Full text of Economic Review (Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta) : April 30, 1945, Volume 30, Number 4

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N um ber 4

Synthetics and the Cotton Textile Industry
e c h n o l o g i c a l progress in the d evelop m en t o f syn th etic
fibers is p roceed in g at such a pace as to foresh ad ow a
rad ical ch an ge in the cotton te x tile in d u stry, the la rg est in te­
g ral part o f the Southeast’s in d u strial structure. T o rayon,
w h ich is the o ld est syn th etic fiber o f im p ortan ce and w h ich
h as its e lf recen tly exp erien ced trem endous tech n o lo g ic a l im ­
p rovem ents, have now been added sev era l d ifferent ty p es o f
n y lo n as w e ll as a dozen or m ore other syn th etic fibers. Som e
o f these have d efinite revolu tion ary q u a lities. Ind eed , now
lo o m in g on the h orizon are several new syn th etic fab rics
w h ich require no sp in n in g or w ea v in g but are m anufactured
b y extru sion in sheets. I f these new fibers and fa b rics are d e­
v e lo p ed to their fu ll p o ten tia lities, the effect u p on e x istin g
te x tile m anufactu ring cap a city w ill be very far-reach in g.
U p to the present tim e p rod u ction o f n o oth er syn th etic
fiber h as ap proached rayon output, alth o u g h n y lo n m an u fac­
ture has been expan ded at a trem endous rate sin ce its com ­
m ercial in trod u ction in 19 3 8 . A m erican p la n ts in 1 9 4 4 p ro ­
duced 7 2 4 m illio n pou nds o f rayon filam en t and sta p le. T h is
am ount represents an in crease o f 9 per cent over the 1943
prod uction and contrasts w ith an ou tp u t o f 1 2 8 m illio n
p ou n d s as recent as 1930 . C onsum ption o f rayon exceed ed
that o f w o o l d u rin g 1 9 4 4 and in recent years h as averaged
around 10 per cent o f total te x tile fiber con su m p tion .

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R ayon is derived from c e llu lo se. T w o c h ie f sou rces o f c e l­
lu lo se have been u sed b y th e rayon in d u stry— cotton lin ters
an d w ood p u lp . F rom 190 0 to about 1 9 2 5 v isc o se rayon w as
m an ufactu red from w ood p u lp e x clu siv e ly . A fter 1 9 2 5 there
w as a p eriod during w hich th e v isco se rayon m anufacturers
u sed va ry in g m ixtures o f cotton lin ters and w o o d p u lp , but
in th e last few years no lin ters have been used in th e com m on
grad es o f v isco se rayon becau se q u a lita tiv e im p rovem en ts in
w o od p u lp and risin g p rices o f cotton lin ters have m ade it
u n econ om ic to u se lin ters in th e process. M ore cotton lin ters,
how ever, have been used in the m an ufacture o f high -ten acity
v isco se rayon sin ce 1937. P rio r to 1 9 4 0 the acetate and
cupram m onium rayon producers used lin ters e x c lu siv e ly . In
th e last few years these p rod u cers a lso have tended to use
larger and larger am ounts o f w o o d p u lp o f sp ecia l h ig h ly
pu rified grades. O f the 3 6 7 ,0 0 0 ton s o f c e llu lo s e p u lp co n ­
sum ed b y the in d u stry in 1 9 4 4 , 78 per cent w as w ood p u lp
and 2 2 p er cent lin ter p u lp .
T he first m ethod o f m an u factu re used b y the rayon in d u s­




try on a com m ercial sca le w as the n itr o c e llu lo se p rocess. But
th is m ethod n ow h a s been v ir tu a lly abandoned in fa v o r o f
three new er p rocesses— v isco se, acetate, and cupram m onium .
B ecau se the cupram m onium p rocess accou n ts fo r o n ly a sm a ll
part o f A m erican rayon output, sta tistics fo r th is m ethod as
w e ll a s th o se fo r the n itr o ce llu lo se p ro cess are com m on ly
lu m p ed w ith figures fo r th e d om in an t v isc o se p rocess.
O f th e filam en t yarn p roduced in 1 9 4 4 , 6 9 per cent w as
m ade b y th ese p rocesses and 31 per cen t b y th e acetate
process. P rio r to ab ou t 1 9 3 0 rayon w as p roduced p r in c ip a lly
as a con tin u ou s filam ent. S in ce th at year a ra p id ly in creasin g
p rop ortion o f rayon p rod u ction h as con sisted o f sta p le fiber,
and in 1 9 4 4 , 5 5 5 m illio n p ou n d s o f filam en t y a m and 169
m illio n p o u n d s o f sta p le fiber w ere produced. A n estim ate is
that about o n e fou rth o f the sta p le fiber p roduced in the
U n ited S tates is acetate rayon and the rem ainder is viscose.
S ta p le fiber rayon is com p osed o f fibers o f eq u al len gth , u su ­
a lly fro m o n e to eig h t in ch es, d ep en d in g u p on th e sp in n in g
system on w h ich it is to be m ade in to y a m .
A n ew fo rm o f rayon , d istin ct fro m both filam en t y a m and
sta p le fiber, is n ow attractin g co n sid era b le attention. C alled
rayon tow , it is, b a sica lly , uncut sta p le fiber stock. T ow ,
w h ich lo o k s so m eth in g lik e untw isted rop e and w h ich is m ade
up o f a la rg e num ber o f p a r a lle l con tin u ou s filam en ts, is now
used in th e m an u factu re o f sp u n y a m s . S p u n rayon y a m
can p ro b a b ly be reduced in cost and im p roved in q u a lity
w ith th e d evelop m en t o f tow , w h ich elim in a tes ca rd in g and
co m b in g op eration s. N ew p rocesses cut or break th e filam ents
in to th e len g th desired and m an ip u late them in to sp un y a m ,
w h ile m ain ta in in g the p a r a llelism o f th e filam ents.
T he num ber o f filam en ts co m p o sin g a rayon y a m o f a
giv en size d eterm ines, in part, its strength, its p lia n cy , and
certain fa b ric ch aracteristics. T h e trend over the la st tw o dec­
ades h a s been to in crease th e num ber o f filam ents. D ifferen t
ty p es o f rayon vary g rea tly in ela sticity , but ap p a ren tly little
im provem ent h as taken p la c e in th e lo w e la stic ity o f rayon
in gen eral.
T h e su ccessfu l co m m ercial p rod u ction o f n y lo n , rayon’s
clo sest com p etitor am on g th e syn th etics, w as first announced
in 1 9 3 8 , and sin ce then its grow th h a s b een rem arkably rapid.
N y lo n is the gen eric nam e a p p lied to a w id e range o f p o ly ­
a m id es d ev elo p ed b y the E. I. D u P o n t de N em ou rs C om pany.
T en different ty p es o f n y lo n have b een p la ced in com m ercial
p rod u ction , but th e first ty p e d evelop ed , fiber 6 6 , is s till th e

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m ost w id ely used fo r tex tile pu rp oses. In cou n terd istin ction
to rayon , n y lo n is a co m p lete ly syn th etic m aterial. W hereas
rayon is d erived from natural c e llu lo se , n y lo n is ch em ica lly
syn th esized . T he b asic m aterials used are sim p le ones— co a l,
air, and w ater— but a series o f co m p lex ch em ical p rocesses
is in v o lv ed in the m an ufacture. N y lo n is fo u n d to be p artic­
u la r ly su ita b le w here h igh ela stic ity is desired, such as in
h o siery, parachute fab rics, and g lid e r tow rop es. It has also
a p o ten tia lly w id e range o f in d u strial uses.

New Synthetic Fibers
W ithin the last few years a num ber o f other syn th etic fibers
have reached the stage o f com m ercial p rod u ction , but n one
o f them have yet acquired a la rg e m arket. T h ese in clu d e V inyon and V in y o n E, w h ich are d erived fro m a v in y l resin , a
co p o lym er o f v in y l ch lo rid e and v in y l acetate. V in y o n ’s m ost
im p ortant u se so fa r has b een in in d u stria l filter clo th s b e­
cau se o f its u n u su a lly h ig h resistan ce to acid s, a lk a lies, and
other liq u id s and gases. V in y o n E, w ith its h ig h ela sticity ,
h as been u sed c h ie fly as a su b stitu te fo r rubber in such p ro d ­
ucts as su sp en sion cord s fo r ju n g le ham m ocks. T h ese tw o fi­
bers are m anufactured b y th e A m erican V isco se C orporation.
A sim ila r syn th etic fiber d erived fro m p etroleu m and sa lt
is m anufactured b y the D ow C hem ical C orporation, the F ire­
ston e In d u strial P rod u cts C om pany, and P ierce P la stic s, In c.,
under the nam es o f Saran, V elo n , and P erm a lo n , resp ectiv ely .
T h is fiber has b een fou n d to be p a rticu la rly u sefu l w here lo w
w ater ab sorbency, h ig h resistan ce to ch em ica ls and ab rasion s,
great strength, and elo n g a tio n are required.
S till another fiber is A ra la c, m an u factu red fro m casein , a
p recip itate o f skim m ilk , and in trod u ced b y A ralac, In c.,
som e years ago. It has b een fo u n d u sefu l fo r b len d in g w ith
other fibers in fab rics w here its lo w w et strength w o u ld not
be a han d icap . T he O w ens-C orning F ib erg la s C orporation
h as produced F ib erg la s both as a co n tin u ou s filam en t and as
a sta p le fiber. E ach o f these is d erived from g la ss m arb les re­
m elted in sm a ll electric fu rn aces. V a rio u s other fibers have
been produced on an exp erim en ta l b asis from peanuts and
corn m eal, and fo r a tim e soyb ean fiber w as m anufactured on
a sem icom m ercial sca le b y the F ord M otor C om pany, w hich
has relin q u ish ed the p rocess to the D rackett C om pany o f
C incinnati.
S everal different syn th etic rubber yarn s have been p ro ­
duced on an exp erim en tal b a sis, and th e U . S. R ubber C om ­
p an y and the B. F . G oodrich C om pany, w h ich m anufactures
A m erip o l, have such yarns on a com m ercial p rod u ction b asis
at present. U n der th e trade nam e o f P le x o n , v ariou s p lasticcoated yarn s are m anufactured b y F reyb erg B rothers &
Strauss, Inc. T h ese are cotton, rayon, and other yarn s coated
w ith such p la stics as c e llu lo se acetate and c e llu lo se acetate
butyrate.
S o far th e m an ufacturers’ p la n s in the d ev elo p m en t o f sy n ­
th etic te x tile m aterials h ave been fo rm u la ted w ith the estab ­
lish ed tex tile in d u stry in m ind. A n attem pt h as been m ade,
in other w ords, to se ll rayon and n y lo n to firm s a lrea d y p ro ­
cessin g cotton, w o o l, and silk . W ith m in or adjustm ents to the
m achines a lread y in sta lled in th eir m ills, cotton te x tile m an ­
ufacturers have fo r years b een su c c e ssfu lly p ro cessin g rayon
in to fab ric. W ith on e excep tio n , the p rod u cers o f rayon have
c a r e fu lly avoid ed com p etitio n w ith th eir ow n custom ers— the
esta b lish ed cotton -sp in n in g m ills — alth o u g h several o f the
p roducers m ake w oven or kn itted g o o d s fro m their ow n fila ­
m ent yarn. M oreover, b y th e d ev elo p m en t o f rayon sta p le
fiber sin ce th e e a r ly 1 9 3 0 ’s, th ey h a v e p rovid ed th e estab ­



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lish e d cotton m an u factu rers w ith a sy n th etic fiber m aterial
that m ust b e sp u n as w e ll as w oven an d th at th u s fits a lm o st
p rec ise ly in to th e esta b lish ed co tto n -p ro cessin g pattern.
B eg in n in g about 1 9 2 0 , but m ore a p p a ren tly sin ce 1 9 3 0 ,
fluctuating cotton p rices in co n ju n ctio n w ith fa llin g rayon
p rices; th e in crea sin g te ch n o lo g ic a l a d van ce that has given
rayon m ore q u a lity and sty le ad van tages than it fo rm erly
h a d ; and th e in crea sin g im p o rta n ce o f rayon sta p le have
cau sed cotton p rocessors to turn, in part, to th e fa b rication
o f rayon . T h is trend h as b een accelera ted sin c e 1 9 4 0 . It has,
n everth eless, b een ob scu red b y th e la r g e w artim e cotton co n ­
su m p tion and an over-a ll te x tile sh ortage so great that on
J u ly 1, 1 9 4 4 , a ll sp in d les in th e cotton in d u stry, b oth N o rth ­
ern and Sou th ern , w ere rep orted in use.
A p ostw ar p o ssib ility , how ever, is that te ch n o lo g ica l a d ­
van ces in syn th etic fibers, rayon , n y lo n , V in y o n , and other
m aterials w ill p ro g ressiv ely d isp la ce cotton in te x tile m an u­
facture. M oreover, th is trend is lik e ly to go a co n sid erab le
distan ce b e fo re a n ew eq u ilib riu m betw een the different fi­
bers is reached. N o w , so lo n g as sta p le rayon took the p la ce
o f cotton in the p ro cessin g p la n ts o f th e cotton te x tile in d u s­
try, cotton m ill op erators had no cau se fo r real alarm excep t
in so fa r as the d ev elo p m en t o f new sp in n in g and w ea v in g m a­
ch in ery, ad ap ted p rim a rily to rayon u tiliz a tio n , m eant m ore
rap id o b so lescen ce o f the e x istin g p la n t and e a rlier ex p en ­
ditures on new m ach in ery. R ayon filam en t, o f cou rse, does
not need to be spun, and its u se th u s sh ort-circu its th e sp in ­
n in g p rocess essen tia l in cotton m an u factu re, a lth o u g h w eav­
in g is still necessary.

Declining Rayon Prices
One o f the m ost rem ark ab le occurren ces in the h isto ry o f
rayon d ev elo p m en t h as b een the rap id p rice red u ction. In
1920, 1 50-d en ier filam en t yarn w as at its a ll-tim e peak o f
$ 6 .0 0 a p ound. T he p rice f e ll to $ 2 .8 0 in 1 9 2 2 , to $ 1 .2 5 in
1 9 2 9 , to 6 0 cen ts in 1 9 3 2 , and to 5 5 cen ts in 1 9 3 4 . It fluctu­
ated around the la st figure u n til N o v em b er 1941 w hen 55
cents w as m ade th e c e ilin g p rice. V isc o se sta p le fiber, w hich
w as 6 0 cents a p ou n d as la te as 1 9 3 1 , is n ow o n ly 2 5 cents a
pound. B ecau se m uch less w aste is in v o lv e d , rayon stap le fi­
ber is ch eap er than cotton at presen t p rices. S ta p le fiber is
less c o stly to m an u factu re than is co n tin u o u s filam ent y a m ,
b ecau se it can b e m an u factu red in la rg er u n its and because
it in v o lv es le ss cost fo r in sp ectio n and p a ck agin g.
T h ou gh w ith m an y te x tile a p p lic a tio n s p rice is not the
d eterm in in g fa cto r in th e sele c tio n o f th e fib er to be used,
q uite cle a r ly d e c lin in g rayon p rices, co in cid en t w ith risin g
cotton p rices, have con trib u ted in recen t years to th e in ­
creased u se o f rayon. F urtherm ore, m uch p ro g ress h as been
m ade in im p ro v in g th e u n ifo rm ity o f its te n sile strength, d i­
am eter, and denier. T he ten sile strength h as b een g rea tly in ­
creased, and alth o u g h , g e n e r a lly sp ea k in g , standard grades
o f rayon are w eaker th an cotton , n y lo n , or th e better grades
o f silk , th eir dry te n sile strength is greater than that o f w ool.
T he sa p o n ified acetate rayon , h ow ever, is as stron g as any
other te x tile fiber n ow in com m ercia l u se, or stronger. It is
still true that rayon su ffers a greater lo ss o f strength w hen
w et than do an y o f th e other fib ers ex cep t th o se d erived from
casein and soyb ean s.
D ifferen t ty p es o f rayon v ary g rea tly in e la stic ity , but a p ­
p aren tly little im p rovem en t h as taken p la ce in the lo w e la s­
ticity o f rayon as a w h o le. A fu rth er h an d icap fo r a lo n g
w h ile w as that rayon ’s g lo ssin e ss w as u n d esira b le in som e
u ses, a lth o u g h in others its silk -lik e ap p earan ce w as an asset.

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R ecen tly, processes o f m an u factu rin g d u ll and sem id u ll ray­
on s h ave been greatly im p roved , th u s ex ten d in g the area in
w h ich rayon is com p etitive w ith other fibers. Its d y ein g p ro p ­
erties and co lo r fastn ess h ave b een im p roved . M oreover,
rayon can now b e m ade w ater rep ellen t. B etter h a n d lin g
techniq ues in m an u factu rin g rayon fa b rics h ave also been
d evelop ed . A ll these fa cto rs m ake th e u se o f rayon less co stly
and m ore ad vantageous to the te x tile m an ufacturer than it
w as form erly .
It seem s certain that in the im m ed iate postw ar years there
w ill b e little real danger that th e cotton te x tile in d u stry w ill
b e by-p assed on an y large sca le in the m an ufacture o f fab rics
from syn th etic m aterials. In the first p la ce, cotton s till su p ­
p lie s 6 7 p er cen t o f a ll te x tile need s in th e U n ited States, and
n ot fo r m an y years, i f ever, w ill th e b u lk o f th is m arket be
lo st b y th e cotton te x tile in d u stry. It is w e ll w ith in the realm
o f p o ssib ility , h ow ever, that 10 years or so after th e w ar sheet
p la stics w ill b egin to m ake real in ro a d s in m arkets now su p ­
p lied b y fa b rics spun and w oven fro m n atural fibers, such
as cotton and w o o l, as w ell as those m ade fr o m regenerated
c e llu lo s e fibers, such as rayon.

Sheet Plastics
Just as the p o ssib ilitie s o f im p rovem en t in the natural fibers
th rough research are lim ited b y the nature o f th e fiber,
so the p o ssib ilitie s o f im p rovem en t in regenerated c e llu lo se
fibers are lim ited b y the ch em ical nature o f ce llu lo se . O n ly
w ith in the realm o f co m p le te ly new syn th etic m aterials, o f
w h ich n y lo n , V in yon , and sh eet p la stics are m erely th e first
e x am p les, is the te x tile chem ist alm ost en tirely free to b u ild
a m aterial that w ill fit the p articu lar end u se in m in d . A l­
ready sheet p la stics are co m p etin g w ith w oven te x tile s in the
m anufacture o f such products as rain coats and show er cur­
tain s, and it is at lea st reason ab le to assum e that research
w ill w id en their field o f u sefu ln ess rather ra p id ly in the com ­
in g years.
S p in n in g , k n ittin g, and w ea v in g p rocesses are age o ld , and
th e latest sp in d le, loom , and k n ittin g m ach in es m erely rep re­
sent m od ification s in these p rocesses and th e a p p lica tio n o f
m ech an ical pow er to them . M any p erson s argue that the
p rod u ction o f sheet tex tile s w ill never b e a serio u s threat to
th e cotton te x tile in dustry fo r h ealth req u ires air vents in
fa b rics and that su ch ven ts can be eco n o m ic a lly secured o n ly
b y sp in n in g, k n ittin g, and w eavin g. T h e argum ent lo ses a
g o o d d eal o f its cog en cy w ith the rea liza tio n that air vents
are h a rd ly n ecessary in som e in d u strial and h o u seh o ld fa b ­
r ics and that, furtherm ore, the so lv in g o f th is p rob lem eco ­
n o m ic a lly fo r clo th in g fa b rics w o u ld n ot ap p ear to be n early
so difficult as m an y o f the so lu tio n s ach ieved in a short tim e
u nder the spu r o f w artim e n ecessity .
In the cotton tex tile in d u stry, ca p a city is co m m o n ly m eas­
u red b y the num ber o f sp in d les in p la ce. On J u ly 1, 1944,
th ere w ere 2 6 m illio n sp in d les in th e cotton m ills o f the
U n ited States. O f th is num ber, 7 4 per cent w ere in th e six
S outh eastern states o f A lab am a, G eorgia, N orth C arolina,
S ou th C arolina, T enn essee, and V irg in ia . S ix ty -o n e per cent
o f a ll sp in d les in p la ce in A m erican cotton m ills are located
in th e three states o f N orth C arolina, South C arolina, and
G eorgia, ch iefly in their w estern areas. T h e cotton te x tile in ­
dustry is the largest em p lo y er o f in d u strial la b o r in those
states during p eacetim e.
D evelop m en ts that w o u ld tend to m ake o b so lete a la rg e
part o f the sp in n in g and w ea v in g cap a city o f Southern cotton
te x tile m ills w ou ld a lso in te n sify th e p rob lem o f p ro v id in g



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em p loym en t fo r d isp la ced w ar w orkers and returning serv­
icem en in th e area. In A lab am a, G eorgia, N orth C arolina,
S ou th C arolina, T en n essee, and V ir g in ia , 1 ,0 4 6 ,2 0 0 p ersons
w ere em p lo y ed in m an u factu rin g estab lish m en ts in 1939. O f
these, on e third w ere en gaged in th e sp in n in g o f cotton yarn
and the w ea v in g o f cotton cloth . In that sam e year 3 0 ,9 0 0
p erson s w ere em p lo y ed in the m an u factu re o f rayon broadw oven g o o d s and 1 ,5 0 0 in the m an u factu re o f rayon yarn
and thread. In V ir g in ia and T en n essee d u rin g 1 9 39 plants
en gaged in the m anufacture o f rayon its e lf em p lo y ed 2 3 ,2 0 0
p erson s, m ore than w ere en gaged in sp in n in g and w eavin g
cotton in th ose tw o states.

Cotton Textile Costs
U n it la b o r costs in Southern cotton m ills have p ro b a b ly risen
as m uch as 5 0 per cent d u rin g the w ar. O b v io u sly , the m ore
co stly th e p rod u ction o f fab rics b y esta b lish ed m eth ods b e­
com es, th e greater is the in cen tive fo r m anufacturers o f clo th ­
in g and p rod u cers o f h ou seh old g o o d s to turn to th e u se o f
sheet p la stics, w h ich short-circuit the sp in n in g and w eaving
p rocesses. T h e d esign o f m ore efficient sp in n in g an d w eavin g
m ach in ery w o u ld tend to retard a trend tow ard the u se o f
sheet p la stic in stead o f spun and w oven fa b rics. T h e cotton
te x tile in d u stry, as w e ll a s som e m anufacturers o f rayon fila ­
m ent and sta p le, is n ow d esig n in g better m ach in ery, w hich
w ill p ro b a b ly reduce u n it la b o r costs ap p reciab ly.
A la rg e cost item in m an y m ills is m aterials h a n d lin g. T he
in sta lla tio n o f m ech an ical h a n d lin g d evices, con veyor b elts,
and sim ila r eq u ip m en t w ill be carried forw ard in m an y o f
th e larger m ills in an attem pt to cut p rod u ction costs. But the
p o ssib ilitie s o f cost reduction in th e cotton te x tile industry
b y these m ethods are lim ited b ecau se, fo r exa m p le, a conveyor
system reaches its top efficien cy o n ly w hen it is in sta lled at
the tim e th e p la n t is b u ilt. P rop er p la n t d esig n n ow g iv es
greater atten tion to m aterials flow , but fo r m ills b u ilt som e
y ears ago the p o ssib ilitie s o f cost sa v in g through th e m echan­
ization o f m ateria ls h a n d lin g are d efin itely lim ited .
S in ce the cost o f cotton to the m ill can be reduced b y im ­
provem ents in m arketing p ractices, attention is being, given
to th is p rob lem . T he e lim in a tio n o f ex cessiv e m arketing
costs, how ever, w ill a lw a y s be sim p ler w ith syn th etics becau se
they are m anufactured b y a few la rg e com p an ies w hereas
cotton is p rod u ced b y th ou san ds o f in d iv id u a l grow ers.
A great d eal o f effort is cu rren tly b ein g exp en d ed in at­
tem pts to im p rove th e q u a lity o f cotton tex tile s, an d th is e f­
fort w ill no doubt serve to retard the advance o f th e sy n ­
thetic fibers rela tiv e to cotton. T hat the advance can be
h alted en tirely , how ever, seem s q uite u n lik ely . T h e D ep art­
m ent o f A gricu ltu re’s g in n in g lab oratory at S to n e v ille, M is­
sissip p i, is carryin g forw ard a series o f exp erim en ts directed
tow ard im p ro v in g the h a n d lin g o f cotton. A t S to n e v ille at­
tem pts are b ein g m ade to d ev elo p m achinery to rem ove the
dirt picked up b y th e m ech an ical harvesters. W ork is a lso
b ein g carried forw ard on m ethods o f rem ovin g th e seed w ith
less dam age to th e lin t. B etter b a lin g d evelop m en ts in clu d e
n ew g in n in g p rocesses in w h ich th e cotton is com pressed to
2 2 p ou n d s per cu b ic fo o t w ith ou t the n ecessity o f sen d in g
the gin n ed cotton to sp ecia l co m p ressin g centers.
T h is list o f tech n ica l and m ech an ical im p rovem en ts in co t­
ton is b y no m eans exh au stive. M any ag en cies are g iv in g a
great deal o f th ou gh t to the p rob lem o f m ak in g further im ­
provem ents, but the fa ct rem ains that the characteristics o f a
n atural fiber w ill a lw a y s b e lim ited b y th e nature o f th e fiber,

3 6

M

o n t h l y

o f

R e v ie w

S ix th D is tr ic t S ta t is t ic s

Place

DEPARTMENT STORE SALES AND STOCKS
INVENTORIES
SALES
Cent Change
Per Cent Change
No. oi Per
Mar. 1945irom Stores
Mar. 1945irom
Stores
Report­ Feb.
Mar. Report­
Feb.
Mar.
ing
ing
1945
1944
1944
1945

ALABAMA
Birmingham__
Mobile...........
Montgomery...
FLORIDA
Jacksonville__
Mi/uni...........
Tampa...........
GEORGIA
Atlanta..........
Augusta........
Macon**........
LOUISIANA
Baton Rouge...
New Orleans...
MISSISSIPPI
Jackson..........
TENNESSEE
Chattanooga...
Nashville.......
OTHERCITIES*..
DISTRICT.........

5
4
4
4
3
5
6
3
3
3
4
4
3
3
6
24
85

+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+

29
31
42
36
16
30
29
49
95
30
36
35
42
30
42
35
33

+ 17
+ 10
+ 38
+ 32
+ 11
.+ 19
+ 33
+ 60
+ 62
+ 33
+ 23
+ 27
+ 31
+ 31
+ 28
4- 27
H- 27

4
3

+2
+ 1

— 2
— 2

5
3

+9
+7

+ 13
— 9

3

—5

— 27

4
24
46

—2
+4
+3

— 3
— 1
— 2

*When less than 3 stores report in a given city, the sales are grouped
together under “other cities."
“ One firm included last three days of February in March sales report.

Place

DEBITS TO INDIVIDUAL BANK ACCOUNTS
(In Thousands of Dollars)
Per Cent Change
No. oi
Mar. 1945irom
Mar.
Mar.
Feb.
Banks
1
9
4
4
1
9
4
5
1
9
4
5
Report­
Feb. Mar.
ing
1945 1944

ALABAMA
Anniston.......
18,466
19,891
16,704
3
Birmingham...
192,664
204,624
185,165
3
Dothan..........
7,320
7,260
8,010
2
10,104
Gadsden.......
10,730
11,010
3
113,118
108,285
Mobile..........
124,035
4
37,408
35,892
Montgomery..
40,280
3
FLORIDA
Jacksonville...
3
170,664
174,300
191,739
Miami...........
148,905
6
129,662
159,908
Greater
Miami*.......
199,450
176,340
10
219,872
31,005
Orlando........
29,453
2
39,562
25,026
Pensacola......
24,893
3
25,580
26,900
St. Petersburg.
28,185
3
32,394
83,166
79,659
Tampa..........
3
89,846
GEORGIA
9,568
8,729
10,041
Albany..........
2
471,140
448,263
514,895
Atlanta^........
4
37,583
29,461
40,231
Augusta.......
3
13,262
13,931
15,366
Brunswick__
2
33,174
37,495
36,242
Columbus.....
4
1,855
1,802
2,040
Elberton.......
2
39,542
36,764
44,010
Macon..........
3
4,799
3,666
5,759
2
Newnan........
81,410
74,221
87,330
4
Savannah.....
5,571
5,918
7,097
2
Valdosta.......
LOUISIANA
39,580
46,649
42,926
Baton Rouge..
3
24,263
15,274
17,547
Lake Charles..
3
446,086 397,138 433,753
New Orleans..
7
MISSISSIPPI....
12,900
11,991
13,136
Hattiesburg...
2
57,571
56,792
70,873
4
Jackson........
15,643
1
5
,5
9
8
18,472
3
Meridian.......
20,523
16,966r
18,807
2
Vicksburg.....
TENNESSEE
78,168
83,556
91,274
Chattanooga..
4
100,000
121,854
135,291
Knoxville......
4
168,027
162,128
177,771
Nashville......
6
SIXTH DISTRICT
32 Cities....... 114 2,742,073 2,409,420r 2,522,042
UNITED STATES
81,068,000 70,250,000 76,090,000
334Cities......
*Not included in Sixth District total
r = Revised




+
+
+
+
+
+

19
11
9
3
15
12

+
+
+
+
+
+

8
6
10
9
10
8

+
+
+
+
+
+
+

12
23
25
34
3
15
13

+
+
+
+
+
+
4-

10
7
10
28
2
20
8

+ 15
+ 15
+ 37
+ 10
— 3
+ 13
+ 20
+ 57
+ 18
+ 20

+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+

5
9
7
16
9
10
11
20
7
27

— 8 + 8
+ 15 — 28
+ 12 + 3
+
+
+
+

10
25
18
11

+ 2
+ 23
+ 18
— 8

+ 17
+ 11
+ 10

+ 9
+ 35
+ 6

+ 14

+ 9

+ 15

+ 7

th e

F e d e ra l R e s e rve

B a n k

o f A t la n t a

fo r A p ril 1945

w hereas sy n th etics can b e g iv en v ir tu a lly a n y ch aracteristic
desired.
T h ou gh cotton s t ill h as certain a d van tages over the sy n ­
th etic fibers, in sp in n a b ility an d stren gth -retain in g a b sorp ­
tiv ity fo r in stan ce, th ese ad van tages w ill p ro b a b ly b e m et in
la rg e part b y tech n ica l research in th e sy n th etics in dustry.
S y n th etics, on th e oth er h an d , h a v e th e a d van tage o f d epend ­
a b ility o f su p p ly , u n ifo r m ity o f p ro d u ctio n , an d sta b ility o f
p rice that can p ro b a b ly n ever b e m et b y a n y n atural fiber
w h ose p rod u ction is co n d itio n ed b y v a g a ries o f the w eather
and oth er n atu ral hazards.
A t th e p resent tim e, th e A m erica n sy n th etics in d u stry, in ­
clu d in g prod u cers o f n y lo n an d V in y o n , co n sists o f 1 6 com ­
p a n ies that o p erate 2 9 p la n ts. O f th ese, 21 p la n ts m an u fac­
ture rayon b y th e v isc o se p ro cess, 6 p la n ts m an u factu re it b y
the acetate p ro cess, an d 2 p la n ts u se th e cupram m onium
p rocess. O f th e 2 9 p la n ts, 7 are lo ca ted in V ir g in ia , 4 in T en ­
n essee, 1 in N orth C arolin a, and 1 in G eorgia.
T o b e sure, a p artial offset to th e p o ten tia l lo ss in cotton
te x tile em p lo y m en t in th e S ou th is th e in crea sin g em p loym en t
in p la n ts m a n u fa ctu rin g rayon an d other sy n th etic fibers and
the con tin u ed em p lo y m en t in th o se cotton m ills n ow sp in n in g
and w ea v in g syn th etics. C om pared w ith th e cotton te x tile in ­
dustry, rayon is a h ig h -w a g e in d u stry b ecau se o f its h igh er
sk ille d la b o r requirem ents. In D ecem b er 1 9 4 4 , th e latest
m onth fo r w h ich su ch figu res are a v a ila b le , a verage h o u rly
ea rn in g s in p la n ts m a n u fa ctu rin g rayon and a llie d products
w ere 9 2 cen ts w h ereas a verage h o u rly ea rn in g s in cotton tex ­
tile m an u factu res, ex cep t sm a llw a res, w ere 6 5 cents. D u rin g
the sam e m onth th ere w ere 5 4 ,2 0 0 p erso n s em p lo y ed in m an­
u fa ctu rin g rayon and a llie d p rod u cts in th e U n ited S tates and
4 3 3 ,7 0 0 w age earn ers in co tto n m an u fa ctu rin g , sm allw ares
excep ted .

Rayon Production Capacity
A t the p resen t tim e th e p ro jected c a p a city o f the rayon in ­
dustry is 8 1 0 m illio n p ou n d s a n n u a lly . M ore th an on e fou rth
o f th is, 2 4 0 m illio n p ou n d s, is tire y a rn ca p a city . T h e out­
lo o k fo r rayon tire cord is n o t e n tir e ly clea r. A u th oritative
sou rces have estim ated th at th e am ou n t o f rayon tire-yarn
cap a city in op era tio n after th e w ar w ill b e fro m 1 6 0 m illio n
to 2 0 0 m illio n p o u n d s. T hat th ere are less than a h a lf dozen
la rg e tire co m p a n ies and th at th e y are ex trem ely p rice con ­
scio u s, p lu s the fa ct that som e o f th ese rubber co m p a n ies ow n
cotton tire-cord p la n ts, cast som e d ou b t on th e fu tu re o f
rayon tire-cord p rod u ction .
P erh a p s th e o v er-a ll co n c lu sio n to b e draw n fro m an a n a l­
y sis o f th e p resent and p o ten tia l threat to th e cotton industry
fro m sy n th etics is sim p ly th at ch a n g e, ra p id and in som e re­
sp ects u n p red icta b le, w ill b e th e ord er o f th e d ay. It fo llo w s
fro m th is co n clu sio n th at a lert, fo rw a rd -lo o k in g m anagem ent
w ill be m ore essen tia l in th e cotton te x tile in d u stry than ever
b efo re. P ostw ar y ea rs w ill b e yea rs o f great op p o rtu n ity for
th o se firm s in th e in d u stry b est a b le to g a u g e accu rately the
ty p e o f p rod u ct that w ill m ost r e a d ily sa tisfy con su m ers’ de­
sires and at the sam e tim e len d its e lf to p ro fita b le m an u fac­
ture w ith in th e e x istin g c o m p etitiv e structure. M any cotton
te x tile firm s fa ile d d u rin g th e y ea rs w h en ro u tin ized op era­
tio n s w ere p o ssib le in th e in d u stry. A ro u tin ized ap p roach to
te x tile m an u fa ctu rin g fro m here on ou t w ill be alm ost cer­
ta in ly su icid ia l fo r th e firm s p ra cticin g it. D ep recia tio n p o l­
ic y , m ach in ery rep la cem en t p o lic y , in teg ra tio n p o ssib ilities,
and in v en to ry p o lic y — a ll m ust b e c a r e fu lly ex a m in ed in the
lig h t o f th e ch a n g in g situ ation .

B uford B randis.

M

o n t h l y

R e v ie w

B a n k

I

o f

th e

F e d e ra l R e se rve

B a n k

o f A tla n ta

fo r A p ril 1945

S ix th D is t r ic t I n d e x e s

A n n o u n c e m e n ts

D EPARTM EN T S T O R E S A L E S *

N APRIL, the F ederal R eserve Bank o f A tlan ta announced

the ad m ission o f a state bank to m em bership in the F ed ­
eral R eserve System and a lso an n ou n ced the ad d ition o f tw o
nonm em ber banks to the P ar L ist.

New Member Bank
T he L ittle R iver B ank and T rust C om pany, M iam i, F lo rid a ,
w as adm itted on A p ril 2 3 to m em bership in the F ed eral R e­
serve System as a state m em ber bank. Officers o f th e bank
are E dw ard C. R om fh, p resid en t; Laurence R om fh , v ice p res­
id en t and assistan t trust officer; A lec Baker, v ice president
and assistant trust officer; C lifford H . R eeder, v ic e p resid en t;
C larence S. R ye, v ice p resid en t; C harles E. Buker, execu tive
v ice p resid en t; Frank L. M cM illa n , v ice p resid en t and trust
officer; W alter W . A sm us, v ice president, secretary, and treas­
u rer; John M . F rohock, assistan t secretary and treasurer;
V io le t H . R eid, assistan t secretary and treasurer; and M arie
M oir, assistant secretary and treasurer.
D irectors o f the bank are E dward C. R om fh , Laurence
R om fh, A lec B aker, C harles E. Buker, W illia m C. H ill, Carl
M eeks, C lifford H . R eeder, W illia m H . G ragg, L u cien L. Renuart, J. Law D a v is, H ugh P . E m erson, Jam es G. G arner, and
C harles B. R ose.
T he new m em ber bank h as com m on stock o f $ 1 5 0 ,0 0 0 , su r­
p lu s o f $ 1 5 0 ,0 0 0 , and total d ep o sits o f $ 1 2 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 . T h e bank
w as o r ig in a lly organized in 1 926. T h rou gh stock ow n ersh ip ,
it is associated w ith the F irst N a tio n a l B ank o f M iam i, T he
C oral G ables F irst N ation a l Bank, and th e F irst T rust C om ­
p an y, M iam i, F lorid a.

Adjusted**

U nadjusted

M ar.
1945

Fe b .
1945

Mar.
1944

Mar.
1945

Fe b .
1945

Mar.
1944

273
288
305
238
262
274
361
326
349
211
280
298
260
308

274
302
325
265
281
294
368
327
267
201
274
291
246
314

228r
233r
239r
21 lr
208r
221r
279r
257r
220r
189r
210r
239r
214
261r

281
303
292
253
275
274
368
327
353
265
276
314
246
326

235
265
252
221
218
229
303
283
204
256
218
248
203
282

221r
236
221
216r
211
216
278
248
218
238
199
246
200
271

D IS T R IC T ...............
A tlanta................
Baton R o u g e . . .
Birm ingham . . . .
Chattanooga. . .
la ck so n ...............
Jack so n ville. . . .
K n o x v ille ..........
M on tgom ery...
N ash v ille ..........
New O rle a n s. . .
Tam pa................

DEPARTM EN T S T O R E S T O C K S
Adjusted**

Unadjusted

Mar.

Fe b .

Mar.

Mar.

Fe b .

Mar.

177
268
132
177
259
100

178
265
138
189
282
111

184
237
135
180
268
136

180
274
136
187
270
105

174
252
133
185
276
111

188
241

1945

D IS T R IC T ..............
A tlanta ................
B irm in g h a m ... .
M on tgom ery...
N ash v ille..........
New O rle a n s . . .

1945

1944

C O T T O N CO N SU M PTIO N *
Mar.

Feb.

1945
162
172
158
141

T O T A L .....................
A labam a............
G e o rg ia .............
T e n n e sse e........

Mar.

1945
165
174
162
144

1944
161
169
159
136

1945

1945

1944
138

190
278
144

C O A L P R O D U C TIO N *
Mar.

Feb.

1945
163
171
146

Mar.

1945
162
163
i58

1944
177
179

171

C O N ST R U C T IO N C O N T R A C T S

New Par List Banks
T h e A lab am a C ity Bank, G adsden, A lab am a, w as p la ced on
th e P ar L ist effective A p ril 1, 1945. Officers o f th e bank are
F. A . B loodw orth, Jr., p resid en t; W . E. H ockensm ith, v ice
p resident and cash ier; and N e ll Jo R eagan, assistan t cashier.
D irectors o f the bank are F. F. Beckert, F. A . B lood w orth ,
Jr., T h om as C ousins, A . P . H am ilton , A lla n L ittle, Jam es B.
L ittle, L. E. L okey, W . D . M cN air, C harles H . M oody, John
I. Sm ith, J u liu s S. Sw ann, and Jack L. M artin.
A t the clo se o f the year, the A lab am a C ity Bank, w hich
w as organized in 1922, had total d ep o sits o f $ 2 ,2 4 7 ,0 0 0 , c a p ­
ita l o f $ 2 5 ,0 0 0 , su rp lu s o f $ 4 0 ,0 0 0 , and u n d ivid ed profits o f
$ 2 4 ,0 0 0 . T h e bank is nam ed fo r A lab am a C ity, w h ich w as
a n nexed b y G adsden a num ber o f years ago.
G adsden, w ith a 1 940 p o p u la tio n o f 3 6 ,9 7 5 , is A la b a m a ’s
fou rth largest city and the seat o f E tow ah C ounty. It is lo ­
cated on th e C oosa R iver and is an im portant railroad center
and m an u factu rin g p oin t.
S ch ed u led to go on the P ar L ist on M ay 1 is the State Bank
o f A p op k a, A p op ka, F lorid a . Officers o f th e bank a re W . G.
T alton , p resid en t; W . T. C ham pneys, v ice p resid en t; Frank
L. B urgust, cash ier; and T hom as W . Sw anner, Jr., assistant
cashier. In ad d ition to M essrs. T alton , C ham pneys and Bur­
gust, the board o f directors in clu d es R. T . C arleton and E. W .
F ly . On D ecem ber 30, 194 4 , th e bank had total d ep o sits o f
$ 1 ,9 0 0 ,0 0 0 , cap ital stock o f $ 4 0 ,0 0 0 , su rp lu s o f $ 2 8 ,5 0 0 , and
u n d ivid ed p rofits o f $ 1 5 ,0 0 0 . T he State B ank o f A p op k a w as
o rgan ized on F ebruary 12, 1 912, and is the o ld est bank in
O range C ounty.
A p op k a at the tim e o f the 1 9 4 0 cen su s had a p o p u la tio n
o f 1,3 1 2 . It is located in the center o f F lo r id a ’s citrus in d u s­
try ; and it is the largest fern and a llie d p la n t sh ip p in g p o in t
in F lorid a.



3 7

M arch

Fe b ru a ry

M arch

170

70
42
83
74
99
52
8,1
86
102

101
93
106
88
123
156
72
82
101

1945

D IS T R IC T .........................................
R e sid e n tial.................................

44

231
348
61
110
317
62
112

A labam a.......................................
Lo u isia n a .....................................
M ississip p i.................................
T e n n e sse e ...................................

1945

M A N U FA C T U R IN G
EM PLO Y M EN T***
Fe b .

1945

Jan.

Fe b .

Mar.

Fe b .

Mar.

151
184
150
142
156
140
132

154
186r
161r
145r
162r
143r
133r

162
191
188
150
168
149
139

95
97
94
91
91
81
113

107r
111
101
lO lr
116

90
95
91
85

93

108

91
91

G e o rg ia ............
Lo u isia n a ..........
M ississip p i____
T e n n e sse e ........

C O S T O F L IV IN G

Fu e l, e le c­
tricity,
and ic e ____
Home fur­
nish ing s. ..
M iscel­
laneous ____

1945

1945

Fe b .

131
144
141
114

132
145
141
114

128
142
134
114

109

109

109

141

142

126

127

127

123

Mar.

Feb.

Mar.

U n a d ju ste d .. . .
A d ju ste d **. . .

207
907

206
203

195
195

1945

1945

1945

114

Feb .

1944

C R U D E P E T R O L EU M P R O D U C T IO N
IN C O A S T A L LO U IS IA N A AND
M ISSIS SIP P I*

1945

1944

1944

E L E C T R IC P O W E R P R O D U C TIO N *

Jan.

Fe b .

C lo th in g ........

G A S O L IN E TA X
C O L L E C T IO N S

1945
S IX S T A T E S ........
A lab am a ..........

A L L IT E M S .. . .

1944

1944

S IX S T A T E S ...
H ydro­
generated.
F u e l­
generated .

Jan.

Feb.

1945

1945

287

293r

264

274

277

236

305

314r

300

1944

AN N U AL R A T E O F TU R N O V ER O F
DEM AND D E P O S IT S
M ar.

Feb.

Mar.

15.2
15.6
60.2

15.9
15.8
61.1

17.2
17.6
68.1

1945

U n a d ju ste d .. . .
A d ju s te d * *.. . .
Index**

1945

1944

*D aily average basis
‘ ‘ Adjusted for seasonal variation
***1939 monthly average = 100; other
indexes, 1935-39=100

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A p ril 1945

The Southern Regional Research Laboratory
research has in the la st decade or tw o com e to
b e on e o f the m ost characteristic ad ju n cts o f b u sin ess e n ­
terp rise. In th e field o f in d u stry its fru its are ev id en t in the
fa n tastic array o f new and u n u su al p rod u cts that p ou r from
th e p riv a tely sup ported lab oratories o f m an y o f the n a tio n ’s
m ost im portant concerns. Its fru its in agricu ltu re are e q u a lly
ev id en t in the in creased y ie ld s, the im p roved m ethods o f c u l­
tiv ation , the d evelop m en t o f farm m ach in ery, and th e b io lo g ­
ic a l im provem ent o f crops and liv esto ck that have resulted
from w ork done in the lab o ra to ries o f land-grant c o lle g e s
and v ariou s F ederal agen cies, as w e ll as at state exp erim en t
station s and on exp erim en ta l farm s.
T y p ic a lly , in d u strial research h as b een carried on fo r the
direct and im m ediate benefit o f in d u stry and agricu ltu ra l re­
search has been carried on fo r th e d irect benefit o f a g r ic u l­
ture. In th e A gricu ltu ral A d ju stm en t A ct o f 1 9 3 8 , how ever,
the F ed eral G overnm ent took a som ew hat u n u su al step by
m aking p ro v isio n fo r in d u stria l research that sh o u ld have
the benefit o f agricu ltu re as its c h ie f aim .
C ongress p rovid ed in sectio n 2 0 2 o f the A gricu ltu ra l A d ­
ju stm ent A ct o f 1 938 that “ the Secretary [o f A gricu ltu re] is
h ereb y auth orized and directed to e sta b lish , eq u ip , and m ain ­
tain fo u r reg io n a l research lab o ra to ries, on e in each m ajor
fa rm p rod u cin g area, and at su ch la b oratories, to conduct
researches in to and to d ev elo p new scien tific, ch em ica l, and
tech n ical u ses and n ew an d exten d ed m arkets and o u tlets fo r
farm com m od ities and products and by-products th ereof. Such
research and d evelop m en t sh a ll be devoted p rim a rily to those
farm com m od ities in w h ich there are regu lar or season al sur­
p lu ses, and th eir products and b y-p rod u cts.”
P ursu an t to th is act o f C ongress, fo u r lab oratories w ere
e sta b lish ed , the E astern R eg io n a l R esearch L ab oratory in
P h ila d e lp h ia ; the N orthern R eg io n a l R esearch L aboratory
in P eoria, I llin o is ; the W estern R eg io n a l R esearch L ab ora­
tory in A lb a n y , C a lifo rn ia ; and the Southern R eg io n a l R e­
search L aboratory in N ew O rlean s. T h ese lab oratories are
o p erated b y the B ureau o f A g ricu ltu ra l and In d u strial Chem ­
istry o f the A g ricu ltu ra l R esearch A d m in istration o f the
U n ited States D epartm en t o f A gricu ltu re.

S

c ie n t if ic

The Physical Plant
G round w as first broken fo r th e N ew O rlean s lab oratory in
June 1 9 3 9 , and the b u ild in g w as accep ted b y th e G overnm ent
in June 1 9 4 1 . T h e m ain b u ild in g o f th e lab o ra to ry is a threestoried , U -sh ap ed structure w ith a basem ent. T h e b ase o f the
U is 211 fe e t lo n g and 6 3 fe e t w id e. E ach le g is 3 0 6 feet lo n g
and 6 6 feet w id e, on e h ou sin g 7 2 research la b o ra to ries and
th e other a p ilo t p lan t and te x tile m ill. T h e b ase, or fro n t
unit, con tain s the ad m in istrative offices o f th e lab oratory. In
ad dition to the m ain structure is a service b u ild in g , w hich
h ou ses the steam -generatin g eq u ip m en t, am m on ia com p res­
sors, incin erator, and other serv ice u tilitie s. T h ere is a lso a
sm all b u ild in g fo r th e storage o f in flam m ab le so lv en ts, such
as a lc o h o l, ether, and p etro leu m n ap h th a. T h e G overnm ent
h as invested alm o st 1.5 m illio n d o lla r s in th e b u ild in g s o f the
N ew O rlean s lab oratory, e x c lu siv e o f eq u ip m en t.
U n der D . F. J. L ynch , d irector, a staff o f 2 6 9 p erson s is em ­
p lo y ed in the lab oratory. O f these, 153 are p ro fe ssio n a l and
su b -p rofession al m em bers o f th e tech n ical staff, 4 0 are
clerica l w orkers, and 7 6 are craftsm en and p ro tective and



cu sto d ia l em p lo y ees. A to tal b u d get o f a p p ro x im a tely one
m illio n d o lla r s is set up a n n u a lly fo r th e su p p o rt o f the
lab oratory and its staff.
T h ese fo u r reg io n a l la b o ra to ries are org a n ized on a com ­
m od ity b a sis, each la b o ra to ry g iv in g th e m a jo r part o f its
atten tion to th o se cro p s in its reg io n th at are m ost su b ject to
su rp lu s c o n d itio n s. C otton, sw eet p o ta to es, and peanuts are
the com m od ities w ith w h ich th e N ew O rlean s lab o ratory is
ch iefly con cern ed , and th e org a n iza tio n o f the laboratory
reflects th is sp ecia liz a tio n . W ith in th e lab o ra to ry seven re­
search d iv isio n s are set u p , th ree o f them d e a lin g w ith cot­
ton ; on e w ith sw eet p otatoes, on e w ith o ils, fa ts, and p ro­
tein s; on e w ith en g in eerin g and d ev elop m en t p r o jects; and
on e w ith m ore or less gen era l a n a ly tic a l, p h y sica l ch em ical,
and p h y sica l in v estig a tio n s in to th e p rop erties o f the three
b asic co m m o d ities and th eir d eriv a tiv es. T h e la st o f these
a lso renders sp e c ia liz e d ch em ica l and p h y sica l services and
con d u cts in v estig a tio n s fo r th e oth er d iv isio n s.

Research Divisions
T he S w eetp otato P rod u cts D iv is io n is p r im a rily interested
in the p rod u ction o f starch fro m sw eet p o ta to es. R esearch is
d irected tow ard im p rovem en t in th e y ie ld an d q u a lity o f the
starch, th e ch em ica l and m ic r o b io lo g ic a l co n tro l o f m an u fac­
tu rin g p rocesses, an d th e p ro p erties o f sw eet p otato starch
and its d erivatives rela tiv e to u tiliza tio n . P ro b lem s o f p rod u c­
tion, p rop erties and a p p lic a tio n s o f oth er sw eet potato
d erivatives and b y-p rod u cts a ls o f a ll w ith in th e field o f this
d iv isio n , a s do th o se o f th e p reservation o f sw eet p otatoes fo r
in d u strial use.
In v estig a tio n s o f th e O il, F at, and P ro tein D iv isio n are
d irected tow ard a d eterm in ation o f the p ro p erties and com ­
p o sitio n o f cotton seed and p ean u t o ils and on th e ch em ical
m od ification o f th ese o ils to in crea se th eir in d u strial u tility
and im p ro v e th eir od or and flavor sta b ility . Im p rovem ent in
y ie ld and q u a lity o f o il and p ro tein s b y better p ro cessin g is
another field o f in v estig a tio n in th is d iv isio n , as is the in d u s­
trial u se o f p rotein as a raw m aterial fo r th e p rod uction o f
ad h esives, fibers, p ap er co a tin g m a teria ls, and w ater paint.
T he E n g in eerin g an d D e v elo p m en t D iv is io n carries on in ­
v estig a tio n s in the p ro cessin g and sto rin g o f cotton seed , sw eet
p otatoes, and p eanuts. In a d d itio n it m akes p ilo t p la n t studies
on a sem icom m ercial sca le o f p ro cesses and p rod u cts that have
been d ev elo p ed on a la b o ra to ry sca le . T h is d iv isio n a lso d e­
sig n s eq u ip m en t and la rg e-sca le a p p aratu s an d fu rn ish es en ­
g in eerin g and co n su ltin g serv ices to the lab o ra to ry as w ell as
to co-op eratin g agen cies.
R esearch d e a lin g w ith cotton is d ivid ed a m on g three d iv i­
sion s— th e C otton F ib er R esearch D iv isio n , the C otton Chem ­
ica l F in ish in g D iv isio n , and th e C otton P ro cessin g D iv isio n .
T he first o f th ese is con cern ed w ith th e rela tio n sh ip o f the
ch em ica l and p h y sica l structure o f cotton fiber to te ch n ica lly
sig n ifica n t p rop erties, th e im p rovem en t o f cotton fiber p rop ­
erties, th e nature and p reven tion o f d egrad ation o f cotton fi­
ber, and th e ch em ical m od ifica tio n o f th e fiber. T h e second
o f th e cotton d iv isio n s w orks to d e v elo p n ew and im p roved
fin ish es fo r cotton te x tile s in order to in crea se th eir u tility
and su ita b ility fo r sp e c ia l u ses. It a lso determ in es th e serv­
ic e a b ility o f v a rio u s fin ish es and fin ish ed te x tile s and studies
w ays and m ean s o f in crea sin g th e efficien cy and red u cin g the

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co st o f fin ish in g op era tion s. T h e third cotton d iv isio n w orks
p rim a rily to d ev elo p new and im p roved cotton p roducts that
w ill m eet the requirem ents o f sp ecific end u ses and to de­
v e lo p n ew and im p roved cotton -p rocessin g m ach in ery that
w ill lo w er the cost and im p ro v e the q u a lity o f cotton p rod ­
ucts. A section o f the d iv isio n c o lle c ts, an a ly zes, and in ter­
p rets tech n ical and econ om ic in fo rm a tio n rela tin g to the
m anufacture and u se o f cotton and co m p etitiv e p rod u cts. T he
w ork o f th is section is v a lu a b le as an a id in th e selectio n o f
new research p rojects and in the a p p ra isa l o f th e com m ercial
v a lu e o f research results.
T he C otton P ro cessin g D iv isio n has fo r its u se an e x p e ri­
m ental cotton tex tile m ill in a part o f on e w in g o f th e m ain
b u ild in g . T h is m ill is 95 feet lo n g and 6 2 feet w id e, o ccu p y ­
in g sp ace on three floors. E ach floor is in d iv id u a lly air-condition ed , so th at a ll co n d itio n s o f tem perature and h u m id ity
that m ay b e fo u n d in actual p ractice can be d u p lica ted in any
section o f the m ill. M odern standard m ach in ery used in a ll
step s o f cotton -fab ric m anufacture, from o p en in g th rou gh
w eavin g, is fo u n d in th is m ill, togeth er w ith the n ecessary
a u x ilia ry eq uip m en t fo r w in d in g and w a rp in g , as is a lso a
testin g laboratory w ith m achines fo r m aking a w id e variety
o f p h y sica l tests on textiles.

Wartime Projects
T h e fo u r region al research lab oratories w ere o r ig in a lly d e­
sig n ed to p la y a p eacetim e ro le. T he outbreak o f w ar in E u­
rope, how ever, ju st at the tim e con stru ction w as b egin n in g ,
and the en try o f th e U n ited States in to the w orld conflict,
w hen op eration s w ere just gettin g under w ay, m ay have p ro ­
fo u n d ly influenced th e w ork o f th ese la b oratories. In ev ita b ly
the research projects undertaken w ere th ose that appeared
m ost urgen t in view o f w artim e n ecessities. In a ll th e la b o ra ­
to r ies, certain aspects o f the research program thus cam e to
b e em phasized, w hereas other asp ects w ere m in im ized or h eld
in abeyance.
M ilitary secrecy prevents any d etailed d escrip tio n o f m uch
o f the w artim e w ork o f the N ew O rlean s lab oratory. S o m e o f
the th in gs that have been attem pted, h ow ever, and som e o f
the resu lts that have been ach ieved are m atters o f p u b lic
k n ow led ge.
T he research o f the S w eetp otato P rod u cts D iv isio n du rin g
th e w ar has been p rim arily directed tow ard th e m anufacture
o f starch from sw eet potatoes. In carryin g on th is work the
S w eetp otato P roducts D iv isio n has h eld the u n iq u e p o sitio n
o f con su ltan t on tech n ical op eration s to th e sw eet potato
starch p lan t o f Sw eetpotato G row ers, Inc., a co-op erative or­
g a n ization , at L aurel, M ississip p i. T h is p lan t has been p ro ­
d u cin g h ig h -q u ality starch, fo r sp ecia l w artim e uses, from a
new high-starch variety o f sw eet potato that w as d ev elo p ed
in co-op eration w ith the L ou isian a A gricu ltu ra l E xperim ent
S tation. It w as also fou n d fe a sib le to m an ufacture starch
fro m sw eet potatoes con ta in in g a h ig h p rop ortion o f P orto
R ico sw eet potato c u lls obtained from a p la n t dehydrating
sw eet p otatoes fo r fo o d use. T he im p roved m ethods o f factory
con trol d evelop ed or adapted by the Southern R eg io n a l R e­
search L aboratory greatly fa cilita ted ad justm ent o f p ro cess­
in g con d ition s to the different grades o f n ew m aterial.
In vestigation s in starch by-products sh ow ed that at the
L aurel factory there w as a p o ssib ility o f recoverin g 6 0 per
cent or m ore o f the sw eet potato p rotein o rd in a rily w asted
in a starch facto ry ’s “ fru it w ater” and u sin g the sugars
fo u n d in that w aste fo r the p rod u ction o f feed yeast. U se o f
the p rotein-recovery p rocess at the L aurel p la n t w ou ld save



fo r A p ril 1945

3 9

d a ily ab ou t a to n o f cru d e p rotein n ow w asted and w ou ld
raise the p rotein con ten t o f sw eet p otato p u lp , th e by-product
feed , from betw een 2 and 4 p er cent to p erh ap s 16 p er cent.
A n a p p lica tio n o f th e yeast-p rod u ction p rocess w o u ld y ie ld
a to n or m ore o f h igh -p ro tein , vitam in -rich fe ed su p plem ent
per day. A lm o st another to n o f y e a st p er d a y c o u ld b e p ro­
duced fro m th e w asted starch ta ilin g s after con cen tration and
con version o f th e starch to sugars.
T h e resu lts o f th e w ork in sw eet p otato starch in the la b o ­
ratory an d at th e L aurel p la n t are n ow in p rocess o f b ein g
tran slated in to a la rge-volu m e, stream lin ed m an u factu ring
op eration at C lew iston , F lo rid a , w here th e U n ited S tates S u ­
gar C orporation is erectin g under W P B au th orization a m ultim illio n -d o lla r starch p lan t. T h is p la n t w ill have a d a ily
cap a city o f ab ou t 2 4 0 ,0 0 0 pou n d s o f fin ish ed starch and an
estim ated a n n u al ou tp u t o f 5 0 to 7 5 m illio n pounds.

Substitute Oils
D u rin g th e w ar th e attention o f th e O il, F at, an d P ro tein D i­
v isio n h as b een directed c h ie fly to the d evelop m en t o f o ils
and fa ts as su b stitu tes fo r th ose fro m w h ich the cou ntry w as
cut off b y th e ex ig en cie s o f w ar. In th is field o f research, a
substitute fo r p a lm o il, an o il that is used e x ten siv ely in the
m anufacture o f tin- and tern e-p late and in th e m ak in g o f
sh eet steel b y th e c o ld reduction p rocess, w as fo u n d in a
p ro p erly h yd rogen ated cottonseed o il. T h is d iscovery has
g iv en the tin and steel in d u stries a “ta ilo r m ade” substitute
o il that is said to su rp ass in som e respects th e o r ig in a l o il
fo rm erly im p orted fro m th e D utch E ast In d ies.
S im ila r ly , fro m pean u t o il w as d erived an o liv e -o il su b ­
stitute fo r u se as a w orsted sp in n in g lu b rican t in th e tex tile
industry. A fter testin g a sa m p le o f th is substitute, the N a ­
tio n a l W o o l M an ufacturers’ A sso cia tio n p ron ou n ced it not
o n ly eq u al but a ctu a lly su p erior to o liv e o il.
From cotton seed o il has a lso been d ev elo p ed a substitute
fo r cocoa butter. T h is su b stitu te can b e u sed b oth in co n fec­
tion ery and ph arm aceu tical products.
In order to r eliev e w artim e sh ortages o f gu m s and other
ad h esives that are su ita b le fo r u se in b ook b in d in g and in
m ak in g gum m ed tap e, gum m ed paper, and set-up b oxes, the
N ew O rlean s lab o ra to ry h as en d eavored to d ev elop such
p rod u cts fro m cotton seed and peanut m eals. R esu lts have
proved that it is p o ssib le to prepare peanut p rotein g lu es o f
g o o d ad h esive q u a lity su ita b le fo r such u ses a s th o se m en­
tion ed . S p ecia l ch aracteristics o f peanut p rotein g lu es, p ar­
ticu la rly their tack in ess and flu id ity at room tem perature,
m ake them su ita b le fo r certain g lu in g op eration s fo r w hich
veg eta b le p rotein s have h ereto fo re b een consid ered un su it­
ab le. S in ce these g lu es b ecom e tacky as so o n as m oistened
and require no h eatin g, th ey can be used in the paper-box and
b o ok b in d in g trades w ith less difficulty than is encountered
w ith certain other ty p es o f g lu e.
E xp erim en ts have a lso b een conducted in the p roduction
o f a te x tile fiber fro m peanut p rotein . Just b efo re the ou t­
break o f th e w ar, a peanut protein fiber w as d ev elop ed in
E n glan d under th e nam e o f A rd il. T h is w as a w o o l-lik e fiber
that seem ed to h o ld great p rom ise as a su b stitu te fo r w o o l,
w h o lly or p a rtly , in th e m an ufacture o f m en’s and w om en’s
c lo th in g . T he exp erim en ts in the Southern lab oratory, h ow ­
ever, have b een d irected tow ard p ro d u cin g a ty p e o f fiber
som ew hat d ifferent from that d evelop ed in E n glan d . It w as
fo u n d that a fiber eq u al to soyb ean and casein fibers, or su ­
p erior to them , co u ld b e produced from peanut p rotein. T he
pressure o f m ore urgent w ar w ork has prevented concentra­

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tio n on th is project. It p rom ises, how ever, to be again a very
fr u itfu l lin e o f in v estig a tio n a fter the war.

Cotton Research
R egard less o f the im p ortan ce o f other com m od ities as o b ­
jects o f in vestigation , cotton an d cotton seed h a v e rem ained
in w ar as in p eace th e m ajor con cern o f the S ou th ern la b o ­
ratory. T he overw h elm in g im p ortan ce o f cotton is in d icated
by the a llo ca tio n o f a p p ro x im a tely 8 0 per cent o f the la b o ­
ratory’s bud get to research in th is field .
O ne o f the ea rliest and m ost ou tstan d in g w artim e p rojects
in the field o f cotton research h as d ea lt w ith the p reservation
o f san dbag, cam ouflage, and other m ilita ry fa b rics ag a in st
dam age b y w eather and m icro-organ ism s. T h is research has
in v o lv ed the d evelop m en t o f new testin g m ethods, exten sive
lab oratory and service tests o f co m m ercial p reservatives, and
the d evelop m en t o f new treatm ents. O ne o f the last, a p rocess
d ev elop ed fo r rotp roofin g cotton g o o d s, h as turned out to be
m ore effective than an y other k now n treatm ent fo r th e sam e
p u rp ose. C loth sa m p les treated b y th is p rocess have retained
m ore than 8 0 per cen t o f th eir strength after h a v in g been
b uried fo r an entire y ear in dam p, w arm so il know n to be
rich in m icro-organ ism s. In contrast, untreated g o o d s rot in
on e w eek.
T h e need fo r cotton fa b rics that are ad eq u ately flamep ro o fed h as b ecom e m ore ap p aren t than ever sin ce the b e­
g in n in g o f the w ar, and a co-ord in ated p rogram o f research
in v o lv in g the efforts o f sev era l ag en cies h a s been conducted
w ith th is n eed in m ind. A lth o u g h effectiv e flam ep roofin g
treatm ents have been a v a ila b le fo r a num ber o f years, they
h ave u su a lly had the d isad van tage o f b ein g e a sily w ashed
out or m ak in g th e fa b ric too stiff and h eavy. R ecent research
at the South ern lab oratory has p rod u ced a treatm ent that p re­
serves the fa b ric’s resistan ce to flam e even after m an y la u n ­
d erin gs yet alters its p h ysica l ch aracteristics o n ly m od erately.
B y th is p ro cess th e flam eproofin g o f outer garm ents has been
m ade m ore practical.
S in ce th e outbreak o f th e p resent w ar, an in crea sin g
am ount o f research has been d irected tow ard im p ro v in g the
w ater resistan ce and w ater-h old in g p rop erties o f fa b rics. A s
a resu lt o f research b y th e S h ir ley In stitu te in E n glan d , b y
the W ar D epartm ent, and b y the Southern lab oratory a new
ty p e o f w ater-rep ellen t fa b ric has been d ev elo p ed . T h is fa b ­
ric is m ade in such a w ay that w hen it is w etted, the fibers
and yarn s sw ell, thus clo s in g the in terstices and m ak in g the
clo th w ater-rep ellent. A s th e fa b ric dries, the p ores op en , p er­
m ittin g it to “ b reathe” free ly . T h is treatm ent h as b een fou n d
u se fu l in the m ak in g o f fire h o se and ten tin g, and it is now
b ein g con sid ered fo r m ilita ry clo th in g . T h e S ou th ern la b o ­
ratory’s p articu lar contribu tion to th is d evelop m en t h a s been
the a p p lica tio n o f a su p p lem en tary sw e lla b le su b stan ce that
furth ers the sw e llin g action and thus m akes the fa b ric ca­
p a b le o f w ith stan d in g h ig h w ater p ressu res such as th o se to
w h ich fire h ose are subjected .
A noth er w artim e d evelop m en t has been that o f a m ach in e
fo r cu ttin g lin t cotton in to len gth s com p arab le to th ose o f
lin ters, the short fu zzy fibers a d h erin g to cotton seed . A t the
b eg in n in g o f the w ar w hen th e cou n try fa ced a sh ortage o f
lin ters fo r m ak ing c e llu lo s e fo r sm o k eless p ow der, it w as
p ro p osed that lin t cotton be u sed as a su p p lem en tary sou rce
o f su p p ly . E x istin g ty p es o f cu ttin g m ach in es, how ever,
proved in ad eq u ate fo r th is p u rp ose. A new h ig h -ca p acity ,
disc-typ e cu ttin g m achine w as th erefore d esign ed and a fu llsized m odel w as b u ilt under a sp ecia l ap p ro p ria tio n from



F e d e ra l R e s e rve

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fo r

A p ril 1945

C ongress. T h rou gh th e co-op eration o f a la rg e p u rifier o f
lin ters th is m a ch in e is n ow b ein g tested , and in a recent trial
run 1 ,2 0 0 p o u n d s o f cotton w ere sa tisfa c to r ily p rocessed to
the p rop er len g th in eig h t m in u tes, or at th e rate o f ap p ro x ­
im a tely 18 b a les an h ou r. T h e in creased tem p o o f th e w ar in
E urope, w ith a con seq u en t in crea se in th e con su m p tion o f
lin ters and the d e c lin e in the su p p ly o f th is raw m aterial, has
g iv en th is m ach in e renew ed im p ortan ce.
A lso d ev elo p ed b y th e S ou th ern la b o ra to ry d u rin g the war
is an im p roved cotton b a n d a g e fa b ric. T h is new fa b ric has
in terestin g and v a lu a b le p ro p erties, in c lu d in g a h ig h degree
o f stretch a b ility that m akes the b an d age p a r tia lly self-fittin g ,
som e e la stic ity that m ak es it se lf-tig h te n in g to a certain de­
gree an d very flex ib le w h en in p la ce , and a rou gh en ed sur­
fa c e that k eep s it fro m slip p in g . A ll th ese p rop erties are re­
tain ed after th e u su a l steriliz a tio n n ecessary fo r products o f
th is k in d . C lin ica l tests h a v e d em onstrated th e advantages o f
th is b an d age in head, knee, arm , an d e lb o w d ressin gs, and
th e lab o ra to ry h a s prod u ced m an y th ou san d s o f yard s o f this
m aterial fo r the arm ed fo rces.
A m o n g other w artim e d ev elo p m en ts in the fie ld o f cotton
research has b een a new p rocess fo r p rep a rin g c e llu lo s e n i­
trate, w h ich is u sed in m a k in g sm o k eless p ow d er. T h is p ro­
cess represents a sa v in g o f on e th ird to on e h a lf the tim e
required b y p resent o p eration s. S till oth ers h a v e b een a res­
in o u s treatm ent that in crea ses b y m a n y tim es th e lif e o f cot­
ton fish n e ts ; a p rocess that b y red u cin g th e in fla m m ab ility o f
cotton h eig h ten s its u tility as an in su la tin g m a teria l; and a
sp ecia l treatm ent fo r cotton thread th at w ill resist deteriora­
tion from the acid presen t in fer tiliz e r b ags.

Tire Cord
T h e m ost im p ortan t cotton u tiliz a tio n p ro ject th u s far d e­
v elo p e d at the S ou th ern R eg io n a l R esearch L aboratory has
b een the tire cord p roject. T h is w as b eg u n sh o rtly after the
outbreak o f th e w ar and fo llo w in g statem ents m ad e in certain
quarters that cotton cord w as n o t as su ita b le as rayon fo r cer­
tain ty p es o f m ilita ry and e ssen tia l c iv ilia n tires. T he o b ­
jectiv e o f th is research h as b een th e d ev elo p m en t o f an
im p roved ty p e o f cord, first, th rou gh the ex p erim en tal se le c ­
tio n o f the b est va rieties o f cotton co m m e rc ia lly a v a ila b le
w ith resp ect to th is u se, and, secon d , th rou gh ch em ical and
m ech an ical treatm ents and ch an ges in cord construction.
M uch o f th is research is b e in g con d u cted w ith the c o ­
o p era tio n o f tire and tire cord m an u factu rers, and it in v o lv es
service tests con d u cted b y, and th rou gh th e co-op eration o f,
the W ar P ro d u ctio n B oard an d th e Office o f th e C h ief o f
O rdnance. S o fa r n o d eta ils o f the resu lts o f these service
tests h ave been relea sed fo r p u b lica tio n . It has b een dem on­
strated, how ever, that tires m ade w ith cord m anufactured
fro m certain v a rieties o f co m m er c ia lly a v a ila b le cotton w ith
w h ich th e Sou th ern R eg io n a l R esearch L ab oratory has been
w ork in g w ill g iv e a p p recia b ly lo n g er serv ice lif e in certain
cla sses o f u se than w ill tires m ade fro m th o se ty p es o f cotton
cord p rod u ced tod ay.
T he rubber em ergen cy that threatened the n a tio n durin g
the e a rly years o f th e w ar led to th e co-o p era tio n o f the
Eastern and Southern la b o ra to ries w ith oth er b u reau s o f the
D ep artm en t o f A g ricu ltu re in an in v estig a tio n o f the p o ssi­
b ilitie s o f reco v erin g rubber fro m d o m e stica lly grow n p lan ts
such as k ok sagh yz, cry p to steg ia , g u a y u le, and g o ld en ro d . E x­
p erim ents in co n n ectio n w ith th e first three w ere carried on at
the E astern la b oratory, w hereas th ose in co n n ection w ith

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g o ld en ro d w ere conducted at th e S ou th ern lab oratory in N ew
O rleans. T he go ld en ro d fo r th is exp erim en t cam e from p la n t­
in g s o n ap p ro x im a tely 6 7 0 acres near W ayn esb oro, G eorgia.
From th e 1 943 crop o f g o ld en ro d m ore than 8 0 0 p o u n d s o f
rubber w ere produced at th e la b oratory. V u lca n iza tes o f this
g o ld en ro d rubber had a h ig h u ltim a te elo n g a tio n , g o o d re­
b ou n d and resilien ce, e x c elle n t resistan ce to a b rasion and
g o o d resistan ce to the deterioration that u su a lly resu lts from
age. G oldenrod rubber w as com p arab le to h evea in low
h y steresis (h ea t b u ild -u p ), and in d ica tio n s w ere th at the
ad d ition o f g old en rod rubber w o u ld m a te ria lly reduce the
h ysteresis o f syn th etic rubber.
O ne o f the larger rubber m an u factu rin g co m p a n ies under­
took a factory p ro cessin g test based u p on the en co u ra g in g re­
su lts o f lab oratory m illin g an d v u lca n izin g exp erim en ts.
M ore than 4 0 p lied -fa b ric b ic y c le tires w ere p rod u ced b y
reg u lar m an u factu rin g op eration s. A w h eel test o n three o f
these gold en rod -ru b b er tires averaged 1 ,3 6 2 m ile s, com pared
to a p p ro x im a tely 7 0 0 m ile s fo r a prew ar hevea-and-reclaim
tire o f sim ila r con struction , and a p p ro x im a tely 4 5 0 m iles
fo r a ll-recla im w artim e tires.
A lth ou gh it h as been dem onstrated th at a g o o d q u a lity o f
rubber can b e m ade from g o ld en ro d on an exp erim en tal
b a sis, it does n ot fo llo w that th e c u ltiv a tio n o f th is p articu lar
so u rce o f rubber w ou ld b e e c o n o m ic a lly ju stifia b le, as a
p ractical m atter, w hen h evea an d sy n th etic rubber w ere a v a il­
a b le at a m uch lo w er cost. S im ila r ly , it m ig h t be ju stifia b le
to cut lin t cotton to lin ter len g th in a w artim e em ergency,
but su ch a p ractice w o u ld sca rcely b e e co n o m ica l under
o rd in ary circum stances.

Economic Aspects of Research
C onsideration s o f th is kind c a ll atten tion to on e fa cto r that
m ust alw a y s b e borne in m in d in th e ap p ra isa l o f a n y re­
search lab oratory’s w ork, n am ely, th e gap that a lw a y s ex ists
betw een w hat is tech n ica lly p o ssib le and w hat is eco n o m ic a lly
fe a sib le . It is easy to b e d azzled b y th e e n d less array o f
p rod u cts that can b e p rodu ced in a lab o ra to ry b y th e m o d i­
fica tion o f th e ch em ical and p h y sica l p rop erties o f alm ost
a n y a g ricu ltu ral raw m aterial. T o ex p ect th ese p roducts to
enter the stream o f com m erce q u ick ly , h ow ever, w o u ld be
q u ite u n fa ir. W hether or n o t e x p erim en ta lly produced
co m m od ities b ecom e co m m ercia lly a v a ila b le d ep en d s to a
la rg e exten t u p on their costs as th ese are related to th e costs
o f com p etin g products. T h e ach ievem en ts o f th e lab oratory
can b e translated in to th e ach ievem en ts o f in d u stry o n ly w hen
the cost o f p rocessin g th e raw m aterial can b e k ep t b elo w
som e a llo w a b le m axim um and w h en an adequate su p p ly o f
raw m aterial, produ ced at su fficien tly lo w cost, is a v a ila b le
fro m th e farm .
C ost p rob lem s o f th e first sort tend to find a so lu tio n in the
S ou th ern lab oratory’s p ilo t p la n t and te x tile m ill as w e ll as
in the p lan ts o f co-op eratin g in d u stries. T here the tech n ical
p rob lem s o f p rodu ction on a sem icom m ercial sca le can be
w orked out, cost data accu m u lated , and cost-savin g p ractices
d ev elop ed and evalu ated . A n o p p o rtu n ity a lso ex ists fo r
affectin g raw -m aterial costs th rou gh the c lo se lia iso n o f the
lab oratory w ith the reg io n ’s state exp erim en t station s, w hose
rep resentatives m eet a n n u a lly at th e lab oratory fo r c o n su l­
tation. O n ly as the cost pro b lem s at th e a g ricu ltu ra l end, as
w e ll as at th e in dustrial end, o f th e seq u en ce find so lu tio n s
can the labo ratory m ake its fu ll co n trib u tion to th e econ om y



fo r A p ril 1945

4 1

o f the region . E ven th ou gh p rogress in th is d irection is slow
and u n sp ectacu lar, that con trib u tion is fu n d am en tal.
O ne o f th e fu n d am en tal ch aracteristics o f agricu ltural
com m od ities that are raised p rim a rily fo r fo o d , feed , and
fiber is that la rg e varia tio n s in p rice are accom p anied b y
r ela tiv e ly sm a ll ch an ges in the q u an tity that th e m arket w ill
absorb. M ore cotton, fo r e x a m p le, w ill o f cou rse be absorbed
at a lo w p rice than at a h ig h p rice, but p erh ap s n ot m uch
m ore. It is q uite p o ssib le , th erefore, that a la rg e su p p ly o f
such a com m od ity w ill b rin g th e p roducers as a group a
sm a ller total am ount o f m on ey than w o u ld a sm a ller su p p ly.
In th e case o f in d u stria l products such a rela tio n betw een
p rice and th e q u an tity that the m arket w ill absorb is not
n ea rly so com m on. A sm a ll v a riation in the p rice o f these
p roducts is freq u en tly a cco m p lish ed b y la rg e in verse d if­
feren ces in th e q u an tity that can be so ld . U n d er such circum ­
stances a larger q u an tity w o u ld se ll fo r a larger total am ount
o f m on ey than w o u ld a sm a ller quantity. In sofar, th erefore,
as the Southern R eg io n a l R esearch L aboratory su c cessfu lly
d ev elo p s in d u stria l u ses fo r Southern farm com m odities, it
ten d s to rem ove them from a less fa v o ra b le to a m ore
fa v o ra b le price-q u an tity rela tio n sh ip . In d o in g th is, it w ou ld
sp are the farm er the w id e fluctuations in price that o rd in arily
accom p an y sm a ll varia tio n s in su p p ly . F urtherm ore, farm ers
as a w h o le w o u ld be benefited rather than in ju red b y an
abundant su p p ly .
T h e research w ork o f the Southern R eg io n a l R esearch
L aboratory is a ls o o f fu n d am en tal long-run im p ortance to
in d u stry as w e ll as to agricu ltu re. T he grow th and progress
o f in d u stry dep en d s to a la rg e exten t u p on an ex p a n d in g field
o f new in d u stria l o p p o rtu n ities that can absorb in v estib le
ca p ita l and e m p lo y a v a ila b le w orkers. T h e d evelop m en t o f
new products and the im p rovem en t and m od ification o f o ld
products, as the resu lt o f scien tific research, open up pre­
c ise ly th e k in d o f o p p o rtu n ities that b u sin ess requires fo r
h ea lth y and v ig o ro u s su rvival. T h e fu tu re sh ap e o f Southern
a gricu ltu re and in d u stry m ay th erefore d epend to a large e x ­
tent u p on the p atien t w ork o f scien tists in such in stitu tion s as
the Southern R eg io n a l R esearch L aboratory.
E arle L. R auber .

R e c o n n a is s a n c e
Sixth District Statistics for March 1945compared with March 1944
PER CENT DECREASE ^ PEB CENT INCREASE

Department IIIM lIllillllM I
DepartmeHiil Store Stocks
Furniture Sales
.. ..................................................................
G asoline T a S ltlle c tio n s
Cotton Consumption
Bank i l H
Member ]|ank Loans
Member B^ k
Demand D e p f l i i i l i i l
—
40

+

30

20

10

0

10

20

30

40

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fo r A p ril 1945

The District Business Situation
h e u s u a l b u siness in d icators as y et g iv e no sig n s that
b u sin ess activity w ith in the S ix th D istrict is ap p ro a ch in g
a clim a x as the w ar in E urope nears its end. D epartm ent store
sa les contin ue to reach new h ig h s in d o lla r v o lu m e over the
p reviou s year. F urniture sa le s and life in su ran ce sa les also
find new h igh s in d o lla r volu m e. E ven con stru ction contracts
and con su m p tion o f cotton w ere h igh er in the D istrict fo r the
m onth o f M arch than th ey w ere fo r M arch o f la st year. L um ­
ber p rodu ction has im p roved , and ab ou t the o n ly current in ­
dex that has show n a dow nw ard trend is that o f co a l p ro d u c­
tion, but in th is in stan ce the red u ction is p rim a rily the resu lt
o f lab or d isp u tes rather than an u n d erly in g sla ck en in g in
dem and.

T

Shipbuilding Cutbacks
T o a very con sid erab le exten t th e current b u sin ess in d icators
reflect in d u strial and consum er dem ands that have been g en er­
ated b y the overw h elm in g requirem ents o f th e w ar. M ajor,
even th ou gh tem porary, reversals in the upw ard trends o f
m ost o f these b u sin ess in d ex es are certain to occu r w ith the
term in ation or ca n cella tio n o f w ar contracts. B ecause o f its
h eavy d ependen ce u p on sh ip b u ild in g a ctiv ities, the S ix th D is ­
trict e sp e c ia lly is v u ln era b le to term in ation s and c a n c e lla ­
tion s. D istrict sh ip yard s are n ow em p lo y in g som ew here
around 1 5 0 ,0 0 0 w orkers. E ven a llo w in g fo r service and re­
p air w ork it is p ro b a b le that th is num ber o f sh ip y a rd w orkers
w ill have been reduced b y on e h a lf b y th e end o f th e year.
A s revealed b y a gen eral roundup o f press n o tices, the p ro s­
p ects o f con tin u an ce o f current in co m e and em p lo y m en t le v els
are fa v o ra b le in som e o f the sh ip b u ild in g centers and u n ­
fa v o ra b le in others. B arring the aw ard in g o f new contracts, a
c on tin gen cy that seem s u n lik e ly at present, th e g ia n t D elta
S h ip b u ild in g p lan t at N ew O rlean s w ill co m p lete its contracts
b y late sum m er. A s th e com p an y is n ow e m p lo y in g som e
1 1 ,0 0 0 w orkers, the c lo sin g o f thfe p la n t m igh t o rd in a rily be
exp ected to create a serio u s u n em p lo y m en t situ ation fo r N ew
O rleans, but there are r e lie v in g factors. In com m on w ith other
w ar centers, N ew O rlean s has an acute h o u sin g sh ortage and in
g en eral suffers from w artim e b oom co n d itio n s. S o m e re­
d u ction in sh ip yard em p lo y m en t w o u ld no doubt be w e l­
com ed, and it w o u ld seem that in the c ity ’s p resent over­
exten ded situ ation D e lta ’s w orkers co u ld b e rea d ily absorbed,
fo r th ey num ber n ot m ore than 10 per cent o f the w orkers
now em p lo y ed in the N ew O rleans area.
O w ing a la rg e part o f its current p ro sp erity to its sh ip ­
b u ild in g activities, T am p a m ust ex p ect even tu al sharp co n ­
traction. T h e T am pa S h ip b u ild in g C om pany, w h ich em p lo y s
about 1 0 ,0 0 0 w orkers, has b een w ork in g on n aval contracts
and p ro b a b ly w ill con tin u e its o p era tio n s on about the
present sca le u n til som e tim e n ex t year. M cC losk ey and C om ­
p any, how ever, is sch ed u led to co m p lete its M aritim e C om ­
m issio n contract fo r steel cargo v e sse ls b y the m id d le o f the
year and thu s w ill relea se m ore than 4 ,0 0 0 w orkers u n less
n ew contracts fo r repair or b u ild in g are obtained.
T he M o b ile area m a y a lso ex p ect e a r ly readjustm ents.
L ocated in th is area are the g ia n t yard s o f th e A lab am a D r y ­
d ock and S h ip b u ild in g C om pany, the G u lf S h ip b u ild in g C or­
poration, and the In g a lls S h ip b u ild in g C orporation. A lab am a
D rydock in recent m onths h as a lrea d y sh a rp ly reduced its



w ork in g fo rce, and th e fe a r o f con tin u ed red u ctions has
co m p lica te d the p ro b lem o f m a in ta in in g an adequate staff in
the other yards. On A p ril 2 1 , th e M aritim e C om m ission can­
celed contracts fo r five tankers that w ere to h a v e been con ­
structed b y th e com p an y. W ith a n ew contract fo r seven
1 8 ,000-ton a ll-w eld ed cargo sh ip s and fo r th ree la rg e dredges,
In g a lls is ap p a ren tly assu red o f fu ll op era tio n fo r the re­
m ain d er o f the y ear, an d G u lf p ro m ises to o p erate at its
p resent sca le fo r som e w eek s ahead.
Savan n ah and B ru n sw ick h ave a lrea d y ex p erie n ced sharp
red u ction s in sh ip y a rd em p lo y m en t, and ap p a ren tly th ey m ay
ex p ect ad d itio n a l red u ction s in e n su in g m onths. H a v in g but
recen tly started on a n ew contract fo r 2 5 la rg e m otor sh ip s,
the J. A . Jon es C onstruction C om p an y o f B ru n sw ick is assured
o f op era tio n s fo r som e m on th s b u t at a reduced sca le. T he
S ou th eastern S h ip b u ild in g C orp oration o f Savannah h as been
red u cin g its w ork in g fo rce fo r som e tim e, p a rticu la rly sin ce
the la u n ch in g in la te M arch o f th e la st o f 2 5 m in e sw eepers
b u ilt fo r th e N a v y .
T h e yards at J a ck so n v ille and P an am a C ity a lso are e x ­
p ected to con trib u te to a la b o r su rp lu s as con tracts fo r cargo
v essels are co m p leted . H a v in g co m p leted con tracts fo r 82
L ib erty sh ip s, the St. Joh n s R iver S h ip b u ild in g C orporation
o f J a ck so n v ille is cu rren tly w o rk in g on a contract fo r 12
tankers. T he W ain w righ t yard at P an am a C ity w ill com p lete
its contracts b y ea rly f a ll, a co n tin g en cy that w ill severely
affect th e lo ca l la b o r m arket, fo r th e y a rd s e m p lo y about 80
per cent o f th e w orkers in the area.
T h e end o f th e w ar in E u rop e, in a d d itio n to cu rtailin g
sh ip b u ild in g a ctiv ities, is certain to resu lt in a sub stan tial
term in ation and ca n cella tio n o f oth er w ar contracts. In sp ite
o f th e o v erw h elm in g m ilita r y su ccesses th at h ave been
ach ieved in E u rop e in recent w eeks, w ar-contract ca n c e lla ­
tio n s in th e reg io n have so fa r b een v ery m in or in character.
C ontracts o f th e H ig g in s P la stic s C orp oration o f N ew O rleans
and the J. A . Jon es C onstruction C om p an y o f S heffield, A la ­
bam a, fo r the fo r g in g and m a ch in in g o f 105-m m . sh e lls w ere
can celed , as w as a contract o f th e R heem M an ufacturing
C om p an y at B irm in gh am fo r 75-m m . sh e ll fo r g in g s.
In contrast to th e few ca n c ella tio n s w ere th e p u b lic an­
n ou n cem en ts d u rin g A p ril o f new w ar-contract aw ards. T he
R ust E n g in eerin g C om pany o f B irm in gh am and P ittsburgh
w as aw arded con tracts fo r th e d esig n and erection o f sh ell
p la n ts at E n sley and S h effield. A ir P rod u cts, In c., at Chatta­
n o o g a is cu rren tly co n sid erin g a $ 5 0 0 ,0 0 0 e x p a n sion p ro ­
gram , and th e A rm stron g T ire and R ubber C om pany at '
N atch ez, M ississip p i, is a d v ertisin g contracts fo r b u ild in g s
that w ill cost a p p ro x im a tely $ 1 ,5 0 0 ,0 0 0 .

Prospective Plantings
It seem s p ro b a b le th at i f S ix th D istrict farm ers carry out
th eir M arch p la n s the to tal acrea g e p la n ted in th e m ore im ­
p ortant crop s th is year w ill be sm a lle r th an la st year’s
a creage b y a little le ss than 3 p er cent. T h e rep ort on p ros­
p ective p la n tin g s is prepared each year b y th e U n ited States
D ep artm en t o f A g ricu ltu re to a ssist grow ers g e n e r a lly in
m ak in g such ch a n g es in th eir a creage p la n s as m ay appear
to b e d esira b le. C otton is n o t in clu d ed b ecau se o f a le g is ­
la tiv e p ro h ib itio n .

M

o n t h l y

R e v ie w

o f

th e

F e d e ra l R e s e rve

B a n k

o f A tla n ta

Nationally the report indicates that a near-record acreage
of principal crops, about equal to the total acreage grown
last year, is to be expected this year if the weather permits
farmers to carry out their plans.
Plans reported in March for the six states that are situated
wholly or partly within the Sixth Federal Reserve District
indicate a prospective increase of 16 per cent in oats, an in­
crease of 19 per cent in barley, and increases of 5 per cent in
tobacco and something less than 1 per cent in tame hay. On
the other hand, farmers planned to reduce their plantings of
potatoes by 14 per cent, sweet potatoes 7 per cent, soybeans
11 per cent, com 6 per cent, and peanuts 5 per cent. A de­
crease of 1 per cent also appears probable in the Louisiana
rice acreage.
In Alabama, if farmers carry out their March 1 intentions,
there will be an increase of 10 per cent in the acreage in
oats, which will mean the largest such acreage since 1916,
but there will be reductions in other principal crops. In
Florida the prospective acreages in peanuts, tobacco, and
tame hay will be the same that they were in 1944, with in­
creases of 1 per cent in com, 4 per cent in potatoes, and 41
per cent in oats and a reduction of 5 per cent in sweet po­
tatoes. Georgia farmers planned to plant larger acreages this
year in oats and barley, to make no change in the acreages
for tobacco and tame hay, and to decrease other crops.
Louisiana prospects are for larger acreages of oats, sweet
potatoes, and hay but smaller plantings of corn, rice, Irish
potatoes, soybeans, cowpeas, and peanuts.
Mississippi fanners planned larger acreages in oats and
barley but reductions of 10 per cent in com and 15 per cent
in soybeans, peanuts, Irish and sweet potatoes. They made
plans for the same acreage in tame hay that they had last
year. In Tennessee reductions of 5 per cent in com, 7 per
cent in Irish potatoes, and 14 per cent in sweet potatoes are
in prospect. The acreages in soybeans and peanuts are ex­
pected to be the same as those of last year, and intentions
called for increases of 18 per cent in tame hay, 11 per cent
in tobacco, and 15 per cent in oats and barley.
In most parts of the District farm work is well advanced.
Temperatures during 9II of March and April, except for a
few days early in the month, have been well above normal. In
some localities work has been interrupted by rainfall, but in
central and southern Georgia more rain is badly needed, and
in Florida the February-March drought has continued into
April. Citrus groves are suffering from lack of moisture
where irrigation facilities are not available— leaves are curl­
ing, fruit is getting soft, and newly set fruit is dropping.
Yield prospects for spring vegetables on unirrigated land
are considerably under normal, and dry weather is interfer­
ing with the setting of tobacco and seeding of peanuts.
In the 10 Southern, early peach states the bloom was on an
average two or three weeks earlier than usual and the set of
fruit has been exceptionally heavy. Frost damage in the early
April cold spell was light. The light winter rainfall, how­
ever, is giving growers concern, and continued below-normal
precipitation would probably result in smaller sizes.

Cosh Income from Marketings
In January farmers in the six states of this District received
161 million dollars for the crops, livestock, and livestock
products marketed in that month. This total represents a re­
duction of 14 per cent from the December figure, a decline




fo r A p ril 1945

4 3

S ix th D is t r ic t S ta t is t ic s

INSTALMENT CASH LOANS
Number
Per Cent Change
oi
Feb. 1945 to Mar. 1945
Lender
Lenders
Volume
Outstandings
Reporting
Federal credit Unions................
44
+ 20
+ 1
State credit unions...................
25
— 1
+ 33
Industrial banking companies.....
10
— 5
+ 4
Personal finance companies.......
+ 26
— 0
60
Commercial h«nlrs
.........
34
+ 27
+ 7
Industrial loan companies..........
— 14
16
+ 38
WHOLESALE SALES AMD INVENTORIES* — MARCH 1945
INVENTORIES
SALES
No. of Per Cent Change No. of Per Cent Change
Firms March 1945from Firms March 1945from
Item
Report­ Feb.
Feb.
Mar.
Mar. Report­
ing
ing
1945
1944
1945
1944
Automotive supplies. 10
+ 23
8
+ 12 + 33
+ 6
Clothing and
fumisnings..........
3
+ 14 — 7
Drugs and sundries.. 6
+ 12
+ 6
Dry goods.............. 13
— 15 — 16
6
+ 6 — 28
Electrical goods.....
3
— 4 + 9
Fresh fruits and
vegetables.....
7
+ 17
Farm supplies........
3
+ 8
+ 17
Confectionery........
6
+ 7 — 23
Groceries—full line
wholesalers........
33
— 5 — 16
15
+ 11 — 7
Groceries—specialty
— 2
line wholesalers..
11
6
+ 5
+ 12 + 3
— 3
Hardware—general.. 11
5
+ 3
+ 13 + 1
Hardware—industrial
5
+
2
1
+ 15
Paper and its
3
products............
+ 13 — 11
Tobacco and its
4
— 12 — 22
9
products.............
+ 9 — 26
14
15
— 0 — 20
Miscellaneous........
+ 5 — 5
59
— 2 — 14
TOTAL............ 137
+ 7 — 5
*Based on U. S. Department of Commerce figures
RETAIL FURNITURE STORE OPERATIONS
Number
Per Cent Change
of
March 1945from
Item
Stores
Mar. 1944
Reporting Feb. 1945
+ 22
+ 23
107
+ 39
+ 26
96
Instalment and other credit sales..
+ 23
+ 21
96
— 2
Accounts receivable, end of month
104
+ 11
104
Collections during mqnth...........
+ 8
+
82
+ 6
Inventories, end ol month...........
+ 9
CONDITION OF 20 MEMBER BANKS IN SELECTED CITIES
(In Thousands of Dollars)
Per Cent Change
April 18 March 21 April 19 Apr. 18.1945. from
Item
1944 Mar. 21 Apr. 19
1945
1945
1945
1944
Loans and Investments—
1,821,206 1,826,669 1,531,175 — 0
+ 19
Loans—total................... 322,185 326,982 302,888 — 1 + 6
Commercial, industrial,
and agricultural loans.. 186,657 188,663 181,936 — 1 + 3
Loans to brokers and
6,556
6,335 + 18 + 22
7,759
dealers in securities__
Other loans for pur­
chasing and carrying
36,308 40,343 23,812 — 10 + 52
securities..................
25,917 24,004 27,505
Real estate loans...........
— 6
1,623
1,163
2,403 + 40 — 32
Loans to banks..............
63,921 66,253 60,897 — 4 + 5
Other loans..................
Investments—total........... 1,499,021 1,499,687 1,228,287 — 0 + 22
U. S. direct obligations... 1,362,916 1,363,862 1,093,007 — 0
+ 25
Obligations guaranteed
6,192 25,420
6,192
0 — 76
byTJ. S....................
Other securities............ 129,913 129,633 109,860 + o + 18
Reserve with F. R. Bank__ 346,596 336,698 296,727 + 3
+ 17
28,349 29,636 25,444 — 4 + 11
Cash in vault..................
Balances with domestic
148,059 149,705 157,828 — 1 — 6
Demand deposits—adjusted 1,229,632 1,193,369 1,032,354 + 3 + 19
4*' 35 ■
Time deposits.................. 357,014 348,359 264,697 + 2
U. S. Gov't deposits.......... 146,805 195,044 184,020 — 25 — 20
Deposits of domestic banks. 505,977 501,354 434,262 + 1 + 17
Borrowings... ..........

4 4

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n o t m uch m ore than h a lf that at th e sam e tim e a year ago,
and an in crease o f 4 per cent over the total fo r January 1 944.
In F lo rid a in com e from crop m ark etin gs in creased 15 per
cent fro m D ecem ber to January b ecau se o f in creased re­
c eip ts fro m oranges, and there w as a sm a ll g a in in M issis­
sip p i. R eceip ts fro m m arketings o f liv esto ck and liv esto ck
p roducts increased som ew h at in G eorgia and L o u isia n a , but
these g a in s w ere m ore than offset b y decreases in th e other
fo u r states.
Janu ary receipts from crop m arketings in th e six states
th is year totaled 118 m illio n d o lla r s and w ere 13 p er cent
greater than th ose o f January 1 9 4 4 , but receip ts from liv e ­
stock and livestock produ cts am ounted to slig h tly less than
4 3 m illio n d o lla rs and w ere 13 per cent sm a ller than th ey
w ere a y ear a g o . R eceip ts fro m liv esto ck and liv esto ck
p roducts w ere sm a ller in January th is year in a ll th e S ix
States. T h ou gh receip ts fro m crop s w ere sm a ller in A lab am a
and G eorgia, there w ere in creases o f 4 per cent in L ou isian a,
17 per cent in F lo rid a , 2 7 p er cen t in T en n essee, and 4 7 per
cent in M ississip p i.

Industrial Production
L um ber p rod u ction in the eastern part o f th e D istrict has im ­
p roved som ew hat in recent w eeks as a resu lt o f m ore fa v o r­
a b le w eather co n d itio n s, a lth o u g h the m ills and lo g g in g
cam ps are still h an d icap p ed b y la b o r sh ortages and diffi­
cu lties in o b tain in g tires and parts, p a rticu la rly fo r h eavy
trucks. In the low er M ississip p i v a lle y , how ever, m ost o f the
lo g g in g op eration s have been stop p ed b y flood w aters in the
M ississip p i and its trib u taries. P a rtic u la rly th e Red and
O uachita R ivers in L ou isia n a have flooded m an y th ou san ds
o f acres. In the second w eek o f A p ril it w as estim ated that
a lm ost 4 0 th ousan d fa m ilie s had b een rem oved and that co n ­
sid era b ly m ore than 6 0 th ou san d fa m ilie s in the state had
b een affected in on e w ay or an oth er b y th e flood. B oth p in e
an d hard w ood lu m b er con tin u e in stron g dem and, w ith
governm en tal agen cies tak in g ab ou t 9 0 per cent o f to tal ou t­
put and lea v in g very little fo r retail yards.
C onstruction contracts aw arded in th e S ix th D istrict dur­
in g M arch am ounted to alm o st 3 4 .5 m illio n d o lla r s, a total
ab ou t 2 0 m illio n d o lla r s greater than th e sm a ll am ount
reported fo r F ebruary and about 14 m illio n d o lla r s larger
than the total fo r M arch o f la st year. It w as th e largest figure
reported fo r an y m onth in ab ou t a year and a h a lf. T here
w ere h igh in creases in A lab am a and L ou isian a, a sm a ll g ain
in T ennessee, and decreases in F lo rid a , G eorgia, and M issis­
sip p i.
C onsum ption o f cotton in M arch b y te x tile m ills in A la ­
b am a, G eorgia, and T en n essee— 3 0 8 .5 th ou san d b a les— in ­
creased over that in other recent m onths and w as th e largest
in alm ost tw o years. T he in creases over the to ta ls fo r F eb ­
ruary and January, h ow ever, w ere o w in g to the greater n u m ­
ber o f b u sin ess d ays in M arch, and a ctu a lly the d a ily rate o f
con su m p tion w as slig h tly lo w er than it w as in th o se m onths.
C oal outp u t in A lab am a, at 1 ,6 9 7 ,0 0 0 net ton s, and
T enn essee, at 6 2 0 ,0 0 0 net ton s, w as slig h tly h ig h er on a d a ily
average b asis in M arch than it w as in F ebruary, but it w as 8
p er cent b elo w the rate in M arch la st year. In A p r il, h o w ­
ever, a reduction in ou tpu t resu ltin g fro m th e strik e at som e
o f th e com p an y m in es h as se r io u sly affected th e area’s in ­
d u strial op eration s. S teel m ill a c tiv ity in the B irm ingham G adsden area w as reported b y th e Iron Age as h a v in g been
at 9 9 .0 per cent o f ca p a city sin ce th e third w eek in F ebruary.



th e

F e d e ra l R e s e rve

B a n k

o f A t la n t a

fo r A p ril 1945

F or th e w eek en d ed A p r il 10, h ow ever, th e rate d ropp ed to
7 9 .0 p er cent, an d fo r the fo llo w in g w eek it w as reported as
7 5 .0 per cent. A report in the p ress on A p r il 14 in d icated that
th e area h ad lo st six b la st fu r n a ces an d th ree o p en hearth
fu rn aces.

Retail Trade
It seem s p ro b a b le, on the b a sis o f rep orts subm itted fo r the
first tw o w eek s in A p r il b y a p p r o x im a te ly 3 0 departm ent
stores in the la rg er c ities o f th e D istrict, that w hen figures
fo r th e fu ll m onth are receiv ed fro m th e 8 5 stores that re­
p ort on a m o n th ly b a sis th ey w ill d isc lo se a d e clin e from the
h ig h le v e l o f sa les in F eb ru ary an d M arch. A lth o u g h sales
m ade d u rin g th e seco n d w eek o f A p r il th is y ea r w ere 5 per
cent greater than th ey w ere d u rin g th e sam e w eek a year ago,
sa le s in the first w eek w ere 11 p er cent le ss than th ey w ere in
th e co rresp o n d in g w eek la st year. T h e d rop w as to be e x ­
p ected sin ce the en tire v o lu m e o f E aster b u y in g fe ll in M arch
o f th is y ear, w hereas la st A p r il seven b u sin ess d ays, tw o o f
them Satu rd ays, preced ed E aster S u n d ay. A n oth er reason
fo r a d rop in A p r il sa le s w as that M arch th is year w as d efi­
n ite ly th e first m onth o f sp r in g rather th an th e la st m onth
o f w inter. U n se a so n a b ly h ig h tem p eratu res ad van ced sp rin g
b u y in g several w eeks at least.
In M arch the 8 5 rep o rtin g d ep artm ent stores so ld 33 per
cent m ore g o o d s in actu al d o lla r v o lu m e than th e y so ld in
F eb ru ary. B ecau se M arch h ad th ree m o re b u sin ess d ays than
F ebruary, h ow ever, th e u n ad ju sted in d ex o f d a ily average
sa le s advanced o n ly 2 0 p er cent. M arch v o lu m e th is y ear w as
2 7 per cent greater than it w as in 1 9 4 4 . In th e first quarter o f
1 945 to tal sa le s m ade b y th ese 8 5 rep o rtin g stores averaged
2 2 per cent greater than th o se m ad e in th e corresp on d in g
p eriod o f 1 9 4 4 . T h e la rg est in crea se, 3 7 p er cen t, w as re­
ported b y A u gu sta stores. M o n tg o m ery rep orted an increase
o f 3 6 per cent, and A tla n ta on e o f 3 0 p er cent. A lth o u g h in ­
creases o f betw een 2 0 and 3 0 per cent w ere reported by
M acon, K n o x v ille , C hattanooga, J a ck so n v ille, Jack son, N a sh ­
v ille , and B aton R ou ge, g a in s o f less than 2 0 p er cent w ere
realized at B irm in gh am , N ew O rlean s, T am p a, M ob ile, and
M iam i and at p o in ts w ith few er th an th ree rep ortin g firm s,
w h ich are grou p ed u nder th e h ead “ O ther C ities.” A c­
c o m p a n y in g th e in creased sa le s in M arch w ere im p rove­
m ents in c o lle c tio n s ag a in st both reg u la r and in sta lm en t ac­
counts.
M arch departm ent store in v en to ries in creased 3 per cent
over the F eb ru ary in v en to ries but d ro p p ed 2 per cent b elow
figures fo r M arch o f la st year. T h o u g h stocks in creased in
M arch at A tlan ta, B irm in gh am , M acon , and M ontgom ery,
th ey d eclin ed at N ew O rlean s and N a sh v ille . A t th e en d o f
M arch th is year A tla n ta stores h ad stock s 13 p er cent larger
than th o se th ey had a y ea r ago. D ecrea ses, how ever, w ere
reported b y other cities.
In sp ite o f g a so lin e and ta x ra tio n in g , g a so lin e sa les co n ­
tin u e to su rp ass the c o lle c tio n s o f th e e a rlier w ar years. W ith
no ch an ge in rates, tax c o lle c tio n s fo r M arch o f th is year in
the six states o f the D istrict w ere 8 8 ,5 4 0 ,5 5 9 as com pared
w ith $ 8 ,1 2 1 ,2 2 7 fo r M arch o f la st y ea r an d $ 7 ,4 8 3 ,0 4 2 fo r
M arch o f 1 9 4 3 . E xp ressed in m illio n s o f d o lla r s, M arch c o l­
lectio n s on F eb ru ary sa les in th e S ix States w ere as fo llo w s:
A lab am a, 1 .2 ; F lo rid a , 1 .9 ; G eorgia, 1 .6 ; L o u isian a, 1 .3 ;
M ississip p i, 0 .8 ; and T en n essee, 1 .8 . A ll o f th ese states im ­
p o se a tax o f six cen ts a g a llo n w ith th e e x cep tio n o f F lo rid a
w h ich le v ie s a tax o f seven cents.