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The Bul~ti._> i_• i88Ued for the •~forma.ti<>n of Me~iber Banko ana the Bcuinus Interests of this District. I/ copv ill rsceived in advance, it should be uniioutooii ,t "' mteniied"" a special co1Wtew, and ,ts cont•nt• a~• co11fid•ntiaL This cop11 4 not to b• released for publication befor• MARCH 2·s, 1919. FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF KANSAS CITY ASA E. RAMSAY. C. K. BOARDMAN, CHAIRMAN BOARD OF DISECTORS AND F:EDERAL RESERVE AGENT ASSISTANT F£0£RAL RESERVE ~G£NT REPORT OF CONDITIONS IN THE TENTH FEDERAL RESERVE DISTRICT Kansas City, March 2.5, 1919. T HE so me,vha t chaotic conditions s ince the s igning of the Axmistice appear t o be approac hing adjl1stment th.ro ugh an a waken111g of the bus iness i1µ:erest s of this co untry to the knowledge that too rriuch precious time and energy is being wasted by ,vaiting for things to take a tum. A slight decline in prices in January and February brought the average level of l_)rices to about 10;7o below the war peak level of last July, but it i,; ()ecoming apparen~ that whatever· of change in price, 1s yet to come will come slow1y, not spasmodical:y as many had been led to e..~pect. Recognizing thi.,; as a_ fact, busi_ness men of this section of the country realize there 1s no excuse for blocking progress toward a general s.tabilization of trade and industry b)' hesitancy and inaction. The country, and the Tenth Federal .H.eserve District in particular, is prosperous as never before--there is more wealth in the hands of the pepple than ever before-and now that the hideous war nightmare is over, \;\,' estern business men see that the thing to do is to return the soldiers an<l sailors to ciYilian life, put over the Victorv Libertv Loan to enable the Government to foot the· bills, anJ get down to h1.1siness, leaving price adjustment to tak~ its natural course. Reports from all sections of the Tenth District this month point to a year of activity and of prosperity. \Vestern farmers, with all conditions favorable arc making ready to grow the largest crops in histo~y in 1919. ~Ianufacturing industries are beginning to get ~ack to something like normal activity and are turnmg out products for home consumption. The demand for engines, tractors, farm machinery and implements shows considerable improvement with good :eturns to farmers from last year and good crops m prospect. Manufacturers of these, however, are complaining of inability t o obtain materials with which to make them,. maki1:g it impossible to supply t he <lema_nd a n~ also unpos s1ble t o reduce prices. The a utomobile busm_ess, p~actically dead during the last ye_ar of the war , 1s commg back. Dealers a r e making fairly good sales, although it cannot be exp ected that sales will a ttain their former volum e unt il t oward t he end of ~he _year, or by the spring of 1920. Build ing,; are beg111111ng to go up to m eet the requirem ents of business and the housing demands neglected while the nation was busy winning the w a r. The oil inrltt~tr_y sho:vs signs of renewed life and producti V(" activity, with a demand for m o re oil. than the w ell , t~e P_aSt six months "?ave. been able to produce. }Immg 1s slow at this time, but hopeful of civilia11 dem an ds soon absorbing t he ouput of m etals t hat during the war went int o bullets and shells. L abo r is finding employment at good wages and t he a d Zent of spring promises plenty of w ork for aJ\ hands. T he mercant ile t rade is improving; w ith t he people ready to ,buy and willing to pay good prices if the man ufacturers and m erchant R w ill only supply th e t hing.~ needful. in. O n t he ,vhole, t he s it uat ion in t he T ent h Federal Reserve D ist r ict is on e of encouragement and there is a larger degree of optim ism on t he part of t h e business m en, bankers, farmers, and manufacturers t han ha s been e-xhibited at any t ime in recent months . Financial. . The den_ian_d f?r loans remains strong, with rate,;; ftrm, and md1cat1o n s point to a continued heavy· demand from the cattle industry, as well as for ao-ricultural and commercial purposes. . .,, ~he . excellent pr~spects. for a~undant crops, the satisfactory state of mdustnal affairs and the generally prosperous and healthy condition over the district all serve to indicate the ease with which this district m~y be expected to absorb its full quota of the Victors Libertv Loan. Bank clearings in this district made a remarkable shmvin_g in February, considering that business in some Imes was retarded by the process of adjustment, Seventeen clearing house cities by their reports show the aggregate of clearings for the month were 187-, b~low the total for January, yet there was a decrease ot less than 1% from the total clearings in February. 1918. The reports are: . Feb., 1919 Feb., 1918 Kansas City ......... $ 692,935,213 $ 739,729,900 Omaha . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199,782,575 188,210,644 Denver . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93,826,746 77,983,748 St. Joseph . . . . . . . . . . 68,443,209 71,732,542 T ulsa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36,021,856 Jl,640,035 Wichita . . . . . . . . . . . . 36,864,037 -31,729,757 Oklahoma City . . . . . . 35,736,259 33,807,716 Lincoln . . . . ~. . . . . . . . 15,608,742 17,067,086 Topeka . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,181,948 12,442,246 .\1 uskogee . . . . . . . . . . . 11,109,637 8,615,886 Joplin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,977,000 7,023,605 Colorado Springs . . . . . 2,980,611 2,877,139 Pueblo . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,670,525 2,621,515 Kansas City, Kas.. . . . . 2,340,441 1,9 13,012 Fremon t . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,253,033 3,375,169 H a.stings . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,837,204 2,080,434 Lawrence . . . . . . . . . . . 1,450,014 1,480,300 February total . . . ... $1,223,019,050 Year tu date ......... 2,718,371,050 $1,234,330,734 2,624,051,880 Agriculture. Crop prospects are brighter at this time than at the :'inter break-up in any of the last ten years, aci:ordmg to reports from all states induded in the Tenth Federal Reserve District. Heavy snows falli1w at intervals during the winter months ·with heav~ rains _this month,.are giving a fine start to vegetati01~, assurmg a plenh_o us growth of feed for spring and summer and leavmg a good surplus of reserve moisture in t.he ground .as a guarantee against a possible dry spnng .or summer. Soil conditions for spring farm operations are reported as nearly 100% perfect as farmers could hope for. Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and \Vestern· Missouri-hard hit by dry ·weather l~st summer-:-each report an average of soil condi-t1ons for their counties but little below the 100% mar k. Under such conditions, and with reasonable assurance of good market prices for products, the farmers are optimistic concerning the futur e. Condition of winter wheat, reported from widely scattered sections of the district, is the best that has yet heen recorded for the mo~1th of Jvlarch. \Vbea t was generally well protected from the severe blizzards hy snow covering and no material damage from other causes has th us far appeared. The acreage of corn, oats and potatoes to be planted this spring will be ::,;lightly reduced 'in some sections on account of the e:,,.-t:raordinary ,vheat seeding, although Oklahoma r eports a 11 o/o increase of the acreage of oat s to be planted, w hile Colorado and vVyoming will increase their potato acreage. S u gar beet g rowers a re increasing the size of their fields to the l'irnit of their ability to handle them. Februarv movement of ·wheat to the markets of the <li;;trict ,v,;s about double that of February, 1918, but there was a marked falling off of r eceipts fro m ths:: Janua ri r ecord. Reports shmv that the 1918 c rop of w hea~ in farmers' han<ls is rapidly diminishing. Kans as and Oklahoma r eport only +%. o( the 1918 wheat in farmers' h ands, M issouri a.nd Nebraska about the same, while there is a litle larger percentage o[ the Colorado and \i\ryom.ing ,yheat to be moved, due to delayed t hreshing a nd inadequate transpo rt ation. Stocks . of wheat a t tern1ina l elevat or s were reduced some 4,000,000, bushels in February by the Gonrnment allotting wheat to millers. l{eceipts of corn at the markets in February clearly ;,eveal the extent of the damage to th~ crop last year by dry weather, the marketing of corn being only about one-fourth the size of the receipts in February, 1918, a nd considerably below the t otal fo r Januar y of th is year. Offerings of oats were about t he same a.s in February of last year, which estahlis hed a h igh record for the second mou th. Rye r eceipt s are a little heavier than at this time last year, while barley receipts at this season are making a phenomenal spurt. 1n the face of a market which is hedged in ,vith uncertainties the output of flour since J a nua r y l, is a little more than 7% hea,·ier t han the ou pur fo r th..: con espunding ten weeks in 1918. The output oE t he mills at Kansas City ,Uld O m aha and th e mills in th e d is trict o uts ide o f ·these c ities to Februa ry 8, 1919. was 2,709,986 barrels as against 2,529.674 baHCI:- in the corresponding perio<L of 1918. Most of the gain of 180.312 barrels w as in Februa r y. At t his writing there are indications of a ([ecidcd impn)\·emcnt in th..: flour market. Bakers and dealers are buying more freely to fill up depleted stocks, al though e,-idence.s a re not want ing to show that th e enactment o f the wheat guara nt y bill h as a good d.eal to do with th~ improved tone. Live Stock. R emoval this month of restnct10ns 011 exports of hug products t0 allied countries, taken in connectio n with the abandonment of the agreement bebveen t he G<.l \'en1m e11t and the packers to maintain minim.urn prices, has r esulted in an advance <J( about 75 cell t,; per hu11dred J>ounds o n li,·e hogs w ithin t he past we1c:k. But at th e same time the hog m a rket, stabilized ior several month s by the F ood A dministration's guarantee of prices and marketing regulations, is in an unsettled condition. In consequence of the enlarged field of trade and a limited hog supply it is freely predicted t ha t prices of hogs z..n d pork may for som~time r emain higher than the stabilized prices that were maintained. Prices of both cattle a nd sheep have, t o a11 extent, been influenced by the new conditions t hat ha \·e come to the hog market. · P acking hogs for the w eek ending March 15 wcrl~ selling at $18.85@$19.10 per hundred pounds as compared with $16.90@$17.60 in Februa ry, \\'hich i:=. -i :--;hade hig her than a t this t ime last year while the war was on. Cattle prices haYe heen maintained at $2.00@$4.50 per hundred pound.~ a boYe the prices o( a year ago, t op price:; on st eers reaching· $18.50 ili Febrna ry as compa r ed with $ 13.75 in Febrnarv of last year, other classes a nd gra des of cattle he i~1g relati\'el_y hig h. Top prices of la mbs, which in J;inuar y dropped to $16.95 per hundred pounds or 30 cenb below th e t op of lam bs in Janua r y, 1918, r ose to S18.60 in F ebruary and on M ar ch 4, sale.~ were ma<le at a n e,v r ecor d price of $19.50 per hund red pmrn<ls, the latter being SO cents higher than the peak war price of March, 1918. The movement of meat animals to the markets is running ahead of this time last year, as the following figures of receipts at the six markets of the distrit:t show: February · 'I'wo Months 1919 1918 1919 1918 954,579 890,849 Cattle . . . , . . 389,438 403,445 59,114 35,841 Cah·es . . . . . . 23,038 13,900 Hogs ....... 1,029,542 964,575 2,446,144 1,938,716 855,123 935,351 Sheep . . . . . . 384,609 403,800 Indications of a decided slump in live stock marketing, as compared with the heavy war-time rush oi food animals to the markets, are disclosed in the re- ' ceipts, which are running lighter in March than in March of last year. Packers' operations in February were materially reduced from the heavy operations maintained. for the prcviom; five or six months. Purchases of animals for slaughter at the six markets in February were 218,000 cattle, 900,000 hogs and 243,000 sheep, as compared with the record of February, 1918, of 241,000 cattle, 849,000 hogs and 240,000 sheep. Petroleum, The oil industry in the _:\,lid-Continent fields of Kansas and Oklahoma, and also in the Rocky Ivlountain fields of \Vyoming and Colorado, is beginning to show a general livening up. Not only is production increasing in response to market demands, which i1~ recent months has been some 3,000,000 barrels a month in excess of the output, but more activity i:, ,;een in developments. During February the average daily prod1.{ction from \veils in Kansas and Oklahoma was 299,925 barrels a,; against 277,80D barrels in January, an increase of 22,125 barrels daily. \Vyoming, with its daily average production cut down by seyere winter weather t.o 32,000 barrels in January, m·ade a good increase in February and with the spring warming up that state i,; expected to be a bigger factor in oil supply than C\·er. Field operations in Kansas and Oklahoma resulted in the completion of many wells of large flush pr0d1.1ction. Initial daily production, while not quite a, great a s that of January, which was a record mont:i, was ,·ery encouraging. 'I'he field summaries are: Completio ns Kansa,; . . . . . . . . . 245 Oklahoma . 603 Wyoming . . . . . . 23 Production 9,837 38,106 2,430 Dry 46 189 Gas 5 l 14 G3 T o tal F ebruary... . 871 50,373 240 78 747 51,749 203 63 J a nuary 'fat al..... The number of rigs and drilling wells at the close of Fehruary : ln Kansas 494, in Oklahoma 1,427, ia \\'yarning 274, a total uf 2,195, which was 157 less than at the close of January. Mining. Light demand and lower prices have caused a slowing do wn of operations in the Colorado metal mines During February there was a further reductio n of the working for ces. All of t h e t ungsten mines were clo,;ed, affecting dir ectly a lm ost 1,000 persons . L oss b y fire of the m ill at Vanadium st opped product ion a nd t hrew several· hun dred o ut of employment. Operations in t he carnotit e fields a lso stopped. This closed a ll activities of t he ra r e metal mines, except those ;:rn<lucing molybdenum. The zinc m ines are curtailing production furth er a nd m uch of their prod uct is being stored for future !<ale. The lead production of Colorado is coming wholly from mines producing associated preciou,; meta ls. T ,vo or th ree of t he manganese shippers han~ contrac t s running t o mid-summ er a nd ar e continuingoperations a t about 25% normal. Som e sm all co ntracts for florospa r ar e still in effect and oper ations are a bout 50% of the aver a ge, for 1918. There was very little change in the Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma lead and zinc mines in the month of February. The averag~ prices for blende ores for the month on the Joplin market were $41.78 as compared with $43.44 for the previous month. The anrage for calamine was $26.87 as comparerl with $35.01 for January. Lead ores averaged $51.95 as compared with $60 in January. At the same period a year ago average prices were: $56.07 for blende, $32.81 for calamine and $85.48 for lead. outlook good. \Vhile there have been some indication of a decline in lumber prices, on account of hesitancy to place orders, no reduction of consequence has yet materialized. Trade in other building materials is about the same as in lumber. Cement is in good demand at 20c@2Sc per barrel above prices a year ago in consequence of the starting of public improvement in cities and extensive building of roads, culverts and viaducts. Common brick are bringing $1@ $2 mo1e pc:r 1,000 than a year ago. Labor. The situation respecting labor is clearing up with the opening of spring and the resumption of ont-door work. Commerc ial organizationi:i, working in harmony with Government and state labor bureaus and agencies. are accomplishing a great deal in adju sting contlitions, and as a result there are probably fewer Production conditions were worse in February men out of employment than is usua l at this !:> eason. than in January, colder weather interfe'ring at a num- The most critical labor situation is in the mining disber of plants. This, together with the lower prices, tricts where the transiti.o n from war to peace has resulted in a much greater curtailment than had been brought lower. prices and a slackened demand for anticipated. Owing to lowered production surplu,; the p rodncts of rhe mines, t hu s ca us ing a reduction of stocks of zinc ores were reduced from 22,000 tons at operations and enforced idleness of a large number the end of January to 12,000 tons at the close of Feb- o [ m iners. The sma:Uer camps in Col orado have reruary. Buyers absorbed the production of lead ore,; duced wages 50c@ 75c a day, an<l there is a general lea,·ing only 200 tons as surplus in the field. feel.ing th at wages a r e to be reduced in a ll camp:; except C.rjppJe Creek. There an advance of 50c per The coal industry, now free from all government day was made d u ring the. war and no r eductio n i,,; restrictions, has practically returned to its mvn, al- now expected. \Vherever reductions ha\·c been made though .since Febri.iary 1, production has been running . there has been no protest from employees. but little above 50% normal on account of lack of market. Coal OP.erators and dealers generally are_ ,.veil The wage schedule of tlic b~ii"ding trades have been satisfied with conditions, as from their expenence practically adjusted throughout t he district, an<l the while under government regulation they learned a season is opening ,vith less friction than was expected, good deal about computing costs and doing business wages generally higher and satisfactory to the men. that will starid them. well in peace times. It is predicted that there will be fewer failures, more stability .-\ few minur strikes .since the beginning of t he year and a !{Cnerally healthy tone to the fuel business in h ~ve involved .sucb. a small number o f employees as n o l tu rnaterially affect the general situation. the future. In spite of the low prices paid for ores there were heavy shipments of blende ores, amounting to 9,857 tons per \Veek, calamine shipments averaging 200 tons per week, or a total of more than 10,000 tons per week of zinc ores. Lead qres averaged 1,254 ton~ per week, the average production. Building and Construction. Reports from the building department:; of the citie~ of this district iirdicate a revival of building activity during the comii1g season, Fourteen cities, for which complete r eturns. for Febrnary are in, shmv a total o[ 967 permits issued in that month for buildings of an estimated cost of Sl,872,504, as compared with the January record of 573 perrnits and an estimated cost of $1,334,392. \Vhile February permits were about 80% larger in number than in the corresptmding month last vear, the amount of money involved in construction - was· consideral>ly less . F a llo win g are the reti1rns o n per mits for February, 1919, with perc ent of increase or ,d ecr ease a s compa r ed wit h per mits for Febru.u:y. 1918 : No. Permit~ Bst. Cost 238 Kansas City, Mo. $ 360,860 ... . . . .. ... 129 Omaha Denver . . . . . . . . . . 141 ......... . .. 1.36 Tulsa ....... .. . 65 \ Vich ita 21 Topeka .. . . . . . . . . . . " ..... . . . . 20 St. Joseph .. · , .. 75 Oklahoma City 25 Kansas City, Kan s . . .. 20 .. . .. . . . ' :.\-l uskogee ....... . . . Lincoln 36 .. 16 Colorado Spring s ....... . .... 33 P ueblo .... - ... ... 12 J oplin Total February, 1919 .. 967 274,715 219,500 351,520 158,250 30,200 18,755 175,310 63,335 105,238 68.190 4,570 23,196 18,865 Los,; or Ga in -78 +57 +26 _:,_;39· +25 + 112 -32 + 152 +1284 + 115 +625 --60 ~1,872,504 T he lumber t rade, w hile it ha s no t a ttained its anticipa t ed volume, is b eginning t o s how a ctivity with inc reasingly heayy buying for ea rly spring building . City yard mana gers r eport a good m an y o rder s in prospect and t he line yard managers in rural d ist r ict:.-; sta te business is s lig htly a hea d o f last year w ith the Mercantile. The third 111011th of 1919 shov,'s improvement in the mt:rcantile trade despite a t endency on the part of manv retailers tu hold back o rder::. to wholesale hous~-s .in the hop~ of a lowering of prices. vYhile retailers arc still buying \vith a good deal of caution the sum t o tal of their ·orders has swelled the volume of trade somewhat i11 excess of that of last year at this time. T here is no g reat predominance in demancj o( one line- of merchandise over a no t her , except that articles o n which ther e have been reduc tions in price naturally find readie r :;ale. To ·meet th e sliding scale ' of prices which is now prc,·alent, mercha1rts everyv.,-here are resorting to ad,·ertising and keeping t heir pr ices in line by c areful purchases. l\fail order houses in · pa:rticular are meeting this condition by publishing at short interval:; sales bulletins · in which articles priced very close to the m arket a rc list ed. In this way a steady demand for commodities is beirig maintained. It is suggested that if m erd1ants e verywher e will keep their lines "';.;;11 advertised, im pre ssing upon prospective customers rb e nee<J oL th e a r ticles at t h.~ _t im e when t hey arc seasonable, it w i.!I d o 1tm ch h)" ease tlie cou:□trv's comm e rc ial in.tere:;;ts over a peribd ,{;hich is naturally unst able. ln the depa rtment s to res both February a nd )..lar ch show~d a m arked improvement in t r a de in a ll departm enb. Sales of spring w o men's apparel, shoes and millinery are brisk , w hile in clo thing and m en's furnishings ther e has heen added a :stimulus due to r equirements of soldier s and sailors r eturning t o c iv ilian life. I n t he g r ocery line w holesa le dea ler s r eport reta ilers lmying in small q uantit iei:i for t he ir customer s' n eeds. Cerea l foods show a s lig ht decline. Canned good ~ are st a tionary, aft er a slight drop in J a nuar y, and w aiting to s ee ,vhat is to be g rown t o put into the ca ns . Statement of Condition of the FEDERAL RESERVE .BANK OF KANSAS CITY INCLUDIN'(,."" BR'ANCHES At close of business March 14th, 1919. RESOURCES Gold with Federal Reserve Agent. ...................... . $ 45,359,465.00 Gold Coin, Certificates & Redemption Fund .... ·......... . . 6,320,67220 Gold Held with Foreign Agencies. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291,443.73 Credit Balances (Gold Settlement Fund). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26,201,531.98 Legal Tender N ates, Silver Certificates and Subsidiary Coin. . 231,983.00 Total Reserve Cash ........ .... .. . . . . . . .... . . ... ... $ 78,405,095.91 T·otal Non-reserve Cash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Commercial Paper (rediscounts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Member Banks Collateral Notes. . . . .... . ..... .. .. .. . ... . Acceptances . . .., . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U .S. Bonds to Secure Circulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U. S. Certificates of Indebtedness to Secure Circulation . . . . . . Other U. S. Bonds.. ..... ............. ...... . ... .. ...... Other U. S. Certificates of Indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Premises . . . .... ... ... .... .. ... , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Due from Other Federal Reserve Banks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Due from Depository Banks & Trust Companies . . . . . . . . . . . Due from Branches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . All Other Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bank· 9,422,858.09 32,060,510.95 47,174,185.55 14,143,208.73 8,000,000.00 5,820,000.00 867,700.00 300,500.00 400,000.00 8,194,837.87 28,520,442..57 3,010,193.20 1,423,194.14 Total Resources .. . ... . .. ... . ...... . .. ...... .. . . .. $237,742,727.01 LIABILITIES Capital Paid In . . . . .......... . . . ..... .... .. .. .... . .. . $ 3,737,900.00 Surplus . . . . . . . .. ... . . . . . . ... . ............. ... .. ..... . 2,421,426.71 Reserve Deposits, Net . . ... .. . ... . . . . ...... .. .. . ... . . . . 69,248,318.28 U. S. Government Deposits, General Account . . . . .... . . ... , 10,645,050.46 U. S. Government Deposits, Special Account. . . . . . . .... . . . . 28,520,442.57 Federal Reserve Notes Outstanding ......... ......... . . . . 107,916,250.00 Federal Reserve Bank Notes Outstanding .... ... . . . . ..... . . 13,775,700.00 1,477,638.99 All O.ther Liabilities .. . . ............. . . . .. . .. . . .. . .. . . . Total Liabilities ....... . .. . ... .... , . ... .. ... ...... . $237,742,727.01 CLEARINGS Total Clearings for Week .. '. ."... ......... . ... . .. .' . .. . . . . $174,052,910.09 Total Number of Items Handled .. . . .. . .. .. . . . . .. : . .. . . . 513,600