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U B R A

Atlanta, Georgki

K

\

0 196

June • 1962

Also tn this issue:
SIXTH DISTRICT
STATISTICS

DISTRICT BUSINESS
CONDITIONS

The South and Its Future
Meeting here with you today is indeed a pleasant occasion. It is now
over a year since I retired from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta,
and I therefore welcome this opportunity to be associated again with
old friends and colleagues.
At the Bank we have always been proud of our several Boards of Di­
rectors because of the public spirit and intelligence with which they
have discharged their duties. Today, however, I think that a special
accolade of praise is due the Nashville Branch Board and its Chairman
for having brought together such a distinguished group as this in the
interest of forging closer and more understanding bonds between the
Federal Reserve System and the business community.
We of the Federal Reserve System write and talk a great deal about
ourselves and our policy problems. We do so because we want you
businessmen and the general public to have an intelligent interest in
us, for we know that what we do is going to affect all of you very in­
timately in your business.
On our side, however, we want you to know that we are equally in­
terested in you and your problems, for what goes on in the nation’s
economy is a matter of the greatest concern to us. The Federal Reserve
System, after all, has a fundamental duty to help maintain a healthy
rate of growth in the nation’s economy, insofar as it can do so with
the limited powers given it by law.
Each Federal Reserve Bank, in turn, therefore, has a very special in­
terest in the economic health and progress of its own particular district
and seeks to promote them in whatever way it can. It is because I know
of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s lively and continuing interest
in the economic development and well-being of the South that I want
to say a few things on this subject today. It must be understood, how­
ever, that what I have to say today is on my own responsibility and
must not be held against anyone else in or out of the System’s official
family.

Looking Backward

% sm
S fan ta



My own interest in the matter of the South’s economic future goes
back some forty-five years to the days of the First World War when I
was soldiering with the Twenty-Eighth Division at Camp Hancock at
Augusta, Georgia. In those days I had the pleasure of knowing a
prominent Georgia industrialist. One Sunday afternoon he took me out
to his factory to show me what he had built up there.
When we had completed the inspection, my friend turned to me and
said that although he was proud of his plant, it was, nevertheless, only
a drop in the bucket. What the South needed, he said, was thousands
of factories and plants of all kinds. The South, he said, had been asleep
ever since the War Between the States, and he hoped that the war then
N O T E — A n ad dress by E arle L . R au ber, form er Vice President an d D irector o f
Research, F ed eral R eserve B ank o f A tlanta, before an assem bly o f M iddle Tennes­
see bankers an d businessm en. The m eeting w as held under the auspices o f the
B o ard o f D irectors o f the N ash ville Branch o f the F ed eral R eserve B ank o f
A tlan ta at Peabody C ollege, A p ril 13, 1962.

going on would wake it up. In any case, he urged me to
return and be a part of the “new South” that he hoped
would emerge.
My friend was a very persuasive gentleman, and I
determined that when the war was over I would come
back and cast my lot with the South. For various personal
reasons, however, this was not to be. It was not until
1930 that I finally realized my earlier intention and came
South to stay.
But in 1930 the whole nation was going over the prec­
ipice into the most catastrophic depression in history,
and the South, not yet having been stirred from its leth­
argy, as my friend had hoped, landed on the bottom of
the heap with the reputation of being the nation’s “No. 1
Economic Problem.”
What the First World War did not accomplish, how­
ever, the Second World War did. In helping to meet un­
precedented war demands, the South was finally gal­
vanized into unheard-of activity, and the pulse of this
new life has been coursing through its veins ever since.
Those of us who have lived through these years have
seen a veritable economic revolution take place before
our eyes. We have seen a region that had lain fallow for
generations burst suddenly into life and, in the course of
three brief decades, carry through an economic revolu­
tion on two fronts.
A region once predominantly agricultural so changed
its face that in 1960 agriculture produced only 5.3 per­
cent of the income in the six states of this Federal Reserve
District. And within agriculture itself— once dominated
by cotton— cotton is no longer king, for that crop yielded
only 20 percent of total cash receipts from farm market­
ings in this District in 1960, whereas livestock— a new­
comer— produced more than 45 percent.
In the industrial complex, the old traditional textile
industry now employs only 13.7 percent of all manufac­
turing workers in this District. Lusty newcomers like
chemicals and allied products, transportation equipment,
fabricated metals, and a host of others are providing more
and more jobs for Southern workers, as are the trade and
service industries.
All in all, the South is apparently on the march at last,
as the soaring skylines of our cities and the changing face
of the countryside continually remind us.

What Has the South Achieved?
Contemplating the gains made in the past thirty years, one
could easily bask in the luxury of self-congratulation. On
sober second thought, however, he would have to admit
that this economic upsurge was not something peculiar to
the South. On the contrary, it was a nationwide phenom­
enon, and the South’s economic rebirth was only an
episode in the larger development of the nation.
Indeed, if we are quite frank about the matter, we
shall have to admit that these great changes in the South
were by no means exclusively the result of Southern initia­
tive. It was the prodigal expenditure of Government
funds during the Second World War and the influx of
capital and management from the outside that turned the
trick. Even in 1960, Government expenditures provided
almost 14 percent of all personal income in the South—



about half of the income from this source coming from
Federal expenditures.
But regardless of where the initiative came from, these
changes have nevertheless been of tremendous importance
for the South. They have meant that the South is no
longer the nation’s “No. 1 Economic Problem.” It is no
longer an enclave of economic backwardness within the
body of the national economy. The South has at last been
drawn into the mainstream of economic progress.
To what extent, however, has the South actually
shared in this nationwide upsurge of economic well­
being? I do not want to burden you with statistics, but I
find I must use a few. They will concern the six states of
this Federal Reserve District, for I think them fairly
representative of the South and especially so of the South­
east. I shall draw your attention, moreover, only to per
capita personal income. This measures in a general way
the average individual’s contribution to the production of
goods and services and also indicates the extent to which
he can function as either a saver or a spender.
In dealing with such figures we must beware of the
trickery that lies in percentage changes, for they can
easily lull one into unwarranted complacency. For ex­
ample: Between 1930 and 1960, per capita personal in­
come increased by 256 percent in the United States as a
whole but by 418.9 percent in this District. Putting it
another way, per capita personal income in the District
was 50 percent of the national average in 1930. By 1950
it had risen to 68 percent, and in 1960 it was 73 percent.
Looking at these percentage figures, one could easily con­
clude that the South was making quite satisfactory
progress.
A somewhat different impression, however, is gained
when we look at some dollars and cents figures. After all,
people earn and spend dollars—not percentages. In 1930,
per capita personal income amounted to $624 a year in
the United States, but only to $312 a year in the District.
In other words, the average person got $312 a year less
in the District than he did in the nation as a whole. By
1950, the figures had risen to $1,491 for the United
States and to $1,010 for the District. The District’s lag
behind the nation was then $481 a year instead of the
earlier $312. And as of July 2, 1960, when the national
figure had grown to $2,223 and the District figure to
$1,619, the discrepancy between them was greater than
ever— $604 a year.
Thus, although the average person’s income position
was improving in absolute terms in the South as it was
in the nation, there was an increasing lag in absolute
terms behind the national average.

The Disappearance of ” the South"
So much for statistics. I have cited these only to make
clear two points. First: The South’s economic direction
now tends to conform to that of the nation and may there­
fore be presumed to be governed by nationwide forces
rather than by peculiarly Southern conditions. Second:
The fact that per capita personal income in the South
shows a tendency to lag by an increasing amount behind
that of the nation even while conforming to its general
•2 •

direction is therefore probably explainable in terms of
regional factors.
Let me speak a little more to these two points. It is
merely stating a fact, I believe, to say that except as a
geographical designation, “the South” no longer exists.
By that I mean that there is no longer a more or less
homogeneous Southern economy as there was in the days
before the War Between the States and for more than a
half century thereafter. So varied have become the eco­
nomic interests of the region that differences from state to
state, and even differences within individual states, are
now greater than those between the so-called “South” as
a whole and the rest of the country.
Per capita personal income as of July 2, 1960, for
example, ranged from a low of $1,173 a year in Missis­
sippi to a high of $1,988 in Florida— a spread of $815,
whereas there was a spread of only $604 between the
District as a whole and the United States. By what stretch
of the statistical imagination can two such disparate states
be considered parts of any meaningful whole? And what
community of economic interest can there possibly be
between the great petro-chemicals development along the
Gulf Coast and an upland farmer in Louisiana? No, for
better or worse, the inexorable march of economic his­
tory has abolished the South as an economic entity and
there remains now only our common destiny as Americans.

The Population Explosion and the South
We may take for granted, therefore, that the future of the
South is going to be shaped by the same forces as those
shaping that of the nation. We don’t know all of them,
but we can see a few clearly enough.
The most obvious, and perhaps the most important, of
these is the explosive growth of population. This is
actually a worldwide phenomenon in which the United
States is sharing, albeit on a more modest scale than some
other parts of the world. But even in this country the in­
crease in population is great enough to be creating many
serious problems.
Let us consider this for a moment. In 1950, we had
approximately 152 million people in this country. In
1960, we had about 180 million, and in 1975, by a very
conservative estimate, we shall have over 222 million.
Thus, between 1950 and 1975 the population will grow
by at least 70 million persons. If present trends continue,
moreover, this increase will not be spread evenly over
the country. On the contrary, it is much more likely to
be distributed in such a way as to create the maximum of
problems, for it is estimated that 60 million of the increase
will go into the country’s metropolitan districts— the areas
already most densely populated.
Do you have any idea what this means? It means that
between 1950 and 1975 the metropolitan population of
this country will increase by the equivalent of another
1950-sized New York-Northern New Jersey district;
another Boston district; another Buffalo district; another
Philadelphia; a Baltimore; a Pittsburgh; a Cleveland; a
Chicago; a Detroit; a St. Louis; a Minneapolis-St. Paul;
a Los Angeles; and another San Francisco district. And
there will still remain 15 million more people to be
spread among the smaller metropolitan districts.



We know only too well the difficulties presently faced
by cities, by states, and by public utilities in providing
essential services to these rapidly growing and shifting
masses of people— streets, roads, and expressways; hous­
ing; water; sewers; schools; fire protection; police protec­
tion; sanitary facilities; health services; recreation; electric
power, gas, and telephone service. In city after city,
schools cannot be built fast enough to keep up with the
growth of population, and half-day sessions are becom­
ing increasingly common. If cities and states are having
difficulty now in meeting the demands being made on
them, imagine the physical and financial job they will
have on their hands thirteen or fourteen years hence
when they will have to provide for the much larger
population that is already in sight!
Just as the United States shares the world’s population
problem, so the South will have to share that of the
nation. The South is already the most populous of the
four regions into which the Census divides the country,
and between 1950 and 1960, except for the West’s, its
numerical and percentage growth was the greatest. The
South, therefore, cannot hope to escape the serious
economic and financial difficulties that are bound to arise
from this cause.

The Impact of the Technological Revolution
A second force shaping the future of the nation, and
therefore that of the South, is the technological revolu­
tion now in progress. We know what such technological
revolutions have meant in the past, when, for example,
the introduction of machinery destroyed age-old handi­
craft industries in the latter part of the eighteenth century;
or again, when steam power applied to transportation by
land and water in the middle of the last century opened
up the continents and oceans of the world to commerce
and industry; or when, at the beginning of the present
century, electricity and the internal combustion engine
began to alter every aspect of life so radically that we
can now scarcely think of any tolerable life without them.
The present technological revolution, however, is so
complex and so profound in its nature that we cannot even
imagine what its ultimate effects are likely to be. Chemistry
is giving us a fantastic array of materials to work with that
nature never dreamed of; nuclear fission and fusion hold
the promise of a supply of energy beyond man’s wildest
dreams. And, under the catch-all name of “automation,”
electronic science is creating machines that are replac­
ing unskilled and semi-skilled workers by the thousands;
and because in some respects these machines rival and
even surpass the human brain, they are now invading the
ranks of skilled workers, of white-collar workers, and
even of some echelons of management itself.
The nature of the problems created by the conjunction
of these two forces— the explosive growth of population
and the technological revolution—is already evident in
the statistics. In 1961, for example, when the civilian
labor force in this country was greater by 9 percent than
it was in 1955, the number of persons employed was
greater by only 6 percent, but the number of unemployed
was greater by 66 percent. In 1961, our manufacturing
industries turned out a product 13 percent greater than
• 3 •

in 1955 but did so with 9 percent fewer production
workers.
Although its dimensions will fluctuate with seasonal
and cyclical factors, this nagging problem of the un­
employed and unemployable will continue to be serious
in many parts of the nation but is likely to be especially
so in the South.
Think again of the population figures. The South en­
joys a higher birth rate and a lower death rate than the
country as a whole and consequently has a higher rate
of natural increase. One would therefore expect the
population to grow faster here than in the nation. This,
however, is not the case, and the reason lies in the fact
that the South loses many thousands of its people every
year through migration to other parts of the country.
This migration occurs because, among other things, capi­
tal expansion has so far been insufficient to create enough
jobs to absorb the increase in population. Many people,
therefore, must remain unemployed; or they must be con­
tent to rot away on a submarginal level of living; or they
must seek their livelihood outside the South. At present
the South is experiencing all three contingencies.
Will the South find in migration the same partial relief
from population pressure in the future as it has in the
past? There is reason to doubt it, for the classes of
workers that have constituted the bulk of the migrants
are precisely those that are feeling the brunt of automa­
tion everywhere. Uneducated, untrained, and unskilled
workers from the South are therefore going to experience
increasing difficulty in finding jobs elsewhere. Some
people, of course, will always be able to migrate, but
more and more of them will have to remain at home and
seek their future here, if they are to have any future at
all.
If these people are to be an economic asset rather than
an economic liability, they will have to be provided with
jobs and with the necessary education and training for
those jobs. This will entail a huge investment of new
capital. As much as we may rejoice in the growing share
of our capital requirements now being generated within
the South itself, it is obvious that the bulk of the new
capital will still have to come from the outside, and it
will have to come on a much larger scale than ever before.
In the past, industry came South partly because it
found here an abundant supply of cheap labor, but this
factor may not be of the same importance in the future.
All across the country the spread of automation is creat­
ing pools of unemployed unskilled and semi-skilled labor.
Not only will other parts of the country be unable to
absorb the South’s excess population but will them­
selves be looking for new industries and new enterprises
to provide jobs for their own surplus labor. The South,
indeed, will have to compete with all of them in seeking
the capital we shall need to care for our people.

Some Considerations in Attracting Capital
Capital will be attracted to the South only by what we
can offer it, and we can offer only two things— the en­
dowment of natural resources with which we have been
blessed, and the kind of social, political, and economic
climate that we create for business to work in. We can



do little to alter our endowment of natural resources, al­
though there are some things we can do by way of sound
conservation and developmental programs. There is much
that we can and must do, however, to provide a climate
congenial to modern business. Many things go to create
such a climate and thus tend to encourage new capital in­
vestment. Here we can mention but a few.
One of the most important of these is the adequacy
and quality of the services that states and municipalities
now find it necessary to provide for their citizens. I
mentioned some of these a little while ago. The number,
the complexity, and the quality of these services increase
inexorably year by year, and the state or region that fails
to keep abreast of them is almost sure to fall behind in
the race for new capital.
It is almost equally important that the tax burden oc­
casioned by these expanding services be distributed
equitably as among the various political jurisdictions and
as among the various classes of business and taxpayers.
Without such tax equity, new investment will be dis­
couraged. Business taxes must certainly not be punitive.
If we expect business to come and make its home with us,
we dare not treat it as a beast of all burdens or as a cow
placidly waiting to be milked.
It must also be said (although this should really go
without saying!) that the public officials responsible for
the levying, the collection, and the expenditure of tax
monies should not only be technically qualified for their
jobs but should also be men of the greatest honesty and
probity of character. No intelligently managed business
will be eager to risk its capital and subject itself to taxa­
tion where it has reason to believe that the tax revenues,
to which it may be a substantial contributor, will be
frittered away through incompetence, or be leached away
through the malfeasance of those through whose hands
the money passes.
Another condition necessary for a healthy business
climate is the political equality of all citizens. By this I
mean that the vote of any man must be roughly equal
to that of any other, regardless of where he may happen
to live. No man should ever feel that he is losing part of
his American heritage or having it diluted into insignif­
icance when he finds it necessary to move from one state
to another or from one political jurisdiction to another
within a state. It would be difficult for business to attract
the higher type personnel it now requires if they were to
be subjected to substantial disfranchisement because of a
too common discrimination against urban areas in the
distribution of political power under whatever guises it
may occur.
And finally, a state of social tranquillity must prevail.
No business can thrive in an atmosphere of public apathy
and indifference toward the pressing problems of crime,
delinquency, and of haphazard and discriminatory law
enforcement, on the one hand, or of public disorder and
the defiance of constitutional authority on the other.
These are some of the conditions that must be estab­
lished if we are to attract really adequate amounts of new
capital to the South. How far we are presently succeed­
ing or are failing to do so I leave to your own knowledge
and observation. Let me say this, however— although capi­
• 4 •

tal is the most mobile of all the agents of production and
will go to the ends of the earth seeking a profit, it is also
the most timid. Let any condition arise to threaten its
safety and the continuity of its operations, or to reduce
its profitability because of unfair burdens, and capital will
either not come at all, or will soon take wings and seek
refuge in more hospitable climes.

Looking Forward
To make a long story short, what I have been saying boils
down to this: The South is no longer an economic entity
in itself; for better or worse, the thousand strands of its
varied economic interests have been woven inextricably
into the warp and woof of the nation’s economy. The
South must therefore be prepared to adopt not only the
external, physical, and institutional arrangements appro­
priate to this new and irrevocable position, but also the
attitudes, customs, practices, and obligations implicit
therein.
I do not believe, for example, that we can much longer
afford the folly of pretending to maintain a so-called
“Southern way of life” when all we probably mean by
that phrase is a body of fetishes and taboos, of habits and
customs that were appropriate only to a kind of economy
that has long since “gone with the wind.”
Least of all, therefore, should we be caught playing
the fool with our schools and colleges in an age when the
universe is shrinking under the impact of science and
when education, more than ever before, is going to spell
the difference between destitution and affluence for the
individual; between stagnation and progress for the
region; and, perhaps, between death and survival for our
country. We cannot afford to waste the productive poten­
tial of any individual or class of individuals by relegat­
ing them, through lack of educational opportunities or
substandard education, to a position where they can only
exist as parasites on the otherwise productive elements of
the economy. The South is rapidly growing up economi­
cally— it now behooves us to grow up in other respects as
well.
Much wisdom is enshrined in the folklore, the prov­
erbs, and the poetry of peoples. During the great ex­
pansion period of the United States in the last half of
the nineteenth century and the early part of the twenti­
eth, there entered into American folklore a mythical bird
of uncertain parentage known variously as the “whiffle
bird,” or the “galawampus.” The late H. L. Mencken
called it the “goofus bird.” The peculiarity of this crea­
ture was that it flew backwards, since it was more in­
terested in where it had been than in where it was going.
This mythical bird symbolized the folks who preferred to
keep their eyes on the past rather than on the magnificent
future that was then opening up for them as individuals
and for the country as a whole— a future they could not
see but with which they were bound to collide, blindly
and therefore painfully.
If you gentlemen are really interested in the future of
the South— indeed, if you are concerned about the future
of your own business—you had better use your influence
as citizens and as businessmen to get rid of the “goofus
birds” that still nest in too great numbers in nearly every



nook and cranny of our Southern institutions. As painful
as it may be to do so, we must learn to turn our backs
to the past and face the future with open eyes. In no case
can we escape the future. We should therefore not be so
stupid as to damage our tailfeathers by flying into it
backwards.
The ancient Romans had a proverb that taught this
same lesson. In Latin it goes like this: Ducunt fata volentem, nolentem trahunt. In a very free translation this
means that destiny will lead you along gently by the
hand if you go willingly and cooperatively. If, however,
you go unwillingly and resentfully, it will nevertheless
drag you along, but then by the scruff of the neck.
This task that I envisage for the South, and for all of
us who love the South and who want her to have a
future worth the having—this task of growing up to the
requirements of a new age—has been expressed in noble
words by one of America’s early poets—Oliver Wendell
Holmes. It is the last stanza of his poem, “The Chambered
Nautilus.”
Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul,
as the swift seasons roll;
Leave thy low-vaulted past; let each new temple,
nobler than the last,
Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,
till thou at length art free,
Leaving thine outgrown shell by life’s unresting sea.
Do we have the wisdom to heed the lesson taught by
folklore, by proverb, and by poetry? Or will the iron
finger of economic reality have to spell it out for us in
red ink on the books of every countinghouse before we
understand?

Bank Announcements
On May 1, the Industrial Savings Bank of Fort Lauder­
dale, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, converted to a non­
member commercial bank and opened for business
under the name of the Central Bank in Fort Lauder­
dale. The bank began to remit at par for checks drawn
on it when received from the Federal Reserve Bank.
Officers are Charles L. Perkins, President; J. W. Bates,
Executive Vice President; and N. Robert Hammer,
Cashier.
The Florida National Bank at Lake Shore, Jackson­
ville, Florida, a newly organized member bank, opened
for business on May 7 and began to remit at par.
Officers include E. B. Kirkpatrick, Jr., President;
Charles B. Norton and David L. Reid, Vice Presidents;
and H. H. Stewart, Cashier. Capital totals $300,000,
and surplus and undivided profits, $150,000.
On May 15, the Ocean State Bank, Neptune Beach,
Florida, a newly organized nonmember bank, opened
for business and began to remit at par. Officers are
Joseph C. Gill, President; and Jack W. Connell, Vice
President and Cashier. Capital totals $250,000, and
surplus and undivided profits, $150,000.
• 5 •

NONFARM EMPLOYMENT in the District has continued to improve
this y e a r, g en e rally p arallelin g the national trend.

Debits to Individual Demand Deposit Accounts
(In Thousands of Dollars)
Percent Change

1959

1960

1961

1962

Trends among District states, how ever, have v aried . Further
advances have occurred in Florida, G eo rgia, M ississippi, and
Tennessee, w hile a decline has taken place in A labam a. Louisiana
employm ent has changed little.
Percent

Percent

Apr.
1962

Mar.
1962

43,466
861,658
37,454
34,901
80,289
291,353
178,086
25,118
60,642
1,612,967
781,346

43,762
901,171
40,430
35,201
77,205
303,902
184,685
26,340
60,896
1,673,592
811,414

37,130
762,176
35,060
34,590
62,648
269,554
154,691
23,756
52,825
1,432,430
701,945r

—1
—4
—7
—1
+4
—4
—4
—5
—0
■
—4
—4

+ 17
+13
+7
+1
+ 28
+8
+ 15
+6
+15
+13
+11

+7
+ 11
+8
+2
+ 18
+5
+9
+8
+ 14

61,378
236,187
46,767
915,967
18,768
90,806
1,053,109
1,544,082
269,500
96,975
244,173
n.a.
68,812
477,018
179,676
4,250,109
1,954,972

56,315
217,123
42,497
802,362
18,103
77,292
896,504
1,343,114
238,995
81,799
204,061
n.a.
n.a.
409,812
147,949
3,639,422
l,709,139r

+1

+0

+ 10

W. Palm-Palm Bch.*
Total Reporting Cities
Other Citiesf . . .

61,905
236,658
48,575
852,688
19,459
82,347
1,006,764
1,490,546
272,579
85,722
239,022
90,733
71,728
456,798
183,278
4,192,038
1,842,492

+4
—7
+4
—9
—4
—3
+1
— 12
—2
n.a.
+4
—4
+2
—1
—6

+9
+ 14
+6
+7
+7
+ 12
+ 11
+ 14
+5
+ 17
n.a.
n.a.
+ 11
+ 24
+ 15
+8

+5
+7
+9
+7
+9
+0
+6
+6
+7
+3
+ 12
n.a.
n.a.
+7
+ 19
+9
+8

GEORGIA
Albany . . . .
Athens* . . . .
Atlanta . . . .
Augusta . . . .
Brunswick . . .
Columbus . . . .
Dalton* . . . .
Elberton . . . .
Gainesville* . . .
Griffin* . . . .
LaGrange* . . .
Macon.......................
Marietta* . . .
Newnan . . . .
Rome*
. . . .
Savannah . . . .
Valdosta . . . .
Total Reporting Cities
Other Citiesf . . .

56,866
45,689
2,476,813
119,747
33,849
119,589
55,390
10,559
51,323
20,575
16,796
130,184
34,683
19,982
48,571
172,315
37,036
3,449,967
940,582

58,615
47,059
2,512,335
126,017
30,529
122,483
n.a.
8,843
52,502
21,851
18,614
137,150
38,604
22,608
50,062
182,506
35,310
3,465,088
1,030,211

49,985
37,823
1,965,841
99,905
23,276
102,783
n.a.
8,677
46,061
17,510
16,302
114,668
31,540
19,072
45,238
158,859
30,644
2,768,184
899,350r

—3
—3
—1
—5
+ 11
—2
n.a.
+ 19
—2
—6
— 10
—5
— 10
— 12
—3
—6
+5
—0
—9

+ 14
+21
+ 26
+ 20
+45
+ 16
n.a.
+ 22
+11
+ 18
+3
+ 14
+ 10
+5
+7
+8
+21
+ 25
+5

+13
+ 17
+ 17
+ 13
+27
+ 13
n.a.
+4
+9
+10
—4
+ 10
+ 12
+ 13
—1
+8
+ 10
+ 16
+5

LOUISIANA
Alexandria* . . .
Baton Rouge . . .
Lafayette* . . .
Lake Charles
. .
New Orleans . . .
Total Reporting Cities
Other Citiesf . . .

76,300
272,409
64,718
85,476
1,407,887
1,906,790
683,224

77,132
289,039
70,675
84,211
1,537,390
2,058,447
682,856

68,354
246,532
63,680
72,881
1,244,263
1,695,710
560,816r

—1
—6
—8
+2
—8
—7

+12

+0

+2
+ 17
+ 13
+12
+ 22

+ 16
+ 13
+8
+ 12
+6
+8
+20

MISSISSIPPI
Biloxi-Gulfport*
Hattiesburg . . .
Jackson . . . .
Laurel* . . . .
Meridian . . . .
Natchez* . . . .
Vicksburg . . . .
Total Reporting Cities
Other Citiesf . . .

60,342
37,798
342,803
28,591
47,722
23,629
23,242
564,127
290,140

59,099
41,428
358,914
28,625
48,375
25,231
23,656
585,328
298,058

52,861
36,428
297,448
24,664
39,459
22,242
19,011
492,113
255,193r

+2
—9
—4
—0
—1
—6
—2
—4
—3

+ 14
+4
+15
+ 16
+21
+6
+ 22
+ 15
+ 14

+11
+6
+ 15
+4
+ 12
+7
+ 15
+ 13
+ 10

TENNESSEE
Bristol* . . . .
Chattanooga . . .
Johnson City* . .
Kingsport* . . .
Knoxville . . . .
Nashville . . . .
Total Reporting Cities
Other Citiesf . . .

52,184
331,217
43,514
96,180
250,840
808,466
1,582,401
600,525

55,383
373,073
47,396
108,793
254,143
847,680
1,686,468
662,851

55,117
300,671
37,738
78,775
224,511
700,916
1,397,728
582,421r

—6
— 11
—8
— 12
—1
—5
—6
—9

—5
+15
+ 22
+ 12
+ 15
+ 13
+3

+7
+9
+ 11
+ 14
+5

19,159,394r 16,134,451r
13,719,032r ll,425,587r
5,440,362r 4,708,864r
ll,660,198r 9,682,564r

—4
—3
—6
—4

+ 14
+ 16
+9
+ 15

+ 10
+11
+9

281,700,000 293,300,000 241,000,000r

—4

+ 17

+ 12

ALABAMA
Anniston . . . .
Birmingham . . .
Dothan . . . .
Gadsden . . . .
Huntsville* . . .
Mobile . . . .
Montgomery . . .
Selma* . . . .
Tuscaloosa* . . .
Total Reporting Cities
Other Citiesf . . .
FLORIDA
Daytona Beach*
Fort Lauderdale*
Gainesville* . .
Jacksonville . .
Key West* . .
Lakeland* . .
Greater Miami*
Orlando . . . .
Pensacola . .
St. Petersburg .
Sarasota* . .
Tallahassee*
.

_______ Department Store Sales and Inventories*________
____________________________ Percent Change___________________
________
Sales______________
_______ Inventories
Apr. 1962 from 4 Months
________Apr. 30,^962 from
Mar.
Apr.
1962 from
Mar. 31,
Apr. 30,
Place
1962
1961
1961
1962
1961
A L A B A M A .............................— 2
+1
+1
+2
+3
Birmingham.......................— 11
■
—2
+0
+2
+1
Mobile..................................
+4
+ 12
+5
Montgomery.......................
+4
+4
+4
FLORIDA.................................. — 3
+ 18
+ 12
+1
+14
Daytona Beach . . . .
—1
+6
+1
Jacksonville.......................+12
+11
+1
+3
—3
Miami A r e a .......................— 7
+ 10
+9
M ia m i.............................—8
+9
+5
O rla n d o .............................
+3
+ 67
+ 35
St. Ptrsbg-Tampa Area .
—2
+30
+22
+3
+15
GEORGIA..................................
+4
+ 14
+7
—1
—0
A tlanta**.............................
+2
+15
+ 10
—1
+1
A u g u s ta .............................
+8
+ 20
+4
Columbus.............................n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
Macon.................................. + 13
+ 16
+3
+1
+9
R o m e * * .............................+ 16
+ 19
+5
Savannah.............................
+3
+U
+2
LOUISIANA.............................
+9
+10
+2
—0
+1
Baton Rouge....................... — 1
+ 12
+ 11
+3
+12
New Orleans.......................+ 11
+ 10
—1
—1
—2
M IS S IS S IP P I.......................+ 12
+ 13
+6
—1
+7
J a c k s o n .............................
+5
+ 16
+8
—2
+6
M eridian.............................
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
TENNESSEE.............................
+6
+ 10
+3
+4
+7
Bristol-KinrsportJohnson City** . . . + 10
+21
+5
+2
—0
Bristol (Tenn. & Va.)** + 1 0
+ 19
+4
Chattanooga.......................
+1
+H
+8
Knoxville.............................
+7
+ 10
+2
D I S T R IC T .............................
+ 2_________ +12__________ + 6 ___________ +1__________ + 6
♦Reporting stores account for over 90 percent of total District department store sales.
**In order to permit publication of figures for this city, a special sample has been
constructed that is not confined exclusively to department stores. Figures for non­
department stores, however, are not used in computing the District percent changes,
n.a. Not available.




SIXTH DISTRICT .
Reporting Cities
Other Citiesf .
Total, 32 Cities .

.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.

UNITED STATES
344 Cities . . .

18,466,599
13,308,290
5,138,309
11,145,291

Apr.
1961

Year-to-date
4 months
Apr. 1962 from
1962
Mar.
Apr.
from
1962
1961
1961

+ 10

+ 10

+ 10

+9

+ 10

+9
+3

+ 10

*Not included in total for 32 cities that are part of the national debit series maintained
by the Board of Governors.
tEstimated.
r Revised.
n.a. Not available.

•

6

•

S ix t h

D is t r ic t

S t a t is t ic s

Seasonally Adjusted
(All data are indexes,
Latest Month
(1962)

One
Month
Ago

1957-59 = 100,

Two
Months
Ago

unless indicated otherwise.)

One
Year
Ago

SIXTH DISTRICT
INCOME AND SPENDING
Personal Income, (Mil. $, Annual Rate) . . Mar. 37,416 37,252r 36,492r 35,087
114
109
111
Farm Cash R e c e ip t s ........................................Mar.
113
111
112
101
C r o p s ...............................................................Mar.
119
104
114
108
Livestock.........................................................Mar.
113
102
111
110
Department Store S a l e s * / * * .......................May
114p
114
118
115
Department Store S t o c k s * .............................Apr.
120
Instalment Credit at Banks,* (Mil. $)
142
118
136
New Loans......................................................... Apr.
137
129
124
Repayments................................................... Apr.
130
130
PRODUCTION AND EMPLOYMENT
105
105
103
Nonfarm Employment........................................Apr.
106
104
104
101
Manufacturing..............................................Apr.
105
109
114
114
Apparel......................................................... Apr.
116
101
100
100
Chemicals................................................... Apr.
100
102
104
105
Fabricated M e t a ls .................................. Apr.
105
104
105
105
Food...............................................................Apr.
107
97
95
Lbr., Wood Prod., Furn. & Fix. . . . Apr.
97
96
102
103
102
P a p e r .........................................................Apr.
104
94
94
90
Primary M e ta ls ........................................Apr.
95
95
96
96
Textiles
................................................... Apr.
96
87
Transportation Equipment
. . . .
Apr.
101
99
101
104
Nonmanufacturing........................................Apr.
106
105
106
94
94
88
Construction..............................................Apr.
93
94
91
85
Farm Employment..............................................Apr.
91
4.1
6.3
Insured Unemployment, (Percent of Cov. Emp.) Apr.
4.2
4.5
41.l r
39.7
40.9
Avg. Weekly Hrs. in Mfg., (Hrs.) . . . .
Apr.
40.8
122r
121
109
Manufacturing P a y r o lls .................................. Apr.
121
92
Construction Contracts*.................................. Mar.
137
133
99
112
96
R e sid e n tia l................................................... Mar.
114
100
151
99
90
All O th e r.........................................................Mar.
156
120
130
115
Electric Power P ro d u ctio n **.......................Mar.
124
94
109
104
Cotton Consumption**
.................................. Apr.
105
145r
150
131
Petrol. Prod, in Coastal La. and Miss.**
Apr.
147
FINANCE AND BANKING
Member Bank Loans*
132
123
All B a n k s.........................................................Apr.
134
130
Leading C i t i e s ............................................. May
133
133
126
131
Member Bank Deposits*
112
121
All B a n k s.........................................................Apr.
121
120
112
Leading C i t i e s ..............................................May
119
120
120
117
Bank D e b it s * / * * ..............................................Apr.
127
127
121

One
Month
Ago

Two
Months
Ago

One
Year
Ago

6,947
114
99

6,872r
111
113

6,691r
103
103

6,492
122
96

106
103
107
104
82
3.4
39.9
118

105
102
105r
102
84
3.3
40.5r
120r

105
102
106
105
80
3.8
39.9
118

102
98
104
92
85
5.9
39.4
106

136
126
133

136
126
132

133
124
126

128
115
116

Latest Month
(1962)
G EO RGIA
INCOME AND SPENDING
Personal Income, (Mil. $, Annual Rate) . . Mar.
Farm Cash R e c e ip ts ........................................Mar.
Department Store S a l e s * * .............................Apr.
PRODUCTION AND EMPLOYMENT
Nonfarm Employment........................................Apr.
Manufacturing..............................................Apr.
Nonmanufacturing........................................Apr.
Construction..............................................Apr.
Farm Employment..............................................Apr.
Insured Unemployment, (Percent of Cov. Emp.) Apr.
Avg. Weekly Hrs. in Mfg., (Hrs.) . . . . Apr.
Manufacturing P a y r o lls .................................. Apr.
FINANCE AND BANKING
Member Bank L o a n s ........................................Apr.
Member Bank D e p o s its .................................. Apr.
Bank D e b its * * ................................................... Apr.

LO U ISIAN A
INCOME AND SPENDING
Personal Income, (Mil. $, Annual Rate)

Mar.
Mar.
Apr.

5,582
117
95

5,597r
101
102

5,556r
114
105

5,345
98
97

Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.

98
94
99
76
98
4.7
41.8
108

98
94
99
80
100
4.5
41.5r
106r

99
93
100
79
89
5.0
42.9
110

98
94
99
77
105
6.3
40.7
101

Apr.
Apr.
Apr.

132
112
116

128
111
120

126
111
112

119
108
107

Mar.
Mar.
Apr.

2,822
110
104

2,831 r
109
104

2,847
148
108

2,607
108
101

Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.

109
111
107
102
93
4.6
40.2
126

108
110
107
98
91
4.8
40.8r
128r

108
109
108
96
79
5.5
40.9
127

105
103
105
94
92
7.6
39.2
109

Apr.
Apr.
Apr.

150
129
138

148
127
140

145
124
136

133
117
127

Mar.
Mar.
Apr.

6,057
95
94

5,968r
96
106

5,895r
106
104

Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.

105
107
104
111
92
4.9
41.0
119

104
106
103
118
90
5.0
41.l r
121

104
106
103
118
86
5.4
40.8
120

102
103
102
100
94
7.3
39.6
109

Apr.
Apr.
Apr.

134
122
127

134
124
130

133
123
119

123
112
121

PRODUCTION AND EMPLOYMENT

Avg. Weekly Hrs. in Mfg., (Hrs.)
FINANCE AND BANKING

MISSISSIPPI
ALABAM A
INCOME AND SPENDING
Personal Income, (Mil. $, Annual Rate)
Farm Cash R e c e ip t s .............................
Department Store Sales** . . . .
PRODUCTION AND EMPLOYMENT

Avg. Weekly Hrs. in Mfg., (Hrs.)
Manufacturing Payrolls . . .
FINANCE AND BANKING
Member Bank Loans . . . .

FLORIDA
INCOME AND SPENDING
Personal Income, (Mil. $, Annual Rate)
Farm Cash R e c e ip t s ............................
Department Store Sales** . . . .
PRODUCTION AND EMPLOYMENT

5,115
112
102

5,097r
107
111

4,934r
111
106

Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.

102
98
103
92
85
4.6
40.2
114

101
97
103
92
84
4.5
40.7r
116

101
97
104
91
82
5.1
41.0
115

101
94
104
93
93
6.7
39.3
101

Apr.
Apr.
Apr.

133
119
124

133
119
124

129
117
122

125
114
116

Mar. 10,893
Mar.
115
Apr.
133
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.

Farm Employment.......................
Insured Unemployment, (Percent c
Avg. Weekly Hrs. in Mfg., (Hrs.)

4,834
111
110

Mar.
Mar.
Apr.

113
119
112
92
94
3.3
41.4
146

10,887
115
141
112
119
111
93r
96
3.6
41.8
145

10,569r 10,089
98
109
119
127
112
118
111
90
94
3.8
41.9
146

108
113
107
87
100
5.2
40.9
133

PRODUCTION AND EMPLOYMENT
Nonfarm Employment . . . .

Avg. Weekly Hrs. in Mfg., (Hrs.)
Manufacturing Payrolls . . .
FINANCE AND BANKING
Member Bank Loans* . . . .

TENNESSEE
INCOME AND SPENDING
Personal Income, (Mil. $, Annual Rate)
Farm Cash R e c e ip ts .............................
Department Store Sales*/** . . .
PRODUCTION AND EMPLOYMENT

Avg. Weekly Hrs. in Mfg., (Hrs.)

5,720
96
97

FINANCE AND BANKING

FINANCE AND BANKING
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
*For Sixth District area only.

INCOME AND SPENDING
Personal Income, (Mil. $, Annual Rate) .

130
123
129

128
121
125

Other totals for entire six states.

125
120
121

119
111
120

p Preliminary.

r Revised.

**Daily average basis.
Sources: Personal income estimated by this Bank; nonfarm, mfg. and nonmfg. emp., mfg. payrolls and hours, and unemp., U.S. Dept, of Labor and cooperating state agencies; cotton
consumption, U.S. Bureau of Census; construction contracts, F. W. Dodge Corp.; petrol, prod., U.S. Bureau of Mines; elec. power prod., Fed. Power Comm.; farm cash receipts and
farm emp., U.S.D.A. Other indexes based on data collected by this Bank. All indexes calculated by this Bank.




• 7 •

D

B
illions of Dollars
A
Senans,ualAdR].ate

I S

T

R

I C

T

B

U

S

I N

E

S

S

C

O

N

D

I T

I O

N

S

Personal Income

Nonfarm Employment

Mfg. Employment

Average Weekly Hours*
Worked in Mfg.

Mfg. Payrolls

Construction Contracts

^106

E x p a n s io n of District economic activity continued in April. This is
apparent from trends in seasonally adjusted indicators. Employment increases
were the result of widespread gains in most types of activity. Although a rise
in cash receipts from farm marketings occurred in March, a critical spring
drought in recent weeks has weakened the farm economy. Most measures of
consumer spending increased further in April, reflecting first-quarter gains in
personal income. Loans and deposits at member banks continued to expand
moderately.
iS
\S
Total nonfarm em ploym ent rose substantially in April after a month
of virtu a lly no change. The nonmanufacturing sector contributed signifi­

cantly to the increase in the number of those gainfully employed. Manufactur­
ing employment also expanded. A slight shortening in the average work week
in District manufacturing, however, caused a minor dip in manufacturing
payrolls.
)S
\S

3-mo. movingavg. *
The latest three-month a ve rag e of contracts for new construction
rose further, follow ing a month of sh arp ly increased volum e. Construc­

Electric Power Production

tion employment, however, changed little in April from the improved level of
the two preceding months. Cotton consumption, a measure of activity in the
textile industry, declined but was still at a relatively high level.
IS

\S

Important m easures of consumer spending advanced during April.
Cotton Consumption

Bank Debits

Bank debits, a measure of total spending, increased somewhat further to a
record high. Department store sales rose slightly during April, and preliminary
figures suggest that they reached a new record in May. Auto sales during the
first quarter, as reflected by the latest state registration figures, were at the
highest level in recent years.
)S
Consumer instalm ent credit outstanding at District commercial banks
increased slightly, p rim arily reflecting greater borrowing for the
purchase of autom obiles and a rise in personal loans. At the same time,

consumers added to their time deposits and savings and loan accounts during
April but at a reduced rate from that in March.
u*

v*

A modest rise in receipts from farm m arketings in March has buoyed
the farm economy, although a critical shortage of soil moisture in
M ay has jeopardized crop plantings and pastures in m any areas.
Member Bank Loans

Member Bank Deposits

With production of livestock and some crops increasing more than seasonally
in March, and the index of prices received by District farmers down only
slightly, cash receipts from farm marketings increased moderately. Recent
rainfall in scattered localities suggests that the severe drought that has plagued
farmers may be ending.
is
u*
Loans and deposits at m em ber banks advanced further in April.

PER C EN T OF

R E Q U IR E D

RESERVES

Excess Reserves

Borrowings from
V j T . R. Bank


http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/
♦Seas. adj. figure; not an index.
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Preliminary data for member banks in leading District cities indicate that loans,
seasonally adjusted, may have increased in May and that recent strength stems
principally from a rise in consumer loans. Member bank deposits, seasonally
adjusted, rose partly because time deposits expanded significantly. Among
District states, Florida has experienced the sharpest deposit gain so far this
year.