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A g r ic u l t u r a l

a t®

B u s in e s s C o n d it io n s

IN THE TWELFTH FEDERAL RESERVE DISTRICT
Monthly Report to the Federal Reserve Board
by
JOHN PERRIN, Chairman of the Board and Federal Reserve Agent
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

"

■ ■■- " ....----------------- --------------------------------- ------■
- = = = .■
=

Vol. VI
M

San Francisco, California, September 16, 1922

A R K E D activity in industry, w hich, in
th is d istrict is largely concerned w ith
th e p rim ary handling of raw m aterials,
continued d u ring A u g u st and the first p a rt of
Septem ber. D em and has increased for both
skilled and unskilled labor, p articu larly farm
w orkers, experienced copper m iners, and skilled
building trad es artisan s, a shortThe Month age of one or m ore of these
classes of w orkm en having de­
veloped in a few sections. In one of th e copper
m ining d istricts of A rizona, m ining com panies
have recently announced a v o luntary increase
of 10 per cent in wages.
T he lumber ind u stry is 50 per cent m ore ac­
tive th an it w as a year ago, and both dom estic
and foreign m arkets are bu ying in large quan­
tities. T he forest fire hazard, w hich has been
p articu larly serious th is year due to the long
d ry season, was dispelled by general rains d u r­
ing A u g u st and logging activity increased im ­
m ediately. P rod uction of logs on Septem ber
1st w as estim ated to be 75 per cent of norm al
com pared w ith 40 per cent on A u g ust 1st. I n ­
creased o u tp u t of all of the principal metals
produced in th is district, gold, silver, copper,
lead and zinc, is show n by figures for Ju ly
w hich are the latest available. R eports from
th e m ining d istricts indicate continued im ­
provem ent du ring A ugust. D em and for all of
these m etals has increased d uring the p ast
year and prices have risen accordingly. F u r­
th e r evidence of increased activ ity in lum ber­
ing and m ining is contained in the repo rts of
the principal electric power com panies of the
district. In July, 1922, electric pow er com panies
in th e Pacific N o rth w est increased th eir sales
to the lum ber in d u stry 20 per cent over July,
1921, and, in the district as a whole, sales to
th e m ining in d u stry w ere 18.7 per cent g re ater
in July, 1922, th an in July, 1921. R ecords of
production and of stored stocks of petroleum in

C alifornia w ere again broken during A ugust.
A verage daily production at 382,221 barrels
w as the highest figure ever reached and stored
stocks on S eptem ber 1st at 54,272,194 barrels,
w ere larger th an a t any tim e in the p ast five
years. T he num ber of building permits issued
d u ring A u g u st w as g re ater th an in any m onth
since records w ere first assem bled in 1915, and
the value of projected construction has been
exceeded only twice, in A pril and Ju ne of this
year.
F avorable reports come from the retail trade.
T he value of sales of 31 representative d ep art­
m ent stores in A ugust, 1922, w as 5.7 per cent
g reater th an in A ugust, 1921, and approxi­
m ately equal to the value of sales of th e same
stores in A ugust, 1920. T h e seasonal increase
in activ ity custom ary in m any wholesale lines
d uring the first w eeks of autum n w as noted.
Seven of the 10 rep o rtin g lines experienced in­
creases in the value of th eir sales in A ugust,
1922, com pared w ith A ugust, 1921. C harges to
depositors’ accounts (bank debits) in the banks
of th e 20 principal cities of the district w ere 7.7
per cent g re ater in A ugust, 1922, th an in A ug­
ust, 1921, a less favorable show ing th an in July,
1922, w hen an increase of 12 per cent over the
corresponding m onth a year ago w as reported,
b u t indicating th a t business activity generally
has not been m aterially curtailed by the recent
coal and railroad strikes. Business failures
continue above norm al levels.
W e ath er conditions up to Septem ber 15th
rem ained favorable for the agricultural crops
of the district, and the h arv est is expected to
yield, in m ost cases, norm al or larger th an
norm al quantities. F orecasts of th e 1922 yield
of w h eat rem ain unchanged at 98,000,000
bushels, 24,000,000 bushels less th an was p ro­
duced in 1921, b u t slightly in excess of the fiveyear average production. M ovem ent of this
season’s crop to m arket up to Septem ber 15th

T hose desiring this report sent them regularly w ill receive it without charge upon application




np

No. 9

Agricultural and Business Conditions

154

has been u n usually slow. Flour mills are now
grin d in g new crop w heat and in A ugust, 1922,
operated at 47.2 per cent of capacity com pared
w ith 28.7 per cent in July, 1922, and 43.0 per cent
in A u g ust, 1921. T h e carlot m ovem ent of fru it
from C alifornia to S eptem ber 11, 1922, w as
larg er th a n last year to the sam e date but
prices received have averaged low er th an in
1921. S hortage of refrig erato r cars is hindering
shipm ent of th e large grape crop.
T h e U n ited S tates B ureau of L abor index
n um ber of wholesale prices, w hich includes 404
com m odities in all stages of m anufacture, re­
m ained unchanged a t 155 in A ugust. T his
index has increased 12 per cent since Jan u ary ,
1922, w hen it stood a t 138. In a selected group
of p ro d u cts of th is d istrict advances and de­
clines in prices d u rin g the m onth w ere alm ost
equally divided.
A n increased dem and for bank credit ap­
peared in th e larg e r cities of the d istrict during
A ugust. C om m ercial loans of 68 rep o rtin g
m em ber banks increased from $700,138,000 on
A u g u st 9th to $709,934,000 on S eptem ber 6th
or 1.4 per cent. T h e sam e banks had redis­
counts and bills payable w ith the Federal
R eserve B ank am o u n tin g to $13,025,000 on
S eptem ber 6th com pared w ith $9,362,000 on
A u g u st 9th. C ountry banks, as a group, on the
co n trary, reduced th eir borrow ings from this
bank d u rin g the m onth and on Septem ber 13th
the to tal discounts of the F ederal R eserve
B ank w ere $38,000 below the $43,388,000 held
on A u g u st 16th. Interest rates charged th eir
custom ers by banks in the principal cities of
the d istrict rem ained unchanged at Syi to 7 per
cent in the large coast cities and 7 per cent in
the in terio r centers.
H a rv e stin g and th resh in g of w heat pro­
gressed rapidly d u rin g A ugust. E stim ates of
the 1922 yield of w h eat in this d istrict show
little change from a m onth ago, the
Grains U nited S tates D e p artm en t of A gricul­
tu re on S eptem ber 1st forecasting a
yield of 98,191,000 bushels. In 1921, 122,035,000
bushels w ere produced. D ealers in the Pacific
N o rth w est now estim ate th a t the com m ercial

crop of w heat in O regon, W a sh in g to n and
Idaho will to tal approxim ately 5 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0
bushels. O f this am ount 18,000,000 bushels are
necessary to supply estim ated dom estic re ­
quirem ents, leaving approxim ately 32,000,000
bushels available for export.
M ovem ent of 1922 crop w heat to term in al
concentration points has been unusually slow.
R eceipts of w h eat a t th e principal m arkets in
the Pacific N o rth w e st d u rin g Ju ly and A u g u st,
the first tw o m onths of th e 1922-1923 crop
season, have to taled 5,668 carloads, as com ­
pared w ith receipts of 10,964 carloads d u rin g
the sam e period of the previous season. E x p o rt
m ovem ent of w h eat from P o rtla n d and P u g e t
Sound since th e beginning of the p resen t crop
year has been sm all, as show n by th e follow ing
figures :
EX P O R TS O F W H E A T
July 1 to Sept. 1
1922
(bushels)

July 1 to Sept. 1
1921
(bushels)

P o r tla n d .................................... 1,712,394
P u get S o u n d ............................
415,242

9,024,000
4,306,000

T otal ...................................... 2,127,636

13,330,000

F arm ers are reported to be re lu c ta n t to sell
th eir w h eat at prices now obtaining, and
buyers, p artic u la rly for th e ex p o rt trade, have
offered prices low er th a n those nom inally p re­
vailing in Pacific C oast m arkets. H a rd w hite
w heat has been quoted in N o rth w e stern m ar­
kets d u rin g th e first tw o w eeks of S eptem ber
at prices ra n g in g from $1.05 to $1.08 per bushel,
approxim ately 10 cents per bushel below com ­
parable quo tatio n s d u rin g Septem ber, 1921.
T he bulk of th e 1922 crop of barley in th is
d istrict has been h arvested and threshed. A
to tal yield of 46,828,000 bushels is forecasted,
as com pared w ith 39,148,000 bushels produced
in 1921. D ealers estim ate th a t the com m ercial
crop of barley in C alifornia will to tal 800,000
tons (33,600,000 bushels) d u rin g th e 1922
season, as com pared w ith 650,000 tons (27,300,000 bushels) harv ested in 1921.
R eceipts of barley at San Francisco, and ex­
ports from th a t p o rt d u rin g the p resen t crop

(barrels)

(barrels)

Per Cent M ill Capacity
in Operation
A ug.,
July,
A ug.,
1922
1922
1921

California ...........................................
Idaho ...................................................
O r e g o n .............................................. .
W ashington ......................................

10
3
19
21

10
2
19
24

259,657
13,663
122,129
276,204

151,739
7,662
87,196
165,327

61.4
70.0
34.6
44.0

35.9
65.0
25.0
25.3

47
45
41
42

D i s t r i c t ................................................

53

55

671,653

411,924

47.2

28.7

43

(A) M illing

N o . M ills Reporting
A ug.. 1922




July, 1922

-O u t p u t Aug.,1922
July, 1922

155

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

season have been sm aller th an durin g the sam e
period of the preceding season, as show n by
the follow ing fig u re s:
July 1 to Sept. 1
1922

July 1 to Sept. 1
1921

(bushels)

(bushels)

R eceipts .................................... 4,304,286
E xports .................................... 4,682,622

5,976,722
6,827,108

B arley prices in th e San F rancisco m arket
have declined slig h tly d u rin g the p ast m onth.
S hipping barley is now, S eptem ber 15th, quoted
a t $1.20 to $1.30 per cental, as com pared w ith
% \27y2 to $1.35 per cental on A u g u st 15th.
F lo u r m illers are now g rin d in g new crop
w h eat in large quantities, and a m arked in­
crease in m illing activ ity w as reported in A ug­
u st as com pared w ith July. R eportM illing ing m ills operated at 47.2 per cent of
capacity d u rin g A ugust, 1922, com ­
pared w ith 28.7 per cent of capacity during
Ju ly , 1922, and 43 per cent of capacity d uring
A u g u st, 1921 (see table “A ”).
E x p o rt dem and for flour from th e Pacific
C oast is reported to be im proving, b u t w ith o u t
effect on th e price. T h e dom estic m ark et for
flour w as dull d u rin g A ugust, and prices tended
MILLION BUSHELS

MILLION BUSHELS

O
o
9
c.
2
1
1
o
O
thousano ba r r e LS
THOUSANO £ÏARR
900
'900
700
700
F'LCHJR. T
öut JPUT*
0
* -,
500
500
v
■>(
v'
STO ck S V f.
\
300
300
V
"FLO UR.
100
100
V

s TOCKS OF
y*/HEAT /

1920

1921

1922

M onthly Flour Output, and Stocks of Wheat and Flour at E n d of M onth,
of 16 Reporting M illing Companies

to follow th e dow nw ard m ovem ent of prices
for new crop w heat. P rices for hard w hite m ill­
ing w heat in O regon and W ash in g to n m arkets
are reported to be above the general level of
prices for com parable grades of w heat in E a s t­
ern m ark etin g centers.
M illing activ ity in this d istrict d u rin g th e
p ast tw o crop seasons, as indicated by com ­
parable reports from 16 large m illing com ­
panies, is show n in th e accom panying chart.
W ith th e exception of su g ar beets and hay,
yields of the principal field crops in this d istrict
during th e 1922 season will be larg e r th an d u r­
ing the 1921 season (see table “ B ”).
Field
T h e crops of potatoes and beans show
Crops large i n c r e a s e s over th e p r e v i o u s
season. A 1922 yield of 42,493,000
bushels of potatoes is forecasted, as com pared
w ith 35,371,000 bushels harvested in 1921. T he
bean crop is expected to to tal 5,697,000 bushels
com pared w ith 3,902,000 bushels produced last
year. W e ath er conditions have been favorable
for the g ro w th of practically all crops d u rin g
the season. E arly harv est re tu rn s indicate
large yields per acre.
C otton, beans and rice have advanced in
price since a year ago. P rices for th e m ajority
of the rem aining field crops in th e d istrict are
now slightly low er th a n they w ere last year at
this tim e. T he dom estic dem and for hops is
reported to be sm all, and foreign dem and is
ham pered by legislation in the U nited K in g ­
dom re stric tin g im ports of th a t product.
T he m ovem ent of fresh deciduous fruits from
C alifornia d u rin g A u g u st w as large, despite
tem p o rary em bargoes on the shipm ent of p er­
ishable products, caused by railroad
Fruits strike conditions. T o tal shipm ents of
deciduous fru its from California d u r­
ing the 1922 season to S eptem ber 11th,
am ounted to 18,840 cars, as com pared w ith

(B) Grains and F ield Crops—Twelfth Federal Reserve D istrict —
U n it

W h e a t ......................................
B a r le y ......................................
Oats ........................................
C o r n .........................................
H a y ..........................................
P o t a t o e s ..................................
Beans ......................................
Rice, pad d y.............................
Sugar B e e ts ...........................
H o p s ........................................
C otton (Short S ta p le ).......
C otton (L o n g S ta p le )........
*C om m ercial estim ates.




u
“
“
“

<(

Forecasted Yields
1922

Final Estimate
of Yields
1921

98,191,000
46,828,000
29,263,000
11,817,000
14,748,000
42,493,000
5,697,000
3,779,550
1,554,000
31,838,000
69,000
37,000

122,035,000
39,148,000
34,343,000
11,599,000
16,115,000
35,371,000
3,902,000
3,280,500
2,578,000
29,140,000
40,641
37,094

Farm Value Per U n it
August,
August,
August,
1922
1921
1920

$0.97
0.49
0.35
0.64
10.97
1.14
4.29
*2.75
*6.50
.09
(per lb.) .20
(per lb.) *.34

$1.04
0.49
0.33
0.61
11.73
1.36
2.75
*2.25
*6.44
.15
.09
*.30

$2.32
1.21
0.81
1.63
20.89
3.02
4.47
*4.00
*12.42
.50
.36
*.75

Agricultural and Business Conditions

156

17,589 cars shipped d u rin g th e 1921 season to
S eptem ber 11th. W ith the exception of grapes,
sh ip m ent of fru it from C alifornia has been alm ost com pleted.
Forecasted
Shipments Total Shipments Shipments
to Sept. 11,
During 1922
to Sept. 11,
1922
1921
Season

A pricots .. .
Cherries .. .
A ll Grapes. .
P eaches . . . .
P e a r s .........
P lum s

Total
Shipments
During 1921
Season

(cars)

(cars)

(cars)

(cars)

193
502
7,462
2,254
4,861
3,473

193
502
40,000
2,265
5,000
3,500

285
665
6,515
3,334
3,611
3,099

285
665
28,259
3,334
4,160
3,099

51,460

17,589*

40,072

T otal . . . . 18,840*

*T otal includes shipm ents o f m ixed carlo ts of fru it.

A sh o rtag e of refrig erato r cars, due to in te r­
ru p ted re tu rn m ovem ents from th e E ast, has
recen tly becom e serious. O n S eptem ber 15th
th e su p ply of re frig erato r cars w as reported to
be insufficient for the needs of shippers of
grapes, th e sh o rtag e in som e sections being as
high as 75 per cent of estim ated requirem ents..
U nless th e situ atio n im proves m any grow ers
will suffer serious losses.

O n S eptem ber 1st, the C alifornia P ru n e and
A pricot G row ers announced opening prices for
prunes of the 1922 crop. T h e p ric e s ,n a m e d
w ere y 2 to 1% cents per pound h ig h er th a n
opening prices in 1921, as show n in th e follow ­
ing ta b le :
B A S IS O P E N I N G P R IC E S F O R P R U N E S I N B U L K
(Sunsweet Brand)
Size

1922 Crop

1921 Crop

(per pound)

(per pound)

30/40 ............................... 1
40/50 ............................... s y 2
50/60 ............................... 7y2
60/70 ............................... 7

0

9t
8
654
6

A fter confirm ing advance sales at th e fore­
going prices, the A ssociation advanced prices
cent per pound for all grades of prunes.
T he California A lm ond G row ers E xchange
nam ed opening prices on 1922 crop alm onds
d u rin g th e second w eek of Septem ber. T he
1922 prices w ere sligh tly higher th an the prices
nam ed one year ago.
O P E N I N G P R IC E S F O R C A L I F O R N I A A L M O N D S
Variety

1922 Crop

1921 Crop

(pei pound)

(per pound)

N onpareil ............................... 25#
I. X. L ....................................... 24
N e Plus .................................. 22

23#
23
21

S hipm ents of citrus fru its from C alifornia
d uring A ugust, 1922, w ere sm aller th a n d u rin g
the sam e m onth a year ago. E a ste rn m ark ets
w ere reported to be over-supplied w ith oranges
d u rin g th e m onth and prices for this fru it de­
clined. H o t w eath er d u rin g A u g u st created a
stro n g dem and for lem ons, available supplies
in E astern m arkets w ere sm all, and prices ac­
cordingly rose. A verage re tu rn s to m em bers
of th e C alifornia F ru it G row ers E x ch an g e for
citrus fru its m arketed d u rin g A u g u st, 1922,
com pared w ith average re tu rn s in Ju ly , 1922,
and A ugust, 1921, w ere reported as follow s :
F resh fru it prices in E a ste rn m arkets have
been unstable d u rin g A ugust. G enerally, sup­
plies of fru it have been large, and price levels
low, except w hen artificial shortages have re­
sulted from tem p o rary tra n sp o rta tio n em bar­
goes. P e a r shipm ents have been large and
fairly profitable, until a recent heavy m ove­
m en t of this fru it from O regon and W ash in g ­
ton, as well as C alifornia, depressed prices in
E a ste rn m arkets.
T ra d in g in dried and canned fru its has been
light d u rin g the p ast m onth. T he general tren d
of prices in E a ste rn m arkets has been dow n­
w ard, b u t on the Pacific C oast, prices, w ith few
exceptions, have rem ained at previous levels.




August, 1922

July, 1922

August,1921

(per box)

(per box)

(per box)

$5.62
2.99

$3.59
2.90

O ranges ........................... $4.94
L em ons ............................ 3.69

P a stu re s and ranges th ro u g h o u t th e Pacific
N o rth w e st and In term o u n ta in sections of th e
d istrict, w hich had previously suffered from
dro u g h t, w ere g re atly benefited by
Livestock show ers d u rin g the la tte r p a rt of
A ugust. F eed is now relativ ely
plentiful in m ost sections and livestock g en er­
ally are rep o rted to be thriving.
G rass fatten ed cattle and sheep from th e
m ountain ranges are now m oving to m arket.
R eceipts of cattle and calves at th e principal

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

157

m arkets of th e d istrict d u rin g A u g u st w ere
norm al in am o u n t for this season of the year
(see tab le “ C” ). R eceipts of sheep w ere com ­
p arativ ely sm all, am o u n tin g to 216,507 head in
th e eig h t m arkets of th e district, as com pared
w ith 321,248 head received durin g A ugust,
1921, a reduction of 32 per cent. R eceipts of
hogs w ere larg e r th an in A ugust, 1921, as they
have been in all previous m onths of the pres­
en t year w hen com pared w ith corresponding
m onths a y ear ago.
L ivestock prices in the principal m arkets of
TH O U S A N D S
Ann

TH O U S A N D S

1»
>
;« s•s H E E P
t• *
•
.A
« i
f"
i /V
• • • vl *
t
\»
:
■

360
320
280
240

0

120
80
40

CA1lt l e

0

320
280

• I
>•%

J
o
*

°*°v
U>» H C » G S
V^oJ

JOU

;
\t
*
1
\
1 .. " 1
!
>, /
V

t

160 s /

/inn

II
j»
i

•

200

•
H
II

160

V
s tA

/

k
Ï

\

240
200

120

__

\r
% ***....

,

80

AND C MVES

40

IS>21

0

1922

Receipts of Livestock at Eight of the Principal Markets of the District
1921-1922. (L o s Angeles, Ogden, Portland, Salt Lake C ity, San
Francisco, Seattle, Spokane and Tacoma included)

(C) Receipts o f Livestock —
x

^

Cattle
August,
August,

1922

1921

Calves
August, August,

the d istrict w ere steady d uring A ugust, w ith a
slight stren g th en in g of prices for choice cattle
late in the m onth (see table “D ”). In C alifor­
nia an increasingly large num ber of sales of
choice fat steers a t 7 cents per pound f. o. b.
ranch is being reported, although the average
qu ality of steers m arketed during A u g u st re­
tu rn ed approxim ately 6% cents per pound to
the producer. A ctive tra d in g in stocker and
feeder cattle continued.
D u rin g A u g u st th e price of hogs declined in
all m arkets of th e district, excepting San F ra n ­
cisco and Los A ngeles, follow ing a decline in
prices paid for hogs in E a ste rn m arkets. T h e
supply of hogs raised in th e d istrict has again
fallen sh o rt of th e d istric t’s needs and corn fed
hogs have been shipped in from th e central
states to supply th e deficiency.
D em and for lam bs and yearlin g sheep in th e
m arkets of th is d istrict has been strong, al­
th o u g h prices have n o t advanced. L am bs in
C alifornia are reported to be selling a t prices
ran g in g from 9 to 10 cents per pound f. o. b.
ranch.
T h e norm al decline in b u tte r production
w hich occurs a t th is season of th e y ear w as
hastened in this d istrict by unusually h o t
w e a t h e r d u rin g A ugust.
Dairy and
M ovem ent of b u tte r into
Poultry Products cold storage d i m i n i s h e d
d u rin g the m onth, and hold­
ings in sto rag e declined from the peak reached
in July. O n S eptem ber 1st, holdings of cold

Horses
Hogs
August,
August,

1922

1921

1922

1921

Sheep
August,
August,

1922

1921

*Los A n g e le s .....19,035
O gden .................. 1,661
Portland ............ 9,548
Salt Lake C ity .., 1,892
*San F ra n cisco ..,.19,377
Seattle .................. 3,225
Spokane ............. 3,493
T acom a ............. 2,170

16,708
1,724
9,691
3,132
18,307
3,330
2,175
1,673

9,425
201
1,266
150
7,508
276
444
349

7,548
119
1,099
313
4,838
197
292
146

29,286
11,755
14,778
3,729
31,457
8,164
2,724
3,983

23,678
10,551
9,189
3,542
27,224
4,173
1,856
2,408

46,538
40,935
22,226
6,489
83,892
8,563
3,636
4,228

49,518
95,977
35,516
33,075
90,438
7,572
6,724
2,428

T w elfth D istr ic t.60,401

56,740

19,619

14,552

105,876

82,621

216,507

321,248

and Mules
August, August,

1922

1921

146

82

37

*0

39
92

’Ô
50

314

132

*R eceipts in th e Los A ngeles an d S an F rancisco B ay d istricts re p re sen t a m a jo rity of the anim als slaughtered in C alifornia.

(D) R ange in Livestock Prices —
Highest and Lowest Average To p Prices Per Hundredweight Received at Above Markets D uring August.
W eek of

Fat Steers

A ugust 7 ..............$7.00— 8.25
A ugust 14.............. 7.00— 8.25
A ugust 2 1 .............. 7.00— 8.25
A ugust 2 8 .............. 7.00— 8.25




Cows

$4.75— 5.62
4.75— 6.00
4.75—6.00
4.50—6.00

Calves

Hogs

Lambs

$7.66— 9.00
8.00—9.50
8.00—9.50
8.00—9.50

$10.00— 13.00
9.50— 13.25
9.00— 13.51
9.10— 12.50

$10.00— 12.50
10.00— 12.50
10.00— 11.50
10.00— 11.50

Agricultural and Business Conditions

158

sto rag e b u tte r in th e four principal m arkets of
the d istrict to taled 4,231,529 pounds, com pared
w ith holdings of 4,664,416 pounds on A u g u st
1st, and 2,367,683 pounds on S eptem ber 1, 1921
(see tab le “ E ” ).
Supplies of fancy grad e b u tte r in th e San
F rancisco m ark et have been lim ited d u rin g the
p ast m o nth and prices have advanced 4 cents
p er pound. O n S eptem ber 15th 93 score fresh
cream ery b u tte r w as quoted a t 46 cents per
pound.
P rices to producers for raw m ilk continued
u p w ard d u rin g A ugust, advancing 5 cents per
100 pounds in the M ountain Section and 10
cents per 100 pounds in th e Pacific Section.
C om pared w ith A ugust, 1921, raw m ilk prices
have declined $0.55 and $0.38 per 100 pounds in
th e M ountain and Pacific sections, respectively
(see table “F ”).

P relim in ary estim ates of cold sto rag e h o ld ­
ings of eggs in this d istrict and in th e U n ited
S tates, as of S eptem ber 1, 1922, indicate th a t
stocks are decidedly larg er th an a y ear ago.
C O L D S T O R A G E H O L D IN G S O F E G G S
Sept. 1,
1922

Aug. 1,
1922

(cases)*

(cases)*

(cases)*

540,023
10,225,000

386,369
7,210,000

T w elfth D istrict.
498,789
U nited S t a t e s .. . . 9,586,000

Sept. 1,
1921

*O ne case contains 24 dozen eggs.

T he w holesale price of fresh C alifornia eggs
in th e San F rancisco m ark et advanced from
28% cents per dozen on A u g u st 15th, to 43J4
cents per dozen on S eptem ber 15th.
P rices continued to m ove irreg u larly d u rin g
A ugust. A ccording to th e U nited S tates B ureau
of L ab o r index num ber th e general level of
w holesale prices, w hich has been adPrices v ancing since J a n u a ry of th is year,
rem ained unchanged in A u g u st com ­
pared w ith the previous m onth. A t 155 (1913
prices equal 100) this index num ber is now 9.1
per cent higher th an one y ear ago and 12.3 per
cent above th e low p o in t reached in Jan u a ry ,
1922. T h e index num ber of prices of 20 basic
com m odities (m ostly raw p ro d u cts) com piled
by th e F ederal R eserve B ank of N ew Y ork,
w hich has recently been declining, advanced
from 138.3 to 139.6 d u rin g th e m onth.

Seasonal Movement of Holdings of Cold Storage Butter at Four
Principal Markets of the District, 1921 -1922

(E) M ovem ent o f Stocks o f Cold Storage
B utter —
A u g ., 1922
Net
Decrease
(pounds)

A u g ., 1921
Net
Decrease
(pounds)

Sept. 1,
1921
Holdings
(pounds)

Sept. 1,
1922
Holdings
(pounds)

L os A n g e le s... 213,899
P o r t la n d .......... ♦29,518
San F rancisco. 171,363
77,143
Seattle .............

698,014
*13,648 1,345,850
303,664
133,988
702,327
305,111 1,412,748 1,055,922
770,604
377,652
310,083

432,887

803,103 4,231,529 2,367,683

T otals ..........
*N et increase.

United States Bureau of Labor Index of W holesale Prices (1 9 1 3 = 1 0 0 ).
National Industrial Conference Board Index of the Cost of Living (July 1 9 1 4 = 1 0 0 ).

(F) Prices R eceived by M ilk Producers *Sectionf

A ug.,
1922
Range

M ountain (4 M k ts .)— $1.46-2.20
Pacific (8 M k ts .)........... 1.78-3.03
U . S. (91 M k ts .)............. 1.37-4.65

Ju ly,
1922
A v e rage

A ug.,
1921
A v e r­
age

$1.88 $1.83

$2.43
2.72
2.91

A u g .,
1922
A v e r­
age

2.34
2.27

2.24
2.19

*A11 prices p e r h u n d red w eig h t fo r m ilk te stin g 3.5 p er cent b u tte r
fat.
fM o u n ta in Section includes Id ah o , U ta h , N evada an d A rizona.
Pacific S ection includes W ash in g to n , O reg o n an d C alifornia.




P rices received for a m ajo rity of th e p rin ci­
pal p roducts of this d istrict w ere low er in A u g ­
u st th a n in th e previous m onth. In those m ar­
k ets w here th e pro d u cts of th e d istrict are sold
in significant quantities, prices of cattle, sheep,
dairy and p o u ltry products, lem ons, lum ber
and lead m ade im p o rtan t advances w hile prices
of w heat, barley, rice, hogs, wool, fru its and
su g ar declined.

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

In th e Chicago m arket, cattle prices ad­
vanced 20 cents, sheep prices 75 cents, and
lam b prices 20 cents per 100 pounds d uring
A ugust. T h e price of eggs in the San F ra n ­
cisco m ark et advanced from 28^4 cents per
dozen on A u g u st 4th, to 38^4 cents per dozen
on S eptem ber 1st. T h e co n tra ct price of Sep­
tem b er w h eat in C hicago declined from $1.061.0854 p er bushel on A u g u st 4th, to $1.00-1.01
per bushel on S eptem ber 1st.
C hanges in the prices of som e of th e princi­
pal com m odities of the d istrict are show n in
tab le “G.”
A ctiv ity in th e lum ber industry, noted d u r­
ing previous m onths of this year, continued in
A u g u st and reported production, orders, and
shipm ents w ere all g re atly in excess
Lum ber of the figures for A u g u st a year ago.
A pproxim ately 95 per cent of the
lum ber m ills in O regon, W a sh in g to n and
Idaho w ere in operation d u rin g A ugust, 1922,
com pared w ith 70 per cent in A ugust, 1921.
C om pared w ith July, 1922, th e figures for A ug­
ust, 1922, reflect th e usual seasonal increase in

159

activ ity in th e lum ber in d u stry w hich occurs in
the early fall. F igures show ing th e percen tag e
increase or decrease in activity of 186 m ills in
th e four lum ber associations in th is d istrict
fo llo w :
August, 1922
compared with
July, 1922

. August, 1922
compared with
August, 1921

P roduction ........ ....52.5%
Shipm ents ......... ....31.1%
O rders ................ ....42.1%
Unfilled O rders.. 87.7%

Increase
Increase
Increase
Increase

31.0% Increase
13.2% Increase
33.4% Increase
7.7% D ecrease

R etail lum ber yards w ere th e larg est dom es­
tic purchasers of lum ber d u rin g A ugust, sales
of w oods suitable for sm all construction and
repair w ork predom inating. D istrib u tin g cen­
ters in O regon, W ash in g to n , M innesota, South
D akota, Iow a and Illinois received the m ajo rity
of the shipm ents by rail. L arge shipm ents by
w a te r w ere m ade to C alifornia and to th e A t­
lantic Coast.
T h e to tal of all dom estic and foreign sh ip ­
m ents of lum ber by w a te r from O regon and
W a sh in g to n d u rin g the first six m onths of
1922 w as 1,456,228,371 feet com pared w ith

(G) Com m odity Prices —
Commodity

T w en ty B asic C om m odities (F . R. B. of N. Y .) 1913=100.
W holesale Prices (U . S. Bureau of Labor*) 1913= 100___
Cost of L iving (N ational Industrial Conference Board)
July, 1 9 1 4 = 1 0 0 ..................................................................................
Cattle (N ative B e e f ) .. .W eek ly average price at C h ica g o ..
S h e e p .................................W eek ly average price at C h icago..
Lambs ..............................W eek ly average price at C h icago..
H o g s .................................. W eek ly average price at C h icago..
W h e a t ................... Chicago contract prices for Sept. W h eat.
B a r le y ................... Shipping B arley F. O. B. San F rancisco.
R i c e ....................... California F ancy Japan at San F rancisco.
C o t t o n ................... M iddling U plands— W eek ly range of spot
quotations at N ew O rlea n s.....................
W o o l ..................... A verage of 98 quotations at B o sto n ..........
Sugar .................... B eet granulated F. O. B. San F ra n c isc o ..
Apples ..................G ravensteins at San F ra n cisco ....................
Oranges ...............V alencias, special brands, L os A n g e le s..
Lem ons ................Special Brands Fancy at L os A n g e le s ...
Dried A p p le s....... Choice in 50-lb. b oxes F. O. B. California
Dried A p rico ts...C h o ice in 25-lb. b oxes F. O. B. California
Prunes ..................Size 40/50 in 25-lb. b oxes F. O. B. Calif.
Raisins ................. L oose M uscatel in 25-lb. boxes F. O. B.
California ........................................................
Canned A p ricots.C h oice 2 ^ s F. O. B. California.................
Canned P ea ch es..C lin g choice, 2 ^ s F. O. B. C a lifo r n ia ...
Canned P e a r s .. . .B artlett, Standard 25^s F. O. B. C alif...
Butter ................... 93 score at San F ra n cisco ............................
E g g s ...................... E xtras— San F r a n c is c o ...................................
Copper ................. E lectrolytic; N ew Y ork S p o t......................
L e a d ...................... N ew Y ork S p o t..................................................
Petroleum ...........California 35° and a b o v e.................................
D ouglas F ir ..........2x4, 16-ft. N o. S1S1E F. O. B. S e a tt le ...
D ouglas F ir ..........12x12 Tim bers F. O. B. S ea ttle....................
* R evised figures.




U n it

100 lbs.
100 lbs.
100 lbs.
100 lbs.
bu.
cental
cental
lb.
lb.
lb.
box
box
box
lb.
lb.
lb.
lb.
doz.
doz.
doz.
lb.
doz.
lb.
lb.
bbl.
M ft.
M ft.

Sept. 1,1922

One Month Ago

One Year Ago

139.6
155

138.3
155

122.6
142

154.0
9.85
6.75
12.70
8.10
1.00-1.015*
1.25-1.30
5.45

155.6
9.65
6.00
12.50
9.20
1.06-1.0854
1.25-1.30
5.55

162.0
8.50
3.75
8.10
8.25
1.215^-1.2654
1.30-1.40
4.20

21.75-22.00*
71.55*
6.95
1.50-2.00
10.00-10.50
7.25-7.50
.09 54
.23
.12J4-.12J*

21.25-22.50*
73.98*
7.10
2.25-2.75
10.00-10.50
6.50

14.88-17.00*
40.04*
6.10
1.75-2.75
3.00-3.50
3.00-3.50
.Î3 -A 3 #

.11
3.25
2.60
2.85
.42*4
.3 8 ^
.14
5.90*
1.95
18.50
18.00

.n -.ir n

.24
.12J4-.12JS

.1 8 -.1 8 J 4
.1 1 J 4 -.1 1 JS

.11
3.25
2.60
2.85
•4154
.2 8 ^
.14
5.80*
1.95
17.50
17.00

.13
3.00
2.50
2.95
.4 3 ^
.45
.1 1 «
4.45*
2.45
11.00

13.00

Agricultural and Business Conditions

160

659,366,121 feet in th e sam e period of 1921, an
increase of 796,862,250 feet o r 120.8 per cent.
T h e follow ing tab le show s th e destin ation and
am o u n t of w ater-b o rn e shipm ents from O regon
and W a sh in g to n d u rin g th e first six m onths of
1922 and 1921 as rep o rted by Pacific L um ber
Insp ectio n B ureau.
First Six Months First Six Months
of 1922
of 1921
(feetB . M.)

(feet B. M .)

California ............... ............. 687,512,322
Japan ........................ ............. 325,845,598
A tlantic Coast
........... 223,562,251
China ........................ .............
70,786,836
A ustralasia ............. .............
53,753,573
So. A m erica (W e st C oast) 28,659,790
H aw aiian I s la n d s .. .............
28,654,692
E urope ..................... .............
16,590,586
South A frica .......... .............
6,597,268
India ......................... .............
3,130,856
A ll O th er* ............... .............
11,134,599

341,500,023
75,769,311
90,075,231
52,214,125
16,054,206
24,837,414
26,301,915
8,475,279
3,918,362
848,807
19,371,448

1,456,228,371

659,366,121

*A11 o th e r in c lu d es: A laska, P an am a, P h ilip p in e Islan d s, C entral
A m erica, Cuba, M exico, N ew Z ealand, So u th A m erica (E ast
C o ast), S o u th Sea Islan d s, S tra its Settlem ents.

S trik e conditions on th e railroads of the
co u n try are claim ed to have been responsible
for a sh o rtag e of cars for shipm ent of lum ber
in sections served by b ranch lines or w here
th ere is no rail com petition. S hippers a t points
M ILLIONS OF BOARD F E E T
600
/ *\ A
Vv /J
I i
/
500
\ J
/
r
Ig
V
400

MILLIONS OF BOARD FEET
600
I

500
1
r ¿i
Pf Oi HI CT
k\L L
f
i
'\
/Á £
y
SJ<ip M EN
i
/
ORDERS

400
300

200

100
_

300

li

200

1 1
PR O DUCTIO N _
S H IP M E N T S ____
ORDERS

100
l<92 2

(9 2 1

Lumber Production, Orders Received, and Shipments in Twelfth
Federal Reserve District as Reported by Four Lum ber
Associations, 1921-1922

(H ) Lumber —

W est Coast
Lum berm en ’<
A ssociation
August,

1922
A verage N o. of
M ills R eporting . 125
Cut* ......................... 345,615
Shipm ents* ........... 298,109
O r d e r s * ................... .313,747
U nfilled O rd ers*., .246,513

* In th o u san d s o f feet.




W estern P ine
M anufacturer » *
A ssociation

August,
1921

August,
1922

103
235,187
250,023
236,304
155,105

42
130,338
108,381
103,950
102,850

August,
1921

44
76,212
68,674
65,175
34,325

on m ain lines, w here th ere is rail com petition,
rep o rt th a t from 70 to 95 per cent of th e cars
required d u rin g A u g u st w ere furnished, b u t
th a t deliveries to d estination have been u n u su ­
ally slow. F e a r of a fu rth e r car sh o rtag e b e­
cause of the p rio rity aw arded shippers of coal
for open cars and shippers of farm p roducts for
box cars, is rep o rted to have resu lted in a
stren g th en in g of prices of Pacific N o rth w e st­
ern lum ber d u rin g the m onth of A ugust. P rices
(f. o. b. m ills) of rep resen tativ e item s of D o u g ­
las fir, as of the last w eek in A ugust, 1922,
July, 1922, and A ugust, 1921, are show n in th e
follow ing tab le :
Douglas F ir (F . O . B . M ills)

A ?921

N o. 1 clear, V. G. flooring 1x4, (pcr M)
10 to 16 f e e t .................................. $55.00
N o. 2 clear and better F. G.
ceilin g ^ x 4 , 10 to 16 f e e t . . .

37.00

(pcr M)
$52.00

(pcr M)
$51.00

35.00

21.00

N o. 2 clear and better drop
siding 1x6, 10 to 16 f e e t .........40.00

38.00

21.00

No. 1 com m on tim ber 12x32
feet and und er............................ 18.00

17.00

13.00

A fter one of th e m ost prolonged periods of
dry w eather ever experienced in th e lum bering
regions of th e Pacific N o rth w e st heavy rains
fell d u rin g A ugust, ending th e fire hazard
w hich had curtailed logging op eration s for
over tw o m onths. A ctivity in the log gin g in­
d u stry increased rapidly, th e produ ction of
logs on S eptem ber 1st being estim ated at 75
per cent of norm al com pared w ith 40 per cent
a m onth previous. In A ugu st, 1921, th e p ro­
duction of logs w as reported to be 70 per cent
of norm al capacity. T he supply of logs held on
Septem ber 1, 1922, w as estim ated to be 5 p er
cent g re ater th an th e supply on A u g u st 1, 1922,
and 30 per cent less th a n th e supply held on
Septem ber 1, 1921.
C om parative figures of the cut, orders, ship­
m ents and unfilled orders of the four lum ber
associations in this d istrict are show n in table
“H .”

C alifornia W hite
a n d Sugar P ine
M anufacturers *
A ssociation

C aliforn ia
R ed w o o d
A ssociation

TO TA L

August,
1922

August,
1921

August.
1922

August,
1921

August,
1922

August,
1921

7
51,340
34,456
21,358

6
24,700
15,104
11,940

12
42,257
36,344
41,739
57,619

12
37,253
30,072
24,798
27,370

186
569,550
477,290
480,794
406,982

164
373,352
363,873
338,217
216,800

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

161

T he re ta rd in g influence of the railroad and
coal m ining strikes on business and in d u stry
has been felt by th e m etal m ining industry, b u t
nevertheless a m arked increase in
M ining m ining activ ity com pared w ith one
year ago is apparent. F igures show ­
ing th e n ational production of copper, silver
and zinc, th ree of th e m ost im p o rtan t m etal
p ro d u cts of th is district, are show n in the fol­
low ing table w hich com pares the o u tp u t in
July, 1922, w ith June, 1922, and July, 1921.
C o p p er (lb s.)
July*1922
(m in e p ro d u c tio n ) 90,998,646
S ilv er (oz.)
(co m m e rcia l b a rs ) 4,340,574
Z inc (to n s) ( s la b ) . .
31,917

June' 1922
93,739,847

July*1921
17,789,507

4,760,160
28,547

3,901,946
15,495

Figures on the production of lead are not available.

P ro d u ctio n of copper a t the 13 of th e 17 p rin ­
cipal m ines in this d istrict w hich are operating,
increased d u rin g July, 1922, both as com pared
w ith June, 1922, and w ith July, 1921. In July,
1922, th e o u tp u t of nine of these m ines for
w hich figures are available w as 32,186,000
pounds, com pared w ith 29,297,000 pounds pro­
duced in June, 1922. In July, 1921, th e o u tp u t
of th e th ree m ines then producing copper w as
6,434,000 pounds.
In th is district, except in N evada and so u th ­
ern C alifornia, silver is produced as a by-prod­
u ct in th e m ining of copper, lead, gold and zinc
ores. Increased activity in th e copper, lead and
zinc m ines of A rizona, Idaho and U ta h has
been largely responsible for an increased pro­
duction of silver in 1922, com pared w ith 1921.
C ontinued activity in th e deep gold m ines of
C alifornia is reported, although m ost of the
gold being produced a t p resen t is com ing from
d red g in g properties.
R eports received from the principal m ining
cam ps in th e states of th is d istrict indicate a
pronounced sh o rtag e of skilled and unskilled
m iners, the deficiency in som e cases being as
high as 20 per cent of th e num ber of m en re­
quired. In the Globe d istrict of A rizona, the

(I) Petroleum

m ines have posted a v o lu n tary increase of 10
per cent in w ages.
Im proved conditions in th e m ining in d u stry
have accom panied an upw ard m ovem ent of
prices of th e principal m etals. C om parative
prices in A ugust, 1922, July, 1922, and A ug u st,
1921, are show n in th e follow ing tab le:
- Average Prices Aug., 1921
A ug., 1922
July, 1922

C o p p er (lb.)
(cents)
N ew Y o rk E le c tro ly tic .. 13.97
L ead (lb.) N ew Y o r k ......... 5.82
Silver (oz. tro y )
N ew Y o rk F o r e ig n ......... 69.41
Z inc (lb.) St. L o u is ............. 6.21

(cents)

(cents)

13.90
5.72

11.88

70.24
5.69

61.59
4.18

4.38

P ro d u ctio n of petroleum in C alifornia in­
creased slightly d u rin g A ugust, th e average
daily o u tp u t being 382,221 barrels, an increase
of 8,526 barrels or 2.2 per cent
P e tro le u m over the average daily o u tp u t in
the previous record m onth of July.
C o n trary to the usual seasonal m ovem ent, con­
sum ption of petroleum declined durin g A ugust.
MILLIONS

MILLIONS
90 r
80
70
60
50

90
80
70
60
50

★

STORI sD

/S T I DCKS OF GASOLI NE

___**

(GAL

TORÊD STOCK S OF
F ETROl EÜM ( EBLS.)

•mm***“

★

PET KOLEUI «1 PROD JCTÍ0NCBBLS.'
y»
... \
\ ■'**
PBT rol' euk I
^ y
SHIP!' 4ENTS<0 6 US.)

"N V

l | 2 | 3 4 15 16 7.18 L9 IOtu 112 i l ß h

4 15 [6 7 l 8 |9 I0| Ili 12

1922

1921
C A L IF O R N IA

Production, Shipments and Stored Stocks o! Petroleum, and Refinery
Stored Stocks of Gasolene 1921-1922
*See footnote to Table “ I” .

August, 1922*

July, 1922

P ro d u c tio n (d aily a v e r a g e ) ...................................................
382,221 bbls.
In d ic a te d C o n su m p tio n (d aily a v e r a g e ) .........................
298,999 bbls.
S to red S to ck s (end of m o n t h ) ............................................ 54,272,194 bbls.
N ew W ells C o m p le te d ...........................................................
76
W ith D aily P ro d u c tio n .......................................................
52,553 bbls.
W ells A b an d o n ed ...................................................................
20

373,695 bbls.
318,512 bbls.
45,187,910 bbls.
100
66,195 bbls.
2

August, 1921

323,616 bbls.
252,792 bbls.
33,829,725 bbls.
83
20,895 bbls.
3

^ B eginning w ith A ugust, 1922,. figures on petroleum operations fu rn ish e d by the A m erican P etro leu m In stitu te . T hey are no t stric tly
com parable w ith the figures previously fu rn ish e d by the S ta n d a rd Oil Company, w hich w ere p a rtly estim ated.




Agricultural and Business Conditions

162

A verage daily shipm ents to taled 298,999 b a r­
rels, a decrease of 19,523 b arrels or 6.1 per cent
per day from th e previous m onth. A u g u st p ro ­
duction exceeded consum ption by 83,222 b a r­
rels p er day. S torage stocks of petroleum ,
alread y large, w ere consequently fu rth e r in­
creased, stan d in g a t 54,272,194 b arrels on A u g ­
u st 31, 1922, an increase of 2,579,904 barrels or
4.9 p er cent over the figure rep o rted by the
A m erican P etro leu m In s titu te on Ju ly 31, 1922.
S eventy-six new w ells w ere com pleted during
A u g u st and 20 w ells abandoned, an increase of
56 p ro d ucing w ells d u rin g the m onth.
S to red stocks of gasolene in C alifornia are
b eing fu rth e r depleted. C onsum ption durin g
Ju ly , 1922, to taled 66,584,330 gallons, a new
high record. D u rin g th e sam e m onth 35 refin­
eries, o p eratin g a t 94 per cent of capacity, pro­
duced 59,063,530 gallons of gasolene. Stored
stocks w ere draw n upon to m eet the deficiency.

T o tal sales of electric pow er for in d u strial
purposes in this d istrict increased 11 per cent
d u rin g July, 1922, as com pared w ith July, 1921.
T h is increase w as due chiefly to exE lec tric pan d in g activ ity in the m ining and
E n erg y
m an u factu rin g industries. D u rin g
July, 1922, sales of pow er to th e m in­
ing in d u stry show ed an increase of 15 per cen t
in C alifornia and 18 per cent in th e In te r­
m ountain states com pared w ith Ju ly a y ear
ago. A ctivity in oil production in C alifornia
and in lum ber production in the Pacific N o rth ­
w est, as reflected by pow er consum ption in
these industries, w as less d u rin g July, 1922,

S TO R E D S TO C K S O F G A S O L E N E A T C A L IF O R N IA
R E F IN E R IE S
Ju ly 31. 1922

June 30, 1922

Ju ly 31, 1921

41,920,742 gal.

48,441,542 gal.

75,002,032 gal.

T h ere w ere 313,302,422 gallons of gasolene
consum ed d u rin g th e first seven m onths of
1922, an increase of 29 per cent over consum p­
tio n in th e sam e period last year. T h e w hole­
sale price of gasolene w as reduced 1 cent per
gallon on A u g u st 8th.
S ta tistics on oil field operations as furnished
b y th e A m erican P etro leu m In stitu te , are
show n in table “ I .”

Total and Segregated Sales of Electric Power to Industries in
California, June, 1921 to July, 1922
(Based on reports of eight principal power companies)

(J ) Electric Energy —
(1) Production—
C alifo rn ia (8 com panies
re p o rtin g ) ....................
Pacific N o rth w est (5
com panies re p o rtin g ).
In te rm o u n ta in S ta te s (6
com panies re p o rtin g ).

Plant Capacity K . W .
Ju ly,
1922

June,
1922

Ju ly,
1921

969,075

969,075

910,975

365,675

356,585

238,657

T w e lfth D istric t (19
com panies re p o rtin g ).1,573,407

Peakload K . W .

Plant Output K . W . H .
June,
1922

July,
1921

July,
1922

790,080*

777,766*

703,914*

353,675

251,524*

224,720*

238,657

222,897

146,030*

139,921*

1,564,317

1,487,547

Num ber ol Industrial Consumers

(2) Sales—

Ju ly,
1922

1,187,634* 1,142,407*

June,
1922

Ju ly,
1921

362,545,572

349,705,289

334,132,711

225,318*

105,660,225

105,927,639

96,064,350

119,120*

78,930,971

73,733,648

61,248,812

1,048,352*

547,136,768

529,366,576

491,445,873

Connected Industrial Load H . P.Industrial Sales K . W . H .

Ju ly,
1922

June,
1922

July,
1921

July,
1922

June,
1922

C alifo rn ia .........................

52,029

51,398

43,922

Pacific N o rth w est

.........

10,860

10,907

9,960

178,321*

176,656*

In te rm o u n ta in S tates . .

10,315

10,141

9,487

277,863*

295,251*

T w elfth D istric t .............

73,204

72,446

63,369

1,720,744* 1,722,268

2,176,928* 2,194,175*

July,
1921

Ju ly,
1922

June,
1922

Ju ly,
1921

1,461,799*
171,546*

225,436,498

225,406,211

211,176,978

66,402,675

65,006,148

59,557,774

259,451*

57,356,816

52,370,259

42,644,259

1,892,796*

349,195,989

342,782,618

313,379,011

*N ot rep o rte d by all com panies. F ig u res so m arked a re com parable u n d e r respective headings
com parison w ith o th er p o rtio n s o f the table.




an d dates, b u t n o t stric tly a ccu rate fo r

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

163

th an d u rin g June, 1922, although sales to the
lum ber in d u stry w ere 20 per cent larg er th an
d u rin g July, 1921. Sales of pow er for indus­
trial purposes by industries and by sections of
th is d istrict are com pared in the follow ing p er­
centage ta b le :
Percentage increase or decrease, July, 1922
compared with July, 1921
Total
A gricul<
M an u- Industrial
ture
M ining
facturing
Sales

California ................ + 3.1%
Pacific N o r th w est.— 46.2%
Interm ountain ....+ 2 1 .3 %
T w elfth D is t r ic t ...— .2%

+15.7%
+30.1%
+18*5%
+18.7%

+26.0%
— 6.6%
— 4.6%
+13.5%

+ 6.7%
+11.5%
+34.5%
+11.4%

In th e accom panying ch a rt to tal industrial
sales of electric energy by eight principal pow er
com panies in C alifornia are show n by m onths
since June, 1921. Sales of pow er to various
classes of industrial consum ers are indicated
as p o rtions of the to tal sales. T h e m arked
seasonal variation in the figures rep resen tin g
to ta l industrial sales is due chiefly to th e
ch an g in g needs of ag ricu ltu ral consum ers for
pow er to pum p w ater for irrigation. T he stead ­
ily in creasing volum e of pow er sales to m anu­
factu rin g industries d u rin g the p ast six m onths
is p articu larly notew orthy.
E m p loym ent in C alifornia increased fu rth e r
d u rin g A ugust, principally due to seasonal de­
m ands for w orkers to be used in h arv estin g and
packing C alifornia fruits, and to
E m ploym ent g re a te r building activity in sev­
eral sections. R eports from
so u th ern C alifornia indicate a sh o rtag e of
skilled building trad e m echanics. P ublic em ­
p lo y m ent offices in th e larg er cities of C alifor­
nia re p o rt an increase in the num ber of place­
m ents actually m ade d u rin g A ugust, 1922,
com pared w ith July, 1922, and A ugust, 1921, as
show n by the follow ing ta b le :
Num ber of Positions Filled
A ug., 1922
July, 1922
A ug., 1921

Bakersfield ..
Fresno ...........
Los A n g e le s..
M arysville . . .
M odesto . . . .
Oakland ........
Sacram ento ..
San Francisco
San J o s e .........
Stockton ___

1,136
1,652
10,250
943
432
3,209
1,704
5,637
1,600
690

949
1,397
9,929
483
360
2,410
1,279
4,183
1,056
988

1,548
776
2,030
1,208
305

27,253

23,034

11,927

955
5,105

All available w orkers in th e Pacific N o rth ­
w est are reported to be em ployed and th e need
for m en in the lum bering, fishing, ag ricu ltu ral
and building industries, and for highw ay con­
stru ctio n w ork, has increased. In the principal




lum bering sections of O regon, W a sh in g to n and
Idaho it is estim ated th a t 81,500 m en w ere on
the payrolls on Septem ber 1, 1922, com pared
w ith 78,769 on A u g u st 1, 1922, and 60,000 on
S eptem ber 1st one year ago.
In th e In term o u n ta in states (A rizona, Idaho,
N evada and U tah ) th e em ploym ent situ atio n
im proved d u rin g A u g u st com pared w ith Ju ly
and conditions are m arkedly b etter th a n in
A u g u st a y ear ago. Increased activity in th e
m etal m ining and building industries has re­
sulted in an actual sh o rtag e of skilled copper
m ine w orkers and building trades m echanics.
O f th e 4,800 m en norm ally em ployed in the
coal fields of U tah, less th a n 1,000 w ere idle
durin g A u g u st despite th e nation-w ide strike
of coal m iners w hich w as th en in progress. By
S eptem ber 15th practically all of the strik ers
had retu rn ed to w ork.
E m ploym ent in the m anufacturing industries
of the four larg est cities of the district, as in­
dicated by rep o rts of th e U nited S tates D e p art­
m ent of L abor, increased during A ugust, 1922,
com pared w ith A ugust, 1921. C om pared w ith
July, 1922, em ploym ent increased in tw o of the
four cities, a slig h t decrease in P o rtlan d and
San F rancisco being reported. F igures show ­
ing th e to tal num ber of w orkers on the payrolls
of 40 m an u factu rin g firm s in Los A ngeles,
P o rtlan d , San F rancisco and Seattle, usually
em ploying 501 m en or m ore, are given in th e
Percentage
follow ing ta b le :

Number of M en on Payroll*
Num ber A ug. 31,
of firms
1922

L os A n g e le s .. 16
Portland ........ 8
San Francisco 10
Seattle ............ 6

increase in
number of
men on pay­
roll Aug. 31,
1922
compared
withAug.31,
1921

July 31,
1922

A ug. 31,
1921

28,753
6,439
6,735
2,343

27,272
6,645
7,092
2,159

23,097
6,385
5,926
2,330

24.4
.8
13.6
.5

44,270

43,168

37,738

17.3

*These figures do n o t re p re sen t the total num ber of m en engaged
in m a n u factu rin g activities in these cities, b u t only th e payroll
figures of a selected num ber of firms.

T he dollar value of sales of 31 representative
d ep artm en t stores in this district during A ug­
ust, 1922, w as 5.7 per cent g reater th an th e
value of sales of the sam e stores in
Retail A ugust, 1921. T his increase w as parTrade ticipated in by 17 of the 31 rep o rtin g
stores. T he seasonal increase of A u g ­
u st sales over those of Ju ly am ounted this year
to 24.3 per cent.
Collections w ere characterized by rep o rtin g
firms as fo llo w s:
No. of reporting firm s__

Excellent

Good

Fair

Poor

1

10

9

0

Agricultural and Business Conditions

164

A statistica l record of th e m ovem ent of
stocks on hand, o u tsta n d in g orders, and the
rate of tu rn o v er of stocks for re p o rtin g stores
is given in th e follow ing ta b le :

Percentage
increase or
decrease ( — )
in the value of
stocks at end of
month compared
with same month
of previous year

January,
February,
March,
April,
May,
June,
July,
A ugust,

1922.
1922. .
1922. .
1922. .
1922. .
1922. .
1922.,.
1922. .

Percentage
outstanding
orders at
end of month to
total purchases
during
year 1921

3.4
— 4.3
—2.4
— 4.3
— 9.0
— 1.9
— 1.4
— 7.6

Annual rate
of turnover
' of stocks
indicated at
end of month

2.4
2.3
2.3
2.4
2.6
2.5
2.4
2.6

8.9
10.3
9.5
7.2
9.1
11.2
10.7
10.6

T able “K ” gives in detail statistics in reg ard
to sales, stocks and o u tsta n d in g orders as fu r­
nished by 31 d ep a rtm en t stores in th is district.
A ctual sales figures received from 194 re p re­
sen tativ e w holesale firm s in th e 10 lines of
business in th is d istrict show th a t the value of
sales d u rin g A u g u st, 1922, w as
W holesale g re a te r th an d u rin g A u g u st, 1921,
Trade
in seven of th e 10 re p o rtin g lines.
T h e th ree exceptions w ere agricu l­
tu ral im plem ents, autom obile tires and drugs.
C om pared w ith th e previous m o n th of th is
year, th e value of sales d u rin g A u g u st in ­
creased in all lines except ag ric u ltu ral im ple­
m ents, autom obile supplies and groceries.

N e t Sales of 32 Department Stores in Tw elfth Federal Reserve D istrict
(in M illions of Dollars)

(K) R eta il Trade A ctivity —
CONDITION OF RETAIL TRADE DURING AUGUST, 1922
In Federal Reserve District N o. 12
(31 Stores Reporting)

No. of reporting firm s..............................
N et sales (percentage increase or de­
crease) A ugust, 1922, compared
with A ugust, 1921..................................
A ugust, 1922, compared w ith July,
1922 ..............................................................
Period July 1 to A ugust 31, 1922,
compared with sam e period in 1921
Stocks: (P ercen tage increase or de­
crease) A ugust, 1922, compared w ith
A ugust, 1921 ............................................. ..
A ugust, 1922, com pared w ith July,
1922 .............................................................. , ,
Percentage of average stocks on hand
at close of each m onth since July 1,
1922, to average m onthly sales dur­
ing sam e p eriod ......................................
Percentage outstanding orders at
close of A ugust, 1922, to total pur­
chases during year 1921........................




Los
Angeles

Oakland

Salt Lake
C ity

San
Francisco

Seattle

Spokane

6

4

4

8

5

3

D istrict

31

7.2

.4

.2

4.3

13.0

— 5.6

5.7

30.7

21.0

— 1.9

33.2

5.5

17.4

24.3

6.7

1.4

— 2.8

3.5

11.5

— 5.8

4.8

.8

— 3.3

— 1.2

.1

.3

— 7.6

— 3.3

6.6

6.8

5.4

13.1

5.3

4.1

389.6

577.4

613.5

457.5

397.8

691.8

454.4

13.3

10.4

8.5

10.6

—20.4

8.9

—

-

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

165

T h e average n et increase or decrease (— ) in
the value of sales of all re p o rtin g firms in each
line of business w as as follows :
Eight Months
ending Aug.31,
1922 compared
with same
compared with
period in
A u g .,
July,
1921
1922
1921

Agricultural Im p lem en ts.. — 18.4
5.9
A utom otive S u p p lies..........
A utom obile T ir e s............... — 9.4
D rugs ..................................... — .3
24.1
D ry G o o d s..............................
16.3
Furniture ...............................
7.1
Groceries ...............................
22.9
Hardware ..............................
5.8
Shoes ......................................
10.7
Stationery .............................

- -27.3
- - .9
13.2
26.7
34.6
29.3
- - 5.2
7.9
36.2
38.7

— 5.6
— 2.5
— 8.2
4.9
3.6
6.3
— 2.5
11.3
— 5.3
— 1.9

Percentage of Collections during Month (A u gu st) to Total Amount
Due from Customers (outstanding) on First of that Month

D ry G o o d s........................
Furniture .........................
H ardware ........................

2
8

1921

60.2
83.1
39.2
49.6
46.7
35.7
67.1

60.3
85.0
40.6
52.2
45.1
36.8
67.0

. ,,

AU6UST PRICESI92H 00% S AU6U5T 1921SALES
U.S.8UREAU OF LABOR INDEX
NO. WHOLESALE PRICES

A6RICULTURAL IMPLEMENT9
AUTOMOBILE SUPPLIES
AUTOMOBILE T IR E S
DRUGS
DRY G O O D S
F U R N lT U R fc

Percentage of Past Due Accounts on September 1, 1922, to Total
Am ount Due from Customers on the Same Date

A gricultural Im p lem en ts.........
A utom obile T ir e s.......................

1922

13
4
8
12
16
9
10

A utom obile S u p p lie s...

Stationery .......................

O ne hundred firm s reported th eir collections
on S eptem ber 1, 1922, and S eptem ber 1, 1921,
as fo llo w s:

Num ber of
Firm s

Num ber of
Firm s

G R O C E R IE S

1922

1921

HARDW ARE

38.3
16.6

22.1

SHO ES

12.0

S T A T IO N E R Y
Percentage of Outstandings September 1, 1922 to August, 1922, Sales
Num ber of
Firm s

..

Groceries

18

0
1922

1921

124.7

122.6

20

40

60 80 100 120 140 160

Dollar Value of Sales of Representative Wholesale Houses and General
Wholesale Prices in August, 1922, Compared with August, 1921

(L) Wholesale Trade —
(la)

Percentage of increase or decrease (—) in net sales during August, 1922, compared with August, 1921
Agricultural

A uto

N um ber o f re­ Implements Supplies
18
porting firms. .. . 2 4
L os A n g e le s ... .— 2.6
5.8
Portland ........... .— 14.3
6.0
— 2.9
Salt Lake C ity. .— 26.7
San F ran cisco..,. 38.4
12.8
Seattle ...............
— 6.6
Spokane ............ — 51.8
T acom a .............
D istrict ............. — 18.4
5.9
(lb)

Drugs

21
11.8
—21.8
— 16.6
— 9.6
— 24.9
— 34.7

8

— 9.4

D ry Goods

16
21.7

1.8

Furniture

16
16.7
19.0

— 9.5

19.2
57.2

— 5.3

, .

26.7
24.1

38.9
16.3

—

.3

Groceries

31
.9
6.4
.4
25.1
— 17.1
— 4.4
20.7
7.1

Hardware

21
47.1
24.4
4.2
10.1
23.9
8.1
— 6.9
22.9

Shoes

Stationery

12

27
6.8
8.5
— 9.7
15.8
16.5
— 5.4

18.7
— 1.8
46.8

5.8

10.7

Percentage of increase or decrease (—) in net sales from January 1, 1922, to August 31, 1922,
compared with the same period last year.
Agricultural

Num ber of re­ Implements
porting firms,.. 24
Los A n g e le s ... . 84.3
Portland ........... — 18.9
Salt Lake C ity. .—22.9
San F ran cisco.... 14.0
Seattle ...............
Spokane ............ — 33.1
T acom a .............
D istrict ............. — 5.6




Auto Tires

Auto
Supplies

18

Auto Tires

.7
2.7
6.9
7.3
6.3

21
24.7
.5
9.7
— 7.9
1.5
— 1.7

— 2.5

— 8.2

—
—
—
—

Drugs

8

D ry Goods

Furniture

16
— 9.1

16
— 6.4
12.6

2.1
— 8.1

4.9

1.9
36.2

2.9

— 5.0
3.6

26.6
6.3

Groceries

31
— 4.5
— 1.2
1.4
2.5
— 24.1
— 10.8
12.5
— 2.5

Hardware

21
35.7
3.2
— 6.5
.4
20.3
— 8.7
— 5.7
11.3

Shoes

12
2.2
— 8.9
14.1

— 5.3

Station«

27
.8
— 4.0
— 2.3
— 8.2
16.3
— 6.7
— 1.9

Agricultural and Business Conditions

166

Collections d u rin g th e p a st th ree m onths
have been reported as follow s:
Num ber of Firm s Reporting Collections as
Excellent
Good
Fair
Poor

June ...................................
July ....................................
A u g u s t ...............................

5
5
5

45
51
53

74
79
70

5
10
9

and in the principal foreign countries w ith
w hich we trade.
1913
1919
1920
1921
Tw elfth District
M onthly M onthly M onthly M onthly
F v n o r t « ; m n n th 1v A ve ra^e Average Average Average

average™ 9 1 2 -1 3 .. 100
Im ports, m on th ly
average 1912-13.. 100

July,
1922

416.6

350.0

216.6

183.3

380.0

310.0

160.0

340.0

211
207
241
357
..
364
133
236
180

239
250
314
510
1,997$
624
140
259
218

148
167
201
345
2,127§
578
145
200
167

165
157
171
325
28,919||
537fl
145
197**
157

Prices_
U nited S ta t e s * ... 100
Canada* ............... 100
England* .............100
France .................. 100
Germ any ..............100f
Italy ...................... 100
China .................... 100
Japan .................... 100
A ustralia ..............100ft

S tatem en ts of increases or decreases in net
sales of 194 re p o rtin g w holesale firm s during
A u g u st, 1922, com pared w ith A ugust, 1921,
and th e eight m onths of 1922 com pared w ith
th e sam e period in 1921 are show n in table “ L .”
T h e cum ulative effects of im proved general
tra d e conditions, appreciation in th e dollar
value of th e currencies of m any of the countries
w ith w hich we trade, and low er
F o re ig n
ocean freig h t rates now prevailC o m m erce ing, are reflected in the increase
in th e value of foreign com m erce
th ro u g h Pacific C oast p o rts in recent m onths,
com pared w ith corresponding m onths of 1921.
E x p o rts from th e T w e lfth F ederal R eserve
D istric t d u rin g Ju ly am ounted to $22,353,902
com pared w ith $19,676,889 in July, 1921, an
increase of 13.6 per cent. Im p o rts d u rin g July,
1922, to taled $34,242,518, an increase of 199.0
p er cen t over Ju ly , 1921.

*Compiled by F e d e ra l R eserve B oard fo r purposes of in te rn a tio n a l
com parisons.
fju ly , 191 4 = 1 0 0 ; ^ J a n u a ry 1, 1920; §J a n u a ry 1, 1921; HSeptem ­
ber 1, 1922.
fljune, 1922.
**June, 1922.
f t Ju ly , 1914=100.

Value of Free and Dutiable Imports of Merchandise Into Customs
Districts of the Pacific Coast, 1913-1921

Value of Foreign and Domestic Exports of Merchandise from Custom*
Districts of the Pacific Coast, 1913*1921

*Based on figures for fiscal year ending June 30, 1913.
1913 are not available.

Figures for calendar year

In o rd er to com pare th e p re sen t physical vol­
um e of o u r foreign trad e w ith the physical vol­
um e in previous years, it is necessary to con­
sider y early changes in prices of com m odities
im ported and exported. T hese changes m ay be
ap p ro x im ated by reference to changes in g en ­
eral w holesale prices as show n by index num ­
bers of w holesale prices in the U nited S tates




A stu d y of these figures indicates th a t th e
decline in th e value of ou r im ports and ex ports
in 1921 and 1922 w hen com pared w ith th e peak
year, 1920, has been due in p a rt to the low er
level of prices prevailing in nearly all countries
in the later years.

*Based on figures for fiscal year ending June 30, 1913.
1913 are not available.

Figures for calendar year

M easured by th e num ber of perm its issued
in 20 cities of the district, building ac tiv ity
du rin g A u g u st, 1922, exceeded any previous
m onth of th e years 1915-1922. T h e
B uilding value of perm its issued also reached
Activity
a high figure, being exceeded only
by th e value of perm its issued d u r­
ing A pril and Ju n e of th is year. T h e num b er of

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

167

perm its (11,596) increased 13.8 per cent and
the value ($29,424,332) of such perm its in­
creased 71.8 per cent com pared w ith the num ­
ber and value of building perm its issued d u rin g
A ugust, 1921. C om pared w ith July, 1922, th ere
w as an increase of 23.1 p er cent in the num ber
of p erm its issued and of 31.4 p er cent in the
value of construction involved.
O f th e rep o rtin g cities, 12 cities show an in­
crease in num ber of perm its issued durin g
A u gust, 1922, com pared w ith A ugust, 1921, and
16 cities an increase in the value of perm its
issued d u rin g the sam e period. C om parative
figures of th e num ber and value of building
perm its issued d u rin g A ugust, 1922, A ugust,
1921, and July, 1922, are show n in table “M .”

D ebits to individual accounts as rep o rted by
184 banks in 21 clearing house centers w ere
g re ater in A ugust, 1922, th an in A ugust, 1921,
by $128,220,000 or 7.7 per cent. T h is
B an k
is the fifth consecutive m onth in w hich
D e b its debits to individual accounts in these
cities have been g re ater th an in th e
corresponding m onth a y ea r ago. T he increase
in A ugust, how ever, w as well below th e in ­
crease of 12 per cent reported for Ju ly and w as
also less th an th e percentage increase of com ­
m odity prices a t w holesale durin g the year,

Debits to Individual Accounts in 20 Principal Cities, Twelfth Federal
________
Reserve District, 1921-1922
Building Permits Issued in 20 Principal Cities, Tw elfth Federal
Reserve D istrict, 1921-1922

Note: The figures used in preparing the above chart are for calendar months
and are partly estimated.

(M) B uilding Perm its —
No.

B erkeley ............
Boise ..................
Fresno ................
L on g Beach . . .
L os A n geles . . .
Oakland .............
O gden ................
Pasadena ...........
P h oen ix .............
P ortland ............
Reno ...................
Sacram ento __
Salt Lake C it y ..
San D i e g o .........
San F rancisco .
San J o s e .............
Seattle ................
Spokane .............
Stockton ............
Tacom a ..............
D is t r ic t ...............




...........

229
85
176
...........
287
........... 4,294
...........
852
65
337
43
. . 1,644
26
264
142
386
690
72
1,006
333
151
514
11,596

August, 1922
Value

No.

July, 1922
Value

No.

556,300
112,524
407,398
856,988
11,523,891
1,651,201
167,600
925,358
109,985
1,941,380
46,500
868,046
421,075
1,082,216
6,214,082
193,785
1,200,740
391,136
385,100
369,027

101
85
133
208
3,393
721
41
308
45
1,313
29
213
159
369
595
79
842
248
109
424

$

527,250
49,906
370,288
535,884
8,064,018
1,900,712
87,660
987,826
137,082
2,206,615
69,120
367,858
569,951
710,006
3,024,036
166,245
1,559,205
273,022
409,196
375,136

130
110
199
300
3,554
652
54
295
54
1,591
23
260
160
365
381
46
1,113
251
88
561

$29,424,332

9,415

$22,391,016

10,187

$

August, 1921
Value

$

Per Cent Increase
or Decrease (— )
in Value August,
1922 compared
with August, 1921

248,664
64,327
383,572
889,164
7,015,861
1,852,609
115,600
566,531
58,344
1,486,982
54,375
348,788
346,620
442,109
1,216,937
39,075
1,340,430
222,992
115,140
318,245

123.7
74.9
6.2
— 3.6
64.2
— 10.8
44.9
63.3
88.5
30.5
— 14.4
148.8
21.4
144.7
410.6
395.9
— 10.4
75.4
234.4
15.9

$17,126,365

71.8

Agricultural and Business Conditions

168

w hich, according to th e U n ited S tates B ureau
of L ab o r index n u m ber of w holesale prices,
advanced 9.1 per cent d u rin g the year period
A u gust, 1921, to A ugust, 1922. I t is therefore
doubtful w h e th e r an increase of 7.7 per cent
in th e am o u n t of debits to individual accounts
rep resen ts an increase in th e physical volum e
of business tran sacted .
C om parative figures of debits to individual
accounts in 21 clearing house centers during
th e four w eeks ending A u g u st 30, 1922, A u g u st
2, 1922, and A u g u st 31, 1921, are show n in table
“N .”
B usiness failures in this d istrict d u rin g A ug­
ust, 1922, w ere g re a te r both in num ber and
liabilities th an in July, 1922, and g re ater in
num ber b u t Jess in liabilities th an in
B usiness A ugust, 1921. C om pared w ith A ugF ailures ust, 1921, th e num ber of failures in­
creased by 33 or 22.0 per cent and
th e am o u n t of liabilities decreased by $768,851
o r 26.1 p er cent. R. G. D un & C om pany’s com ­
p arativ e figures of th e num ber and liabilities of

business failures in the states of th is d istric t
d u rin g A ugust, 1922, and July, 1922, follow :
August» 1922
No.
Liabilities

No.

A rizona ............
0
California ........ , .. 85
Idaho ................
8
3
.
34
U tah ..................
9
W ashington . ..
44

0
$ 748,069
160,968
7,500
452,065
52,167
746,743

3
77
8
1
21
10
33

D istrict ............

$2,167,512

153

183

L IA B ILITIE S IN MILLIONS

9

8

6
5
4
3

2
I

NO.OF FAI CUi .ES A
L/
V
LI A B ILITIES
v >
V

*

...... ▲
-V
r V
\
\ !

V

-A ./

/*

A
S

19 21

$

10,500
1,003,096
86,593
7,420
127,370
563,516
273,267

$2,071,762

NO. OF F A IL U R E S

10
7

July, 1922
Liabilities

/

/

V

250
AA

200
L J

V

150

A

\ A
vt h

1922

Business Failures, Tw elfth Federal Reserve D istrict, 1921-1922

(N) Bank Debits*F o ur weeks
ending
A ug. 30, 1922

B e r k e le y ............. $
B oise ...................
F r e s n o ................
L o n g B e a c h .. . .
L os A n g e le s . . . .
Oakland .............
O g d e n .................
Pasadena ............
P h o en ix f ............
P o r t la n d .............
R eno ...................
Sacram ento
Salt Lake C ity ..
San D iego .........
San Francisco . ...
San J o s e .............
S e a t t le .................
Spokane ..............
Stockton ............
Tacom a ..............
Y a k im a ...............
T otal ...............

13,369
9,954
36,542
31,705
431,387
78,080
16,603
20,155
12,794
124,962
8,911
58,731
50,442
31,914
612,503
20,666
137,504
36,695
19,119
34,028
8,038

$1,794,102

Four weeks
ending
A ug, 2, 1922

Four weeks
ending
A ug. 31,1921

$

$

14,375
11,135
40,760
35,909
476,051
77,227
15,779
23,237
15,135
123,935
10,164
56,902
52,055
36,834
675,287
19,464
134,945
39,354
19,871
35,285
8,960

$1,922,664

*000 O m itted.
tA u g u st, 1921, figures fo r P h o e n ix n o t available.




12,616
9,492
34,429
21,019
385,219
68,465
10,554
16,639
132,103
10,201
42,023
48,794
28,449
602,230
17,746
117,597
38,976
17,887
30,463
8,186

$1,653,088

T he to tal am o u n t in all savings accounts, as
reported by 75 banks in seven principal cities,
increased 7 te n th s of 1 per cent d u rin g the
m onth ended A u g u st 31st, being on
Savings
th a t date $772,150,000, com pared
Accounts w ith $766,807,000 on Ju ly 31st. Sav­
ings accounts are now a t th e h ig h ­
est point in th e th ree years and eight m onths
for w hich records have been k ept by this bank.
T h ey are 8.6 per cent g re a te r th a n th ey w ere
M ILLIO N S

M IL L IO N S

1000

IOOOi

- 500
-400
- 300
-200
-

PO RTLA ND

100

- 50
- 40
- 30
-

20

-

10

1922
Savings Accounts in Banks in Seven Principal Cities of the
Twelfth Federal Reserve District, 1919-1922

on A u g u st 31, 1921, and 42.7 per cent g re ater
th an on Ja n u a ry 31, 1919.
O nly in S alt L ake C ity savings accounts are
now less th an th ey w ere a y ear ago. In L os
Angeles, O akland and P o rtla n d th ey are a t new

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

169

rem ained firm at 3 per cent since July, w as
placed a t 3% per cent on Septem ber 15th.
B ills of sh o rt m atu rities w ere m ore in de­
m and than those of longer m aturities as show n
by the follow ing general classification of bills
m a rk e te d :

high levels and in San F rancisco they are ap­
proxim ately as high as th e record reported in
Ju n e of this year. Savings accounts in Seattle
are 26 per cent less th an th ey w ere at the end
of D ecem ber, 1919, in Spokane 10 per cent less
th an a t the end of D ecem ber, 1920, and in S alt
L ake C ity Zy2 per cent less th an at th e end of
M ay, 1921, th e dates m entioned being, respec­
tively, those a t w hich the h ig h est figures for
these cities w ere reported.
T h e changes in savings accounts in the seven
cities from one m onth and one year ago are
show n in table “O ,” and in th e accom panying
ch a rt (see opposite page) are show n the
changes since Jan u ary , 1919.
F o r th e g re ater p a rt of the m onth ending
S eptem ber 15th dem and in the bill m arket con­
tin u ed in te rm itte n t and spotty, th e country
banks rem aining o u t of the m arAcceptances ket. N ew bills continue to be
offered in good volum e, and, in
co n junction w ith increased offerings in o ther
p a rts of th e country, have created a supply
w hich is at least equivalent to presen t de­
m ands. T ran sactio n s involving the export and
dom estic shipm ent of grain, flour, canned
goods, su g ar and cotton predom inated.
U n d er the influence of th is increased supply,
and also because of the slig h t increase in short
term m oney rates recently in N ew Y ork City,
th e offering rate for acceptances, w hich had

Maturities

30
60
90
120

August 15 to
September 15

July 15 to
August 15

22.8%
55.3%
19.4%
2.5%

d a y s.....................
d a y s.....................
d a y s.....................
d a y s.....................

3.8%
27.8%
67.8%
0.6%

M onthly statistics com piled by this bank on
th e acceptance operations of 35 of the principal
accepting banks in the d istrict are now avail­
able for a period of one year. T h ey show a
m arked increase in the volum e of acceptance
business handled d uring A ugust, 1922, com ­
pared w ith A ugust, 1921. P ercentage com pari­
sons of the acceptance business of these banks
d u rin g A ugust, 1922, w ith the previous m onth
of this year and w ith A ugust, 1921, are given
in th e follow ing ta b le :
Aug., 1922 Co m pared with
Aug., 1921
(Increase)

A m ount of bills a c c e p te d .. . . 88.1%
A m ount of bills b o u g h t......... 250.3%
A m ount of bills held at
close of m o n th ....................... 278.5%

A ug., 1922 C o m ­
pared with
July, 1922
(Decrease)

22.0%
9.4%
(Increase)

6.4%

P u rch ases and holdings of acceptances of re­
p o rtin g banks appear in table “P .”

CO ) Savings Accounts *—

Decíeas^f-)*
A ug. 31,1922

July 31,1922

Aug. 31,1921

A ug. 31, 1922 over
A u g. 31,1921

.......................
.......................
.......................
.......................
.......................
.......................
.......................

13
7
9
9
16
15
6

$238,189
77,204
40,595
24,104
346,679
31,245
14,134

$235,987
76,115
39,688
24,028
345,660
31,261
14,068

$212,528
73,383
37,295
24,568
319,965
29,761
13,645

12.1
5.2
8.8
— 1.9
8.3
5.0
3.6

T otal ............................ .......................

75

$772,150

$766,807

$711,145

8.6

Number of Banks

L os A n geles ..................
Oakland ...........................
Portland ..........................
Salt Lake C ity ...............
San F r a n c is c o ...............
Seattle .............................
Spokane ..........................

*000 O m itted.

(P) Acceptances*

(--------------------------------------A m ount Bought--------------------------------------,

Created in
Amount Accepted
Twelfth District
A ug., 1922 July, 1922 A ug., 1922 Ju ly, 1922

A ll Other
A ug., 1922 July, 1922 A ug., 1922

Amount held at
Total
close of month
July, 1922 A ug., 1922
July, 1922

Pacific N o rth w est ___ $ 704,023 $ 353,399 $ 237,113 $ 96,348 $ 176,451 $ 160,555 $ 413,564 $ 256,903 $ 1,332,834 $ 930,453
N o rth e rn C alifornia . . 5,074,927 6,676,445 3,082,406 4,070,030 2,021,654 2,829,765
5,104,060
6,899,795 5,644,453
6,814,002
S o u th e rn C alifornia . .
573,867 1,122,027
653,895
724,247 4,327,307 3,716,881
4,980,202
4,441,128
8,447,651
6,745,179
O th er D istricts ..............

Total .........................$6,352,817 $8,151,871 $3,973,414 $4,890,625 $6,525,412 $6,707,201 $10,497,826 $11,597,826 $15,424,938 $14,489,634
*35 B anks reporting.




Agricultural and Business Conditions

170

O n S eptem ber 11th th e T re a su ry D e p art­
m ent opened subscription books for an issue of
ab o u t $200,000,000 of C ertificates of In d eb ted ­
ness designated Series TS-1923,
G overnm ent dated S eptem ber 15,1922, m aturF inancing
ing S eptem ber 15,1923, and b ear­
ing in te re st a t the ra te of 3%
per cen t per annum . T h is is th e low est ra te
offered by the g o v ernm ent since th e close of
th e w ar.
T h e issue w as heavily over-subscribed, to tal
su b scrip tions am ounting to $570,476,500 w hen
th e books w ere closed a t noon on Septem ber
15th. In th e T w elfth F ederal R eserve D istrict
su b scrip tions am ounted to $45,542,500 of w hich
$14,120,000 w ere allotted by th e T re a su ry D e­
p a rtm e n t th ro u g h th e F ederal R eserve B ank of
San F rancisco. T h e to tal of subscriptions in
th is d istric t w as exceeded only in th e N ew
Y ork, P hiladelphia, Chicago and Cleveland
districts.
S tatem en ts of 68 re p o rtin g m em ber banks in
th e larg e r cities of th e d istrict indicate an in­
crease in th e dem and for credit d u rin g A ugust.
C om m ercial loans, w hich totaled
B anking $700,138,000 on A u g u st 9th, w ere
Situation $709,934,000 on S eptem ber 6th, an
increase of $9,796,000 or 1.4 per
cent. T h e ir borro w in g from th e F ederal R e­
serve B ank, afte r declining on A u g u st 9th to
$9,362,000—n ex t to the low est figure in three

MILLIONS
T<>TXL CEl»CSITJ
1000
cTéiL L<>Ai /Ni pii;cOlIKT£
500
400
300
200

1»

MIUUION5
1000
500
400
300
200

IV1 STMENTs

100

100
50
40
30
20
10

*AfA31
ihi .L5
A^11
*0
RElDM;cc ui^T.5 VIIrH J L
FEC rAKRESÎRVEBINK Vu vsi
V

1921

*$7,060,000 on June 7, 1922.

Ç

VAl
>22 1

50
40
30
20

a

10

O $ 9 ,8 7 5 ,0 0 0 on August 16. 1922.

Total Deposits, Loans and Discounts, Investments, and Bills Payable
and Rediscounts of Reporting Member Banks




years— advanced steadily and stood a t $13,025,000 on S eptem ber 6th. In v estm en ts of re p o rt­
ing banks fluctuated w ithin n arro w lim its and
at $333,627,000 on S eptem ber 6th w ere $928,000
below th e figures reported four w eeks previous.
T o tal deposits increased from $1,184,485,000 to
$1,196,793,000 or $12,308,000 d u rin g this period.
T he to tal of bills discounted by th e F ed eral
R eserve B ank of San F rancisco for both city
and co u n try banks advanced slightly d u rin g

Total Reserves, Federal Reserve Note Circulation, Bills Discounted,
U . S. Government Securities H eld , and Bills Bought in the Open
Market, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

the la tte r p a rt of A u g u st b u t declined d u rin g
th e first tw o w eeks of S eptem ber, and on Sep­
tem ber 13th w as $38,000 below the $43,388,000
reported on A u g u st 16th. A sm all increase in
F ederal R eserve N ote circulation from $216,013,000 on A u g u st 16th to $221,327,000 on Sep­
tem ber 13th w as a norm al m ovem ent at th is
season of the year, w hen additional funds are
needed for m oving th e crops of th e district.
Since S eptem ber 14, 1921, th ere has been a
decrease of $76,045,000, or 63.7 per cent, in th e
am ount of bills discounted by this bank. D u r­
ing the sam e period, com bined holdings of ac­
ceptances b o u g h t in th e open m ark et and of
U nited S tates G overnm ent securities have in ­
creased by ap proxim ately an equal am ount.
T o tal earn in g assets on S eptem ber 13, 1922,
w ere therefore only $1,987,000 or 1.5 per cent
less th a n one year ago. F ederal R eserve note
circulation has changed b u t little d u rin g th e
year period.

Federal Reserve B a n k of San Francisco

171

PRINCIPAL RESOURCE AND LIABILITY ITEMS OF REPORTING MEMBER BANKS IN RESERVE
CITIES IN TWELFTH FEDERAL RESERVE DISTRICT

Number o f Reporting Banks ..................................................................

Sept. 6, 1922

Aug. 9, 1922

68

68

70

$ 863,027,000
334,555,000
104,934,000
1,184,485,000
9,362,000

$ 875,520,000
301,324,000
99,793,000
1,120,648,000
64,464,000

Loans and D iscounts (exclusive of red isco u n ts)................................$ 866,824,000
Investm ents .......................................................................................................
333,627,000
Cash in Vault and w ith Federal R eserve B an k ....................................
101,831,000
T otal D ep osits ................................................................................................. 1,196,793,000
Bills Payable and R ediscounts with Federal R eserve B an k ...........
13,025,000

COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF CONDITION OF FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF SAN
AT CLOSE OF BUSINESS, SEPTEMBER 13, 1922

Sept. 7, 1921

FRANCISCO

R ESO UR CES
Aug. 16, 1922

Sept. 14, 1921

T otal R eserves ................................................................................................. $242,000,000
B ills D iscounted .............................................................................................. 43,352,000
Bills B ought in Open M arket...................................................................... 33,831,000
U nited States Governm ent S ecu rities..................................................... 52,977,000

Sept. 13. 1922

$259,093,000
43,388,000
17,702,000
53,977,000

$235,737,000
119,397,000
3,655,000
9,095,000

T otal Earning A s s e ts .....................................................................................$130,160,000
A ll Other R esou rces*..................................................................................... 55,671,000

$115,067,000
45,656,000

$132,147,000
51,491,000

T otal R e s o u r c e s ........................................................................................... $427,831,000

$419,816,000

$419,375,000

$ 22,789,000
141,308,000
216,013,000
39,706,000

$ 22,566,000
122,404,000
228,674,000
45,731,000

L IA B IL IT IE S
Capital and Surplus.........................................................................................$ 22,811,000
T otal D eposits .................................................................................................. 138,866,000
Federal Reserve N otes in A ctual C irculation........................................ 221,327,000
A ll Other L ia b ilitiesf......................................................................................
44,827,000
T otal L ia b ilitie s ........................................................................................... $427,831,000
^Includes “U ncollected Item s” ....................................................................
fIn clu d es “Deferred Availability Item s” .................................................




48,612,000
41,080,000

$419,816,000

$419,375,000

38,914,000
35,172,000

45,358,000
37,241,000

CHANGES IN THE COST OF LIVING

T h e cost of living in th e four principal cities
of th e T w e lfth F ederal R eserve D istrict w as
relativ ely stable d u rin g the th ree m o n th s’ p er­
iod from M arch to June, 1922, according to the
rep o rts of th e U n ited S tates D ep artm en t of
L abor. T h e rapid decline in living costs w hich
began in June, 1920, term in ated in M ay, 1921,
and th e grad u al decline th ere after ensuing
ended, a t least tem porarily, in M arch, 1922.
C hanges in th e to ta l cost of living in four cities
of th is d istric t and in th e U nited S tates are
su m m arized in th e accom panying table and
ch art. T h e dates selected for com parison are
D ecem ber, 1914, in a pre-w ar norm al year,
Ju n e, 1920, approxim ately the high point in the
rise of th e cost of living, and M ay, 1921, the
d ate from w hich relative stab ility has obtained.
Item ized figures of changes in the cost of
food, clothing, housing, fuel and light, fu rn i­
tu re and m iscellaneous goods and services are
included in th e tab u latio n of the to tal cost of
living. R ecently all of these item s have not
follow ed th e sam e general trend. Food prices,
w hich fell m ost quickly and sh arp ly after the
peak level of prices had been reached in June,
1920, have recently been advancing. C lothing,
fuel and light, and fu rn itu re and furnishings
prices, w hich reached h igher levels th an the

o th er item s w hen prices w ere advancing, have
lagged behind on the decline and are still fall­
ing slowly. H o u sin g costs have risen stead ily
even d u rin g th e period of falling com m odity
prices in 1920 and 1921, and, except in Seattle,
w here a decrease of 5.8 per cent has occurred,
th ey are now from 7 to 37 per cent higher th an
th ey w ere tw o years ago.

Changes in C ost of Living—Per C ent In crease F rom D ecem ber, 1914
to June, 1922

COST OF LIVING IN THE TW ELFTH FEDERAL RESERVE DISTRICT

C ity

L os A n g e le s....... ..
Portland .............
San F rancisco
(and O akland). ..
Seattle ................. , .
U nited S ta t e s f.. ■

(
\
Per Cent Per Cent Per Cent
Increase Decrease Decrease
Dec.,
June,
May,
1914 to
1920 to 1921 to
June,
June,
June,
1922
1922
1922

f-------r u e l and L ig h t-------\
Per Cent Per Cent Per Cent
Increase Decrease Decrease
Dec.,
June,
May,
1914 to 1920 to 1921 to
June,
June,
June,
1922
1922
1922

31.5
38.9

1.9
4*

81.3
53.2

36.2
40.8

20.2
19.8

95.6
43.3

37.1*
7.6*

5.5*
.3*

39.1
50.3

9.4
2.3*

8.9
10.0

31.1
30.0
41.0

32.4
35.7
35.6

1.6
2.3*
2.5

90.7
78.0
72.3

34.4
35.0
40.0

20.8
22.1
22.6

29.4
64.7
60.9

18.3*
5.8
18.9*

6.3*
5.8
1.2*

59.5
64.3
74.4

8.4*
.9
1.4*

2.3
8.1
3.9

C ity

L os A n g e le s...............................................
P o r t la n d .....................................................
San Francisco (and O a k la n d )...........
Seattle .........................................................
U nited S ta t e s f...........................................




r lo u s in g
Per Cent Per Cent Per Cent
Increase Decrease Decrease
Dec.,
June,
May,
1914 to
1920 to 1921 to
June,
June,
June,
1922
1922
1922

r

30.6
26.5

COST OF LIVING, Continued

* Increase.
fB ase year 1913.

-C lo th in g r
Per Cent Per Cent Per Cent
Increase Decrease Decrease
Dec.,
June,
May,
1920 to
1914 to
1921 to
June,
June,
June,
1922
1922
1922

(
Per Cent
Increase
Dec.,
1914 to
June,
1922

128.8
101.9
104.4
. , 137.3
102.9

-F urniture

■\

,-------- Mi! scellaneous--------►
,

Per Cent
Decrease
June,
1920 to
June,
1922

Per Cent
Decrease
May,
1921 to
June,
1922

Per Cent
Increase
Dec.,
1914 to
June,
1922

24.3
28.8
27.0
26.1
30.7

10.8
18.6
16.2
14.4
18.1

103.8
78.5
83.7
97.6
101.5

Per Cent Per Cent
Decrease Decrease
June,
May,
1920 to 1921 to
June,
June,
1922
1922

9.2*
.7
2.3*
3.6*
.05*

3.5*
1.4
.4
3.8
3.5

—\

f------------ T otal

Per Cent Per Cent Per Cent
Increase Decrease Decrease
Dec.,
June,
May,
1914 to 1920 to 1921 to
June,
June.
June,
1922
1922
1922

72.5
52.1
56.8
67.0
66.6

14.4
24.1
20.0
20.7
23.0

3.5
6.2
5.9
7.3
7.6

F in a n c ia l C o n d it io n s

%

in 'ï p e
' CfK

/C

T w elfth F ed er a l R eserve
*

%

% ,
■> %

JOHN PERRIN, Chairman of the Board and Federal Reserve Agent
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

San Francisco, California, September 16, 1922

A

S U R V E Y of financial conditions in the
T w elfth F ederal R eserve D istric t based
upon rep o rts of condition of banks as of
Ju n e 30, 1922, is presented herew ith, in com ­
p ariso n w ith the last survey, as of D ecem ber
31, 1921, w hich w as published last A pril. W hen
allow ance is m ade for th e norm al expansion of
loans to m eet the seasonal requirem ents of
ag ricu ltu re, w hich are well defined in this dis­
tric t by Ju n e 30th, conditions com pare very
favorably w ith those of D ecem ber 31, 1921.
T h e sam e criterion of financial conditions in
a given area w as used as in previous surveys,
i. e., the ratio of to tal loans and discounts of all
banks, S tate and N ational (except in the case
of O regon and U tah, w here figures for non­
m em ber S tate banks are n o t y et available), in
th a t area to th eir to tal deposits. W h ere total
loans and discounts in a given area w ere less
th an 80 per cent of to tal deposits, financial con­
ditions w ere considered “good” (colored blue
on accom panying m aps) ; w here th e ra tio w as
betw een 80 per cent and 100 per cent, financial
conditions w ere considered “fa ir” (colored yel­
low on m aps) ; and w here th e ratio w as over
100 p er cent and w here, consequently, m any
b anks w ere borrow ing from th e F ederal R e­
serve B ank or th eir correspondents, financial
conditions w ere considered “po o r” (colored
green on m aps).
As in previous surveys, this study relates p ri­
m arily to conditions in th e ag ricu ltu ral regions
of th e district, figures for the cities of B erkeley,




Los A ngeles, O akland, P o rtlan d , S alt Lake
City, San Francisco, and S eattle having been
excluded.
C om parison of th e accom panying m ap w ith
the m ap show ing conditions as of D ecem ber 31,
1921, indicates the areas in w hich changes have
taken place. T he proportion of banking re­
sources in “po o r” areas is still dim inishing. In
m ost cases w here a change from “good” to
“fa ir” occurred, it w as th e re su lt of loan expan­
sion to m eet h arv estin g and m ark etin g require­
m ents. T hese changes are sum m arized b e lo w :
P R O P O R T IO N O F T O T A L D E P O S IT S O F BANKS IN
C O L O R E D A R E A S T O T O T A L D E P O S IT S O F
A L L C O U N T R Y B A NK S
A pril 28, 1921

D ec. 31, 1921

June 30, 1922

“G ood” a rea s...........

54.9%

80.3%

66.1%

“Fair”

“

...........

34.8%

12.7%

27.2%

“P o o r”

“

...........

10.3%

7.0%

6.7%

T o tal deposits of all banks included in this
survey (excepting banks in the city of Spokane)
—the so-called cou ntry banks—w ere on June
30, 1922, approxim ately 40 per cent of total
bank deposits in the T w elfth F ederal Reserve
D is tric t D eposits in the cities above m en­
tioned and in Spokane equaled 60 per cent of
total bank deposits in the district. T he condi­
tion of th e banks in these cities w as excellent,
the ratio of th eir com bined loans to deposits
being 64.8 per cent, com pared w ith 67.6 per
cent on D ecem ber 31, 1921.

FINANCIAL CONDITIONS
in the

TWELFTH
FEDERAL RESERVE
DISTRICT
As of June 30, 1922

LE G E N D
I

I GOOD

I

I FA IR

|| J POOR




FINANCIAL CONDITIONS
in the

TWELFTH
FEDERAL RESERVE
DISTRICT
As o f December 31, 1921

LEGEND
1 GOOD




R e d isc o u n t O pe r a t io n s in th e
T w e l f t h F e d e r a l R e se r v e D istr ic t

M ILLIONS OF DOLLARS

M IL L IO N S OF D O LLA R S

180 r

180

160

160

140

140

ALL ME v| BE:r eJAN KS

120

120

4i

i
i ▼ .f
/ \ i

60

V
tL

40

_ j

100

80

1

y

80

"A
J
A
V
J
mi
\ . J
\
AL L Cl TY 1v1E(^1BE R Bt
S
Z
*

100

tmmm

y

60

r
ALI.co ^ •NTRY M :MB ER BANK

'S

»■•»I 4 0

• d

20

•ft

1920

1919

\

1921

VJ

20
V *

1923

COMPARATIVE REDISCOUNT OPERATIONS, 19 1 9 -1 9 2 2
NOTE:

City banks include all member banks in Los Angeles, Oakland and Berkeley, Portland, Salt Lake City,
San Francisco, Seattle and Spokane. Country banks include all other member banks.

BORROWINGS FROM THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK
AND WHOLESALE PRICES
C ity Bank
Borrowings

Date

January 22, 1919..................................................... $ 61,297,000

Country Bank
Borrowings

A ll
M ember Bank
Borrowings

$22,746,000

$ 84,043,000

United States
Bureau of Labor
Wholesale Price
Index*
(1913=100)

199

f October 5, 1920

August 23, 1921

October 5, 1920

M ay, 1920

116,286,000

68,985,000

174,699,000

247

June 28, 1921............................................................... 83,415,000

67,006,000

150,421,000

142

D ecem ber 27, 1921................................................. ... 32,867,000

39,193,000

72,060,000

140

June 27, 1922.............................................................. 13,719,000

35,581,000

49,300,000

150

A ugust 29, 1922...................................................... ... 11,845,000

35,513,000

47,358,000

155

48.5%

72.9%

37.3%

Subsequent P e a k ............................................... j

P ercentage decrease from p ea k .....................
* F igures a re fo r m o n th ap p earin g in d ate colum n.




89.8%

(N ew index.)