Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1917-11-03
MONTHLY REPORT = FROM FEDERAL
 DISTRICT NO. 8 Federal Reserve Bank in St. Louis Gives Out
 Information.
COTTON SITUATION
 Changed Materially
Business Activity Continues at High Level. General Feeling Of Con. fidence and no UnfayOrable
 Symptoms.

St. Louis, Nov. 2.-1'he Federal Re serve bank of Distri>t No. 8 has is-, sued the, following report of business and economical conditions prevailing turnout the district:
 With very few exceptions. all bus mess activity in this district con. tinues at a high. level. Some few lines are restricted on account of tine scare ity of raw material or unfavorable. labor conditions, but, in general, bus mess shows marked activity. Favor. able crop conditions have contributed to the generals feeling of confidence and there are no unfavorable symp- toms which would appear to effect the situation for some months.
 Government Orders.
 Orders for government require ments continue to be the important factor, as noted in my last report, while. government price restrictions and other regulations are a somewhat disturbing factor. Whereas, former ly government orders had influenced only manufacturing and joDbing in dustries, reports at. this writing in dicate that they are also influencing retail trade, at least the large depart ments stores. Reports from wholesale erocers, millinery jobbers, drug and chemical dealers, wooden ware, bag ging, cracker and stove manufactur- CTS, glass companies. shot manufac- turers,s stationery job6efs, jbbbeTs '6f dry goods and general merchandise, candy manufacturers and wire rope manufacturers, all show increases in e September 30 as compared to the av. craze sales for the same three months 1914, 1915 and 1916, which, indicates a healthy condition. 9a...|
 , Arkansas Cotton Moving.
 Collections appear to ba. keeping up with. sales, except from ;a few of the rural sections where life crop movement is. unusually. lata, sasssssin |'Arkansas, where the. sce4 4toni,ss at .this Lwriting, is just beginning to-. move. EDry goods jobbers repol'tl future or Gers for. spring delivery in excesssof year ago, and these were a. eerord at that time. The business of the department stores and retailers in general has been stimulated by cool, reasonable weather. <i
 Large packers report that wool prices run close to a high point of the season. The demand for fertilizer appears to be equal. to the production, the cost of raw material, however, advancing faster than that of the fin ished article. There is a strong de mand for all meats, with prices about Asteady, and the stocks on hand de Fcreasing.
 Tho cotton situation in the south ern portion of the district has chang ed somewhat materially within the last monta. While the crop was late all season, the condition a month ago appeared to be satisfactory. Since then, killing frosts have been report ed from most sections Of the belt. and
 it is feared that the crop will be
 shorter than was anticipated. Well
 informed Memphians estimate thai
 that territory will produce not over 80 per cent of last years harvest
 Prices of both cotton and cottonseeC
 are nigh, which should simulate all early and rapid movement to market This movement, in volume, is just be
 ginning. It will probably take more ] money to move this cotton crop thar
 any crop since the civil war, but there
 appers to be no anxiety on this score
 unless a shortage of freight cars
 should restrict the movement east ward from Memphis.
 Flowing and Planting.