Full text of Economic Review (Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta) : January 31, 1946, Volume 31, Number 1

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Atlanta, Georgia, January 31, 1946

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Econom ic A p p raisal o f the P ostw ar South
the Sixth D istrict as for the nation as a whole the year
just past was one of outstanding moment. Seldom has any
year in the nation’s history seen events of such far-reaching significance as those that occurred in 1945. Seldom has
any year so obviously m arked the end of one era and the be­
ginning of another.
The opening months found the economic life of the United
States geared to all-out participation in a global w ar of un­
exampled scope and destructiveness. The more-than-four years
of mobilization of men and m aterials, of factories and farm s,
of transportation facilities and financial m achinery reached a
peak early in 1945. Beyond lay the prospect of two or more
years of w ar that would continue to consume the labor of
men and the products of hum an industry on a gigantic scale.
Although civilians were experiencing many unfam iliar
shortages in consumers’ goods the total industrial output of
the country in January 1945 was 234 percent of what it had
been in the period 1935-39. In spite of the diversion of almost
12 m illion young men and women from peacetime pursuits to
the armed forces, factory employment in that month was 62.9
percent higher than it had been in 1935-39. Income payments
in January were 241.9 percent of what they had been in the
earlier period, and the various control agencies of the Gov­
ernment were battling to hold the line against inflation as a
rising flood of money confronted a short supply of consumers’
goods in the market. The success of these efforts is reflected
in the fact that wholesale prices in January 1945 were only
30.0 percent and the cost of living was only 27.1 percent
above the 1935-39 level. D epartm ent store sales in January
1945 were 97 percent higher than those in the period 1935-39.
A griculture, like industry, was straining all its resources
to satisfy the w ar demand for food, fiber, and technical crops.
It was doing this in the face of a serious shortage of farm
labor and of a dearth of machinery. The result of the efforts
put forth by American farm ers was an increase in agri­
cultural output of approxim ately a th ird during the war.
Increased output from farm s and higher prices spelled a
greater degree of financial prosperity for American ag ri­
culture than had ever existed in the past. Cash receipts from
farm m arketings in 1945 were 256 percent of what they had
been in the period 1935-39. Farm real-estate m ortgage debt
had declined 20 percent between January 1, 1940, and Janu­
ary 1, 1945. Bank deposits and currency held by farm ers in ­
creased 188 percent, and total farm assets, tangible and in­
tangible, increased 69 percent during the same period.
In no region did the total m obilization of the nation’s
economy for war produce changes of greater significance than
those it brought about in the Sixth D istrict. This D istrict lies
largely in that p art of the country which had won fo r itself

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the reputation of being the nation’s No. 1 economic problem .
The Southern problem consisted in too great a dependence
upon an increasingly unprofitable type of agriculture and a
degree of industrialization that was not commensurate with
the region’s resources.
Under the impetus of war the South had suddenly thrust
upon it a huge industrial structure that might otherwise have
taken decades to achieve. Great shipyards sprang up in New
Orleans, the Gulfport-Biloxi area, at Pascagoula, Mobile,
Panam a City, Tampa, Miami, Savannah, and Brunswick. A ir­
craft plants sprawled over m illions of square feet in M arietta
and Macon, G eorgia; Birmingham, A labam a; Miami, F lorida;
Nashville, Tennessee; and elsewhere in the region. A huge
new alum inum industry arose at Lister H ill, Alabama.
Ordnance plants employing thousands of workers sprang up
in many cities that had possessed little industrial plant in the
past. In Tennessee and Louisiana chemical plants were ex­
panded and new ones constructed.
To man the new industrial installations hundreds of
thousands of men and women who had never had industrial
employment were trained in the necessary skills. The exi­
gencies of war created in a short span of time a body of
skilled workers in a part of the country where there had
always been a deficiency in this factor.
The South prospered not only through the addition of new
plants to its industrial structure; it profited also through the
invigorating effect of war orders placed with its older in­
dustries. Since these industries were ham pered often by
shortages of labor and of machinery replacements, and some­
times by shortages of raw m aterials, they were forced to
strain all available resources in their effort to meet the de­
mands that war was making upon them.
The South, therefore, in January 1945 was no longer the
nation’s No. 1 economic problem . It had become a mighty
source of national economic strength.
A lthough the beginning of the year found the Sixth District
along with the rest of the nation mobilized for the prosecu­
tion of a w ar that gave little promise of ending for years,
dram atic events were im pending. At 11:01 a.m. on May 8 the
signing of the German surrender brought to an end the Euro­
pean phase of the war. On August 6 the first atomic bomb of
the war fell with devastating force on Hiroshim a, and on Au­
gust 11 the second dropped on Nagasaki. Swiftly in the wake
pf these bombings came the Japanese offer to surrender and
the proclam ation of V-J Day on September 2.
The end of the Pacific phase of the war hurtled the nation
into the postwar period about which men had talked and
written for many months but for which there had been little
concrete preparation. W ar orders were quickly canceled. The

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index of physical volum e of production, which had stood at
234 in January, fell to 163 in October. As shipyards, aircraft
factories, and ordnance and m unitions works slowed to a
virtual halt m illions of w ar workers drifted out of them to
seek employment elsewhere or to sit idly by w aiting for some­
thing to happen in the then silent w ar plants. The index of
factory employment fell from 162.9 in January to 120.9 in
October. The ranks of job seekers were furth er augmented by
streams of demobilized veteran^ pouring back into over­
crowded cities from all the battlefields of the w orld.
Declining factory em ploym ent was, of course, accompanied
by declining pay ro lls and declining income paym ents in
general. The index of factory pay rolls that had stood at
335.2 in January fell to 215.7 in September, and the index
o f income paym ents that had been at 241.9 in January fell to
232.3 in October.
Despite the declines in factory pay rolls and income pay­
ments, departm ent store sales increased in d o llar volume, the
index rising from 197 in Jan u ary to 213 in October. In part
this increase in departm ent store sales resulted from the
spending of a Larger proportion of current earnings; w ith­
draw als of cash savings; and the proceeds of redeemed war
bonds fo r a somewhat larg er supply of civilian commodities.
In part, too, it was the result of gradually increasing prices.
The cost of living index which had been 127.1 in January
crept up to the high point fo r the year in July, 129.4. A l­
though it receded somewhat in later months to a level of
128.9 in October, the general level fo r the year was noticeably
higher than that fo r 1944.
Thinner pay envelopes, fewer unfilled jobs, continuing
shortages of consum ers’ goods, and rising living costs con­
tributed to the tensions between m anagem ent and labor that
had been accum ulating during the war. A fter victory pent-up
grievances found expression in a wave of strikes that is still
fa r from having spent its force.
At the end of 1945, therefore, the nation was painfully
trying to readjust its economic activities to the patterns of
peace. Although the economic system is theoretically auto­
matic and self-correcting, its internal adjustm ents are seldom
smooth and painless. A fter a prolonged period of violent dis­
tortion in all economic relationships, such as that of the war,
reconversion to peace is likely to be m ore painful than usual.
To make m atters worse, reconversion in the U nited States
must be made in a w orld that is tem porarily, at least, an eco­
nomic and political wasteland from which all old landm arks
have been erased. It m ust be made, too, in the wake of scien­
tific developments th at w ill prove m ore revolutionary in their
effects on present-day society than did steam on the society of
the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
The year 1945 has thus ushered the w orld, the nation, and
the Sixth D istrict from the stern but well-defined objectives of
war into a confused and uncharted future. For the Sixth Dis­
trict and for the South in general the question in the immedi­
ate future will concern the region’s ability or inability to re­
tain as much of its w artim e prosperity as possible. Success
will place the South on a perm anently higher economic
plateau where it need never again be considered a problem
area. Failure, however, may result in a relapse into that un­
enviable position.
W hether the South succeeds or fails w ill depend a great
deal upon the speed with which it capitalizes on its present,
but perhaps fleeting, advantages. Much of the fixed capital



created in the South during the w ar is so highly specialized
to war purposes or so greatly in excess of any conceivable
peacetime requirem ents that it must be written off as clearly
tem porary. Some of it, however, m ay become a perm anent
part of the region’s capital equipm ent if use is found foi* it
fairly soon. Investible capital that has accum ulated during
the w ar can fructify Southern resources if it is backed by
the im agination and enterprise necessary to use it in that way.
Otherwise it will flow to other investment fields. The me­
chanical skills and factory experience with which a large
p art of the population has been endowed by the w ar are vital
assets if used soon. M echanical skill and psychological ad­
justm ent to factory work, however, are very quickly lost. If
industrial opportunities are not created with sufficient speed
and in sufficient volume to utilize the South’s present skilledlabor force, the men constituting th at force will either tend
to move out of the region or, m ore likely, back to the land. In
the latter case they would re-create the old problem involved
in a high ratio of population to land and would thus tend to
perpetuate uneconomic form s of agriculture.
For the South, therefore, because it has so much to gain
or lose, the year 1945 was of critical im portance. The best
augury for the future is found in the way the South has met
the first im pact of the reconversion period in all phases of
its economic life.
So fa r the South’s reaction to peace has been m ore favorable
than m ight have been anticipated. Unemployment, although
it has been growing, is less than m ight have been expected.
A griculture is in a favorable financial position, and the
prospect of a sustained demand fo r a year or two in the
future may provide a basis fo r a considerable measure of
prosperity even though farm incomes fall below those of the
war period. There is no indication of any immediate runoff
of bank deposits. It rem ains only fo r business enterprise
to take advantage of these basically favorable factors. The
rapidity with which new industries are coming to the Sixth
D istrict is evidence that businessmen are aw are of their
opportunities in the South.
E arle L. Rauber

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3

Sixth D istrict A griculture in 1 9 4 5
industry, which can meet the excessive demands
that war places upon it by expanding its physical means
of production, agriculture in wartime must meet its goals with
little or no increase in the total quantities of the factors of
production available for such a purpose. W hereas industry
can to a large extent replace the men lost to the armed
forces by draw ing on other classes of workers, as well as by
lengthening the working day and increasing the num ber of
shifts, farm ers have no such avenues of escape. D epletion of
the ranks of farm labor can be offset only in p art by the
harder work of all rem aining members of farm families.
The tight labor supply in agriculture prevents any large
expansion of acreages devoted to crop and livestock produc­
tion. Moreover, the farm -labor shortage can be compensated
only in part by an increased use of farm machinery. The
enormous demands made upon industry in modern times for
the weapons of mechanized w arfare make it im possible for
farm ers to secure all the additional farm m achinery needed.
Indeed, the depreciation of existing machines and buildings
compels agriculture to work with a gradually decreasing
supply of capital equipment.
As among the various agricultural products, of course, it is
possible to increase some by restricting the production of
others. Any large increase in the total output of agriculture,
therefore, is more likely to be the result of exceptionally
favorable growing conditions and technological im prove­
ments in soil management and cultivation, such as those that
increase yields, than the result of any great enlargem ent of
the physical assets of agriculture.

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W hat was true for the nation as a whole was also true for
the Sixth D istrict. In 1944 the crop acreage harvested in those
states lying wholly or in part within the Sixth District
amounted to 34.0 m illion acres. The corresponding number
of acres harvested in these states in 1945 was 32.8 m illion —
over a m illion less.

►W ith respect to the South’s most im portant cash crop, cot­
ton, not only was a sm aller acreage planted during 1945 but
the crop was the smallest since 1921. For the nation as a
whole the cotton acreage shrank from 20.4 m illion to 18.4
m illion between 1944 and 1945, and in Sixth District states it
declined almost a third of a m illion acres, from 6.8 million
to 6.5 m illion, in the same period. The largest cotton-acreage
reduction for the year occurred in Georgia, which lost 110,000
acres as compared with the 1944 acreage. The smallest de­
crease was that of 10,000 acres in Florida. The 1945 cotton
crop was 9.2 m illion bales, which was 3.0 m illion bales less
than the 1944 crop.
The smallness of the 1945 cotton crop was attributable to
reduced acreage only in part. In large part it was the result
of sm aller yields to the acre because of unseasonable weather
that made this one of the latest crops ever known. For the
nation as a whole the lint yield per acre had been 293.5
pounds in 1944, but in 1945 it was only 249.6 pounds. In
Georgia the yield fell from 286 pounds an acre in 1944 to
256 pounds; in Alabam a it fell from 339 pounds to 321
pounds, in Florida from 192 to 167 pounds, in Tennessee
from 409 to 377 pounds, in M ississippi from 400 to 343
pounds, and in Louisiana from 321 to 224 pounds.
►The United States was blessed during the war with a series
The corn crop in Sixth District states in 1945 amounted to
of years m arked by generally favorable weather conditions 246.2 m illion bushels. This exceeded the 1944 crop by 29.0
and, hence, by bountiful crops. The crop production of the m illion bushels. Florida was the only state in the District
United States in 1945 was the third largest on record despite that produced less corn in 1945 than it did in 1944. Every
adverse weather conditions in that year. The spring planting
state, however, showed an increase in yield per acre in 1945
season was one of the worst ever experienced for late-planted
as compared with 1944, except F lorida where the yield re­
crops. The late spring and early summer season, the coolest mained the same. The increases in yield ranged from one
In more than twenty years, was m arked by dam aging frosts. bushel an acre in Alabam a to 5.0 bushels in Louisiana and
Further frost damage occurred in the early fall. On the other Tennessee.
hand, m oisture reserves and rainfall were adequate and there
D uring the war oil crops were of peculiar im portance be­
was consequently no damage from drought. Aggregate crop
cause of the overrunning of Asiatic sources of supply by
production in that year was 21 percent above the average for Japan. Peanuts along with soybeans and cottonseed had to fill
the predrought period of 1923-32. It fell short of the record the gap, and extraordinary efforts were made to increase the
output of 1942 by only 2 percent and was only i y 2 percent acreages of the first two. D uring the period 1934-43 the
below the total for 1944. These crops were made under con­ average acreage of peanuts harvested amounted to 2.1 m illion
ditions of an extremely reduced labor supply and an almost acres for the nation. By 1944 this acreage had increased to
unrelieved shortage of m achinery. They were made, too, with 3.2 m illion acres, and in 1945 it was 33,000 acres moje. In
relatively little increase in acreage.
the Sixth D istrict 1.7 m illion acres of peanuts were harvested
in
1944. In 1945, however, there was a decline of 47,000
►In the period 1928-32 the acreage of 52 leading crops h a r­
vested ranged between 351 and 362 m illion acres. The crop acres. In 1945 the United States produced 2,079.6 million
restriction program s of the 1930’s reduced this figure to an pounds of peanuts, picked and threshed. Over half of this —
average of 329 m illion acres for the period 1934-43. This re­ 1,138.0 m illion pounds — was produced in the states of the
duction thus allowed a certain m argin that could be recovered Sixth District. Of these states Georgia was by far the heaviest
producer, its 1945 crop am ounting to 704.7 m illion pounds.
during the w ar even with a reduced farm -labor supply. In
spite of the calling back into production of a large p art of Alabam a ranked second with a crop of 339.3 m illion pounds.
the acreage earlier taken out of production, the 1945 crop The smallest crop in 1945 was found in Louisiana, where it
amounted to 2.8 m illion pounds.
was made on 347 m illion acres. This was not only less than
Of the 12 early-potato states, h alf are states of the Sixth
the acreage in 1928-32; it was also four m illion less than the
District.
In 1944 the Sixth D istrict produced a potato crop of
num ber of acres harvested in 1944.




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16.4 m illion bushels, or 28 percent of the total for the 12
states. The Sixth District potato crop in 1945 was 20.5 m il­
lion bushels, approxim ately 33 percent of the 12-state total.
Yields per acre were greater in 1945 than they were in 1944
in every Sixth District state, the increases ranging from a
low of three bushels to the acre in M ississippi to a high of 46
bushels an acre in Alabam a.
Although 22 states produce sweet potatoes, in 1944 approxi­
mately 49 percent of the nation’s crop was produced in the
states of the Sixth District, where the crop amounted to 34.8
m illion bushels. The 1945 crop in the D istrict was a little
higher, 36.2 m illion bushels, but this was 54 percent of the
crop for the nation in that year. Decreased yields were ex­
perienced in 1945 as compared with 1944 in Alabama,
Florida, and Tennessee, but increases were recorded in Geor­
gia, Louisiana, and M ississippi. The largest increase in yield
was 14 bushels an acre in M ississippi. The next largest was
13 bushels an acre in Louisiana, followed by one of two
bushels an acre in Georgia.
In the state of Florida, the most im portant single crop is
the citrus-fruit crop. The 1945 crop of oranges am ounted to
approxim ately 50 m illion boxes, an increase of 7.2 m illion
boxes over 1944. The grapefruit crop in 1945 filled 32 m il­
lion boxes, an increase of 9.7 m illion. The output of tanger­
ines in 1945 was 4 m illion boxes, the same as that in 1944,
but the production of limes declined from 250,000 boxes in
1944 to 200,000 in 1945.
The production of sugar cane fo r sugar and seed is a
virtual m onopoly of the Sixth D istrict, in which it is pro­
duced in two states — Louisiana and F lorida. Of these two
states Louisiana is the oldest producing area and is over­
whelmingly the most im portant at present. Of the 5.7 m illion
short tons of cane produced in 1944, Louisiana accounted for
4.9 m illion tons, and of the 6.7 m illion tons produced in
both states in 1945, Louisiana accounted for 5.6 m illion. In
both states the yield per acre was higher in 1945 than it was
in 1944, the yield in Louisiana rising from 20.0 short tons
an acre in 1944 to 22.5 in 1945. In Florida the increase in
yield was alm ost twice as great, rising from 28.5 short tons
an acre in 1944 to 33.0 short tons in 1945.
States of the Sixth District produce roughly h alf of all the
pecans grown in 12 states. The 1944 crop in the District
amounted to 70.8 m illion bushels out of 140.2 for all pecangrowing states. In the follow ing year the D istrict produced a
sm aller pecan crop — 65.3 m illion bushels out of a total of
132.6 for the 12 states. The sm aller crop fo r 1945 was the
result of serious declines in Louisiana, M ississippi, Alabam a,
and Florida that were not fu lly offset by the gain of 3.4 m il­
lion bushels in the Georgia crop.

was 30,000, and third was F lorida with an increase of 23,000.
On the other hand, the num ber of hogs and pigs in Sixth
D istrict states was less by 1.6 m illion on January 1, 1945,
than it was on the same date in 1944. declining from 8.3 m il­
lion to 6.7 m illion. The greatest decrease was registered in
Tennessee, where the num ber of hogs and pigs fell off by
462,000. M ississippi and Georgia ranked next with decreases
of 315,000 and 300,000, respectively. W ith 1.6 m illion hogs
on January 1, 1945, however, Georgia continued to rank first
in the total number.

►Although readjustm ents of acreages among various crops
and other farm projects account for relative increases or de­
creases, the total 1945 agricultural output in the Sixth Dis­
trict was large. The reckoning of the financial prosperity of
agriculture must start with the volume of commodities that
farm ers have to sell, whether it be large or small.
In norm al times, however, because of the inelasticity of de­
m and for farm products, prices are likely to be disproportion­
ately low as output increases. As a result farm ers on the
whole tend to receive a sm aller total am ount of money for a
large output than they do for a sm all one. D uring the war,
however, the situation was quite different. Substantial in ­
creases in individual incomes made possible large increases
in the consumption of food. This increased demand together
with the necessity of feeding an arm y of 11 or 12 m illion men
with a larger per capita ration of food than they were ac­
customed to in peacetime and the ne;cessity, as well, of feed­
ing our allies under lend-lease agreements tended to sustain
farm prices at an abnorm ally high level. Although some de­
cline in the demand for farm commodities may be expected
as the m ilitary establishments are reduced, the food and fiber
requirem ents of the liberated countries of Europe as well as
the emergency feeding of form er enemy countries will tend
to keep farm prices high until foreign agriculture is restored
to productivity. Sixth D istrict farm ers, in common with those
of the rest of the country, therefore, will continue to profit
by the favorable conjunction of large agricultural output
and high prices for farm products.
^ O n October 15, 1944, the index of prices for all farm p ro ­
ducts was, for the nation as a wbole, 194 percent of the
average for the period A ugust 1909 to July 1914. On the
same date in 1945 the index had risen to 199 percent of the
average for the base period. Every state in the D istrict for
which figures are available also showed a higher index value
on October 15, 1945, than it showed on the same date in the
previous year. In A labam a the index rose from 178 to 187,
in F lorida from 209 to 211, in Georgia from 178 to 182, in
Louisiana from 176 to 185, and in Tennessee from 189 to
200. Figures for M ississippi are unavailable. Only incomplete
figures for the D istrict are available for the last two months
^ Throughout the war period as field hands became scarce
of 1945, but from what evidence there is, the index of prices
and the difficulty of planting, cultivating, and harvesting field
for all farm products has risen still further for the D istrict
crops increased, there was a tendency in all the states of the
as a whole, although in some states it may have m erely held
D istrict to shift to some extent from crops to livestock,
especially cattle. This tendency was apparently still at work steady.
Favorable prices and large agricultural output in 1945
throughout 1945. On January 1, 1944, the cattle population
combined to give Sixth District farm ers in the four states
of D istrict states amounted to 7.9 m illion, and on January 1,
1945, this num ber had increased to approxim ately eight m il­ where com parable figures are available a value for their
crops that was 55.3 m illion dollars greater than the 1944
lion. The net increase was 104,000 for the Six States, all
states having recorded increases except Tennessee, which ex­ figure. The value of crops was highest in Georgia, where it
amounted to 387.3 m illion dollars in 1945, com pared with
perienced a decline of 68,000 in its cattle population. The
371.4 m illion dollars in 1944. The state showing the second
largest gain in cattle num bers for the year was 95,000 in
Louisiana. Next in rank was M ississippi where the increase
highest available figures was Tennessee, where the value of




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crops in 1945 was 318.3 m illion dollars, compared with 285.8
m illion in 1944. D ata on the value of crops are not available
fo r F lorida and M ississippi.
►F urther evidence of the volume of money flowing into Dis­
trict agriculture is provided by cash receipts from farm
marketings. Such cash receipts for the six states of the Dis­
trict in 1940 amounted to 677.1 m illion dollars. Cash receipts
from farm m arketings in the Sixth D istrict in 1944, however,
were 1.9 billion dollars. S im ilar figures for the whole of 1945
have not yet been received, but for the first nine months of
the year cash receipts from farm m arketings am ounted to 1.2
billion dollars. By the end of the year they probably equaled,
if they did not exceed, the 1944 figure.
M easured by the value of crops and by cash receipts from
farm marketings, both 1944 and 1945 have been very pros­
perous years for agriculture in the Sixth D istrict. Even when
the sm all average size of Southern farm s is taken into account
the picture rem ains bright. In 1929, fo r exam ple, cash re­
ceipts from farm m arketings per farm am ounted to $1,009 on
an average in the Sixth District. By 1944 this figure had more
than doubled reaching $2,320. For the United States as a
whole, however, the average cash receipts from farm m arket­
ings per farm was $1,809 in 1929 and $3,632 in 1944. The
average fo r the Sixth D istrict was thus $1,312 below that for
the nation in the latter year. A pparently Southern farm s were
not profiting from the w ar to the same extent that farm s in
the nation as a whole were, although their position had in­
deed greatly im proved. In 1939 the average fo r the Sixth Dis­
trict was only $494 below that for the nation, and in 1943
the difference was $1,319.
►If it is true th at the w ar has favored other agricultural
areas more in dollars and cents per farm than it has the South,
a natural assum ption m ight be that any deflation in agri­
culture is likely to strike other regions with greater force.
The vulnerability of cotton, however, in a deflationary situa­
tion m ay invalidate any such assum ption. In any case in a
region where agriculture yields so much less per farm than
it does elsewhere the old problem of a high ratio of men to
land will probably rem ain despite the influence of the war. It
can be solved only in ways that have been apparent for some
tim e — the enlargem ent of farm s and the adoption of more
extensive form s of agriculture, accompanied by the absorption
of the excess farm population into industry, or by a shift to
crops of higher value that w ill bear the cost of intensive
cultivation.
Except fo r crops in which the South has an absolute ad­
vantage because of clim ate, soil, and sim ilar factors, the sec­
ond of the foregoing alternatives offers but a partial solution.
If Southern agriculture is to prosper in the future after the
war boom has waned, such prosperity w ill have to come
about as a by-product of industrial development. Unless this
development occurs, Southern farm ers m ay again find them ­
selves relying upon Government payments of one sort or an­
other and upon politically supported prices to make good the
deficit in th eir earnings from agriculture.
►Tem porarily, Am erican agriculture is protected against
the full brunt o f the reconversion problem by the sustained
spending of liquid assets in the domestic m arket and by the
foreign requirem ents fo r agricultural products. How well
agriculture w ill be able to meet the shock of reconversion
when it actually comes depends a great deal upon the use that



5

is made of current high eam ings. It would clearly be dis­
astrous if farm ers were struck by a sharply falling demand
and low prices while heavily in debt. Inability to support an
increasingly burdensome debt would result in a wave of fore­
closures and general distress such as that which followed the
first w orld war.
Fortunately farm ers seem to be using a p a rt of th eir cur­
rent income to reduce the total volume of farm-mortgage
debt. The mortgage debt on American farm s in 1930 amounted
to 9.6 billion dollars. This figure has been so reduced in
every subsequent year that it amounted to only 5.3 billion
dollars in 1945.
In the Sixth D istrict the total farm -m ortgage debt fell from
546 m illion dollars in 1930 to 424 m illion dollars in 1934.
C ontrary to the national tendency, however, it increased
again thereafter. By 1942 the volume of m ortgage debt had
risen to 465 m illion dollars. This peak was then followed by
reductions in each succeeding year to 384 m illion dollars in
1945. Of this am ount 23 percent was in M ississippi, 21 per­
cent in Georgia, 19 percent in Alabam a, 17 percent in
Tennessee, 13 percent in Louisiana, and 7 percent in Florida.
As im portant as the reduction of farm-mortgage debt in this
D istrict has been since 1930, it fell short of the reduction for
the nation as a whole. Total farm -m ortgage debt fo r the
nation in 1945 was only 55 percent of what it had been in
1930. In the Sixth D istrict, however, the 1945 debt was 70
percent of what it had been in 1930.
In the case of non-real-estate debt the situation is different.
The total am ount of this kind of debt held by insured com­
m ercial banks and Government agencies in the Sixth D istrict
amounted to 255.9 m illion dollars on Ju ly 1, 1939. A lthough
farm ers tended to pay an increasing proportion of their pro­
duction costs out of current income during the w ar years, the
volume of non-real-estate debt in the D istrict increased to
321.1 m illion dollars on July 1, 1945. Both in 1939 and in
1945 the largest p art of this debt was held by insured com­
mercial banks — 64 percent in 1939 and 67 percent in 1945.
Considering the combined total of farm-mortgage debt and
non-real-estate debt, the position of the Sixth D istrict was less
favorable in 1945 than it was in 1939. In 1939 the total of
both kinds of debt amounted to 701.6 m illion dollars fo r the
D istrict, and in 1945 the total was 705.3 m illion dollars. As
long as the present favorable relation between income and
production expenses continues, the debt position need cause
little worry. A lthough data fo r production expenses are not
available fo r 1945, the relation between these and cash re­
ceipts from farm m arketings in 1944 are at least indicative of
the current position. Cash receipts from farm m arketings in
1944 were 266 percent of the 1939 average whereas produc­
tion expenses were only 175 percent of the 1939 average.
►A favorable income position, of course, tends to be reflected
in higher land values. The index of the value per acre of farm
real estate for the nation as a whole was 42 points higher in
1945 than it was in 1939, the 1912-14 average being taken as
the base. Every state in the Sixth D istrict exceeded this in­
crease during the same period. In A labam a the index rose 58
points between 1939 and 1945, in F lorida 54 points, in Geor­
gia 52, in Louisiana 55, in M ississippi 59, and in Tennessee 73.
If a farm er continues to hold his land, a rise o r fall in
land values leaves him unaffected. On the other hand, if he
invests any substantial p a rt of his high current income in
land at inflated prices he w ill m erely be laying up trouble fo r

6

M o n t h l y R e v ie w

o f th e F ederal R e se rv e B a n k o f A tla n ta fo r Ja n u a ry 1946

him self when farm income declines. If purchases have been
m ade fo r cash, he m ay find that he has dissipated his savings.
I f purchases have been m ade on mortgages, he may find him ­
self with an insupportable debt when his income position
worsens.
T here is some evidence in the state of A labam a, F lorida,
Georgia, South Carolina, and M ississippi th at farm ers are en­
gaged in such activity in the land m arket, and presum ably
this would be true elsewhere in the South. This activity, how­
ever, lessened somewhat in 1945. The num ber of transfers in
1945 was 42 percent greater than in 1941 but was only 80
percent of those in 1944. A pproxim ately 60 percent of all
tracts sold in 1945 were sold by farm ers, and 80 percent of
all buyers were farm ers. Fortunately, however, 72 percent of
all sales were m ade fo r cash.
Although inflation in farm -land values is therefore not
especially dangerous at the moment, it bears watching, and
farm ers would be wise to use their savings to liquidate their
debts, im prove th eir buildings, replace worn-out m achinery,
and adjust their various farm program s to peacetime de­
m ands rather than dissipate them in w hat could develop into
a disastrous land boom.
►In summary, then, it m ay be said th at 1945 was a very
favorable year fo r agriculture in the Sixth D istrict. O utput
was again large, and prices of farm products continued their
upw ard trend. Cash receipts from farm m arketings were high
and exceeded production expenses by a wide m argin. In ­
creased liquid assets in the hands of farm ers were used to im ­
prove their equity position in the land although the total
burden of farm debt had grown because of an increase in nonreal-estate loans. A favorable income position was being re­
flected in higher land values, and there was some evidence
that farm ers had been contributing to a land boom, but their
activity was beginning to be curtailed in 1945.
How well Southern agriculture’s w artim e experience has
fitted it to meet successfully its future problem s of adjust­
ment w ill be revealed in the next year or two. A lthough
changes in the agricultural pattern th at have been brought
about by the w ar have generally been in the direction of free­
ing the South from its traditional dependence upon cotton
and so have been in the right direction, cotton will un­
doubtedly still be the m ajor cash crop fo r some time.
The future of cotton, however, is fa r from certain. The ex­
pansion of foreign growths th at was occurring before the war
will undoubtedly continue in the postw ar period. Synthetic
fibers and other substitutes fo r cotton have received great
stim ulation during the w ar, and they now more than ever
threaten m any of cotton’s traditional m arkets. The continued
political support of cotton prices w ill delay the desirable ad­
justm ents of cotton acreage, w ill necessitate some form of
subsidy if American cotton is to enter foreign markets, and
will thus affect international economic relations adversely.
M oreover, the increasing mechanization of cotton culture is
alm ost certain to affect adversely the sm aller cotton farm s
and thus to accentuate the population problem . The way in
which the cotton problem is handled m ay easily determine
the future of Southern agriculture fo r years to come. For
the region as a whole a vigorous industrial development
w ill provide the best cushion against the shocks the older
agrarian economy may be subjected to in the future.



E arle L. R auber

S ix th D is tr ic t S ta tis tic s
R ETAIL JEW ELRY S T O R E O P E R A T IO N S
N um ber
of
S to r e s
R e p o r tin g

Ite m

C r e d it s a l e s ...............................................
A c c o u n ts r e c e iv a b l e , e n d o f m o n th
C o lle c tio n s d u r i n g m o n t h ..................

P e rc e n t C h an g e
N o v e m b e r 1945 to
D e c e m b e r 1945

30
28
28
30
30

+
+
+
+
+

148
135
164
77
62

D EPA R TM EN T S T O R E SA L ES*
A d ju s te d * ’ft

D IS T R IC T ................
A tla n ta ..................
B a to n R o u g e . . .
B ir m in g h a m ----C h a tta n o o g a ...
J a c k s o n ................
J a c k s o n v il le ----K n o x v ille ...........
M o n tg o m e r y .. .
N a s h v ill e .............
N ew O r le a n s ...
T a m p a ..................

U n a d ju s te d

D ec.
1945

N ov.
1945

D ec.
1944

D ec.
1945

N ov.
1945

D ec.
1944

288
295
300
275
291
268
345
287
286
259
279
311
243
347

298
378
328
293
302
279
394
343
318
305
317
358
250
370

258
248
254
245
259
231
332
283
253
206
234
264
227
308

466
476
489
447
470
435
579
488
5Q1
479
497
524
399
588

348
403
348
339
338
328
426r
368
365
341
368
392
291
438

417
400
415
398
419
375
557
480
444
380
417
445
373
520

D EPA R TM EN T S T O R E S T O C K S
A d ju s te d * ’»

D IS T R IC T ................
A tla n ta ..................
B ir m in g h a m ___
M o n tg o m e r y .. .
N a s h v ill e .............
N ew O rle a n s . . .

U n a d ju s te d

D ec.
1945

N ov.
1945

D ec.
1944

D ec.
1945

N ov.
1945

D ec.
1944

184
272
120
165
304
1:24

193r
260
126
183
301
115

180
274
127
187
291
1:27

.155
221
105
140
258
108

203r
300
149
213
349
130

151
222
111
158
248
111

C O T T O N C O N S U M P T IO N *

T O T A L ......................
A la b a m a ..............
G e o r g i a ................
T e n n e s s e e .........

C O A L P R O D U C T IO N *

D ec.
1945

N ov.
1945

D ec.
1944

D ec.
1945

N ov.
1945

D ec.
1944

136
141
136
1.14

156
165
155
134

150
158
149
124

150
158

169
177

146
152

i3 3

i5 2

i2 7

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

S IX S T A T E S ...........
A l a b a m a . ............
F l o r i d a ..................
G e o r g i a ................
L o u i s i a n a ...........
M is s i s s i p p i.........
T e n n e s s e e .........

N ov.
1945

O c t.
1945

N ov.
1944

D ec.
1945

N ov.
1945

D ec.
1944

110
129
85
104
118
118
102

112
132
86
103
129
116
.102

156
182
164
147
171
145
133

136
140
127
125
125
145
159

132
140
l s18
127
129
116
164

104
109
92
.100
10,1
108
1.19

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

C O N S U M E R S ' P R IC E IN D E X

ALL I T E M S ..
C lo th in g . . .
R e n t .............
F u e l, e l e c ­
tr ic ity ,
a n d ic e ..
H om e fu r­
n is h in g s .
M is c e l­
la n e o u s . .

N ov.
1945

O c t.
1945

N ov.
1944

134
147
144
114

134
147
144
114

132
144
139
,114

111

111

109

145

145

139

131

131

126

C R U D E P ETR O LE U M P R O D U C T IO N
IN C O A S T A L L O U IS IA N A A N D
M IS S IS S IP P I*

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

G A S O L IN E TAX
C O L L E C T IO N S

D ec.
1945

N ov.
1945

D ec.
1944

208
216

207
204

202
209

O c t.
1945

N ov.
1944

232

232

277

216

213

230

253

256

338

N ov.
1945
S IX S T A T E S .
H y d ro ­
g e n e ra te d
F u e l­
g e n e ra te d

A N N U A L R A TE O F TU R N O V E R O F
D EM A N D D E P O S IT S

U n a d ju s te d ..
A d ju s te d * * . .
I n a e x * * .........

D ec.
1945

N ov.
1945

D ec.
1944

19.0
(16.5
63.8

16.0
15.1
58.4

20.6
17.9
69.3

* D a ily a v e r a g e b a s i s
**A d ju s te d fo r s e a s o n a l v a r ia tio n
***1939 m o n th ly a v e r a g e = 100;
o th e r i n d e x e s , 1935-39 = 100
r = R e v is e d

M on th ly R eview o f th e F ederal R eserve B a n k o f A tla n ta fo r Ja n u a ry 1946

7

Sixth D istrict In d u stry in 1 9 4 5
h e war period brought great changes to Sixth D istrict
m anufacturing. One of them took place in the num ber of
people employed. Another occurred in the proportion of
m anufacturing employment to agricultural employment. A l­
terations came about also in the diversification and relative
im portance of m anufacturing enterprises. Yet another change
was represented by the increased location of enterprises in
communities that were form erly unindustrialized. In fact the
war gave many communities a chance at the industrial de­
velopment which they had long desired but which had not
been initiated, under normal peacetime conditions, for finan­
cial or other reasons.

T

►From the fall of 1940 to the beginning of 1943, m anufac­
turing employment rose steadily from 100, the 1939 monthly
average, to 153. Then came fluctuations between that point
and 166 until November 1944, followed by a gradual de­
crease to 130 at the end of August 1945. W ith the cancella­
tion of contracts as a result of the end of the w ar with Japan
an abrupt decrease to 111 occurred at the end of October.
Indexes cannot be computed for later periods, since over-all
figures are not available.
Some evidence of the relative importance that various in­
dustries had as employers of labor during the war period is
given in reports of a sam ple group of 680 establishments.
These reports indicate that throughout the period shipbuild­
ing was the largest wartime industry in the Sixth District.
Textile m anufacture came second, aircraft m anufacture third,
and basic-metals production fourth. Florida led the other
Sixth D istrict states in shipbuilding, Georgia in production
of textiles and aircraft, and A labam a in output of basic
metals.
According to reports covering the same sample group of
industries, A labam a had the largest num ber of workers in all
types of m anufacturing. That state in January 1945 had 150
plants with a total employment of 174,123, Georgia had 152
plants with 138,182 employees, and Florida had 128 plants
with 66,706 employees. The Sixth D istrict cities of Tennessee
in January 1945 had 143 plants with total employment of
106,888, those in Louisiana had 55 plants with 79,117 em­
ployees, and Sixth D istrict cities in M ississippi had 52
plants with 18,217 employees.
The production activity for the whole period of the war in
the District cannot be accurately measured, however, by em­
ployment figures as they were in January 1945. By that time
employment in three of the D istrict’s chief industries had
begun to dwindle. The num ber of persons employed in 14
Florida shipyards had declined to 46,314 from 57,307 in
July 1943. D uring the same period employment declined in
six Alabam a yards from 46,256 to 40,473, in five Louisiana
yards from 36,569 to 30,905, in four Georgia yards from 34,597 to 29,216, and in four M ississippi yards from 10,791 to
9,581. The textile industry reached its peak production in the
fall of 1942. Between July 1943 and January 1945 textile
employment dropped from 41,618 to 40,857 in 51 Georgia
mills, from 38,031 to 29,895 in 51 Tennessee m ills, and from
29,283 to 20,177 in 34 A labam a m ills. Employment in seven
Alabam a basic-metal establishments declined from 49,685 to
41,281 over the same period.



The decline in shipbuilding employment by 1945 was
brought about chiefly by the completion of contracts. In tex­
tiles the decline seems to have been the result of the rela­
tively low wages for workers in cotton-yarn and cotton-cloth
manufacture. Sm aller numbers of employees in w ar plants
during 1944 and 1945, however, did not always indicate a
lessening of productive activity. D uring the later war years
tightening labor markets caused many m anufacturers to
streamline production processes so that they could get along
with fewer workers. Records show, also, that in many war
plants the percentage of overtime increased in 1944 and re­
mained relatively high until July 1945. In addition the per­
fecting of production techniques, especially in those mills
where new types of war m aterials were m anufactured, en­
abled some plants to reduce employment and, at the same
time, to m aintain output.
The Sixth District industry that was the third largest em­
ployer of labor, aircraft manufacture, got a late start. There
were 49,469 employees in the D istrict’s 12 chief aircraft
establishments in July 1943; by January 1945 there were
72,685 employees in the same plants. Most of the increase
occurred at M arietta, Georgia, where employment grew dur­
ing the same period from 6,683 to 27,380 and remained at
approxim ately that level until July 1945.
Other im portant war industries were munition and ord­
nance m anufacture and lumber production. Employment in
14 Sixth District munition and ordnance factories increased
from 38,236 in July 1943 to 47,757 in January 1945. The
number of workers in 119 lum ber operations decreased from
17,750 to 16,812 during the same period.
In the spring and summer of 1945 production levels were
maintained or raised in some items, especially in those types
of ammunition, landing boats, and bombers which became
increasingly im portant in Far Eastern operations. The over­
all picture, however, was one of gradually lessening activity
on war production.
Some Sixth District industrial indexes during 1945 reflect
more than others these changes in the general economy. The
electric-power index in January 1945 was 293 percent of the
1935-39 average, its highest point during the war. From that
point it fell gradually to 269 in July. P art of this decline,
of course, was the usual seasonal fluctuation. In August the
index rose to 277 and then fell abruptly to 232 at the end of
October. The coal-production index, on the same base, was
at 171 in January 1945. During the year it fluctuated between
that point and 152, with the exception of a drop to 95 during
April, the month of the work stoppage in mining. Cotton con­
sumption went down from 166 in January to 137 in July and
after August began to rise, reaching 156 by the end of No­
vember. Crude-oil production remained approxim ately the
same for the first nine months of the year. The index was
198 in January and 202 in September.
►The wartime industrial activity of the Sixth District caused
shifts in population from agricultural areas to the new m anu­
facturing centers. Because much of the D istrict’s war pro­
duction necessitated the building of new industrial facilities,
other sections, where existing facilities could be converted to
the production of m aterials of war, got off to an earlier

8

M o n t h l y R e v ie w

o f th e F ederal R e se rv e B a n k o f A tla n ta fo r Ja n u a ry 1946

start. T herefore large num bers of skilled workmen left this
p art of the country to work in w ar plants of the N orth and
M iddle West. W hen the Southern plants were ready for pro­
duction they inevitably drew heavily upon the agricultural
population.
Because of the extent to which it combines size and diver­
sity of war-goods production, A labam a affords a good illus­
tration, for the D istrict as a whole, of the changes occurring
in the relative im portance of agriculture and industry. Of the
893,848 persons gainfully em ployed in A labam a during
1940, 353,705 were engaged in agriculture and 155,419 in
m anufacturing. The total employment in A labam a in Jan u ­
ary 1945, the period roughly designating peak wartime em­
ployment, was 1,150,614, with 266,652 in agriculture and
280,153 in m anufacturing. In other words, agricultural em­
ploym ent had decreased 87,053, or 24.6 percent; m anufac­
turing em ploym ent had increased 124,734, or 80.3 per cent.
A gricultural employm ent in May 1945 showed a 4.6 percent
increase over that in January. This increase was partly sea­
sonal but not entirely, for in December a fu rther increase of
2.2 percent occurred. M anufacturing em ployment decreased
6.7 percent between January and M ay and another 22.3 per­
cent between May and December. Thus in the last m onth of
1945 agricultural em ploym ent had decreased 68,705, or 19.4
percent, since 1940, and m anufacturing em ployment had in­
creased 47,592, or 23.4 percent.
Though the percentages of change vary in the different
states of the D istrict, available data indicate that the speed
with which industry is gaining ground over agriculture in the
percentage of population employed was greatly increased by
m anufacturing enterprises brought to this section by the war.
Estimates in January 1946 show also that relatively larger
num bers of people are returning to peacetime m anufacture
than to agriculture. Since the Southeastern states have 30 per­
cent of the nation’s farm population and only 20 percent of
the farm income, most regional leaders interpret the accele­
ration of the population shift as a benefit to the whole area.
►One of the wartim e changes that swelled the ranks of in ­
dustrial em ployment in the Sixth D istrict and had little if
anything to do with the decrease in agricultural employment
was the drop of approxim ately 40 percent in the num ber of
people in domestic service. December 1945 estimates indi­
cate that only a very sm all percentage of these people have
returned to domestic service. Since m any of these form er
servants have learned other skills, the drop in the prew ar
level of domestic em ploym ent in the D istrict may be per­
manent, especially if industrial expansion meets expectations.
►Since the end of the w ar with Japan, Unemployment Com­
pensation claims and Servicemen’s Readjustm ent Act claims
have been increasing week by week. Estimates from most sec­
tions indicate that these claims have reached their peak, since
the expected increase in servicemen’s claim s will probably
be balanced by the exhausting of Unemployment Compensa­
tion benefits. Unemployment, however, is expected to increase
in most sections until it reaches a peak in M arch or A pril
of this year. The increase w ill continue because of returning
veterans and because w ar-plant workers who m igrated in the
earlier stages of the w ar to all parts of the country are now
returning to unindustrialized sections. This latter group
should furnish an experienced labor m arket for the many
m ills th at are now being established in ru ra l areas.



All through the South such workers are returning to ru ra l
communities with experience that can be turned to account
in off-season work in a neighboring m ill. This does not mean
that training in the details of shipbuilding or aircraft m anu­
facture has provided the mechanical skills necessary for suc­
cessful work in a garm ent factory, for instance. As a m atter
of fact, farm people naturally have m echanical aptitude;
they have to have it for the many different kinds of things to
be done on a farm . This fact accounts for the surprising pro­
duction records established by some of those war plants that
were dependent alm ost entirely upon form er farm labor. Be­
fore the records could be made, however, these laborers, un­
accustomed to indoor confinement and close group work, had
to overcome the psychological hazards of factory work. They
had to go through a breaking-in processs. Indications are
that the results of this process are as im portant to an indus­
trial population as a knowledge of precision tools.
►D uring the w ar the industrial complexion of the Sixth D is­
trict was thus greatly changed. Though production of w ar
m aterials has virtually ceased, some of the wartime changes
are apparently perm anent. The table illustrates such changes
as they appeared in December 1945 in Tennessee. O ther
states show individual differences in the rapidity of growth
of newer industries, but the general tendencies are sim ilar.
1940

1945

R ank

I n d u s tr y

N o . of
W o rk ers

1
2
3
4
5
6

T e x tile s
L um ber
C h e m ic a ls
Food
A p p arel
I r o n a n d S te e l

37,364
19,361
17,701
16,239
14,184
12,877

I n d u s tr y

N o. of
W o rk e rs

C h e m ic a ls
T e x tile s
Food
A p p arel
I r o n a n d S te e l
L um ber

53,508
36,017
21,800
18,816
15,539
13,016

At the end of 1945 there were in Georgia 50,000 claim ants
for both kinds of unem ploym ent compensation and about
30,000 unem ployed workers not entitled to those benefits.
Unemployment in A labam a at the same tim e was estimated
at 74,960. In F lorida the num ber of benefit claim ants was
30,000, but no estimates were made of the num ber not en­
titled to benefits. Tennessee had an estimated 83,000 unem ­
ployed at the end of the year. No state-wide estimates of this
sort are available for Louisiana and M ississippi.
►It is expected that new industrial establishm ents opening
in the D istrict and the existing establishm ents that are plan ­
ning expansion w ill begin to take up the slack in the regional
labor m arket after about M arch 1946. The fact that the
cessation of production for w ar has not resulted in greater
unem ploym ent is owing in large measure to the continued
operation of hundreds of sm all industrial enterprises that
were established during the latter p art of the war. In G eorgia
208 new plants began production between Septem ber 1944
and September 1945. Most of them are sm all textile, woodproducts, and food-processing establishm ents, and many of
them are located in hitherto unindustrialized communities.
In the other states of the D istrict the same or different types
of sm all operations began during the war. Some of them
expanded when m anpower became increasingly available and
are now expanding further.
Since the w ar m any of the larger industrial enterprises
have either started to construct new plants in the D istrict or
are making plans to do so. The construction of such plants
as well as the construction of expanded facilities fo r exist-

M o n t h l y R e v ie w

9

o f th e F ederal R eserve B a n k o f A tla n ta fo r Ja n u a ry 1946

ing plants and the rep air and construction of houses, roads,
bridges, and public buildings are expected to provide more
new jobs than all other types of employm ent in the spring
and sum m er of 1946. But the construction boom may last
fa r beyond next summer. In the A tlanta area alone the
spending of 400 m illion dollars fo r construction has been
planned fo r the next five years.
Industrial expansion in A labam a in 1946 w ill be furthered
with the opening of 21 new plants by the end of June. They
will, it is expected, have an initial em ploym ent of 1,452 and
a peak employm ent of 3,792. The textile industry in A la­
bam a is expected to be increasingly im portant during the
year.
If F lorida’s plans fo r 1946 m aterialize they w ill keep em­
ploym ent fa r above the prew ar level. Construction predom ­
inates. A 1.2-m illion-dollar orange-dehydration plant is under
construction in O rlando. M iam i’s program calls for 40 m il­
lion dollars worth of heavy construction. At Jacksonville and
Tam pa coastwise shipping is expanding rapidly. Panam a City
during December issued 41 building perm its totaling $138,590,
Included in the extensive improvements on the program are
a new airp o rt and the development of the w aterfront.
Tennessee expects considerable development in 1946 in the
apparel and shoe industries. M any sm all plants in these lines
are being b u ilt in sections form erly without industries by
establishments already operating in the state.
D uring the w ar period 177 new plants were authorized for
Louisiana by the W ar Production Board. Food-processing
plants were most num erous. Others m anufactured chemicals,
petroleum products, ships, am m unition and ordnance, wood
products, carbon black, synthetic rubber, aircraft, and pulp
and paper products. The m anufacture of ordnance and am­
m unition, ships, and airplanes has ceased, but the successful
reconversion of all the other wartime plants in the state is
expected by the m iddle of 1946.
Reconversion seems to have been m ore successful in Mis­
sissippi than in other areas of the District. At the end of
1945 total employment was about the same as it was in May,
in spite of a decline of 5,000 in m anufacturing employment
brought about by the closing of plants m anufacturing ord­
nance and am m unition boxes. M ississippi’s only m ajor ship­
yard, that of the Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation, has made
no layoffs, and its current contracts necessitate production in
1946 that will exceed its 1945 production. The M ississippi
legislature in 1944 passed a new “ balance agriculture with
industry” act to reinstitute a program discontinued in 1940.
Since passage of the new act 18 communities in the state
have floated bonds am ounting to approxim ately $1,500,000
for the purpose of constructing industrial facilities. New
establishm ents thus brought to the state are expected to in­
crease annual industrial pay rolls approxim ately five m illion
dollars.
►Exactly what these changes in m anufacturing may mean to
the future of Sixth D istrict industry is not im mediately ap­
parent. It is clear that they have hastened the development
of some of the section’s traditional industries and that they
have pointed the way to future developments in new di­
rections. It is clear also that they have engendered a desire
on the p art of communities to hold on to their new o r ex­
panded industries and that they have given fresh im petus
and vitality to the movement fo r greater industrialization of
the entire South.
_
__
__
J ohn T yree F ain



S ix th D is tr ic t S ta tis tic s
IN STALM ENT C A S H L O A N S
L ender

N um ber
ol
L e n d e rs
R e p o r tin g

F e d e r a l c r e d i t u n i o n s ...........................
S ta te c r e d i t u n i o n s ...............................
I n d u s tr ia l b a n k i n g c o m p a n ie s .........
I n d u s tr ia l lo a n c o m p a n ie s ..................
S m a ll lo a n c o m p a n ie s ...........................
C o m m e rc ia l b a n k s .................................

42
23
10
21
47
34

P erc e n t C h a n g e
N o v . 1945 to D e c . 1945
V o lu m e
+
+
+
+
-f
+

.

O u ts ta n d i n g s

24
34
6
17
32
4

+
+
+
+
+
+

4
2
5
4
9
7

RETAIL F U R N ITU R E S T O R E O P E R A T IO N S
N um ber
P e rc e n t C h a n g e
ol
D e c e m b e r 1945 ir o m
S to r e s
R e p o r tin g N o v e m b e r 1945 D e c e m b e r 1944

Ite m

77
67
87
74
74

In s ta lm e n t a n d o th e r c r e d i t s a l e s . .
A c c o u n ts r e c e iv a b l e , e n d o f m o n th
C o lle c tio n s d u r i n g m o n t h ..................
I n v e n to r ie s , e n d o f m o n t h ..................

+
+.
+
+
+
+

+
+
+
+

14
23
13
29
— 0
— 12

59

23
45
17
20
16
29

W H O L E S A L E S A L ES A N D IN V E N T O R IE S*— D EC E M B E R 1945

N o. o!
F irm s
R e p o rtin g
A u to m o tiv e s u p p lie s .
S h o e s a n d o th e r
l o o t w e a r ......................
D ru g s a n d s u n d r ie s ..
D ry g o o d s ......................
F r e s h f r u its a n d
v e g e t a b l e s ..................
F a rm s u p p l i e s ..............
C o n f e c tio n e r y .............
G r o c e r ie s — f u ll-lin e
w h o l e s a l e r s .............
G r o c e r ie s — s p e c ia lty lin e w h o l e s a l e r s . . .
B e e r ...................................
H a r d w a r e - g e n e ra l..
H a r d w a r e — in d u s tr ia l
M a c h in e r y , e q u i p ­
m e n t, a n d s u p p lie s .
T o b a c c o a n d its
p r o d u c t s ......................
M is c e l la n e o u s ..............
T O T A L .....................

SA L ES
P erc e n t C h a n g e
D e c . 1945 Iro m
N ov.
D ec.
1945
1944

5

— 18

+

3
6
6

— 28
— 11
— 60

+ 22
+ 10
— 3

4
3
5

—
—
—

—

34
8
3
6
3
3
6
13
108

1
9
1

IN V E N T O R IE S
P e rc e n t C h a n g e
D e c . 1945 Iro m
N ov.
D ec.
1945
1944

N o. oi
F ir m s
R e p o r t­
in g

—

22

+
+

1
11
7

1

— 15

+

4

16

+

26

—
—
—
—

16
12
10
11

+
2
— 28
+ 31
— 17

7
3

+

7

—

3

0

— 4
— 15
— 15

+ 17
- f 23
+
7

+
+

14
17

—8

20

50

+

25

+

18

+ 37
— 24

* B a s e d o n U . S . D e p a r tm e n t o f C o m m e r c e f ig u r e s
DEPA RTM EN T S T O R E SA L ES A N D S T O C K S
IN V E N T O R IE S

SA LES
P la c e

ALABAMA
B ir m in g h a m ----M o b ile ..................
M o n tg o m e r y .. .
FLO R ID A
J a c k s o n v ille ----M ia m i....................
O r l a n d o ...............
T a m p a ..................
G E O R G IA
A tla n ta ..................
A u g u s t a .............
C o lu m b u s ...........
M a c o n ..................
L O U ISIA N A
B a to n R o u g e . . .
N ew O r le a n s ...
M IS S IS S IP P I
J a c k s o n ................
TEN N ESSEE
B r is to l..................
C h a tta n o o g a ...
K n o x v ille ...........
N a s h v ill e ...........
O TH ER C I T I E S * ..
D IS T R IC T ................

N o. ol
S to r e s
R e p o r t­
in g

D e c . 1945 ir o m
D ec.
N ov.
1944
1945

N o. oi
S to r e s
R e p o r t­
in g

P e rc e n t C h a n g e
D e c . 31. 1945# iro m
N o v . 30 D e c . 31
1944
1945

5
5
3

+ 32
+ 35
+ 35

+
8
— 6
+ 14

4

— < 30

—

3

11*34

— 12

4
4
3
5

-f
-f
+
+

36
40
25
34

+
5
+ 20
+
5
+ . 13

3
3

— 17
— 26

+

3

— 34

1 1 *7

6
4
3
4

-f
+
+
+

18
36
55
37

+ ;19
+ 15
— 2
+ 14

5
3

— 26
— 33

—
+

1
4

‘4

11*36

+

37

4
4

-f 41
+ 37

+
+

4
3

— 37
— 17

—
—

7
3

4

+

33

+

16

4

— 26

— 10

3
4
4
6
18
93

+
+
+
+
+
+

44
39
33
33
43
33

+
+
*f
+
,4*
rf

25
11
2
18
12
13

3
3

— 37
- f 55

— 23
— 9

*5
22
72

— 26
— 19
— 24

+
+
+

19
13

+

6

l l

7

5
19
2

* W h e n f e w e r th a n 3 s to r e s r e p o r t in a g iv e n d t y , t h e s a l e s o r s to c k s
a r e g r o u p e d t o g e th e r u n d e r o th e r cities.**________________________________

10

M o n t h l y R e v ie w

o f th e F ederal R e se rv e B a n k o f A tla n ta fo r Ja n u a ry 1946

Sixth D istrict T rade in 1 9 4 5
h e retail distribution of m erchandise in the Sixth District
was greater in 1945 than it has ever been.
►Confidential reports made to this bank by more than ninety
departm ent stores scattered over the D istrict disclose that the
dollar volume of sales was 13 percent larger in 1945 than it
was in 1944. F or m any years the Federal Reserve Bank of
Atlanta has received confidential reports from a representa­
tive group of departm ent stores in the D istrict and, with the
sales figures thus reported, has m aintained an index of the
daily average rate of such sales. The index goes back to Jan ­
uary 1919. It makes possible a com parison of departm ent store
sales by months and years back to that time. D aily average
sales in the five-year period 1935 through 1939 are repre­
sented by 100 percent and the index for each month in the
series shows how sales in that month com pared with those in
the five-year base period. This is also true of the annual in­
dexes.
The annual index of Sixth D istrict departm ent store sales
in 1945 was 275. The total sales volume in 1945, therefore,
was two and three fourths times what it was in the 1935-39
period. The annual index has been rising for the past seven
years. Indeed, except for a two-point drop in 1938, it has
risen each year since the depression level that was recorded
in 1932. In that year sales amounted to only 60 percent of
the 1935-39 average. The index of 275 for 1945 means that
sales in that year were more than four and a h alf times as
great in d ollar volume as the 1932 sales.
In the past seven years the largest rise occurred in 1943.
There had been increases of 10 percent and 9 percent, re­
spectively, in 1939 and 1940. In 1941 sales increased 18
percent over those for 1940. In 1942 the increase over the
1941 figures was only 12 percent, but in 1943 there was a
gain of 26 percent, and in 1944 a furth er rise of 19 percent.
►The rise of 13 percent from 1944 to 1945 was not shared
equally by all reporting cities in the District. The largest in­
crease of 1945 sales, 20 percent, occurred at Augusta, Geor­
gia. Augusta is a city that, in the earlier years of the war,
benefited much less from w ar activities than some of the
other places in the District, but it is a separation center
where m any members of the arm ed forces are receiving their
discharges from the service and this has undoubtedly been
an im portant factor in the large increase in 1945 sales. Mont­
gomery and A tlanta had gains of 19 percent, and Miami,
Baton Rouge, and N ashville followed with increases of 17
percent. Next in size of increase was Bristol with a gain of
16 percent, followed by Chattanooga and Jackson with in­
creases of 14 percent. At most of the other reporting cities
gains were sm aller than the average of 13 percent, and at
Mobile, because of the discontinuance of operations at ship­
yards and other w ar plants in the area, 1945 sales were 3
percent less than they were in 1944. At Knoxville 1945 sales
were up 8 percent from sales of the year before, but it is
notable that for alm ost % year and a half, from August 1943
through December 1944, the increases at Knoxville over the
corresponding months a year earlier were larger than those
at any other reporting city in the District. At the time there
was considerable speculation about the reason for such large
gains at Knoxville, but they can now be attributed in large

T




part to the location of the atomic-bomb plant at near-by
Oak Ridge, a city of some 75,000 people, about which little
was known until recently.
►D uring 1945 the largest increases over corresponding
months in 1944 came in the first q u arter of the year. The in ­
dex for January, at 214 percent of the 1935-39 average, was
up 20 percent from that in 1944, and the index for February
was up 22 percent. At 282, the M arch index was 28 percent
higher last year than it was in 1944, w hereas in A pril there
was an actual decrease of something less than one h alf of
one percent. This is accounted for by the earlier date of
Easter in 1945, A pril 1. Easter buying thus took place en­
tirely in M arch, but in 1944 the date of Easter, A pril 9, had
allowed seven business days in A pril before Easter. The ad­
justed index, which takes into account not only the effect of
seasonal factors on the volume of business but also the
changing date of Easter, indicates an increase of 20 percent
in March over that month a year earlier, and an increase of
6 percent in A pril. Last year the index fo r May was only 4
percent above that in 1944, but the index for June showed
an increase of 17 percent in 1945. In the latter h alf of the
year the indexes averaged 12 percent higher than they did in
that part of 1944.
The holiday period was characterized by heavy spending
for all sorts of goods that were available and by shortages
of many kinds of gift m erchandise and in regular items that
are. extensively used as gifts. The reasons that trade has held
up in spite of the discontinuance of war activities and some
increase in unem ploym ent are numerous. R eturning service­
men require civilian clothing, fo r instance, and m any of
them who have m arried in the past few years need furniture
and other household equipm ent. A nother im portant factor is
the sharp reduction since m idyear in the sale of savings
bonds and the increased rate at which they are being turned
into cash.
In this D istrict sales of savings bonds in June amounted to
89.8 m illion dollars. In Ju ly they am ounted to 73.3 m illion
dollars. The total for August dropped to 37.7 m illion, that
for Septem ber to 27.6 m illion, and the total fo r October to
24.0 m illion. The V ictory Drive in November and December
resulted in sales in those months of 49.5 m illion dollars and
47.3 m illion dollars, respectively. 'Hie total amount of these
bonds that were redeemed in June and July averaged about
34 m illion dollars, but following the ending of the Pacific
War, redem ptions increased by almost one half. From August
through December they averaged 50.2 m illion dollars. It can
hardly be doubted that a sizable p art of this money found its
way into retail channels of trade and to some extent counter­
acted the effect of increased unemployment.
►Of the more than ninety departm ent stores in the D istrict
that report their sales, stocks, and other items, about 22 also
furnish m onthly reports that show in more or less detail their
sales and inventories classified by departm ents or groups of
items. Some of these stores report figures for m ore different
departm ents and groups of items than the others are able to
do.
R ather curiously, the largest percentage increases during
most of 1945 over corresponding m onths of 1944 were in

M o n t h ly R e v ie w

o f th e F ederal R e se rv e B a n k o f A tla n ta fo r J a n u a ry 1946

sales of m echanical refrigerators, fo r which only five stores
reported figures. The sm allest increase, 16 percent, was re­
ported fo r Junq 1945 over th at m onth a year e a rlie r; in A pril
the increase was 59 percent; and fo r other m onths through
November— December figures are not yet available— the in ­
creases were much larger, ranging up to 431 percent fo r
August. F o r the 11 months, Jan u ary through November, the
total was m ore than three and a h a lf times as large as sales
in that p a rt o f 1944. End-of-month stocks of m echanical re­
frigerators were sm aller fo r each of the first six months of
1945 and fo r August than they had been at corresponding
times a year earlier, but fo r Ju ly and for September, October,
and November they were larger.
P robably the greatest scarcity was in radios. Sales in 1945
of seven reporting stores were down 53 percent from the
1944 average, and stocks were also greatly reduced. Press
reports in the fall had indicated th at there m ight be some
radios available fo r the holiday trade, but actually there
were few, if any at all, fo r over-the-counter sale. Another
item that was in very short supply fo r the first nine months
of the year was cameras. In October and November, how­
ever, both sales and stocks of cam eras increased over those in
the same months of 1944 to such an extent that the JanuaryNovember total of sales in 1945 was 3 percent larg er than
the total fo r that p a rt of 1944. A nother scarce item was um ­
b rellas; but even so 1945 sales averaged 3 percent greater
than they had the year before. In contrast, with this slight
gain in um brella sales, phonograph and record sales, grouped
together, were 70 percent greater than they were in 1944.
Despite the scarcity of men’s clothing during most of the
year sales in 1945 were 27 percent greater than those made
in 1944, and sales of men’s furnishings were up 23 percent.
The alm ost complete absence of men’s shirts, shorts, and
pajam as in the stores became progressively m ore acute as the
year end approached.
Sales of women’s and misses’ w ear as a group increased 19
percent in 1945 over the 1944 volume, sales of coats and
suits were up 17 percent, and there was a rise of 28 percent
in sales of dresses.
Total sales of home furnishings were up 16 percent from
the 1944 figures. In this group the large decrease in sales of
radios offset to some extent the increases in m echanical re­
frigerators, phonographs, and records and increases of 31
percent in sales of furniture and beds, 54 percent in m at­
tresses and springs, and 58 percent in other household ap ­
pliances.
There has been, of course, during most of the past three
or four years, the general com plaint that m erchandise offered
for sale has been in most instances of a quality inferior to
that available at com parable prices before the war. These
comparisons are of d o llar figures and take no account of any
changes that m ight have taken place in prices o r in the
quality of merchandise.
^ In addition to the reports th at come from departm ent stores,
confidential reports from m ore than a hundred retail fu rn i­
ture stores are also received by this bank each month. In
1945 the total sales reported by these stores averaged 15 per­
cent greater in d o llar value than they did in 1944. Most of
these stores, but not all, are able to report the am ounts of
their sales fo r cash and those th at are charged to instalm ent
or other credit accounts. In contrast to the increase of 15
percent in the year’s total sales, the total of cash sales in ­



11

creased 33 percent, and credit sales were up only 13 percent.
In January and February 1945 stocks at these retail furniture
stores were sm aller than they were a year earlier. Beginning
in M arch, however, the stores reported increases fo r each
month, and stocks averaged 11 percent larger fo r the year
than they did in 1944.
^ W holesale distribution of merchandise in the D istrict aver­
aged only slightly higher in the first 11 m onths of 1945 thaji
it did in that p a rt of 1944. This gain is shown in m onthly
reports prepared by the D epartm ent of Commerce.
Because the wholesale-trade reporting service inaugurated
in the early 1920’s by the Federal Reserve Banks was taken
over some years ago by the United States D epartm ent of
Commerce, the Banks no longer receive reports directly from
wholesale firms. From m onth to month, however, the Bureau
of the Census in the D epartm ent of Commerce furnishes the
Reserve Banks with statements that show com parisons of the
sales, stocks, and collections reported by firms in the re­
spective Reserve Districts. The num ber of wholesale firms
located in the Sixth D istrict that report to the Bureau of the
Census varies from month to m onth; in some months the
num ber exceeds 150, and in others it is considerably lower.
F or the January-N ovem ber period of 1945, total sales by
Sixth D istrict wholesale firms reporting to the Bureau of the
Census averaged one half of one percent higher than they
did in that period a year earlier. T hat means, of course, that
the increases reported in sales by firms dealing in some lines
of merchandise were only slightly more than sufficient to
offset the decreases reported by firms dealing in other lines
of merchandise.
In this D istrict the largest increase fo r 1945 over 1944 in
sales made by wholesale concerns was reported by firms
dealing in automotive supplies. Sales in that line increased
34 percent. That is easily understood because the fact that
virtually no new cars were available made necessary m ore
frequent and extensive repairs and replacements on the cars
that were in use. The next largest increase over 1944, 25 per­
cent, was in sales of electrical goods. In both those lines the
largest increases for the first 11 months of the year were in
October and November. Sales of fresh fruits and vegetables
increased 9 percent, with the largest gains occurring in Janu­
ary and A pril. The increase in sales of industrial hardw are
was also 9 percent fo r the year, with the largest gain coming
in January and decreases occurring in October and Novem­
ber. Sales of wholesale grocers dealing in specialty lines
were up 8 percent. There were also increases, of 4 percent,
in sales of clothing, general hardw are, and drugs.
The largest decrease in sales in 1945 com pared w ith those
in 1944 was reported by firms dealing in confectionery.
Their sales were down 23 percent, and th at decrease was, of
course, a result of the extreme shortage of sugar. There were
decreases of 8 percent in dry goods and 5 percent in tobacco
and tobacco products. These decreases may be attributed to
the fact that the output of textile m ills and of the tobacco
m anufacturers were, during a large part of the year, going
to the arm ed forces. Sales of beer were down 4 percent, and
there were declines of one percent in sales m ade by firm$
dealing in paper and paper products and in those made by
full-line grocery wholesalers. Sales in the “miscellaneous’;’
group were down 8 percent fo r the year.
D. E. Mo Ncrief

12

o f th e F ederal R eserve B a n k o f A tla n ta fo r J a n u a ry 1946

M o n t h l y R e v ie w

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

B a n k in g

C O N D IT IO N O F 20 M EM BER B A N ES IN SELE C T E D C IT IE S
( I n T h o u s a n d s o i D o lla rs )
J a n . 23
1946

Ite m

L o a n s a n d in v e s t m e n t s —
T o t a l..........................................
L o a n s — t o t a l ...............................
C o m m e rc ia l, in d u s tr i a l,
a n d a g r i c u lt u r a l lo a n s .
L o a n s to b r o k e r s a n d
d e a l e r s in s e c u r i t i e s . . .
O th e r lo a n s fo r p u r ­
c h a sin g a n d c a rry in g
s e c u r i t i e s ............................
R e a l e s t a t e l o a n s ................
L o a n s to b a n k s ....................
O th e r l o a n s .............................
I n v e s tm e n ts —t o t a l ..................
U . S . d ir e c t o b l i g a t i o n s . .
O b lig a tio n s g u a r a n t e e d
b y U . S .................................
O th e r s e c u r i t i e s ..................
R e s e r v e w ith F . R. B a n k ___
C a s h in v a u l t .............................
B a la n c e s w ith d o m e s tic
b a n k s ........................................
D e m a n d d e p o s it s a d j u s t e d .
T im e d e p o s i t s .............................
U . S . G o v 't d e p o s i t s ...............
D e p o s its of d o m e s tic b a n k s
B o r r o w in g s .................................

J a n . 26
1945

J a n . 24
1945

2,3,11,098 2,306,553 1,814,256
516,154
546,742
352,203

J a n . 24
1945

+ 0
—6
—2

+
+

27
47

+

18

244,584

250,000

207,642

3,186

15,758

5,931

— 80

— 46

,140,503
154,663
44,176
24,184
22,996
23,910
3,962
3,019
2,856
90,678
99,363
67,688
1,794,944 1,759,811 1,462,053
1,642,736 1,609,782 1,320,6,15

— 9
4- 5
— 24
— 9

+ 218

+ , 30

1,458
150,750
381,463
30,04,1

1,121

148.908
375,099
32.908

18,846
122,592
329,014
28,940

157,507
155,131
144,640
1,269,824 1,256,672 1,074,283
4,22,821
332,519
415,223
460,874
472,186
236,700
607,774
6.12,069
512,436
5,000

1
6

34
23
24

+ 2
+ 2

■+
—

2
9

92
23
16
4

—
+
+
—
—

2
1
2
2
1

7
18
27
95
19

+ 1

D EBITS T O IN D IV ID U A L BANK A C C O U N T S
( I n T h o u s a n d s of D o lla rs )

P la c e

N o. of
B anks
R e p o rt­
in g

D ec.
1945

N ov.
1945

D ec.
1944

P ercen t C h an g e
D e c . 19 45 fro m
N ov.
1945

D ec.
1944

ALABAM A
A n n i s t o n .,
B ir m in g h a m .. . .
D o th a n ................
G a d s d e n ...........
M o b ile ................
M o n tg o m e r y ...

3
3
2
3
4
3

17,609
231,923
11,966
13,047
103,592
52,575

15,742
219,138
11,263
13,437
91,367
50,058

19,648
215,371
10,137
13,386
127,072
42,246

12
6
6
— 3
+ 13
rf 5

+
__
1—
+

10
8
18
3
18
24

F L O R ID A
J a c k s o n v i l l e ...
M ia m i..................
G r e a te r M iam i*
O r l a n d o .............
P e n s a c o l a .........
S t. P e t e r s b u r g .
T a m p a ..................

3
7
11
2
3
3
3

223,238
191,871
270,951
47,109
30,739
39,127
95,629

189,935
157,232
220,051
35,282
26,928
35,129
82,129

212,454
165,425
233,856
34,173
30,475
30,081
92,525

:+

18
22
23
+
+ 34
+ 14
11
+ 16

+
+
+
+
+
+
+

5
16
16
38
1
30
3

G E O R G IA
A lb a n y ................
A tla n ta ................
A u g u s t a ........... .
B r u n s w ic k ___
C o lu m b u s .........
E l b e r to n ...........
G a i n e s v i l l e * ...
G riffin * .............
M a c o n ................
N e w n a n .............
R o m e * ................
S a v a n n a h .........
V a ld o s ta ...........

2
4
3
2
4
2
3
2
3
2
3
4
2

15,947
649,981
41,482
8,248
42,458
2,794
9,243
8,138
50,965
7,381
15,066
87,876
9,497

15,411
538,722
39,460
9,946
39,376
3,075
10,539
8,022
45,147
7,756
17,156
70,263
9,980

14,065
571,616
43,216
20,098
43,315
2,380
**
**
51,711
5,715
**
102,028
8,030

3
+
+ 21
5
17
8
9
--- 12
1
+
+ 13
--- 5
--- 12
+ 25
5

-f
■+
—
—
—.
+

13
14
4
59'
2
17

—

1
29

i— , 14
+ 18

L O U ISIA N A
B a to n R o u g e . .
L ake C h a rle s.
N e w O r le a n s .

3
3
7

53,332
21,405
528,028

49,242
20,350
456,714

46,985
20,538
500,077

•+ 8
5
1+
+ 16

+ 14
4
+
4- 6

M IS S IS S IP P I
H a t t i e s b u r g . ..
J a c k s o n .............
M e r id i a n .........
V i c k s b u r g ___

2
4
3
2

13,999
75,763
20,553
20,975

14,082
69,989
20,557
23,649

14,497
63,747
18,208
25,447

1
8
0
--- 1,1

TENNESSEE
C h a tta n o o g a .
K n o x v ille .........
N a s h v ill e .........

4
4
6

111,908
120,341
253,529

92,989
101,569
201,442

105,103
130,250
231,211

+
+
+

20
18
26

.+
+

6
8
10

105

3,194,887

2,757,359

3,011,238

+

16

+

6

91,281,000

+

28

+

11

SIX T H D IST R IC T
32 C i t i e s .............

U N IT ED STA TES
101,563,000 79,401,000
334 C i t i e s ...........
*N ot in c lu d e d in S ix th D is tric t to ta l
**N ot a v a ila b l e




+
+
+

h e Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in
W ashington on January 1, 1946, announced the reappoint­
ment of Frank H. Neely of A tlanta, Georgia, as chairm an of
the Board of D irectors and Federal Reserve Agent of the Fed­
eral Reserve Bank of A tlanta fo r the year 1946. It also an­
nounced the appointm ent of J. F. P orter of Columbia,
Tennessee, president of the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federa­
tion, as a Class C director of the Federal Reserve Bank of
A tlanta and designated him as deputy chairm an of the Board
of D irectors of the A tlanta bank fo r 1946.
In addition, the Board of Governors reappointed W illiam
Howard Smith a director of the Birm ingham branch, Charles
S. Lee a director of the Jacksonville branch, and John J.
Shaffer, Jr., a director of the New O rleans branch. These
three branch directors’ term s began on January 1 and are
fo r three years.
On January 2 the Board of Governors appointed H. G.
Chalkley, Jr., as a director of the New O rleans branch to fill
the unexpired term of M ajor A lexander Fitz-Hugh. Mr.
Chalkley is president of the Sweet Lake Land and Oil Com­
pany of Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Mr. Neely, chairm an of the board of the Federal Reserve
Bank of A tlanta, on January 1 announced the reappointm ents
of M. B. Spragins to the board of directors of the Birm ing­
ham branch, J. S. Fairchild to that of the Jacksonville branch,
Edward Potter, Jr., to the board of the N ashville branch, and
T. G. Nicholson to the board of the New O rleans branch.
These men will serve for a term of three years beginning
January 1.
In addition to the foregoing, Mr. Neely announced the
election of Robert Strickland, president of the T rust Com­
pany of Georgia, A tlanta, Georgia, as a member of the Fed­
eral Advisory Council to represent the Sixth Federal Reserve
District. Mr. Strickland’s term of one year began January 1.

T

P ercen t C h a n g e
Ja n . 23, 1946/ Iro m
D e c . 26
1945

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

+

+

+

3
19
13
18

A dditions to th e P ar List
On January 11 the Commercial Bank of D aytona Beach, D ay­
tona Beach, F lorida, began rem itting at p ar for checks drawn
on it when received by the Federal Reserve Bank. This bank,
which was form erly known as the Industrial Savings Bank,
is a nonmember bank located in the territory served by the
Jacksonville branch.
On January 12, 1946, the Commercial Bank of D aytona
Beach had capital am ounting to $100,000, undivided profits
of $9,000, and surplus of $20,000. Its deposits on that date
were $1,404,000.
This bank is officered by L. A. Coleman, president; Blaine
B. Barber, executive vice p resident; R. L. Coleman, vice presi­
dent; H. C. Coleman, cashier; and R. F. Livingston, D. L.
Niver, H. D. Riegle, and Gladys G. Fountain, assistant
cashiers.
The bank serves the resort city of D aytona Beach, F lorida,
which had a population of approxim ately 22,584 in 1940.
Annual tourist business in the city is estimated to be 15 m il­
lion dollars, and the 9,000 employed civilians in the im ­
m ediate trading area receive annual wages and salaries of
$13,500,000.
D uring the year 1945, a total of 81 banks were added to
the Federal Reserve P a r List in the Sixth D istrict. Of these,
42 were in Tennessee, 15 in F lorida, 10 in Alabam a, 7 in
Georgia, 5 in Louisiana, and 2 in M ississippi.