The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-09-01
Earnings for August, 1915, $500 Better Than Same
 Month Last Year
SURE INDICATION
 OF BETTER BUSINESS
Figures for August Show S20O0 In- crease Over July-Aldrich is De- lighted and Expects Further h.
 creases-Prospects for Year

That prosperity has returned to the Birmingham district was indicated yes- terday when the report of Postmaster Truman H. Aldrich of the postal earn ings for the past month of August showed a flattering increase over the same month in 1914. Incidentally it was stated hy Assistant Postmaster Ed ward Norman that it was the first time in the past eleven months that the local postoffice had shown an increase in its earnings over the corresponding month of the previous year.
 The figures follow:
 Postal earnings Tor August, 1915. s41.19o.oS.
 Postal earnings for August. 1914, sS9,5SS57.
 Increase $1601.51.
 According to the postal officials the falling off in the earnings of the loca! postoffice began soon after the out break of the European war Postoffice earnings, as is well known by busi- ness men, are a barometer of indus trial and commercial activity. If the postal receipts show a decrease then business is suffering slump. When the postal receipts incease there Is much commercial activity throughout the district. Thus Postmaster Aldrich was highly pleased to announce yes terday the first substantial increase in postal earnings since the outbreak of the European war and stamped 1t as a positive indication Birmingham was again attaining her stride industrial iy and commercially.
 Comparative Figures
 The figures of the receipts of the postoffice of the first and second quar- ters of 1915 are shown in contrast to the figures of the same quarters of 1914 to show what effect the European con Migration and ensuing business depres- sion really had on the local postal earnings:
 January, February and March 1914. $lb2.541.99
 January, February and March, 1915, $122.142.69.
 The loss of the first quarter of this year over that of the corresponding quarter in 1914 amounted to $30,3993 30, which was a serious falling off as the earnings of the Birmingham postoffice mad been steadily increasing for sew eral years. However. the loss in the second quarter was nearly $15,000 less, which was indicative that normal con- ditions were returning in the local commercial world
 The figures for the second quarter fol- low:
 1914-April, May, June s13o,3Ss. ?.
 1915-April. May, June, S15,9l6. 43.
 The decrease amounted to $14471.S4, or about half of the loss suffered in the first quarter
 For the month of July the postal re- ceipts, although showing a loss over the corresponding month in 1914, pleased the federal officials as 1t indicated by the slight decrease that the August report would in all probability show gain. They were not disappointed.
 The earnings for July of the present year were $3S.191. while that of July in 1914 were $139,55S showing a loss of only $1367.
 Business Constantly Growing
 Although Postmaster Aldrich has no hope of the earnings of the remaining months of the year showing increases of such proportions as would show a gain over the annual report of 1914, he is con fident that September, October, November and December will have increases over the corresponding months of last year.
 ''rhe postal business of Birmingham is constantly growing" said Colonel Aldrich, but its normal growth was of course effected year ago by the outbreak of the European war, which upset much of the business of the United States, as with the rest of the neutral world Our postal receipts started falling off month fol- lowing the outbreak of the war and con- tinued until the past month. The heaN- jest decrease in the postal earnings were in the first quarter of the present year, The second quarter cut in half the losses of the first quarter, and the third quar- ter will show only a slight decrease from the third quarter in 1914. We should show a good gain for the last quarter.
 However, despite the natural growth of the postal business in Birmingham the substantial increase in the earnings of the postoffice of August over that of the same month last year is surely indicatiy of greater industrial and commercial ae- tivity. Prosperity is returning to the Bir- xtnr,, 6futr lot ox,A f<