n a s c o i r p a r s i w i t h September, while
d r i l l i n g o p e r a t i o n s d u r i n g October show a g a i n of

36 new r i g s a s compared

w i t h September, b u t were 35 p e r c e n t l e s s than a y e a r a g o .

Stock of crude

o i l h e l d i n Kansas and Oklahoma a g g r e g a t e d 6 5 , 9 3 6 , l 4 s b a r r e l s a t the end
of September, an i n c r e a s e of 1 , 0 9 7 , 6 4 3 b a r r e l s d u r i n g t h e month.
P r o d u c t i o n of p e t r o l e u m i n Kansas and Oklahoma d u r i n g the month of October '
averaged a p p r o x i m a t e l y UoU,125 b a r r e l s d a i l y , a c c o r d i n g t o u n o f f i c i a l
reports.

As compared w i t h a y e a r ago t h i s i n d i c a t e s a r e d u c t i o n of 7,750

b a r r e l s i n average d a i l y p r o d u c t i o n and a t o t a l d e c r e a s e of 240,250 b a r r e l s
f o r t h e month.
P r o d u c t i o n of c r u d e p e t r o l e u m i n D i s t r i c t No. 11 ( D a l l a s ) c o n t i n u e d t o
decrease.

Hie t o t a l o u t p u t d u r i n g October was 9 , 9 ^ 1 , 7 4 8 b a r r e l s which

r e p r e s e n t e d a 20,282 b a r r e l d e c r e a s e from September p r o d u c t i o n -

New

c o m p l e t i o n s i n t h i s D i s t r i c t numbered 192 w e l l s , o n l y Q2 of which were
p r o d u c e r s , a s compared w i t h l l 6 p r o d u c e r s out of 171 c o m p l e t i o n s f o r
September.

Due t o t h e r i s e i n p r i c e s t h e r e h a s been a r e s u m p t i o n of d r i l l -

ing in t h i s section.

A f t e r n e a r l y two months of d i s p u t e over wage a i , i u s t -

ments and working r u l e s i n the C a l i f o r n i a f i e l d s , a s e t t l e m e n t h a s b e e n



— 14

1

o b t a i n e d and work h a s been resumed on a l l l e a s e s .

y-3256

On account of the s t r i k e

the low f i g u r e of 227,957 b a r r e l s of average d a i l y p r o d u c t i o n was r e p o r t e d *
Although consumption d u r i n g October decreased i t was s t i l l c o n s i d e r a b l y
i n e x c e s s of o u t p u t , and s t o r e d s t o c k s were f u r t h e r reduced by 555,039
b a r r e l s , only 33,116,456 b a r r e l s b e i n g h e l d a t the end of October,

Thirty-

two new w e l l s , w i t h an i n i t i a l d a i l y p r o d u c t i o n of 14,825 b a r r e l s , were
completed d u r i n g the month*
IBON AND STffBL;

During October d i s t i n c t improvement was e v i d e n t i n

the i r o n and s t e e l i n d u s t r y *

P i g i r o n p r o d u c t i o n d u r i n g t h a t month amour)ted

to 1,233,232 t o n s , c o r r e s p o n d i n g to an index number of 53> as compared wi t h
9^5>529 t o n s d u r i n g September, c o r r e s p o n d i n g to an index number of 43+ S t e e l
i n g o t p r o d u c t i o n showed a somewhat g r e a t e r i n c r e a s e , from 1*174,740 cons
d u r i n g September t o 1,616,810 t o n s d u r i n g October, the r e s p e c t i v e index
numbers b e i n g 51 and 70*

On November 1, 95 f u r n a c e s were i n b l a s t , as

compared w i t h 84 on October ! •

The u n f i l l e d o r d e r s of the United S t a t e s

S t e e l C o r p o r a t i o n , however, n o t o n l y f a i l e d t o respond, b u t a c t u a l l y showed
a d e c r e a s e , from 4,560,670 tons a t t h e c l o s e of September to 4,286,829 t o n s
a t the c l o s e of October, the r e s p e c t i v e index numbers b e i n g 87 and 81, the
lowest s i n c e May 31 > 1919»

November doe£ n o t show a c o n t i n u a n c e of t h e

improvement d u r i n g the p r e v i o u s month, b u t i n d i c a t e s t h a t c o n d i t i o n s a t
b e s t a r e merely h o l d i n g t h e i r own.

In f a c t , D i s t r i c t No. 3 ("Philadelphia)

r e p o r t s "a d i s t i n c t , though s l i g h t , r e a c t i o n from t h e s t e a d i l y i n c r e a s i n g
a c t i v i t y t h a t o c c u r r e d d u r i n g September and O c t o b e r P r i c e s r e f l e c t the
s l a c k e n i n g of demand•

A f t e r a s p i r i t e d advance d u r i n g September and October,

t h e y have again weakened cn p r a c t i c a l l y a l l p r o d u c t s .

The advance of $5*00

on s h e e t s which was made some time ago has been l o s t , and the lower f i g u r e
i t s e l f h a s been shaded.

Lessening of demand h a s been most conspicuous in

the l i g h t e r p r o d u c t s , such a s s h e e t s and w i r e , which c o n t r i b u t e d g r e a t l y



- 15 -

X-3256

t o the r e c e n t i n c r e a s e i n s t e e l p r o d u c t i o n .

The h e a v i e r p r o d u c t s which

have "been l a g g i n g up t o t h i s time a r e r e p o r t e d from D i s t r i c t No. 4 (Cleveland)
t o be making a b e t t e r showing under demands o r i g i n a t i n g w i t h some i n c r e a s e
of g e n e r a l b u s i n e s s c o n s t r u c t i o n , o i l f i e l d work and r a i l r o a d b u y i n g , both
f o r c a r r e p a i r s and r a i l s .

In D i s t r i c t No. 3 ( P h i l a d e l p h i a ) o u t p u t a t

p r e s e n t i s somewhat i n excess of c u r r e n t d e l i v e r i e s .

The p o l i c y of p u r -

c h a s e r s i s t o c a r r y a s l i t t l e m a t e r i a l as p o s s i b l e i n t o t h e new y e a r , as
lower f r e i g h t r a t e s and p r o d u c t i o n c o s t s would n e c e s s i t a t e w r i t i n g o f f
inventories.

Matty i n q u i r i e s f o r 1922 d e l i v e r y a r e however b e i n g r e c e i v e d .

AUTOMOBILES: Some of the l a r g e r m a n u f a c t u r e r s of automobiles i n D i s t r i c t
No. 7 (Chicago) f u r t h e r c u r t a i l e d p r o d u c t i o n d u r i n g the l a t t e r p a r t of
October, when t h e y d i s c o v e r e d c a r s p i l i n g up i n t h e hands of d i s t r i b u t o r s
and d e a l e r s , pending the p r e s e n t a t i o n of new models.

In f a c t , reduction

of p r o d u c t i o n schedules to conform to approaching w i n t e r c o n d i t i o n s , w i t h
t h e i r l e s s e n e d s a l e s , h a s been g e n e r a l .

M a n u f a c t u r e r s ' iiipments d u r i n g

October were 17,323 c a r l o a d s , a s compared w i t h 19,002 c a r l o a d s d u r i n g
September, b u t were s l i g h t l y i n excess of t h e O c t o b e r , 1920 f i g u r e .
October d r i v e away s were 11,257 machines, a s compared w i t h 13.840 machines
d u r i n g September.

B usiness i n t r u c k s d u r i n g the p a s t few months has n o t

been r e l a t i v e l y a s l a r g e as in p a s s e n g e r c a r s ,
NONFEPFOUS METALS:

The n o n f e r r o u s metal markets a r e g e n e r a l l y q u i e t ,

w i t h no unusual demand expected f o r t h e remainder of t h e y e a r .

The October

average p r i c e s show uniform advances over t h e f i g u r e s f o r September, and
l e a d , z i n c and t i n averages were the h i g h e s t s i n c e May or June*

The p r i c e

of copper (New York, n e t r e f i n e r y ) was 13 c e n t s p e r pound on November l 6 , a s
conpared w i t h 12-75 c e n t s p e r pound on November 1, w h i l e the p r i c e of l e a d
a t New York remained a t 4 . 6 5 c e n t s throughout t h e l a t t e r p a r t of October to
the middle of



November.

The demand f o r zinc h a s shown l i t t l e improvement

-

16

x

-

and the p r i c e of 4 . 7 0 c e n t s a t S t . Louis h a s been
month.

"

3 2 5 6

m a i n t a i n e d d u r i n g the

Copper p r o d u c t i o n i n October amounted t o 2'1>157>75^ pounds i n

comparison w i t h a p r o d u c t i o n of 20,926,55**

pounds i n September, October

p r o d u c t i o n of copper i n D i s t r i c t No. 9 (Minneapolis) a s i n d i c a t e d by the
f i g u r e s of companies p r o d u c i n g about 75 P® r c e n t of t h e r e f i n e d copper i n
t h a t D i s t r i c t remained a t the same low l e v e l which h a s p r e v a i l e d s i n c e the
s p r i n g of 1921,

Zinc p r o d u c t i o n d u r i n g October remained a t almost the same

f i g u r e a s f o r September,

Shipments of zinc f o r October were 10,311 tons

more than the amount produced, so t h a t s t o c k s on hand were reduced from
81,135 tons a t the b e g i n n i n g of the month to 70,824 tons on October 31«
D i s t r i c t No, 10 (Kansas C i t y ) r e p o r t s t h a t t h e r e was heavy shipment of zinc
o r e s d u r i n g October, due in some measure t o a r a d i c a l i n c r e a s e i n t h e value
of the o r e ,

A comparison of s t a t i s t i c s f o r 1921 t o t h e end of October with

the same p e r i o d i n 1920 r e v e a l s t h a t shipments of z i n c o r e s have been about
o n e - h a l f i n amount and l e s s than o n e - t h i r d i n v a l u e , w h i l e l e a d ore s h i p ments have d e c r e a s e d a p p r o x i m a t e l y o n e - t h i r d i n amount and t w o - t h i r d s i n
talus.

D i s t r i c t No. 12 (San F r a n c i s c o ) s t a t e s t h a t no f u r t h e r improvement

i n the gold and s i l v e r mining i n d u s t r i e s was r e p o r t e d d u r i n g October and
the copper mining i n d u s t r y c o n t i n u e s g r e a t l y d e p r e s s e d .

The l e a d mines of

Utah and Idaho, which produce approximately 50 p e r c e n t of t h e United S t a t e s
p r o d u c t i o n of l e a d , a r e o p e r a t i n g a t f u l l c a p a c i t y .

In t h i s D i s t r i c t the

demand f o r l e a d i s s t r o n g , consumption o u t r u n n i n g p r o d u c t i o n .
COTTON TEXTILES; The u n s e t t l i n g e f f e c t of a d r o p i n t h e p r i c e of raw
c o t t o n f o l l o w i n g upon the i n i t i a t i o n of new p r i c e a d j u s t m e n t s growing out
of t h e p r e v i o u s advance has r e s u l t e d i n a s l i g h t l y l e s s e n e d a c t i v i t y in the
i n d u s t r y d u r i n g October.
in a h e s i t a n c y



The u n c e r t a i n t y m a n i f e s t e d i t s e l f , however, r a t h e r

on the p a r t of buyers t o p l a c e new o r d e r s t h a n i n any

- i? immediate c u r t a i l m e n t of m i l l a c t i v i t y .

X-3255
An e x a m i n a t i o n of c o t t o n s t a t i s t i c s

makes i t a p p a r e n t t h a t m i l l a c t i v i t y was s u s t a i n e d d u r i n g the month a s
consumption amounted t o 434,745 b a l e s i n October, an

advance of

almost 25 p e r c e n t over the October f i g u r e s of the p r e c e d i n g y e a r ,

In

New England, consumption was s t a t e d t o be l a r g e r i n October than a t any
time d u r i n g t h e

past year.

At p r e s e n t m i l l s i n t h a t s e c t i o n a r e o p e r a t i n g

a t about 80 p e r c e n t of c a p a c i t y , w h i l e i n D i s t r i c t No. 3 ( E h i l a d e l p h i a )
the goods m i l l s shew a l e s s e r degree of a c t i v i t y , e s t i m a t e d a t from 60 to
65 p e r c e n t .

Orders i n most c a s e s a r e s a i d t o be no more t h a n s u f f i c i e n t

t o cover s i x w e e k ' s o p e r a t i o n s on the p r e s e n t r u n n i n g b a s i s in the c a s e of
the m i l l s i n the P h i l a d e l p h i a D i s t r i c t .

But s p r i n g b u s i n e s s in ginghams

and f a n c y f a b r i c s o f f e r s a c o n t r a s t t o the g e n e r a l market and i s r e p o r t e d
t o be e x c e l l e n t .

Yarn p r i c e s have f a l l e n somewhat s i n c e weavers and
very
k n i t t e r s covered t h e i r r e q u i r e m e n t s / l a r g e l y i n September and few new o r d e r s
a r e b e i n g p l a c e d a t the p r e s e n t time.

The yarn m i l l s i n D i s t r i c t No. 3

( P h i l a d e l p h i a ) showed a s l i g h t r e d u c t i o n i n a c t i v i t y , o p e r a t i n g a t about
65 p e r c e n t of c a p a c i t y .

As o r d e r s booked w i l l be f i l l e d w i t h i n the n e x t

s i x weeks , r e d u c t i o n i n the s c a l e of o p e r a t i o n s i s b e i n g contemplated by
manufacturers.
A c t i v i t y i n the southern m i l l s c o n t i n u e s t o be g r e a t e r than i n o t h e r
s e c t i o n s of the c o u n t r y .

In D i s t r i c t No. 6 ( A t l a n t a ) m i l l s g e n e r a l l y

throughout the D i s t r i c t are o p e r a t i n g on f u l l time and some a r e running
night s h i f t s .

Cloth p r o d u c t i o n of 48 m i l l s r e p o r t i n g t o t h e F e d e r a l Reserve

Bank of A t l a n t a showed an i n c r e a s e of 3 - 5 P e r c e n t i n yardage i n October
a s compared w i t h September and of 1 7 . 4 p e r c e n t as compared w i t h Octooer,
1920.

C l o t h shipments i n c r e a s e d 7-5 p e r c e n t f o r t h e month and 73-2 P fcr

c e n t over those f o r a y e a r ago.



Orders en hand a t t h e end of the month

- ig .

X-3256

had d e c l i n e d 5*2 p e r c e n t "but were 2 8 . 4 p e r c e n t above t h o s e f o r t h e end
of O c t o b e r , 1920.

A m a j o r i t y of y a r n a s w e l l a s c l o t h m i l l s a r e o p e r a t i n g

a t f u l l c a p a c i t y or even running overtime, a l t h o u g h r e p o r t i n g e s t a b l i s h ments s a i d t h a t a c e s s a t i o n of o r d e r s had f o l l o w e d the r e c e n t d r o p i n
cotton prices.

Yam;~production i n pounds f o r

m i l l s was 1 . 6 p e r c e n t l e s s

in October than i n September, b u t 33-6 p e r c e n t a>ove the o u t p u t d u r i n g
October, 1920.

Y&m shipments advanced 12.9 p e r c e n t and 6 2 . 1 p e r c e n t

r e s p e c t i v e l y a s compared with t h e p r e c e d i n g month and w i t h t h e same month
a y e a r ago.

O r d e r s on hand were $ . 4 p e r c e n t above t h o s e f o r t h e end of

of September and 85*8 p e r c e n t above t h e t o t a l s f o r t h e end of October,1920.
COTTON FINISHING:

Reports from 35 of t h e 58 members b e l o n g i n g t o

t h e N a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n of F i n i s h e r s of Cotton F a b r i c s show t h a t d u r i n g
t h e month of October t h e r e was an i n c r e a s e i n f i n i s h e d y a r d s b i l l e d , the
t o t a l amounting t o 1 0 5 , 2 g 6 , 4 l 4 a s compared, w i t h 101,824,795 f o r September.
However, a drop i n f i n i s h i n g o r d e r s r e c e i v e d d u r i n g t h e month was r e c o r d e d ,
t h e f i g u r e f o r October b e i n g 100,909,9^5
the p r e c e d i n g month.

a s

compared w i t h 107,336,42? f o r

The p e r c e n t a g e of average c a p a c i t y i n o p e r a t i o n rose

s l i g i t l y from 73 t o 77 f o r a l l D i s t r i c t s .

The a v e r a g e work ahead a t t h e end

of t h e month f e l l from 11 t o 10 days.
WQQLEN TEXTILES:

The s t r i k e of t h e New York garment workers came a t

the end of t h e p e r i o d covered by t h e r e p o r t s and i t s e f f e c t upon t h e
a c t i v i t y of t h e m i l l s m a n u f a c t u r i n g d r e s s goods could n o t t h e r e f o r e be gauged.
I n New England the woolen and worsted i n d u s t r y h a s been r u n n i n g on a normal
b a s i s i n s p i t e of the f a c t t h a t t h e goods market a t t h e p r e s e n t time i s d u l l .
In D i s t r i c t No, 3 ( P h i l a d e l p h i a ) d r e s s goods m i l l s have been o p e r a t i n g a t
about 80 p e r c e n t of c a p a c i t y .




The m a n u f a c t u r e r s of k n i t t i n g y a r n s i n

»

X-3256

— 1^ —
D i s t r i c t No. 3 ( P h i l a d e l p h i a ) continue to do a good b u s i n e s s and many of
them have o r d e r s s u f f i c i e n t t o enfeb.le them t o run a t f u l l c a p a c i t y w e l l
i n t o 1922*

In D i s t r i c t No. 4 ( C l e v e l a n d ) r e p o r t i n g t e x t i l e m i l l s have

n o t had a s good b u s i n e s s i n October a s i n September.

I n the f o r m e r month

they were o p e r a t i n g n e a r c a p a c i t y b u t s i n c e then o r d e r s have f a l l e n off and
in

October o p e r a t i o n s averaged only about 70 p e r c e n t of normal,

The

Census f i g u r e showing the p e r c e n t a g e of i d l e machine h o u r s t o t h e t o t a l hours
r e p o r t e d i n d i c a t e d a s l i g h t improvement f o r t h e month of October a s compared
w i t h September,

On November 1, f o r example, the p e r c e n t a g e of i d l e h o u r s

f o r looms wider than 50" reed space had dropped to 24-9 p e r c e n t a s compared
w i t h 25.8 p e r cent f o r October 1.

The c o r r e s p o n d i n g f i g u r e s f o r looms f o r

50" r e e d space or l e s s were 27.0 p e r c e n t and 27-5 P e r c e n t r e s p e c t i v e l y .
The p e r c e n t a g e of i d l e hours i n the c a s e of woolen s p i n d l e s dropped from
20.9 P e r c e n t to

18.3 p e r c e n t and t h e f i g u r e f o r w o r s t e d s p i n d l e s showed a

s l i g h t i n c r e a s e from 7 - 8 p e r c e n t t o 8 . 1 p e r c e n t .
wool showed an upward t e n d e n c y w i t h a s l i g h t
during the p e r i o d covered by the report.

The market f o r raw

i n c r e a s e i n volume o f s a l e s

D i s t r i c t No. 1 ( B o s t o n )

says

t h a t " D e a l e r s r e p o r t t h a t t h e r e h a s b e e n an a p p r e c i a b l e r e d u c t i o n i n the
s t o c k s o f the more p o p u l a r w o o l s and t h a t i t i s sometimes d i f f i c u l t t o buy
l a r g e q u a n t i t i e s of t h e k i n d s d e s i r e d w i t h o u t c a u s i n g t h e p r i c e s t o advance. ™
CLOTHING-:
Ladies'

The s t r i k e of a p p r o x i m a t e l y 5 0 , 0 0 0 members o f t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l

Garment Workers' Hhiton which b e g a n November ity-, h a s w h o l l y t i e d up

some o f t h e l a r g e r women's a p p a r e l f a c t o r i e s of New York a l t h o u g h numbers
of t h e s m a l l e r m a n u f a c t u r e r s have s i g n e d c o n t r a c t s w i t h t h e u n i o n and are
beginning to operate again.




The s t r i k e o c c u r s b e t w e e n s e a s o n s and a speedy

-20-

x-3256

s e t t l e m e n t would, mean t h a t output would c o n s e q u e n t l y be only s l i g h t l y
a f f e c t e d so f a r as l o s s of t i m e i s concerned.

S t a t i s t i c s of p r o d u c t i o n f o r

men's c l o t h i n g from D i s t r i c t Bo. 7 (Chicago) and w n o l e s a l e s a l e s of both
men's and women's c l o t h i n g i n D i s t r i c t s Bo. 2 (Bew York) and Bo. 8 ( S t . L o u i s )
i n d i c a t e t h a t c o n d i t i o n s i n t h e i n d u s t r y were f a v o r a b l e d u r i n g October. In
D i s t r i c t Bo. 7 (Chicago) r e t u r n s from s i x l a r g e m a n u f a c t u r e r s of men's
c l o t h i n g showed t h a t p r o d u c t i o n and shipments had f a l l e n o f f l b , 4 per cent
and 38*5 p e r cent r e s p e c t i v e l y a s compared w i t h September but as a r e s u l t
of t h e v e r y l a t e season, t h e p r o d u c t i o n f i g u r e s were 45-5 p e r cent ahead of
t h o s e f o r l a s t y e a r and shipments were 30-2 p e r cent i n e x c e s s .

Orders

p l a c e d f o r s p r i n g from t h e opening of the season t o d a t e were 4 l . g per cent
g r e a t e r t h a n f o r t h e corresponding p e r i o d i n 1$20.

In t h e case of 1 )

t a i l o r s - t o - t h e - t r a d e , t h e number of s u i t s made i n October a s compared w i t h
September i n c r e a s e d 29 p e r c e n t , but t o t a l s were 1 . 7 p e r cent below t h o s e
f o r October, 1$20.

Shipments rose 2 6 . 5 p e r cent a s compared w i t h September,

but were 7-9 p e r cent below l a s t y e a r .

Orders were 27.4 p e r cent g r e a t e r i n

October t h a n i n September and . 8 of 1 p e r cent below t h o s e f o r October,
1920.

The f i g u r e s f o r t h e f i v e l a r g e cut-trim-make concerns show t h e

same t r e n d but " t h e improvement h e r e i s l e s s marked t h a n i t i s i n t h e o t h e r
branches of t h e c l o t h i n g i n d u s t r y " .

The f i g u r e s a r e a s f e l l o w s : f o r number

of s u i t s o r d e r e d , an i n c r e a s e of l b . 3 p e r c e n t a s compared w i t h September
and a d e c r e a s e of 1 0 . 5 p e r cent a s compared w i t h October, 1920; f o r number
of s u i t s made, an i n c r e a s e of 1 9 . 7 p e r c e n t a s compared w i t h September and
a d e c r e a s e of 7*9 P d r cent a s compared w i t h October, 1920; f o r number of
s u i t s shipped, an i n c r e a s e of 1 6 . 8 p e r c e n t a s compared w i t h September and a
d e c r e a s e of 8 . 5 p e r cent a s compared w i t h October, 1920.



S a l e s of 11

- 2i -

•

x-3?5o

r e p o r t i n g wholesale c l o t h i n g f i r m i n D i s t r i c t No. 2 (New f o r k ) showed an
advance of 44.3 PGi~ c e n t i n October am compared w i t h September ana of 5*3
p e r c e n t a s compared w i t h October of t h e p r e c e d i n g y e a r .

In D i s t r i c t No. 8

( S t . Lords) s a l e s of 2J l e a d i n g c l o t h i n g f i r m s were f r o m 4 to 12. £ p e r c e n t
g r e a t e r than i n September and from "( to 3.6 p e r c e n t above s a l e s f o r a year
ago.

I t was

early part

s e a t e d , however, t h a t buying i n t h a t D i s t r i c t ' w a s dull i n the
of November.

SILK: Peports from the different sections in which silk mills are
located

t e s t i f i e d to a surprising degree of unevenness withine the industry.

In Paters on, N. J., as in previous months, operations remained at low ebb.
The percentage of active loom hours to total available was only IS.5 per cent
as compared with 24 per cent on October 8.

In North Hudson, the correspond-

ing figure for November was 50.8 per cent, which contrasts unfavorably with
the October figure of somewhat more than 62 per cent.

Returns made by l6

manufacturers of broad silk located in District No. 3 (Philadelphia) are of
a conflicting nature, although decidedly greater activity i s indicated
than that prevailing in the centers just mentioned.

Half of the manufacturers

state that business is poor and demand decreasing, while the others assert
that the reverse is true.

The former group are averaging about 5& P s r cent

of operating capacity; the latter, 6? per cent.

Prices of raw silk have

advanced, creating a considerable amount of indecision among prospective
buyers.

Imports f e l l from 4,597*642 pounds in September to 3,1^0,516 pounds

in October.
R3SIEBY:

M a n u f a c t u r e r s of s i l k h o s i e r y i n D i s t r i c t No. 3 ( P h i l a d e l p h i a )

c o n t i n u e d t o do an e x c e l l e n t b u s i n e s s and p r a c t i c a l l y a l l t h e m i l l s a r e sold
ahead f o r two o r t h r e e months.

There i s a demand f o r n o v e l t y l i n e s f o r the

h o l i d a y t r a d e b u t fewer i n q u i r i e s f o r m e r c e r i z e d h o s i e r y have been made




*

x-3256
-

m

f o l l o w i n g p r i c e advances.

22 -

Twenty-five f i r m s i n D i s t r i c t No. 3 ( P h i l a d e l p h i a ;

which s e l l t o the w h o l e s a l e t r a d e showed an i n c r e a s e i n r.urnber of p a i r s of
h o s e m anuf actured d u r i n g October of l 6 . 8 p e r c e n t as compared wi t h September,
Shipments d u r i n g the month i n c r e a s e d l U , 7 p e r c e n t and u n f i l l e d o r d e r s a t
the end of the menth were 27*1 p e r cc-nb above t h o s e on hand a t the end of
September*

The n i n e r e p o r t i n g f i r m s which s e l l to the r e t a i l t r a d e produced

4 p e r c e n t l e s s i n October than during the p r e c e d i n g month and shipments
and u n f i l l e d o r d e r s a l s o f e l l o f f by 1 2 . 1 p e r c e n t and 2.8 p a r c e n t r e s p e c t
tively*

There h a s been f u r t h e r improvement in the manufacture of c o t t o n

h o s i e r y i n D i s t r i c t No„ 6 ( A t l a n t a ) where r e p o r t i n g m i l l s a r e o p e r a t i n g
a t the r a t e of 80 to 100 p e r c e n t of c a p a c i t y .
i s l a r g e r than f o r the same p e i i o d in 1$20»

The o u t p u t of t h e s e m i l l s

There h a s been a d e c r e a s e in

s t o c k s on hand and an i n c r e a s e of u n f i l l e d orders*
UNDEBWE^B:

The comparative r e p o r t s r e c e i v e d from

m i l l s engaged in

p r o d u c i n g underwear c o n t i n u e to show marked improvement f o r October a s
compared w i t h the September r e t u r n s f o r the same m i l l s -

Production rose

from 445,825 dozens i n September to 487,99^ dozens i n October, a gain of
9*5 p e r cent»

U n f i l l e d o r d e r s r o s e from 809-996 dozens September 1 to

1»171,960 dozens October 1, a gain of 44*7 p e r c e n t .

New o r d e r s f e l l o f f

from 865,492 dozens r e c e i v e d d u r i n g September to 537,928 dozens f o r October,
a l o s s of 37*8 p e r c e n t .

Shipments d e c r e a s e d from 497*854 dozens

in

September to 477,810 dozens in October, a l o s s of 4*0 p e r c e n t .
Fortjjr-one m i l l s showing an a c t u a l p r o d u c t i o n of 513,264 dozens f o r the
month of October r e p o r t u n f i l l e d o r d e r s on hand of 1,284,718 dozens on
November 1 , or n e a r l y two months actuWb

p r o d u c t ' s o l d , the amount of u n f i l l e d

o r d e r s h a v i n g r i s e n from 1*191,688 dozens on October 1 , a gain of 7-8 p e r c e n t .




- 23 -

X-J256

Shipments r o s e from Ul8,258 dozens i n September to 503*2 6l dozens i n October,
The a c t u a l p r o d u c t i o n of 56 m i l l s r e p o r t i n g f o r October amounted to 675,205
dozens of 87*3 p e r c e n t of normal, as compared w i t h 84*4 p e r c e n t of normal
p r o d u c t i o n f o r the 55 m z l l s t h a t r e p o r t e d i n t h e p r e c e d i n g month, and 50-^
p e r c e n t f o r t h e 6 l m i l l s t h a t r e p o r t e d in October, 1320,
up i n October, l e a v i n g f o u r m i l l s s t i l l c l o s e d .

One m i l l opened

P r o d u c t i o n c o n t i n u e s to

i n c r e a s e slowly d e s p i t e the h i g h e r p r i c e s due t o advances i n c o t t o n , and the
f a c t t h a t t h e r e h a s been l i t t l e o r no r e d u c t i o n i n l a b o r costs*
SHOES AND LEATHER:

Sales of h i d e s and s k i n s d e c l i n e d somewhat d u r i n g

October, although p r i c e s were w e l l m a i n t a i n e d .

The market f o r p a c k e r h i d e s

became v e r y a c t i v e i n the t h i r d week of November, and p r i c e s r e g i s t e r e d a
s l i g h t advance *

This a c t i v i t y h a s n o t as y e t been r e f l e c t e d in the market

f o r country hides*

Demand f o r heavy l e a t h e r c o n t i n u e d to improve d u r i n g the

f i r s t t h r e e weeks of November, and q u o t a t i o n s f o r heavy backs i n c r e a s e d a t
b o t h New York and Chicago,

D i s t r i c t No, 3 ( P h i l a d e l p h i a ) r e p o r t s t h a t the

upper l e a t h e r market i s more a c t i v e than i t h a s been, the b u s i n e s s b e i n g
c h i e f l y i n medium and lower grades.

Exports a r e s t e a d i l y i n c r e a s i n g , due t o

i n c r e a s e d p u r c h a s e s by Great B r i t a i n , Spain and Japan#

A s l i g h t improvement

i n demand f o r l e a t h e r b e l t i n g i s r e p o r t e d from b o t h D i s t r i c t No. 3 ( P h i l a d e l p h i a ) and D i s t r i c t No. 7 (Chicago),
Shoe m a n u f a c t u r i n g continued on a l a r g e s c a l e d u r i n g October, a l t h o u g h
a c t i v i t y s t i l l appears to be more g e n e r a l i n the West than i n the East*
October p r o d u c t i o n was g r e a t l y i n excess of October, 1920, b u t t h a t was a
month of extreme d e p r e s s i o n iji the shoe i n d u s t r y .

The output of shoes d u r i n g

October r e p o r t e d by n i n e l a r g e m a n u f a c t u r e r s i n D i s t r i c t No, 1 (Boston) was
5*7 p e r c e n t l e s s than i n September, b u t SO p e r c e n t g r e a t e r than in
October, 1920.



New o r d e r s were about 15 p e r cent i n e x c e s s of these
received in

September, and 13 p e r c e n t l a r g e r than i n October, 1920-

The s l i g h t

s l a c k e n i n g of a c t i v i t y i n p r o d u c t i o n i s a s c r i b e d t o the change i n seasons.
F o r t y - f i v e r e p o r t i n g f i r m s i n D i s t r i c t No* 3 ( P h i l a d e l p h i a ) produced 2+7
p e r c e n t l e s s shoes i n October than i n September, w h i l e shipments d e c l i n e d
Orders booked i n c r e a s e d 28»7 p e r c e n t , afid were 60*5 P e r

1.6 per cent.

c e n t i n e x c e s s of the o r d e r s booked i n October, 1920*

Although a few l a r g e

p l a n t s have booked o r d e r s fc.r r-pr 4 ng de?.ivery ; most shoe mar,v.facturers are
working on o r d e r s f o r immediate shipment.
D i s t r i c t No, 7 (Chicago)
d u r i n g October*

Reports from 27 m a n u f a c t u r e r s in

show an i n c r e a s e of 5*9 P e r c e n t i n p r o d u c t i o n

U n f i l l e d o r d e r s a t the end of the month were 1 1 . 1 p e r cent

g r e a t e r than a t t h e c l o s e of September and $ 8 . 2 p e r c e n t g r e a t e r than a t
the c l o s e of October, 1920*

Eleven f i r m s in D i s t r i c t No. 8 (St* Louis)

r e p o r t s a l e s r a n g i n g from 32 to 40 p e r c e n t l a r g e r t h a n a y e a r ago. Demand
c e n t e r s p r i n c i p a l l y on moderate and l o w - p r i c e shoes, and f a c t o r i e s i n
D i s t r i c t J 8 0 . 8 ( S t . Louis) p r o d u c i n g such grades a r e o p e r a t i n g a t c a p a c i t y .
Shoes p r i c e s were unchanged d u r i n g October, b u t were from 3 5 to ^5 P e r cent
l e s s t h a n i n October, 1920,
LUMBER:

A marked improvement i n demand, p a r t i c u l a r l y f o r upper grades

of l u m b e r , i s i n d i c a t e d by the r e p o r t s f o r October from the v a r i o u s D i s t r i c t s »
D i s t r i c t No# 6 ( A t l a n t a ) r e p o r t s some i r r e g u l a r improvement d u r i n g t h e month
w i t h only a s l i g h t i n c r e a s e over t h e September t o t a l i n p r o d u c t i o n f o r the
D i s t r i c t as a whole.

The t h r e a t e n e d s t r i k e caused b o t h o r d e r s and production

t o d e c l i n e toward the end of t h e month.

The s t a t e m e n t of t h e Southern Pine

A s s o c i a t i o n f o r the week ending October 28, showed a c t u a l p r o d u c t i o n of the
130 r e p o r t i n g m i l l s to be 2 0 . 5 p e r c e n t below normal production*

Stocks

a t m i l l s a r e low and b a d l y broken and b u y e r s f i n d i t d i f f i c u l t t o cover
t h e i r r e q u i r e m e n t s i n h i g h grade f i n i s h and f l o o r i n g * and as to dimension*
P r i c e s c o n t i n u e t o r i s e d e s p i t e the numerous r e c e n t advances.



- 25 -

x-3256

O p e r a t i o n s of t h e Northern Hemlock and Hardwood M a n u f a c t u r e r s '
A s s o c i a t i o n , most of whose members a r e l o c a t e d i n D i s t r i c t No. 7 (Chicago),
show t h a t f o r October shipments were 2 l 4 p e r c e n t and t h a t o r d e r s were 219
p e r c e n t of p r o d u c t i o n .

Reports from D i s t r i c t No. 8 ( S t . Louis) i n d i c a t e

a heavy demand f o r hardwoods and f o r s t r u c t u r a l lumber, advancing p r i c e s ,
heavy shipments, and d e p l e t e d s t o c k s .

The g e n e r a l p r i c e l e v e l of y e l l o w

p i n e showed a g a i n of approximately 25 p e r c e n t d u r i n g t h e month.
volume of yard buying diminished b u t demand on the p a r t of

The

.railways f o r

c a r r e p a i r m a t e r i a l s and the wood consuming i n d u s t r i e s i n c r e a s e d .

In

D i s t r i c t No. 9 (Minneapolis) the October lumber c u t of 8 , 9 3 0 , f e e t was
17 p s r c e n t l e s s than i n September and 53 p e r c e n t l e s s than i n October,1920.
October shipments t o t a l e d 15,699,808 f e e t , a b o u t t h e same a s the September
f i g u r e , b u t o r d e r s booked d u r i n g the month were 20 p e r c e n t l a r g e r than the
September t o t a l and 35 p e r c e n t l a r g e r than i n October l a s t y e a r . T h i r t y - f i v e
m i l l s i n D i s t r i c t No, 11 ( D a l l a s ) r e p o r t an average weekly p r o d u c t i o n of
13,577,^80 f e e t which was 32 p e r c e n t below normal.
amounted t o 18,329,625 f e e t .

Average weekly shipments

In p r o d u c t i o n no n o t i c e a b l e i n c r e a s e over the

September t o t a l i s shown b u t shipments have i n c r e a s e d i n volume.

P r i c e s of

low grade lumber have been s t e a d i l y i n c r e a s i n g w h i l e p r i c e s of upper grades
remained f a i r l y c o n s t a n t .
In D i s t r i c t No. 12 (San F r a n c i s c o ) the demand f o r lumber c o n t i n u e d to
s t r e n g t h e n d u r i n g October and showed a marked i n c r e a s e over t h e p r e v i o u s
months of the y e a r .

P r i c e advances were g e n e r a l l y m a i n t a i n e d .

Four f a c t o r s

c o n t r i b u t e d t o t h e s t r e n g t h of t h e October lumber market - an expansion of
demand i n the wood working i n d u s t r i e s , l a r g e r b u y i n g of c a r m a t e r i a l f o r
r e p a i r s , i n c r e a s e d y a r d buying, s u s t a i n e d by an a c t i t e demand f o r b u i l d i n g



-26-

X-3256

m a t e r i a l s , and i n c r e a s e d export shipments t o Japan.

Statistical

s t a t e m e n t s of the f o u r lumber a s s o c i a t i o n s of t h i s D i s t r i c t show a
volume of o r d e r s r e c e i v e d d u r i n g October which was 1 8 , 9 p e r cent g r e a t e r
t h a n a c t u a l p r o d u c t i o n , and 1 2 . 2 p e r cent i n e x c e s s of shipments, and
which r e p r e s e n t s t h e l a r g e s t amount of b u s i n e s s booked i n any month
s i n c e March, I92O.

The October cut of t h e l 6 l r e p o r t i n g m i l l s was

3SO,4c6, 000 f e e t and shipments amounted t o 392>9?0#000 f e e t , Production,
which i n September was 75 p e r cent of normal, i s now e s t i m a t e d a s 85 per
cent of normal.

From 75 p s r cent t o 80 p e r cent of t h e normal output

of l o g s i s b e i n g produced and i t i s expected t h a t a l l a v a i l a b l e r a f t s
of l o g s w i l l be sold b e f o r e camps c l o s e .

Curtailment of p r o d u c t i o n i s

reported in the shingle industry.
BUILDINS,

During t h e month of October t h e v a l u a t i o n of b u i l d i n g

p e r m i t s i s s u e d i n 166 s e l e c t e d c i t i e s showed a s l i g h t i n c r e a s e over
September i n D i s t r i c t g N o . 1 (Boston), No, 6 ( A t l a n t a ) , Mo. 7 (Chicago),
and No. 9 (Minneapolis) and a s u b s t a n t i a l i n c r e a s e i n D i s t r i c t s No. 2
(New York), No. 3 ( P h i l a d e l p h i a ) , No. 4 ( C l e v e l a n d ) , No. 10 (Kansas C i t y ) ,
and No, 12 (San F r a n c i s c o ) .

The p e r c e n t a g e of i n c r e a s e ranged from . 4

p e r cent i n D i s t r i c t No, 6 ( A t l a n t a ) t o 33-3 P e r cent i n D i s t r i c t No. 2
(New York).

Decreases from t h e September t o t a l s occurred only i n

D i s t r i c t s No. 5 (Richmond), No.36 ( S t . Louis) and No. 11 ( D a l l a s ) .
These d e c r e a s e s were 1 1 . 4 p e r c e n t , 3 8 . 5 p e r cent and 36.7 p e r c e n t ,
respectively.

In comparison w i t h t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g p e r i o d of 1920

t h e October s t a t i s t i c s showed i n c r e a s e s i n D i s t r i c t s No. 2 (New York^
No. 3 ( P h i l a d e l p h i a ) , No. 4 (Cleveland) No. 5 (Richmond), No. 7




-27-

X-3256

(Chicago), No. 8 ( S t . L o u i s ) , No. 9 (M i n n eap o l i s ), No. 10 (Kansas C i t y ) ,
No. 11 ( D a l l a s ) and No. 12 (San F r a n c i s c o ) .

These i n c r e a s e s vary from

2 7 . I p e r cent i n D i s t r i c t No, 9 (Minneapolis) t o 230.5 p e r cent i n
D i s t r i c t No. 2 (New York).

D i s t r i c t s No. 1 (Boston) and No. 6 ( A t l a n t a )

show d e c r e a s e s from October l a s t year of 37-*+ p e r cent and 25-5 per cent,
respectively.
While t n e t o t a l v a l u a t i o n of p e r m i t s i s s u e d thus i n c r e a s e d from
$151,97^*000 t o $ 1 / 2 , 2 0 4 , 0 0 0 , t h e v a l u e of c o n t r a c t s l e t i n seven
Federal Reserve D i s t r i c t s ; p r e p a r e d by t h e F. W. Dodge Company, decreased
from $227,473,000 i n September t o $203, 95*+» 000 i n October.

Increases

were shown i n D i s t r i c t s Nos. 1 and 3, w h i l e t h e f i g u r e s were p r a c t i c a l l y
unchanged i n D i s t r i c t s Nos. 5 and 9# and d e c r e a s e d c o n s i d e r a b l y i n
D i s t r i c t s Nos. 2 (New York), 4 (Cleveland), and 7 (Chicago).
D i s t r i c t No. 3 ( P h i l a d e l p h i a ) r e p o r t s t h a t b u i l d i n g o p e r a t i o n s
a r e not so e x t e n s i v e as t h e number of p e r m i t s g r a n t e d would i n d i c a t e ,
and t h a t t h e volume of c o n t r a c t s l e t has not i n c r e a s e d c o r r e s p o n d i n g l y .
The r e d u c t i o n i n wages and c o s t s of some m a t e r i a l s has r e s u l t e d i n i n creased b u i l d i n g of r e s i d e n c e s i n D i s t r i c t No, 4 ( C l e v e l a n d ) .

All

s t a t e s of D i s t r i c t No. 7 (Chicago) and most of t h e c i t i e s p a r t i c i p a t e d
i n t h e i n c r e a s e of t h e number of p e r m i t s g r a n t e d i n t h a t D i s t r i c t , and
a l l of the s t a t e s except Michigan showed an i n c r e a s e i n e s t i m a t e d c o s t .
In D i s t r i c t No. 3 ( S t . Louis) t h e r e h a s been c o n s i d e r a b l e growth i n the
c o n s t r u c t i o n of d w e l l i n g s .

The r u r a l d i s t r i c t s and s m a l l e r towns have

taken a much more important p a r t i n t h i s development.
r e d u c t i o n s a r e r e p o r t e d i n c o s t s of clay p r o d u c t s ,
w h i l e lumber p r i c e s have advanced.




F u r t h e r minor

cement and metal goods,

Construction a c t i v i t i e s i n D i s t r i c t

-28-

X-3256

No. 12 (San F r a n c i s c o ) surpassed a l l r e c o r d s , both i n t h e number and
value of p e r m i t s granted d u r i n g October.

This was- due c h i e f l y t o the

d e c l i n i n g p r i c e s of many b u i l d i n g m a t e r i a l s and t h e reduced l a b o r
costs.
EMPLOYMENT. The United S t a t e s Employment Service r e p o r t s an
i n c r e a s e of 1 . 6 p e r cent i n numbers employed i n 14 s e l e c t e d i n d u s t r i e s
of t h e United S t a t e s i n October.

Such l o c a l r e p o r t s as a r e a v a i l a b l e

i n d i c a t e t h a t i n c r e a s e s i n numbers employed a r e s l i g h t l y i n excess of
decreases.

G e n e r a l i z a t i o n s a r e however, d i f f i c u l t because of t h e

marked v a r i a t i o n s i n employment c o n d i t i o n s w i t h i n t h e same community
a s w e l l a s between d i f f e r e n t r e g i o n s , which grow out of t h e unequal
degrees of a c t i v i t y p r e v a i l i n g i n t h e s e v e r a l i n d u s t r i e s .

For example,

D i s t r i c t No. 1 (Boston) r e p o r t s t h a t unemployment i s s e r i o u s i n t h e
shoe i n d u s t r y i n Lynn and H a v e r h i l l and a l s o i n the c e n t e r s of t h e
jewelry and of the metal i n d u s t r i e s .

Reports from metal goods c e n t e r s

a r e s a i d t o show a decrease of n e a r l y $0 p e r cent i n numbers employed
a s compared w i t h a year ago.

On t h e other hand, t h e s i t u a t i o n i n t h e

c o t t o n and woolen t e x t i l e i n d u s t r i e s i s good and probably t h e r e has
been a moderate i n c r e a s e i n t h e number of employees i n most New England
industries.

Tne New York S t a t e Department of Labor r e p o r t s a gain of

2 . 5 p e r cent i n numbers employed i n f a c t o r i e s i n October.

Moderate

g a i n s i n employment i n t e x t i l e m i l l s were counterbalanced by l o s s e s
i n t h e manufacture of c l o t h i n g , but r a i l r o a d c a r b u i l d i n g and r e p a i r
shops and r a i l r o a d equipment f a c t o r i e s took on a l a r g e r number of workers.
In D i s t r i c t No. 3 ( P h i l a d e l p h i a ) t h e Pennsylvania S t a t e Department of
Labor r e p o r t e d s l i g h t i n c r e a s e s i n t h e numbers employed i n t h e s i x
c i t i e s of Altoona, H a r r i s b u r g , Johnstown, P h i l a d e l p h i a , Scranton, and



if
-29-

x-3256

Williamsport.
Reports from other parts of the District also indicated improve> merit in employment conditions.

In District Bo. 5 (Richmond) a slignt

increase in numbers unemployed was noted in the c i t i e s but in the
rural sections of tne Carolines, the demand for labor strengthened
with tne resumption of a number of important lumber plants and other
establishments*

In District No, 7 (Chicago) 2J1 firms employing

150,607 persons at the end of October reported an increase of 2*5
per cent in numbers of employees as compared with the preceding month.
The most conspicuous increases took place in iron and steel, railway
repair shops and in the factories producing boxes and containers.
The chief decreases were in construction work and in automobile and
automobile accessory plants. While tne United States employment service figures revealed some improvement for the firms employing over
500 men in Minneapolis and St. Paul, i t i s stated in the report from
District No. 9 (Minneapolis) that clerical and domestic workers and
those engaged in other lines of employment are idle in increasing
numbers.

Outside of tne c i t i e s and larger, towns, unemployment is also

growing following tne completion of harvesting.

In Montana, coal mining

and lumbering operations are more active but in copper mining and
allied industries depression exists*

In District No. 12 (San Francisco)

the completion of harvesting and cessation of work on highways and
public improvements in October has resulted in increasing unemployment
among unskilled workers in certain sections.

On the other hand, there

have been increases in numbers employed in the manufacturing and building
trades.




-30WHOLESALE TR/DE.

X-3256

Seasonal factors are in large part respon-

sible net only for the quite general reduction in the sales of
wholesale dry goods during October, but also for the equally pronounced increase in the sales of hardware*

In tne case of dry

goods i t i s a striking fact that the value of sales was above that
of October 1920 in seven of the nine reporting Districts, ranging
from a minimum increase of 7*3 P 8 r cent in District No. 4 (Cleveland)
with five firms reporting to 25.5 per cent in District No. 5
(Richmond) with 18 firms reporting.

In District No. 9 (Minneapolis)

and District No. 1 2 (San Francisco) sales were s t i l l below the
levels of a year ago, with decreases of 20.8 per cent with five
firms reporting, and 3*3 P©r cent with 11 firms reporting respectively.

As compared with September, however, a seasonal falling

off in demand brought about a drop in sales in seven out of nine
Districts,

Decreases ranged from 3*7 per cent in District No* 2

(New York) with three firms reporting, to 2 0 . 3 per cent in District
No. 9 (Minneapolis) with five firms reporting.

District No* 11

(Dallas) showed a slight increase of 1 per cent in sales for 12
reporting firms.
Hardware sales increased in October as compared with September
in eight of the ten reporting Districts.

Advances varied from 1*6

per cent in District No* 10 (Kansas City) with five firms reporting to 21.9 per cent in District No. 11 (Dallas) with ten firms
reporting.




District No. 11 (Dallas) states tnat tne demand for small

X-3256

-31-

b u i l d i n g hardware and f o r automobile a c c e s s o r i e s was p a r t i c u l a r l y
strong.

City s a l e s have been heavy, but country buying q u i t e l i m i t e d

i n amount.

D i s t r i c t Mo, 3 ( P h i l a d e l p h i a ) a l s o c a l l s a t t e n t i o n t o

t h e f a c t t h a t automobile a c c e s s o r i e s and e l e c t r i c and h e a t i n g supp l i e s have been s e l l i n g w e l l , but s t a t e s t h a t b u i l d e r s ' hardware
has been i n l e s s e r demand.

In D i s t r i c t No. 7 (Chicago) t h e r e was

a s l i g h t i n c r e a s e i n i n q u i r i e s f o r b u i l d e r s 1 hardware and i n D i s t r i c t
No. 8 ( S t . Louis) t h i s was a l s o t h e case.
The d e c r e a s e s
i n s a l e s i n D i s t r i c t No. 9 (Minneapolis) and No. 12 (San Francisco)
were n e g l i g i b l e , being only . 4 p e r cent i n t h e former case w i t h 11
f i r m s r e p o r t i n g and .7 per cent i n t h e l a t t e r case w i t h 23 f i r m s
reporting.
Wholesale grocery s a l e s remained r e l a t i v e l y steady d u r i n g
October, w i t h s l i g h t advances i n a l l r e p o r t i n g d i s t r i c t s except
D i s t r i c t No. 7 (Chicago), i n which 26 r e p o r t i n g f i r m s showed an
average d e c r e a s e of 1 , 1 per c e n t .

I n c r e a s e s ranged from .6 p e r

cent i n D i s t r i c t No. 6 (.Atlanta) with 29 f i r m s r e p o r t i n g t o 17-3
p e r cent i n D i s t r i c t No. 2 (New York) with nine f i r m s r e p o r t i n g .
Making due allowance f o r p r i c e d i f f e r e n c e s , s a l e s compared f a v o r ably w i t h t h o s e f o r October, 1$20, t h e maximum r e d u c t i o n b e i n g
31.6 p e r cent i n D i s t r i c t No. 6 ( A t l a n t a ) w i t h 29 f i r m s r e p o r t i n g .
That D i s t r i c t s t a t e s t h a t September b u s i n e s s was s t i m u l a t e d by
t h e i n f l u e n c e of a s u b s t a n t i a l r i s e i n t h e p r i c e of cotton, f o l -




X-3256

lowed by a p r i c e sag i n October which, t o g e t h e r w i t h two o r t h r e e
weeks of warm weather, "caused b u s i n e s s to d r a g " .

A f a i r l y sub-

s t a n t i a l advance i n s a l e s occurred i n t h e two o t h e r s o u t h e r n
D i s t r i c t s , D i s t r i c t No. 5 (Richmond) r e p o r t i n g an i n c r e a s e of
2 . 2 p e r cent w i t h 57 f i r m s r e p o r t i n g , and D i s t r i c t No. 11 ( D a l l a s )
an i n c r e a s e of 3>4 p e r cent w i t h 14 f i r m s r e p o r t i n g .

D i s t r i c t No.

11 ( D a l l a s ) says t h a t b u s i n e s s has been very uneven, d e c r e a s e s
having occurred i n s e c t i o n s where t h e c o t t o n y i e l d has been poor,
while i n r e g i o n s where o i l a c t i v i t y has been renewed, b u s i n e s s i s
excellent.

City s a l e s i n t h i s D i s t r i c t have remained f a i r l y con-

stant.
In D i s t r i c t s Nos. 2 (New York), 5 (Richmond), 6 ( A t l a n t a )
and 7 (Chicago) i n c r e a s e s i n w h o l e s a l e s a l e s of boots and shoes
have taken p l a c e , t h e p e r c e n t a g e s of i n c r e a s e beginning w i t h 1 . 7
p e r cent i n D i s t r i c t No. 2 (New York) with e i g h t f i r m s r e p o r t i n g ,
and r i s i n g t o 13»3 p e r cent i n D i s t r i c t No. 6 ( A t l a n t a ) w i t h 11
firms reporting.

In D i s t r i c t No. 12 (San F r a n c i s c o ) , on t h e o t h e r

hand, a d e c r e a s e of 7-& p e r cent was recorded w i t h 17 f i r m s r e p o r t i n g .
In every D i s t r i c t f o r which r e c o r d s ace a v a i l a b l e f o r a year ago, s a l e s
were above t h e t o t a l s f o r October, 1520, w i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n of D i s t r i c t
No. 12 (San F r a n c i s c o ) , i n which t h e s a l e s - a v e r a g e d 9 . 1 p e r cent l e s s
with 17 f i r m s r e p o r t i n g . However, t h e r e was a s u b s t a n t i a l advance of
n e a r l y 30 p e r cent i n September s a l e s i n D i s t r i c t No. 12 (San F r a n c i s c o )
a s compared w i t h August, a f a c t which would help t o e x p l a i n t h e drop
i n October s a l e s . Actual i n c r e a s e s ranged from 2 . 1 p e r cent i n
D i s t r i c t No. 7 (Chicago) w i t h n i n e f i r m s r e p o r t i n g t o 4 4 . 2 p e r cent
i n D i s t r i c t No. 5 (Richmond) with I S f i r m s r e p o r t i n g .




-33RETAIL TRADE:

X-3256

R e t a i l t r a d e as shown by s a l e s of 3&5 r e p r e s e n t a t i v e d e -

partment s t o r e s throughout the c o u n t r y showed a s u b s t a n t i a l improvement i n n
October as compared w i t h t h e p r e v i o u s month.

The change i s , however, l e s s

n o t i c e a b l e i n the Southern s e c t i o n s of the c o u n t r y , and D i s t r i c t No. 8 ( S t .
Louis) r e p o r t s t h a t " i n the Southern s e c t i o n s the a c t i v i t y i n r e t a i l t r a d e wh
which accompanied the r i s e i n raw c o t t o n p r i c e s has subsided i n a n o t i c e a b l e
degree."

When compared with the October, 1920 f i g u r e s , s a l e s f o r the country

as a whole showed a d e c r e a s e

of 6 . 7 p e r c e n t .

In D i s t r i c t s No. 1 (Boston)

and 2 (New York), i n c r e a s e s amounting r e s p e c t i v e l y t o 4 - 4 p e r c e n t and 2 . 8
p e r c e n t were, however, shown, but t h e s e were more than o f f s e t b y d e c r e a s e s
of 3-2 p e r c e n t i n D i s t r i c t No. 3 ( P h i l a d e l p h i a ) , 1$.2 p e r cent i n D i s t r i c t
No. 4 ( C l e v e l a n d ) , 5 - 6 p e r c e n t i n D i s t r i c t No. 5 (Richmond), 15*1 p e r c e n t
in D i s t r i c t No. 6 ( A t l a n t a ) , 9*9 p e r cent i n D i s t r i c t No. 7 (Chicago), 8 . 7
p e r c e n t i n D i s t r i c t No. 8 (St.. L o u i s ) , 12.8 p e r c e n t in D i s t r i c t No. 9QWinne a p o l i s ) , 7 . 4 p e r cent i n D i s t r i c t No. 10 (Kansas C i t y ) , 1 6 . 7 p e r c e n t i n
D i s t r i c t No. 11 ( D a l l a s ) and 6 . 3 p e r c e n t i n D i s t r i c t No. 12 (San F r a n c i s c o ) .
A l l D i s t r i c t s r e p o r t t h a t demand c o n t i n u e s to be c o n f i n e d t o a c t u a l n e c e s s i ties.

Accordingly r e a d y - t o - w e a r c l o t h i n g , c o t t o n f a b r i c s and trimmings are

i n most a c t i v e demand, while the movement of heavy k n i t goods h a s been unexp e c t e d l y slow, due t o the c o n t i n u e d warm w e a t h e r .

Although s t o c k s on hand are

lower t h a n a y e a r ago, t h e y show a s l i g h t i n c r e a s e over s t o c k s a t t h e c l o s e of
September.

The amount of o u t s t a n d i n g o r d e r s i s , however, s l i g h t l y lower than

a month ago, w h i l e the same i s t r u e of the r a t e of stock t u r n o v e r .
PRICES:
i n September.




P r i c e s i n the United S t a t e s were s l i g h t l y lower i n October than
The index of t h e F e d e r a l Reserve Board, c o n s t r u c t e d p r i m a r i l y

x-3256

f br i n t e r n a t i o n a l comparisons, showed a drop of 2 p o i n t s from 143 t o 141 (with
p r i c e s i n 1913 c o n s i d e r e d as ICO) w h i l e the index of the Bureau of Labor S t a t i s t i c s showed a s i m i l a r change from 152 t o 150.

There were a p p r e c i a b l e dec rear."

i n the p r i c e s of l e a d i n g a g r i c u l t u r a l commodities w i t h the e x c e p t i o n of sheep,
c a t t l e , d a i r y ' p r o d u c t s , and wool.

Lumber p r i c e s were only v e r y s l i g h t l y lower,

and m i n e r a l s and m e t a l s h i g h e r .
During the f i r s t t h r e e weeks of November, p r i c e s of many l e a d i n g commodit i e s continued t o d e c l i n e , although the n o n f e r r o u s m e t a l s , c o r n , o a t s , wo6l,
and some g r a d e s of c a t t l e h i d e s showed small i n c r e a s e s :

I t seems p r o b a b l e ,

however, t h a t an average of p r i c e s d u r i n g t h i s p e r i o d would show a r e d u c t i o n
f r o m the October l e v e l .

In the c e r e a l group, wheat averaged lower than i n Oc-

t o b e r b u t was s l i g h t l y h i g h e r i n the t h i r d week of November than i n the f i r s t ;
c o r n and o a t s showed s l i g h t gains over the October average^

Cotton has r e a c t e d

downward from t h e September and October l e v e l s b u t i s s t i l l approximately 5 c e n t s
h i g h e r than i n August, t h e average of upland middling a t New Orleans being 173
c e n t s a pound i n t h e f i r s t t h r e e weeks of November as compared w i t h 12* c e n t s i n
August.

Sheep and hogs a l s o d e c l i n e d h e a v i l y d u r i n g the e a r l y weeks of November

h u t s t e w s have been quoted s l i g h t l y h i g h e r than i n O c t o b e r .
Cotton yarns and c l o t h have f o l l o w e d the t r e n d of t h e raw m a t e r i a l and were
quoted i n many c a s e s a t ah out the same p o i n t as d u r i n g September.

In s p i t e of

the r e l a t i v e s t r e n g t h of raw wool p r i c e s , y a r n s have n o t advanced d u r i n g November.
An average of t h e p r i c e s of s e v e r a l types of s t e e l p r o d u c t s works out somewhat lower f o r t h e t h i r d week i n November t h a n f o r October.
a l s o been r e d u c e d .

S t e e l b i l l e t s have

The n o n f e r r o u s m e t a l s , on the o t h e r hand, i n c l u d i n g copper,

t i n , and z i n c have b e e n r i s i n g i n p r i c e f o r the p a s t s e v e r a l months.



Bituminous

X

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"3256

coal i s practically unchanged, from the September and October quotations.
Retail price s t a t i s t i c s are not yet available for November. During October, however, the retail food index of the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed
practically no change (0.3 per cent decrease) from the September average.
SHIPPING: The ocean freight market displayed distinctly firmer tendencies
in November, the demand from charterers foe steamers in the West Indian and
Mediterranean trades being particularly active.

At the same time, the rates on

a number of commodities including grain and cotton, were reduced during the
month to bring them into line with lower quotations on other goods which had
previously been announced.

American ships have been carrying in recent months

a smaller proportion of our foreign trade - whether this i s measured in terms
of value or weight - thai was the case a year ago.

According to the records of

the United States Shipping Board, in September, 1920, American vessels carried
4l per cent of this country's seaborne exports and 59 P e r cent of our
seaborne imports, by weight.

In September of the present year, our ships car-

ried tut 33 per cent of our seaborne exports and 4o per cent of our seaborne
imports, foreign ships carrying the remainder.
in "bulk are not included.

In these figures cargoes of oil

Much the same story i s told by the value statistics

of the Department of Commerce, according to which American ships are credited
with carrying 38.6 per cent of our exports and 31*6 per cent of our imports in
September, 1921, compared with 41-7 per cent and 42.7 per cent respectively a
year ago.
FOREIGN TRADE: Small increases in the value of both exports and imports
are recorded for October as compared with September.

The increased value of

exports i s more than accounted for by an expansion of cotton shipments from




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X-3256

522,000 bales in September to 875>000 bales in October, the value of cotton
exports rising by almost $50*090,000 in the latter month, while exports of all
commodities rose only $20,000,000 to a total of ^346,000,000-

Total imports in

October were valued at $123,000,000 an increase of $4,000,000 over the month
preceding.

Both imports and exports, however, show very decided declines in

value as compared with a year ago-

This i s due in no small measure to the

lowered prices of practically every commodity entering into our foreign trade,
although contractions in the actual quantities of merchandise shipped have also
had their effect*
-As an indication of the volume of our foreign trade in recent months
compared with the same months a year ago, reference may be made to the statistics now compiled by the United States Shipping Board on the actual weight in
long tons of our water-borne commerce»

According to these figures, in the

three months ending September, 1920, total water-bonre imports to the United
States amounted to 8,996,383 tons, while in the same three months of the present
year they were 5*484,908 tons* a decline iti weight of 39 per cent*

The weight

of water-borne exports declined in the same months from 16,778,124 tons to
13»513»269 tons, a reduction of 20 per cent-

If shipments of oil in bulk and

Great Lakes cargoes are omitted from the comparison, the remaining sea-borne
cargoes show a far greater contraction in the last few months than do the
foregoing totals•

The figures for imports then become 5>081,095 tons in the

third quarter, 1920, and 2,346,998 tons in the same quarter of 1921, a decline
of 54 per cent-

Seaborne exports, excluding oil in bulk, are given as

15,530,787 tons in the third quarter ofx1920, compared with 8,152,327 tons in
the same period this year, the decline in the weight of these experts being




-37t h e r e f o r e 4 j p e r cent*
A

x-3256

S i m i l a r f i g u r e s f o r p r e w a r months a r e n o t a v a i l a b l e .

of the weights of t h e p r i n c i p a l commodities imported and exported

i n 1913 seems, however, t o j u s t i f y t h e c o n c l u s i o n t h a t e x p o r t s i n r e c e n t months
have been s u b s t a n t i a l l y g r e a t e r t h a n i n t h e same months of 1913, w h i l e imports
have been c l o s e t o the prewar l e v e l *

I f o i l i s d i s r e g a r d e d , however, the

p r e s e n t l e v e l of a l l o t h e r imports i s m a t e r i a l l y l e s s than i n t h e corresponding
p r e w a r months.