Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-12-21
BUSINESS NOTES

officials of the American WOODEN Com
pany are we'll satisfied with the prices
received and the general reception ac-
fSe0 epIo rs p paid FO %ere a sTam IS to a'f g per
cent below the market level. the fact
that buying was readily stimulated has
already impaired n stability to condi-
tons that has been noticeably lacking
the ending of Government buying.
In general 1t may be said that cloth
prices are back to where they were
eighteen months ago. From the char
aoter of wool prices being named at the
Boston auctions 1t would seem as though
bottom has been reached for the time
being.
American Wooden has often adopted
the auction scheme to clean up excess
stocks at the end of n season, but has
never resorted to II on such a large
scale before. The guiding motive was
to test out the market and clean up In
yentory preliminary to the formal sea,
sons opening next month. Now 1t
knows where II Is.
The prospects of a good year for
woolens in 1919 are very bright. job
bers' shelves are ~bare-people are be-
ginning to buy clothes again--and the
boys In France, whose aggregate buying
IL important to men's-wear producers.
will be soon back home. All this ugurs
well for n large civilian consumption.
The Franklin Automobile Company,
which has devoted its plant to work on
Hispano-Suiza and Rolls Royce airplane
engines, Is getting back to production
again. The first week of peace showed
a production of only four cars, the sec:
ond week seventeen cars, with a gradual
increase up to the present output OF
Some idea of the transition ahead can
be got by comparing this output with
the normal capacity of the Franklin rae
tory Of 225 cars per week, AZ present mt
per cent in excess of production.
The 1918 production of passenger auto
mobiles in the United States will run
under one million cars compared with
p%iiation made by National Automobile
Chamber of Commerce. An estimate OF
10000 cars is made for the last quarter
OF the current year: Last year 1t was
featured, which means there has been an
actual increase In this department in
the current year even II civilian trucks
only are considered.
The new combination of steel pro-
ducers which has been organized
under the webb bill for the advance
ment of American steel interests IN for
eign trade, will be known as the North
American Steel Products Corporation. 1t
will be an exclusive agency for exporting
merchant iron and steel products of the
following companies whose combined
annual ingot capacity is about 12,000,-
900 tons:
Bethlehem Steel Corporation. Brier
Hill Steel Company, Lackawanna Steel
COMPANY, Lukens Steel Company. Mid
vale Steel and n Company, Re-
public Iron and Steel Company, Sharon
Steel Hoop Company, Trumbull Steel
Company, Whitaker Glessner Company,
and Youngstown Sheet and Tube Com
pany,
Director General McAdoO has signed
these railroad compensation contracts:
North Pacific Railroad and its subsidia-
ries at s3O.130,06s; Richmond, Fred
ericksburg and Potomac, $1,l37,373.
E.. A. s. Clark has been elected presi-
dent of the Steel Export Company and
has accepted, It Is officially announced.
N%inety-six thousand autotrucks and
passenger cars were left on the hands
Of manufacturers by cancellation of Wal
Department orders. In addition. manu-
facturers have 10000 motorcycles and
35 5000 bicycles that the Government or
dered and cancelled on the signing of
the armistice. 1t was m that
about half of these wheeled vehicles
would have been ready for delivery by