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-
Monthly Review of Business and Industrial Conditions
in the Eleventh Federal ReserVe District, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
CHAS. C. HALL. A..is1Dnt Federal Resorve Agent
W. F. RAMSEY. Chairman and Feder,,( Reservo Agent.
V olume 6
Dallas. Texas. February
15. 1921
No. I
Among the developments of primary importance tion. In the larger cities unemployment is still much
in the January business situation in this district were in evidence, though some of the present labor surthe renewed evidences of weakness in the cotton and plus avai1al.>le for that purpose will soon be needed
Iivestocl{ markets and the heavy and abrupt breaks in certain agricultural sections where the farm labor
in the price of crude oil. Concurrently there was a supply appears to be short.
pronounced slowing up in the marketing of these
basic products, attributable largely to the price situation . Cotton, which seemed to have 1'eached a comparatively steady price level in December, was sub- AGRICULTURE :
jected to a further recession soon after the first of
Good progress in winter plowing and in the gl'owth
the year, January ([uotations touching the lowest of winter grains and truck crops, was made in this
point reached since the beginning of the d0W11ward distIict last month due to the mild, open weather
Pl'ice movement.
prevailing in January. In Southern Oklahoma muddy
roads and fields caused a temporary suspension of
The general effect of these developments upon farm work, but a large amount of plowing was acl1inancial and business conditions was to further re- complished and some cotton picked. Cotton picking
tard the liquidation of indebtedness and to add some- in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona progressed under
what to the difficulties of the credit situation. It is the best of conditions. Much of the staple still unnot surprising, under the ci!'cumstances, ' ~hat there picked consists of such low grades that a considerwas a considerable increase in the number and mag- able pOlilion of it will be left in the fields and turned
nitude of failul'es in the district during January.
under.
Despite the unfavorable featul'es of the month just
passed, there was a noticeable tendency toward moderate improvement in certain aspects of the situation. Lumber manufacturers and wholesale mercantile establishments-two interests which were
~mong the first to suffer from the present general
depression~reported an improved inquiry from retailers in Janua1'Y, orders booked during that month
ShOwing, as a rule, a fai1'ly good increase over t he
month of December. Although the January liquidation of bank loans was far below the volume needed
to restore credit to a normal basis, Eleventh District
member banks were able to accomplish a net retire111ent of $7,000,000 in their bills payable with the
Federal Reserve Bank, which in turn made a similar
reduction in its outstanding rediscounts with other
Federal resel'Ve banks.
Reports show that much of the Dishict's farm
lands planted to cotton last year is now being prepared for other erops. According to these reports
the reduction in cotton acreage is more pronounced
in the Western part of the distl'ict than elsewhere.
In Arizona, New Mexko, and West Texas, as well as
Southem Oklahoma, preparations are being made
for an enlarged acreage of food and feed crops, and
while elsewhere the t!'end toward diversification is
less noticeable, on the whole present indications point
to a fail'ly substantial reduction in the district's cotton acreage.
In most sections of the Southwest winter wheat
and oats are in good condition. Thus far the damage from gl'eenbugs has been slight. Plowing for
spring oats, already well under way in Texas, has
begun in Southern Oklahoma, where ample soil moisLabor conditiol1/:', as detailed elsewhere in this 1'e- ttll'e is favorable for quick germination.
POllt, indicate that the new basis of living conditions
Spring truck crops in the Rio Grande Valley are
and employment is being reflected in the wage situaThis publication was digitized and made available by the Federal Reserve Bank
of Dallas' Historical Library (FedHistory@daljrb.orgJ
reported to be making excellent progress. Some fear
is being expressed for the safety of the Texas fruit
crop, due to the premature budding of trees as a
result of the unseasonably warm weather which has
characterized the late winter months. Another crop
failure this year would seriously affect the fruit
growers of East Texas, although that section is
partly fortified against such loss by its production
of truck crops and, according to recent reports, expects to plant this year an enlarged acreage of these
crops, particularly sweet potatoes and tomatoes.
Reports from Arizona are to the effect that preparations are being made for an increased acreage of
alfalfa and other forage crops, with a corresponding
curtailment in the acreage heretofore planted to cotton, due to the low market price of this staple.
Cotton
Movements
Cotton Exports thr0ugh the port of
Galveston from August 1st, 1920, to
February 1st, 1921, amounted to
1,709,384 bales, which reflects an increase of 238,604
bales over last season's exports. There was also an
increase in January exports over January of last
year.
SEASON'S RECEIPTS, EXPORTS AND STOCKS AT ALL
UNITED STATES PORTS
This Season
Receipts to January 31st ................... .404,046,208
Exports: Great Briltain ........................ 1,090,754
France .................................... 376,990
Continent ................................1,303,655
J apa.n-China .......................... 133,225
.
MeXICO .................................... 22,558
Total Foreign exports ............................ 2,927,182
Stock at all U. S. ports .......................... 1,433,388
Last Season
4,801,039
1,995,123
372,471
1,042,354
398,972
497
3,809,487
1,393,577
Grain
Movements
The volume of grain receipts at the
five principal grain centers continued
to increase in January. Wheat arriving at these points amounted to 6,386 cars, compared to 5,839 cars in December, and 3,810 in November.
Supplies of corn and oats continued light, there
being no material variation in the movements of
these grains during the past three months. The
appended table shows comparative receipts of wheat,
corn and oats as reported by grain inspectors at
Dallas, Fort Worth, Galveston and Wichita Falls, for
the months of December and January.
COMPARATIVE GRAIN RECEIPTS
January receipts at this port showed a decrease
of 72,715 bales, or 21 per cent, as compared with
receipts for the preceding month, the slowing up
being much more pronounced than was the case in
January, 1920, when, by comparison with the previous month, receipts recorded a decrease of 10 per
cent.
~~.~at.. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::6,~~~
Stocks of cotton at Galveston on January 31st
amounted to 332,645 bales which compares with
388,628 on December 31st, 1920, and 310,002 on
January 31st, 1920.
LIVESTOCK:
COTTON MOVEMENTS THROUGH THE PORT OF GALVESTON
January January
1921
1920
Gros:s Receipts .......... 260,897
Exports ...................... 316,918
Stocks Jan. 31st..................... .
296,041
297,802
This
Season
Last
Season
1,932,907 1,578,222
1,709,384 1,470,780
332,645
310,002
GALVESTON STOCK STATEMENT
January
1921
January
1920
For Great Britain................................... ...... 6,940
For France ................................... ................. 4,934
For other foreign ports .............................. 29,083
For coastwi se ports .................................... 3,000
In compresses ................................................288,688
70,914
Total ...................................................... 332,645
40,066
14,000
185,022
310,002
January
(cars)
Oats
............................................................. 145
December
(cars)
5,839
321
170
Range
Conditions
Light rains and snows which fell
last month over a considerable part
of the range country relieved the need
of moisture which had been complained of in numerous scattered 10calities. There is still some evidence
of drouth in isolated sections, however, notably in the
Pecos Valley, certain parts of South Texas, and in the
southern counties of Arizona. Reports from the
latter state show that stock generally is in fair condition despite the poor condition of the ranges,
though the shortage of grass in the irrigated districts has given rise to a serious situation in the
sheep industry.
With the exceptions above noted, range conditions
in the Southwest continue better than they have
been for many years at this season. Texas livestock
are in excellent shape, and pastures have yielded
more feed than usual this winter, due to the mildness
of the weather. In those sections of West Texas
where ranges have dried out some feeding has been
necessary during the past month, and rain is needed
in the San Angelo district to start the growth of
weeds for sheep grazing in preparation for the lambing season which begins in March. Generally, however, the district's ranges, which are considerably
understocked, are in condition to take care of a
much larger number of livestock than they now
support.
COMPARATIVE TOP LIVESTOCK PRICES
January
1921
Beef steers....................................,$ 9.00
Stocker steers.............................. 7.80
Butcher cows................................ 8.00
Stocker cows... ............................. 6.60
Calves .......................................... 11.00
Hogs ............................................ 9.90
Sheep ............................................ 7.50
Lambs .......................................... 11.00
December January
1920
1920
$ 9.25
7.85
8.25
6.50
10.00
10.30
8.15
10.75
$13.00
11.25
11.25
10.65
13.50
15.75
19.00
The annual livestock report of the
Shipments of cattle, hogs and Number and
sheep to markets from Southwestern V~Iue of TexasUnited States Department of Agriculture contains the following statistics
ranches continue light. January cat- LlVestocb:
concerning the number and value of
tle receipts at the Ft. Worth market,
Texas livestock as of January 1, 1921, as compared
amounting to 33,016 head, were the smallest for that
month since 1903, and hog receipts, 31,080, were the with January 1, 1920. The number of milch cows
lightest handled in January since the year 1904. On increased 4 per cent; range cattle increased 2 per
the other hand the market witnessed the largest run cent; sheep increased 10 per cent; swine increased 3
of calves on record, the total of 26,980 head exceeding per cent; mules increased 1 per cent; and horses deaU previous January receipts. Supplies of sheep, creased 1 per cent. For the annual period prices
though less than the volume marketed in December, have shown an average decrease for the various
were about E;lqual t o the January average of the classes of livestock, as follows: horses $15.00; mules
$25.00; milch cows $14.00; range cattle $10.00';
past few years.
sheep $3.10; swine $7.70.
Outside buying constituted the bulk of the month's
The total value of Texas livestock on January 1
cattle transactions, packers taking very little of the
1921, is estimated at $436,000,000.00, compared with
month's offerings. Purchases for shipment to California and Mexico featured. the trade in cattle, most $572,000,000.00 on January 1, 1920, a decrease of
of which came from South Texas pastures, though $136,000,000.00, or about 25 per cent.
Oklahoma supplied several good lots of fed cattle.
Livestock
Movements
and Prices
COMPARATIVE STATISTICS OF TEXAS LIVESTOCK
Prices again inclined downward, all classes of livePercent 1921
stock suffering a depreciation during the month exNumbers
Numbers 'Compared
Estimated
cept hogs. The latter, due to the scarcity of the
Jan. 1, 1921 Jan. 1, 1920 to 19.20
Value 1921
supply and the keen competition between order buy99
$ 89,100,000
1,199,000
ers, held closely to the December price level, and at Horses ..........1,187,000
784,000
101
86,744,000
the end of January were selling at slightly above the ' Mules ............ 792,000
104
Milch Cows .. 1,184,000
1,138,000
74,596,000
opening quotations. The best grades of beef steers Other cattle .04,547,000
102
4,458,000
138,683,000
110
2,790,000
19,334,000
sold as high as $9.00 bU,t at the close of the month Sheep ............ 3,069,000
103
2,356,000
27,638,000
the range of prices was $7.00 to $7.50.
Swine ............2,427,000
\
Receipts of sheep and lambs were light and offerings were readily absorbed, but the demand was
never very broad and $7.50 was the top mark reached
by fat wethers, with $11.00 as the maximum for fed
lambs.
LUMBER:
Pine Mill
Operations
A moderate increase in the buying
demand has made itself felt throughout the lumber trade during the past
thirty days according to reports received by this
bank. The stimulus to production resulting from
FORT WORTH LIVE STOCK RECEIPTS
this demand is reflected in the figures gathered by
January December Loss or January Loss or the Southern Pine Association from twenty-eight
Gain
1920
Gain
19.20
1921
mills located in the Eleventh District, as shown in
59,133 L 26,117 the table below. Last month twenty-eight reporting
38,543 L 5,527
Cattle ............ 33,016
7,797 G 19,183
14,433 G 12,547
Calves ..........26,980
mills received orders equivalent to 72 per cent of
59,949 L 28,869
9,769
21,311 G
Hogs .............. 31,080
65? their normal monthly production, while for the pre10,267 G
12,887 L 1,962
Sheep ............ 10,925
ceding month the volume of orders booked by
twenty-four reporting mills was only 46 per cent
of their normal monthly production. The gain in
new business was followed by a corresponding increase in production. The January output of the
group of mills reporting for that month was 36 per
cent below normal, whereas for the month of December production ran 47 per cent below normal.
The improved demand caused a stiffening in prices
during the last two weeks of January, which was the
first period of that length since last July when the
local market has not reflected a decline.
Unfilled orders reported by twenty-eight ~ills on
January 28th amounted to 36,783,848 feet, compared
with 32,358,000 feet reported by twenty-four mills
on December 31st.
The following table presents: a summary of pine
mill operations in the Eleventh District for the four
week period ending January 28th.
yield amount to 2,815 barrels. The heaviest falling
off was reported from North Texas and North Louisiana fields. Central-West Texas, despite a 50 per
cent reduction in pipe line runs, scored a gain of
120,000 barrels over its December record, but this
was more than offset by the loss in other fields.
As a result of the recent sharp cut in crude prices,
and the restriction of pipe lines purchases in most
fields to 50 per cent of the output, field forces are
being reduced by nearly all of the large operators in
this district. The resultant slowing up of drilling
activities has been particularly pronounced in the
North Texas district, where only 152 wells were
completed in January as compared with 204 in December.
In the Central-West Texas field, both Stephens
County and the Ranger district showed increased
production, while the Desdemona field declined.
PETROLEUM:
Reductions in crude oil prices announced by purchasing companies in
the major oil fields of this dtstrict
during January brought the market value of oil
down from $3.50 to $2.00 per barrel. Early in February a further cut of 25 cents was made, carrying
the price down to exactly one-half the figure quoted
throughout most of the year 1920. Similar reductions were made in most of the other Southwestern
fields, the crude price in the Texas Coastal field be'ing lowered to $1.25, which represents a decrease of
50 per cent since December, 1920. An increase of
25 cents was recently announced in the West Texas
fields, bringing the price in that section back to $2.00
per barrel.
Oil recovered in the Eleventh District during January aggregated 12,746,315 barrels, or a decrease of
87,259 barrels as compared with December production. The decline in daily average
In sympathy with the downward movement of
crude oil prices, quotations on refined products and
fuel oil have undergone substantial revisions during the past thirty days.
JANUARY PINE MILL STATISTICS
Number of reporting mills..........................
28
Average weekly production ...................... 9,773,673
Average weekly shipments ........................ 9,724,162
Average weekly orders received ................10,908,128
Unfilled orders January 28th ....................36,783,848
Average weekly normal production ..........15,249,648
Production above shipments......................
49,511
Actual production below normaL. ..... :....... 5,476,075
Orders below noo.'mal production................ 4,341,520
feet
feet
feet
feet
feet
feet=% %
feet=36 %
feet=28 %
Production
again shows
Shrinkage
Price
Movements
OIL PRODUCTION
Field
- - December - Total Daily Avg.
- -
January
Total Daily Avg.
-
Increase or Decrease Total
Daily Avg.
North Texas ..........................................2,440,415
78,723
2,353,458
75,918
Dec. 86,957
Dec. 2,805
Central-West Texas ..........................4,448,556
143,502
4,568,718
147,377
Inc. 120,162
Inc.
3,875
Texas Coastal ...................................... 3,244,504
104,661
3,209,829
103,543
Dec. 34,675
Dec.
1,118
Totals Texas ......................................10,133,475
326,886
10,132,005
326,838
Dec.
1,470
Dec.
48
North Louisiana ................................ 2,700,099
87,100
2,614,310
84,333
Dec.
85,789
Dec.
2,767
Dec. 87,259
Dec.
2,815
---
--Totals 11 District .............................. 12,833,574
413,986
12,746,315
411,171
JANUARY DRILLING RESULTS
Completions
Field
152
N olth Texas ..............................................................................
179
Centra.I-West Texas ................................................................. .
98
Texas Coastal ............................................................................
34
Texas Wildcats ......................................................................... .
Producers
90
158
75
7
Failures
62
21
23
27
Initial
Production
4,645
53,264
66,747
965
Totals Texas ............................................................................. .
North Louisiana ..................................................................... .
463
104
330
75
133
29
125,621
41,215
January Totals, District ......................................................... .
December Totals, District ...........................................:..........
567
537
405
401
162
136
166,836
114,109
TRADE:
Wholesale
Trade
Sales figures for the month of January submitted by twenty-two large
wholesale firms in this district
?howed the business barometer rising in all reportIng lines except groceries and drugs, which found
January a rather dull month. Both grocery and drug
dealers, however, say there was some improvement
in their lines during the first half of February as
compared with the corresponding period in January.
. All other reporting lines registered gains of varylng magnitude over their December sales record.
Dry goods leads the list with an average increase of
20 per cent. Automobile supplies and farm implements also reacted well from the extreme dullness
Which characterized their December business.
Cautious but frequent spot buying was again the
dominant characteristic of trade activity, as it has
been all along for the past six months.
A striking feature of our wholesale trade statistics
this month is the sharp contrast they present as
compared to the situation a year ago with respect to
the influence of prices on sales. In the table appended below it will be seen that the increases in
January sales over Decembr sales of various lines of
merchandise were accompanied by corresponding decrease in price for the same period. On the other
hand, the twelve-months comparison shows no such
well defined relation between sales and prices. The
explanation of this contrast seems to lie in the fact
that a year ago the controlling factor in sales was
the supply of goods, rather than the price.
Wholesale prices in the Eleventh District generally pursued a downward course throughout the
month of January. Our reports show that the average decline between December 31st and January
31st was 3 per cent for groceries and drugs, 5 per
cent for hardware, and 10 per cent for dry goods .
Wholesale collections during the past month have
been somewhat slow as a result of the continued depression in the market value of farm products. For
the grocery trade the ratio of January payments to
total accounts due and outstanding at the beginning
of the month was 90 per cent; for drugs 53 per cent;
hardware 29 per cent; dry goods 44 per cent; automobile supplies 66 per cent; furniture 51 per cent;
and farm implements 8 per cent. As the terms on
which merchandise is sold differ in each of the lines,
no comparison is possible between the figures for
different industries.
In the following table there is presented a summary of the condition of wholesale trade for the
month of January, showing percentual increases and
decreases in sales, prices and stocks.
'CONDITION OF WHOLESALE TRADE DURING JANUARY, 1921
Percentages of Increase or Decrease in
NET SALES
January. 1921. compared
with
January,
December,
1920
1920
PRICES
January, 1921, compared
w ith
January,
December,
1920
1920
-
-32.6
-7.1
90.2
3.5
+ 16.8
- 6.1
53.3
+29.6
-2.5
-
.6
-20.
Hardware .............__ ......... - 34.8
Dry Goods ' ...................... -69.3
+ 9.6
+20.6
-25.
-44.1
-10.
Auto Supplies ................ +26.6
Furniture ........................ -.26.3
+17.5
+ 6.
same
Farm Implements .......... - 71.
+ 7.9
+17.9
-27.2
Ratio of
Collections
to Amount
Due
3.1
Groceries .......................... -36.4
Drugs -_ ............................ -17.6
4.
STOCKS
January, 1921. compared
w ith
January,
December,
1920
1920
29.1
5.
44.
66.
51.6
+12.5
same
8.7
Retail
Trade
Despite numerous depressing influences, retail trade activity in the district during the month of January,
according to our reports, was not far from what may
be considered a normal volume. It is true that sales
measured by dollar value were slightly below those
of January, 1920, but when the lower prices now
prevailing are taken into consideration, it is clear
that the rate of distribution of goods last month
was well up to the movement in normal times. The
value of department store sales in January, as shown
by reports of seventeen firms in the Eleventh District, was only half as large as that of December.
This, however, is about in line with the usual January record, and our merchants generally report that
they were well satisfied with their January trade.
Stocks on hand at the end of the month were
smaller by 12 per cent than at the corresponding
period a year ago, and showed a decrease of 7 per
cent by comparison with stock goods on hand at the
end of December, 1920.
Department store collections during the month
just passed exhibit slight improvement as compared
with December, the ratio of payments made last
month to that portion of accounts which were payable January 1st being 41 per cent as compared with
40 per cent for the previous month.
The taking of January inventories this year, according to our reports, was conducted upon a somewhat different basis by most firms than has been
the case in previous years. Dealers generally inventoried their stocks this year on a basis of replacement values, without reference to costs, with a view
of determining the exact status of their financial
condition and establishing a foundation for adjusting future operations to the new basis of values. Reduction sales and advertising campaigns have been
conducted upon an aggressive scale, and every resource and device of salesmanship (some of which
had until recent months fallen more or less into disuse) have been injected into the administration of
the merchandising business. The necessity for intensive methods of promoting sales has been accentuated by the extremely mild winter which has greatly
interefered with the sale of seasonable goods, as the
district has just passed through one of the mildest
winters on record.
Below will be found a summary of department
store trade statistics for the month of January, 1921,
and comparative months.
BUSINESS OF DEPARTMENT STORES
Pel' cent
Net Sales:
of decreaJSe
January, 1921, compared with January, 1920.......... 8.9%
January, 1921, compared with December, 1920........ 49.4%
Stocks at end of January, 1921:
Compared with same month, 1920.............................. 12.9%
Compared with stocks at end of December, 1920.... 7.9%
Ratio of sto'cks to sales .......................................................... 357.60/0
Ratio of outstanding orders to last year's purchases .............................................................................. 7.0%
Ratio of January collections to accounts receivable, due and outstanding January 1st, 1921.. .......... 41.6%
FINANCIAL:
On January 31st, 1921, our total
Operations
of Federal
loans to member banks amounted to
Reserve Bank $89,970,627.24, distributed as follows:
Member Banks Collateral Notes............................'.f27 ,817,009.90
Rediscounts for Member Banks .............................. 62,056,944.79
96,672.55
Acceptances purchased' in open market..................
Total Lo'a ns to Member Banks ................................$89,970,627.24
Last month our outstanding loans to member
banks decreased to the extent of $7,667,267.27.
There was a similar reduction in the amount of our
paper held under rediscount by other Federal Reserve Banks, which, at the end of January had been
reduced to $19,445,070.00, as compared with $26,694,600.00 on December 31st.
At the end of January our Federal reserve notes
outstanding amounted to $76,050,995.00, which represents a decrease of $8,702,550.00 since December
31st. - Member banks security deposits on JanuarY
31st aggregated $48,979,554.59, showing an increase
of $1,984,730.88.
Effective February 15th our discount rates were
advanced from 5lj2 per cent to 6 per cent on 15 day
notes secured by United States securities, and from
6 per cent to 7 per cent on all other paper. Simultaneously this bank abolished the application of
"Progressive rates" on loans made to member bankS
in excess of their basic discount line.
Position of
Reserve
City Banks
Fifty-one member banks in the
larger cities of the district on JanuarY
28, 1921, reported loans amounting to
$226,000,000.00, which compares with
$236,000,000.00 reported on December 31st, and represents a decrease of about 4 per cent. Although
the list of reporting institutions now includes eight
more banks than were reporting a year ago, the combined loans held by the present group are now below
the total of loans reported by reserve city banks in
January, 1920. A much less favorable showing, however, is reflected by the movement of deposits for the
same period, a decrease of $40,000,000.00 in this
item being shown since January, 1!)20, despite the
growth in the list of reporting banks.
serve and bills payable with the Federal Reserve
Bank.
During the month of January there was a contraction of $3,600,000.00, or 8 per cent, in the volume
of United States securities owned by the reporting
banks. A slight decrease was also shown in re-
At the close of January the ratio of loans to deposits stood at 108 per cent, compared with 110 per
cent on December 31st, and 92 per cent on January
30th,1920.
CONDITION STATISTICS OF MEMBER BANKS IN SELECTED CITIES
Jan. 28, 1921
Dec. 31, 1920
Number of reporting banl{s ....................................................
52
51
44
........................................... .
U. S. Securities owned ............... _
42,510,000
46,137,000
71,723,000
7,508,000
Jan. 30,1920
Loans secured by U. S. War Obligations ............................. .
8,030,000
8,590,000
All other loans and investments........................................... .
219,740,000
227,908,000
223,699,000
Net demand deposits .... _
...........................................................
210,912,000
215,259,000
250,688,000
Reserve with Federal Resel've BaM ....................................
23,891,000
24,465,000
35,643,000
Bills paYaible with Federal Reserve Bank ........................... .
33,401,000
34,631,000
31,615,000
Ratio of loans to deposits ....................................................... .
Bank
Clearings
A further decrease in the volume of
clearings at the larger cities of the
district is shown by January figures,
the combined amount being $451,753,525.00, which
Was 8 per cent less than the December record, and 27
Per cent under the clearings for January, 1920.
108%
110%
92 %
Beaumont, Shreveport, Waco, and Wichita Falls
were the only cities which reported gains over December totals.
The following table shows comparative statistics
for each of the reporting cities:
BANK OLEARINGS
January
1921
Austin .................................................................. $ 6,058,807
Beaumont ............................................................
December
1920
$ 6,350,361
Inc. or
Dec.
-
January
1920
Inc. or
Dec.
4.6
$ 8,871,135
-31.7
-25.5
5,911,867
5,654,057
+ 4.5
7,930,121
Dallas .................................................................... 125,940,530
140,332,750
-10.2
194,760,494
- 35 ..3
El Paso ................................................................ 25,283,465
Fort Wo'r th __ __________ ______ ____ __ __________ ________ __ __ ____ ________ 59,000,000
28,099,129
-10.0
32,207,012
-21.5
65,640,233
-10.1
97,724,682
-39.6
Galveston __ . ____ . __ . ________________ :__ ______ . __ __ ____________________ . 38,289,243
43,786,299
-12.5
35,327,600
Houston ____ ... __ ..... __ . __ __ ...... __ ....... __ ....... __ .. __ ............. 110,264,402
San Antonio __ __ __ __ __________________ ______________ __ ______ __ __ __ __ 33,320,203
124,577,566
-11.5
134,783,830
+ 8.4
-18.2
34,091,522
-
2.2
40,433,527
-17.6
Shreveport ______ . __________________ ____ __ __ . ______ __________ . ____ ._ . 20,300,873
__
17,538,760
+15.7
25,518,821
-20.4
Waco __ ______ __ . __ .__ . ____ ____________ __ __ __ __ __ ____ . ____ . ______ .__ __ __ ..__
12,384,135
11,655,000
+ 6.3
18,496,000
-33.0
Wichita Falls __ ______ ____________ __ ________________ __ ________ ____ __
15,000,000
14,000,000
+ 7.1
25,146,170
--40.3
Totals .......__ __ ...... __ __ .................. __ ........ __ ....__ ...........$451,753,525
$491,725,677
$621,199,392
-27.3
Discount
Rates
No changes of consequence were
made during January in discount
rates charged by the banks in the
cities of Dallas, EI Paso, Houston, Fort Worth, San
Antonio, and Waco. There is presented in the fol-
-
8.1
lowing schedule a list of average rates charged in
these cities during the thirty day period ending February 15th, showing "High," "Low," and "Customary" rates applicable to the various classes of
paper shown.
JANUARY DISCOUNT RATES
Dallas
H L C
Prime Commercial Paper:
Customers' 30 to 90 days ...................................... 8
Customers' 4 to 6 months ...................................... 8
Open market 30 to 90 days....................................8
Open market 4 to 6 months .................................. 8
Interbank loans ..................................................................8
Collateral loans, demand .................................................... 8
Collateral loans, 3 months................................................ 8
Collateral loans, 3 to 6 months .......................................... 8
Cattle loans ........................................................................ 8
Loans secured by warehouse receipts, Bs-L, etc .......... 8
Loans secured by Government securities...................... 8
6
6
8
8
6
6
6
7
7
8
6
7?J
n
8
8
6~
n
n
n
n
8
7
Ft. Worth
H L C
10
10
8
8
9
10
10
10
10
10
10
7
7
8
8
7
7
8
8
8
8
6
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
9
8
8
Houston
H L C
8
8
8
8
7
10
10
10
10
8
10
EI Paso
H L C
7i
7
6
7
n
..
7
8
..
..
6
7
7
7
7
7
8
8
6
8
7
7
8
7
7
8
8
8
8
6~
8
8
8
8~
8
8
n
8
8
8
8
6
6
6
6
7
7
6
7
n
8
7
Waco
H L C
San Antonio
H L C
8
8
6
6
.. ..
.. ..
8 6
8 6
8 6
8 6
8. 6
8 6
8 6
n
7?J
..
..
6
7
n
7~
7~
n
7
8 8 8
8 8 8
8 7 8
8 7 8
7 7 7
8 8 8
8 8 8
8 8 8
8 8 8
8 8 8
8 6 8
CHARGES TO DEPOSITORS ACCOUNTS
Albuquerque ............................................................................. .
Austin .......................................................................................,
Beaumont ................................................................................... .
Dallas ......................................................................................... .
EI Paso ......................................................................................
Fort Worth ................................................................................
Galveston ................................................................................... .
Houston ..................................................................................... .
San Antonio ............................................................................. .
Shreveport ................................................................................
Texarkana ..................................................................................
Tucson ....................................................................................... .
Waco ........................................................................................... .
Jan. 26, 1921
$ 1,712,000
2,920,000
4,887,000
35,018,000
7,890,000
24,880,000
19,928,000
31,117,000
6,962,000
7,799,000
1,278,000
1,352,000
4,090,000
Ja.n.19,1921
$ 2,033,000
3,978,000
4,497,000
38,005,000
7,446,000
24,080,000
23,007,000
29,730,000
7,800,000
9,740,000
1,489,000
1,487,000
4,460,000
Jan. 28,1920
$ 1,892,000
3,409,000
4,480,000
44,220,000
9,119,000
23,356,00C
8,002,000
37,603,000
8,290,000
8,294,000
1,664,000
1,432,000
3,866,000
Total, Eleventh District............................................................
$149,833,000
$157,752,000
$155,627,000
Totals, all reporting cities in U. S....................................... $8,138,649,000
$9,142,187,000
$8,982,956,000
The business mortality curve for
this district continued its steep ascent during the past month. Records of failures show
that there were 155 suspensions involving claims
amounting to $3,359,871.00. This compares with the
December record of 124 failures, liabilities $2,141,462.00, and totals for January, 1920, of 33 failures,
involving $284,096.00 in debts.
The aggregate amount of liabilities involved in
Eleventh District failures during January seems to
have set a new record, being practically equal to the
amount of claims represented by all failures during
the entire year of 1919.
Failures
LABOR:
A survey of Texas labor conditions recently completed by the Texas Chamber of Commerce developed the fact that although there is now considerable employment in the cities of above three thousand population, there is in prospect an actual shortage in farm labor for production and harvesting this
year's crops. Reports received from 85 counties indicate that the farm labor supply is probably sufficient
in East, Central, and North Texas, but that a shortage will be developed in Southwest and West Texas
before harvest season unless relieved by the shifting
of surplus labor from other sections of the state, or
by importation of Mexican labor.
Building activity, also covered by the survey, is
shown by the reports to be practically normal in
many of the smaller cities, though comparatively dor·
mant in the larger centers.
The reports' further show that there has been a
widespread reduction in wages paid unskilled labor,
as compared with the peak rates prevailing a year
ago. Instances of reductions in skilled labor wage
scales, however, are comparatively few. The following is a synopsis of the results of this survey :
Labor supply and demand:
Unskilled
Lack! of Labor................................ 2 cities
Normal ..........................................26 cities
Small surplus of labor................ 36 cities
Large surplus .............................. 21 dties
Wag'es :
Unskilled
Reduction ...................................... 52 cities
No reduction ................................ 16 cities
Building:
Above normal .............................. 11 cities
Normal ......................................... .41 cities
Below normal ..............................21 cities
Agriculture:
Probable lack of labor................ 22 counties
Sufficient lalbor .......................... 23 counties
Austin ........
Beaumont ..
Dallas
EI Paso ......
Fort WOl<th
Galveston ..
Houston
Shreveport..
BUILDING PERMITS
- - - -- January----1921
1920
No.
Valuat~o!l1
No.
Valuation
28
15,840
12
161,990
171
101,719
57
93,997
275
589,808
201
1,840,140
96
114,962
117
284,809
132
316,760
184
1,356,820
370
62,826
276
60,661
409
393,364
344
719,289
211
225
514,605
Total .......... 1,692
~6roo
2;l09,9t
1)S4
~ c{,416
.)t;;
5,032,311
Skilled
2 cities
38 cities
33 cities
12 cities
Skilled
17 cities
46 cities
Inc. or
Dec.
-902.2
+ 8.2
- 67.9
- 59.6
-- 76.6
+ 3.6
- 45.3
+ .01
-
58.1
@FedFRASER