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387
X-1917
STATE'~ENT
~or
~1ay
release in
1st, 1920 ..
~orning
FOR
'I'H~
DRESS.
papers,
The following is a reviG'N of gt:Jneral business and
financial conditions throughout the several Federe~
Reserve Districts dtu~ing the month of April, as
contained in the forthcomhl[ issue af the Federal
Reserve Bulletin.
Not,vi thstanding the terrrnorary slowing down of the advance of nrices which
was noted during the months of February and P1arch, lJusiness and financial condi tions during Al)ril indicated a resu;nption of the movement, while business
activity has continued in many Districts unon an 1mprecedentedly hi§:h level.
Wages have rr:oved still further U:!_)'vard, while the advance in rates for r.r;oney,
a1r8ady note'-Jorthy, has attained even more irrmortant ,Jroportions than heretofors.
A severe railroad strike during the month, assuming n.3-tional urouortions,
with a corresuondinq congestion of nroducts and defective trans'!Jortation, has
tended to
ag-~ravate
serious.
A sharn l:Jreal:: in the Dr ices of stocl:-s and securi ti·% and relatively
conditions which othervvise
'NOU11. ha~re
lJeen in themselves
poor nrospects for the comin:r cro-:9 year ha,re nbt operated to check the activity
of husiness, although they have tended to confirm the doubts already entertained
by rr.anv business :rren concerning the outlook.
In District No. 1 (Boston) there is some indication of greater conservatism
in :ourchasing; 'banking conditions are sound and there is ;sen .:lral rr:anufacturing
activity and full emnloyruent.
There are no general strikes in any of the
princi"Dal industries of the section.
res~ect
There is a difference of o·Jinion with
to the future of urices, and hence difference of policy
advance orders and general purchasing.
~~ith
regard to
'
In District No. 2 (New York) the outstandin:: elements in t!le condition of
"Qusin3ss are re-norted to be adv:?nce in 1Jrices, hi2her 1vages, un1Jrecedentedlj1'
X-1917
-2-
388
high rates of interest, and continued activity in foreign traie.
In District No. 3 (Philadel,_:>hia) prices still show an 3.dvancing tendency
in some lines, but in other lines, including leather and textil?s, the advance
has stopped.
Collections are still
satisfacto~y
and retail trade holds up
very welL
In District No. 4 (Cleveland) the severity of the railroad strike has demoralized some "ranches of business and has caught some companies poorly :9repared
for any cessation of traffic, damage to plants
~roving
greater than had been
expected.
In District No. 5 (Rich!aond)
prices
exc~pt ~uilding
~here
has heen little chan.;;e in comr.oodity
materials, Which have steadily advanced; the public
continues to purchase all g~ods freely, hut there is unrest and uncertainty
among the com:rercia1 corr.rouni ty and there are signs of reaction against hi;h :!;)rices.
ln District No.
6
(Atlanta) fundamental business conditions have undergone
no change of especial note, 1)oth wholesale and retail trade holding U'9 well.
Al thou,:;h a lowering of prices is expected in
so~ne ~arters,
.
yet appears of Jecrease in lines entering into daily
'
little evidence as
consumption.
The agri-
cultural prospects for the coming season have 'l)een seriously decreased as a
result of the continued cold and wet weather and the farm labor si tu.ation has
continued unsatisfactory.
In District No.
7 (Chicago) the traffic situation has seriously affected
business, nreventing the movement .of finished ;oods and causing non-receipt of
ITaterials, fuel and supplies.
These conditions
·~ere
already under wav as a
result of car shortage, but during the past month the strike "has hrou5ht a\) out
a more acute condition".
co~·
Among other elements in the situation is the fact that
lections "hwe sl011\T8d do'Nll durin~?- the ,.,ast sixty days. 11
In District No. 6 (St.Louis) there has ha~n no slowin~ down in business
and signs TIOint to continued activity for some ti:r.1e to corr.e.
Thsre is a
~eneral
389
X-1917
gain in the volume of sales of 'ooth •>V'holesalers and retailers; raw materials
hold their O'vn well, tut labor unrest is causing uneasin'3ss, while agricu.l tural
conditions are not satisfactory.
Collections are
~ood ~~d
the
d~~:md
for money
is strong.
'In District No.
9
(Minne3.pO} is) sprintS planting has been sorr,ewhat delayed
and livestock conditions are unsatisfactory, although •vholesale and retail trade
is good.
In District No. 10 (Kansas City) the marked inmrovement in industrial
activity which was characteristic of fVlarch n,vas ef.fec tively checlred by tr:;msportation interr1J:l)tions in early Apr-:.1".
sus1Jension of activity in some lines.
Shorta,5e of coal, ,r;at"lrial, etc. caused
There has, however, been a large and. well-
sustained volume of trade in the fe,ce of al2. these various disturbing factors.
In District No. 1l (Dallas) th,:; revival of spring trade arid new hi;h levels
of both volurre and -nrices were noted, while as in other districts the :planting
of staple crops has made a rather unfavorq1Jle start.
Organized efforts are
being made,however, to deal "'lith the farm lal)or situatiC>n.
There is enhanced
demand and enlarged production in th3 petroleum industry.
In District No. 12 ( Sa.nFrancisco) t:he agricultural outlook has increc:.sed
very :naterial1y, "l:Jut car shorta::se has nrevented heavy
shi~x,,ents
in rcany lines.
Buildincr, ho,vever, continues active and lahar has h"??ll fully employed.
PracticaEy all of the Districts
re-·~ort
uncertainty concerning the con-
tinuance of existing conditions: anxiety concerning the over-strained situation
~
resulting from excessively hich ~rices ~d wages; and difficulty in continuing
nroduction
pn its normal scale, due to lack of equiprr>3nt and to inter'"'Uption in the movement
of goods as the result of labor troubles.
situation
A marred feature of the finencial
all over the country is the increase in the cost of :noney,
both in the investir1ent market and in connection with "banl: credit.
The Federal Reserve Barit of Richmond recently sent ten
T.mufacturers
and
qu~stions
to leading
wholesalers in the. Fifth District, reT,)lies to which show a
-4~elief
390
X-1917
ffi~d
in continuation of present prices for another year with high wages
free expenditure by consumers.
In District No. 9
Agriculturally the I.Gonth has be :n significant.
(Minneapolis) spring :olanting has he'm delayed throughout the District, and
this rray have tre effect of further curtailment of sprinE?; wheat acreage which
it is estimated ·vill fall from about 17,731,000 acres :olanted last year, to
15,0=·0,000 acres.
La~or,
however, is scarce and wages are hi;:::h, while in certain
sectbns of the District there has 11een difficulty in financing farrr:ers 1 seed
On the other hand, the westRrn half of
pUrchases and nlanting requirerr:ents.
the District has had arrmle n-,oisture, and soil conditions are very favorable.
In District No. 7 (Chice:~E:o) the beneral condition of th"3 soil and cro-p :orospects
are favorahle, but the season is being delayed by ex:cessiv9 moisture.
plowing has not generally heen st'.lrted.
S•;ring
The scarcity of farrn labor is proving
a very serious factor and considera1)le acreage is 11eing terrnorarily abandoned .
. Only a normal percentase of grain is in the hands of the farrrers, but their
obligations to the 1)anks are larger than a year ago.
purp"se of carrying re;:U-est :tte loans.
District No.
These are :oartly for the
Both in District No~ 7 (Chicago) and in
9 (Hinne:molis) the U...'lsatisfactory trans";)ortation situation has
del.:1yed the movement of far;r1 "Jroducts and consequently the liquidation of the
farmers' indebtedness to the banl~ s.
In District No. 10 (Kansas City)
winter
<111heat is about up to the ten ye3X average, al thou2h much below conditions in 1919.
In QOrn an increase in
acrea~e
is expected.
Other
cro~ ~rOs?ects
are not al-
together certain. High costs of seed will tend to shorten acrea;:se, '""hil3 the
same is true
~f
other increases in cost of Droduction.
In District No. 12
(San FranciscC>} th"? ~~rinter wheat condition is only 73'fc of norF'al as conrpared
with 97% a year ago.
condition.
conditions.
In the s;Jring wheat section the ground is in excellent
C9lifornia fruit crops
hav~
he ""n somewhat da.'Tlaged by clirr,atic
It is as yet too early to estimate the cotton acreage in District
No. 6 Utlanta).
Excessive rains have,
how~ver,
prevented farm '"'orl·, and the
391
-5-
X-1917
season is said to 1e from 20 to 35 days later
difficult farm labor situation it is
idle during the coming season.
~Jrnected
tha~
usual.
As a result of the
that much acreage will be left
In district No. 11 (Dallas) the average condition
of winter wheat ~is70%, a decrease of
5% from
a month ago.
Cotton and corn
nlanting is 11\TSll advanced in southern and southwestern Texas, although in the
notthern part of the State planting is light as a result of the protracted ueriod
of dry weather during Fel:>ruary and March.
Tal~ en
as a whble, th':l agricultural ou.t·-
look as re:oorted lJy the principal agricultural districts is not very natisfactory1
the nrospects being for a material reduction in outyut as
co~ared
with a year
ago, due in part to unfavorable climatic conditions, loss of acre3ge,
scar~:ty
of lahar, difficult transuortation and high cos i; of seed and Daterials.
In District No. 10 (Kansas City) conditions were excellent for 1ivesto~k on
far;r;.s and ranges as a result of favorable weather ccnditlol·"s,
m~d
the industry is very much more promising than for seva.r.al months.
the
ou·~Jc~;k
f;:,r
I'n District
No. ll (Dallas) range conditions likewise show steady improvement and livestock
is .;enerally reported
t~
lJe thriving. Receipts of cattle at fifteen princi1:)al
~rkets during March were 1,203,499 head as COIDT?ared with 1,066,092 head during
FelJruary, ~d 1,094,614 head during March, 1919, the resuective index numbers
being 119, 114 and 109.
Recei,.,ts of ho6S are likewise somewhat greater than a
year ago, being 2,910,909 head, corresuonding to an index
num~er
of 132, as
corL:9ared with 2, 842,663 head during March, 1919, corresTlonding to an index
number of 129, and 2,440,134 head during
number of 119.
Recei ·pt s of shee:9 during l!larch
948,116 head during Fe0ruar.y
index
n~~bers
Fe~ruary,
~d
847,842
being 66, 74 and 62.
he~d
·~rere
corresnonding to an index
900, 299 head, as COil-pared '!Vi th
during March, 1919, the
re~ective
In District No. 10 (Kansas City) the increased
rec'3i1jts were due to improvement in shi'T1-:>in'?; conditions and to an imnrovement in
the Eastern dressed beef market, a limited return to exnort l:>usiness, ..md a
tendency to market livestock in the face oi rising prices of fe8d and uncertainty
-6-
"392
X-1917
,regarding market prices of livestoCk.
Heavier receipts were likewise noted
in the movements of livestock to market in District No. 11 (Dallas).
Callle
prices in· the Kansas City District recovered. somewhat at the onening of March
from the slump at the end of February, althou$h they showed a decrease in the
second week of March, due to the break in the Eastern markets.
sul-)sequent upturn in prices.
follo,~~~ed
by a
•
Wheat receipts at markets in District No. 10 (Kansas City) were about 20%
greater than receipts for February and likewise considerably in excess of receipts
a year ago.
.Although corn recei"Ots were 17% less in March than in February,
they were 18~~ greater than in_ March, 1919; and receipts of oats during March
shovved a decline both as
co~ared
with Febru.ai"y and with March 7 1919, axnounting
to 26% and 45% respectively.Milling activity sho,~ed a decrease, combined flour
outout in March being estimated at
Omaha and 88 interior mills.
3. 7% less than a year ago at Kansas City,.
Operations at Kansas City and ~t Omaha were re-
s'Dectively 57~ and 47% of capacity, as against 76~ and 61<Jb a year ago. w·hile for ·
intl'lrior mills the figure for ?Aarch stood at '53 as al!ainst 56 in March 1919.
The loss in milling activity is re~orted to be due largely to the slow demand.
for some grades of flour, and the fact that the e:lrnort demand is only fair.
From
the 7th District (Chicago) and in a less degree from others, it is r~orted that
grain-raising localities ·have
1Je~n
obliged to C-'>.rry their nroduc t in a volume
very mu.ch above that of normal times.
roarksts.
This has retard.ad shipments to yrimary
Costly delay.s in trans'T)ortation have interfered both 'Vith the shipment
of grain and of livestoCk.
The iron and steel
~usiness
has
be~
very active, the U.S.
being booked ahead until about the middle of Octol:>er.
Ste~l Cor~oration
Inde?endent mills have
not received as many advance orders, owing to the fact that they have been
charging higher prices than the U.s. Steel Cor··iOration.
the
u.s.
Steel Cor'T')oration at the close of March
,.\~ere
The unfilled orders of
9,.392,075 tons, corres-
. "90nding to an index JlWilber of 183, as corr!pared w·i th 9, 'j()2,031 tons, corresponding
-7-
393
X-1917
td an index nu.-nber of 160 at the close of l!"'c'lrUili'Y, e..nd ~~ 430,572 tens at
I
the close of !Vlarch, 1919 1 corrcsponJ.ing to· an index nwnb3r of 103.
Pig iron
i
'TJroduction like,dse showed an increase amounting to 3,375,907 tons during March,
as compared ·with 2,978,879 tons during February! ar.d 3,090,243 tons during March
1919, the resnective index numb3rs b-3ing 146, lf6 and 133.
A similar increase
is r~flected in steel ingot ~reduction ~~hich amounted to 3,296,799 tons during
.
I
.
.
March, as compared ~~ith 2.365,124 tons durln~ February end 2,662,265 tons dur1ng
~~arch,
1919, ·
th~
res1')ecti•re index numbers b,3ingi 137,127 and 110.
The production
of iron and st8"3l has o'J ~n seriously i:rttcrferediwith during the month of koril,
·du~ to lack of ca~city to move r~~ materials ~d finished ~roducts.
Most of
I
th~ plants in th~ 4th District (Cleveland) ha·.r9 r,t"l
'!l').
iron ore and the main 1_}roole,n hA.s been that of fuel.
activity in the iron and steel industry
In District No, 6 (Atlanta)
continu~s. While car shortage has
Dist~ict,
caused some delay in deliveries from the
of the })reduct.
fairly well su~;plied ,vi th
there is little accumulation
In District No. 3 (Philadel'l')hir) demand for finished iron and
steel has not increased, 9lld 1)roJ.ucars are "IIOrking to c:::,;?acity.
High :prices
'I
are 'being off:3red for imr.ediate delivery.
Conservative rr:anufac turars recognize
th9 danger of ~xcessive pric3 increases, but th~ir eLort to arrest them has had
little effect.
The railroads haJ"e berm heavier i buyers of steel in all !'arts of
the country, both for new equipment and re:'1airs 1 them at any time since their
I
I
return to :private control.
This has
1J'3~n
du9 to successful iinancing on the
part of some of the roads.
The coal situation has 'l)een particularly i*teresting during the month of
AnriL
In District No. 3 ('Philadel'!?hia), with yhe withdrawal of Government re-
gulations on oi tUILinous coPl,
effectiv~
Aljril 1, "?rouuc,3rs ner:otiated with
I
consumers for the renewal of contracts which exPired '-Aarch 31.
'Prices ,lll'ere
ad,just'=!d to higher levels, due to the necessity! of a.lJ.o,ving for
th~
recOt.T,,ended r,y the
~resident•
'Vage
increase~
s Coal Corrarission, i and increaseu costs due to small
I
Digitized
carfor FRASER
su-rml Y. The en-rin'3ers
of the fuel .Administlation, "Vhich made an invsstigatien
394
-8-
X-1917
of the records of a central Pennsylva!':i
<'.
colliery, fmmd t:r. .at a ca.;-: s-:•pply cf
60 per cent increased the cost of mining 30 per cent.
The regions which sun:ply
the coal for this territory are said to be working under a 60 per cent suuply.
Demand is far ahead of su~~ly, and it is stated that ~~y consumers will try
to store as rr:u.ch coal as possible over the next six months, which will keep
the market active during that time.
The anthracite industry is at present
trouhled by demands of labor for higher wages, though the r.ce:n have walked out
in only a few cases.
The movement of coal is also held up by lack of cars.
Retail dealers are unable to care for
the orders which are ~eing received and
prices are advancing.
4
In District No.
(Cleveland) the onening cf the lake
shipping season was set back by the strike and in the meantime coal is slow in
coming forward.
Early coal cargoes are in great demand, as
at lake ports are swept clean.
amounted to 46,792,000
~orne
of the
dock~
Production of bituminous coal during March
tons as compared with 40,127,000 tons during February
and
33, 7l9,0JO tons during March 1919, the respective
116
and
ino.ex numbers being 126,
91.
The petroleum industry has shown a very .great adve.nce dl.1 ring the past month.
In California the output for March was about th'.:l same as February, amounting to
276,000 barrels, hut shipments were heavy, decreasing stored stocks considerably.
Consu'!iption of California petroleum has exceeded production each month since
July, 1919, and a serious shortage of crude oil is threatened.
In District No. lC
(Kansas City) increased activity in the development of new wells is noted in
Kansas and Oklahoma.
~roduction during March was
10,491,640 barrels as compared
with 9,548,250 'harrels during February and 9,206,240 barrels during March, 1919.
In District No. 11 (Dallas) there is both increased demAnd and enlarged production
of ~etroleum, the output in the fields lying in the 11th District being 11,132,024
barrels during March, as compared with 10,473,094 barrels during Fenr..'\.ary.
395
-9Little change is noted in conditions surrounding metal mining in
Colorc.d.o in
M~rch.
Shipments of lend nna. zin.c during that month were un-
usually. heavy, tc·tnl shipments of zinc nnd.
le~
ores for tbe four weeks being
at the rate of prooticr.lly 14,000 tons per week; as compr.1.ted with 12,614 tons
o. week the previous month •. This wn.s due to the increase of cars,
~~.lthough
production was seriously interfered with as a result of heavy rains and
stonns..
In e:,Emeral manufacturing the month has be.:-n a period. of great activity.
This is especially true in textiles.
Carpet and rug manufacturers report a
brisk demand. for their products which they can not fully meet.
Cotton yams
and raw materials are high; prices are holding steady at about double that
of a year ago; and while the tendency of consumErs not to pay high retail
prices now existing has kept dovffi offerings of new business to manufacturers,
the latter are still busy on olu. orders which have insured a capacity operation.
In cotton textiles the high price of the raw material has continued to
check buyin5 by doroBstic rnills, but the mills in the New England District
are already well suprlied.
March are very
m~·ich
Unfilled orders for future delivery placed during
greater tha."l a ye.-;tr ago, although new orders show a
tendency to fall off slightly or amount to about the same in volume. Vlhile
che demand for the future :products of the mills maLine; dress-e:,oods, shirtings,
and the like, aprears to be lessened, this bituation ha.s not affected prices,
vihich are about 20o% above the level for 1914.
!J,srticularly in the fine gra(a.es, is looked. for.
No l,erceptible d..ro:P in prices,
In District No. 3 {·Phila-·
delphia) prices are double what they were last year and. demand frQm foreign
sources has st:rved to kee:P up production.
Caution, however, is felt to be
necessary for the remainder of the year.
In wool and woolens, markets
X-1917
-10-
396
are fairly quiet, banks having put a check on speculation tin some sections.
The Government still holds about 65,0CO,OOO pounds of the lower grad.es of
wool and is now auctioning off about
6,ooo,uoo
pounci.s per month.
Fine meri.no
wools continue in demand and pri.ces are high, while yams are also generaJ.J.y
in strong demand.
Woolen and worsted mills are busy filling U!J.~OmiJleted orci.ers
and are especially active on account of the recent delays Ci.ue to trar.~sportn.tiQn
difficulties which left them without raw material.
In Distri.:;t No.
deliJhia) manufacturers are sold a.l:lead and are proei.ucin§> actively.
prices have weakGned slightly they are hie;..ner than last year.
requin~ments
3 {Phila..Ahhm.'.gh
Clothing
nill necessitate full time production for 1920, but there is no
certainty·as to conditions beyond that date.
There has been somG slowing
down of demand due to the apparently ccncerted disposition of conswners to
refrain from buying at present prices.
In the shoe and leather field the situation is somewhat
m~ixed.
Conditions
in the hide market have approached stagnation and there has been very little
acUvtty in Jr:;ather for- the month
past~
The
a.t.ti";~'cie
of the p1.1blic wHh
un.favorahle~
reference to purchases at present prices is
.Although salesmen
are in some cases offering reduced prices> retailers are slow to place fall
orders, believing that prices must go dmvn.
The public, however, still
insists upon the better grades of shoes, although some concerns note a decided
drift toward
cheaiJer product.
have reached their peak.
Prices for the finest grau.es are believed to
In District No.
3
(Philanelphia) tha aemanu for
leather has fallen off noticeably Juring the past month.
but the tendency is
towal';'d lower levels.
of boot ana shoe aistributors are
25%
to
Prices are steady
New Government orders in the hands
10%
over the same month last year,
with demand as strong as ever anu selling prices up to 10% higher.
N~.
5 (Richmond) no reduction in prices or demand is to be noted.
In District
Foreig;n
X-1917
397
-11trad~
in shoes and leather has been adversely affected by exchange conditions
General manufacturing
continues active and wholesale business throughout
the country hold.s up well.. The tendency to caution already noted in vhe
last issue of the Bulletin has become more
deci~ed
hesitation about placing orders far ahead..
and has taken the fonn of
This is due to the belief that
prices are probably near their peak if they have not passeo. it.
.Althou6h
buying power has been son:e.whnt limited in different parts of the country,
the contraction in this regard is not pronounced, and the continued expansion of the export trade has taken up the market surplus of goods which
wuuld otherwise have
tende~
to redUce prices.
On the other hand, it is
repotted that con$1derable q,ua.nti ties of goods which were shipped abJroad
on consignment are now coming hbme again and rn~ serve to disturb the mai:'ket
. in some lires.
this
influence.
Manufactured food products, canned
goo~s,
etc. are feeling
There has been a large decline in the amount of meat f?od
products shipped abroad.
Canned goods prices are in some cases reported
as 1<>% lower than a year a.go.
Automobile producers are sold up far ahead
and the value of stocks in automobile concerns in many instances has
reached an unprecedented figure.
Hardware lines have
e~perienced
an in-
creasing demani since the bee;inning of the year, although contractors
builders
1
supplies are somev.rhat under nonnal
~emand,
1
a:nd
due to the retarci.ation
of building ..
The outstandin6 feature of the month in connection with labor has been
a nation-wide railway strike which, however, has been tenninateci. on account
of the general lack of public sympathy..
At tirres it appeared liKely that
the railway strike would spread into other allied branches of industry, a
numb~r
of .local municipal utility organizations having been called out at
X-1917
-12:...
various points throughout the country.
strike
398
Except for the national railway
and spo:cadic disturbances, labor, however, has been fully employed
at record high wages, and unrest in manufacturing lines has been comparatively limited.
Perhaps the most difficult element in the labor situation
is now found in connection with agricultural labor.
There is an almost
unanimous report from the several Reserve Districts to the effect that
farmers are unable to obtain the assistance they need for the current crop
season and that while in part machinery has been substituted, th;k; method
of replacing humen labor is not altogether satisfactory.
Conferences on
immigration during the month have resulted in assertions of a general labor
shortage all over the country.
Sporadic unemployment has been noted in
some cases, aue to changes in conditions of production.
The railway strike
had the effect of temporarily decreasing the demand for certain classes
of labor, but on the other hand it temporarily increased the demand for
certain other classes.
another.
In:mi.gration and emigration have about offset one
A special inquiry into the labor situation in District No. 11
(Dallas) has revealed some unusually interesting conditions.
exodus of fann workers has
occ~rred
lumber camps of north Louisiana.
in
A heavy
eastern T0xas to the oil fields and
On the other hand, profitable returns
in local farming have, in west Texas and chosen regicns, brought back to
the land tenant fanners, thereby increasing the available labor supply.
High wa3es in the southwest have been drawing into the United States a
considerable number of Mexicans who have been attracted by the opportunity
to obtain steady and unintE:rrupted. employ.nent.
399
X-1917.
-13~n
upward tendency in rates for money has been notable auring April.
Action on the part of foreign central bankins institutions in raising their
rates of discount tended to conform domestic tendencies toward a higher
level of rates.
The action of large domestic borrowers in putting out
iszues of bonds at higher rates of interest has further tended to establish
a higher level of interest and discount charges.
Demand for conm1ercial
loans has continueci heavy and has been confirmed by the increasing
of need for
pre~:~eure
funds for connnercial uses in not a few of the western Districts.
Nevertheless, the volume of loans has not materially changed.
In N2w York
City it is reported that the reduction in the loan accounts of the New York
banks which continued with a reasonable measure of steadiness from last
fall to the early part of March, and the increase in bank loans elsewhere
in the country, which was practically continuous durin5 the same period,
have both been arrested. Within the Federal Reserve System there has been
noteworthy
a
movement of fvncis to New York, or in other words, the volume
sam"'
of bank credit for the country as a whole remains about the/
but the
points where pressure has been most sariously manifested ha7e changed.
Throughout the eastern Distrl.cts higher
rates for ordinary commercial
paper continue to be the rulet while from the
s:p~culative
relatively little money has been offering and
cl~rges
standpoint,
have been hi5h. The
money market has suffered from a very narrow margin and the narrowness of
this margin has been responsible for the advances in rates which have taken
place from time to time.
In the stock market, although there has been con-
siderable demand from the small investor, sp3culative manipulation has been
more than usually prominent.
The general level of bond priceG has declined
continuously during the past thirty days. an average of forty listed issues
_ 14 ·-
X-1917
••
400
declining abvut 2~ points to a new low level on April
16.
New
corporate
financiJl6 was larger in Marcil than in February, and the ten:lency to increase
has been noteworthy in April.
Considerable issues of railroad securities·
have been put out, and the volume of stock actually
has been large.
i~sued
as dividends
In the Middle West there is a disposition on the part of
bankers to sift loan applications more car0fully and to discriminate beIn
tween borrowers acco1uing to the character of their requirernents./District
No, 6 (St. Louis) and in the Southwest there is a strong demand for money
and the spring agricultural needs have been keenly felt.
The market for
commercial paper has slowed down and country banKs have ceased to buy as
heavily as formerly.
In same of the western and southwestern Districts
there has been an apparent degree of success in elinri.nating war paper from
bank portfolios, it being supposed that there has been absorption by
investors there on account of the general prosperity
ana growth in
ability to pay for bonds.
While the agricultural outlook is distinctly less satisfactory
th~
it was a month ago, and while the month of .April has been a period of
serious labor disturbance, especially in the transportatiun field, the
activity of business has continued htgh, d.emand for products strong, w1.th
~rices
tending upward rather than downward.
whole booked up as far ahead, relatively
Industries are not on the
spe~ing,
as in the past, although
in some the volume of unfilled orders is very large.
Underproduction or
inefficiency in production continues, and costs are being enlarged by
reason of the advance in the expense of e;;etting cap·.ital.
The exrort tralie
hulds up in an unexpec ced degree and bank cx·cdit, although not materially
larger in volume than at the opening of April, has had tu follow more or
less the courGe of demand, so that expansion at various points has taken
the place of reductions Which had been effected at others.
@FedFRASER