The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1918-04-26
REVIEW OF NORTHWESTERN
INDUSTRIES FOR PAST WEEK
Outlook for Wheat Crop-FOreign
Trade of Pacific COast-GOvern-
ment Operates Railroads at Loss

The condition of the winter wheat
crop in the United States on April
1st was 78 per cent of normal against
So per cent last year at the same
time, and 78 per cent in 1916.
Eighty-three per cent is the average
condition for the past ten years in
April.
The forecast is for a production
of $50 million bushels against Ais
million bushels in 1917 and 480 mil
lion bushels in 1916.
The Pacific Steamship Company in
Seattle, bears the distinction of being
the only American line operating
American vessels to Asia. The SER
vice was established in September
of last year. The company has
created foreign freight business,
which will carry out plans now being
concluded for enlarging and extend
ing the trade in an important way.
All woolen mills in the country
have been directed by the war de-
partment to hold their looms at the
service of the Government from April
5th to July 1st in order to insure
adequate supplies of cloth for uni
forms. Manufacturers of civilian
clothing who get any of the output
of the mills will do so under special
Government permits.
The South Dakota legislature has
passed a bill authorizing county
councils of defense, under the direc-
tion of the state council, to register
and conscript men for labor on
farms; penalty of three months
Imprisonment and $1,000 fine is pro-
vided for attempted evasions.
The Chinese Eastern Railway has
negotiated an agreement for Am
erican supervision of the road.
The war trade board has decided
that penuts are a luxury, and not
necessary article of food, and has
been ordered that no penuts be i'm
ported after April Is. San Fran
cisco importers do not agree with the
war trade board, and have framed
a protest to Washington, represent
ing that peanuts are the necessary
ingredient of penut butter, which is
widely used as food.
A thorough investigation is being
made of Ignite coal fields of North
Dakota. 1t is believed that North
Dakota Ignite contains valuable by
products which can be used in muni-
tion manufacture.
Thirty million dollars has been in
vested in the rubber lands of Sumat-
ra by the United States Rubber Co.,
in anticipation of the great possibi-
lities of trade in the Orient after
the war. The company now has
10000 acres, of which $4,000 acres
is under cultivation.
1t is stated that quite good bit
of business in cocoanut oil has been
put through on the Pacific Coast at
16 1-8 to Is Ia cents per pound in
cases, and arrivals continue heavy es-
pecially at Seattle. Soya bean oil
has also arrived in fairl Y large
blocks.
Big business is making commend
able effort to satisfy labor, and
overcome a shortage of raw materials
in order to further the war program.
This is seen in another is per cent
advance in the wages of the United
States Steel Corporation, effective
April Is, making the sixth increase
since January First, 1918. The
newest increase, adds S45,0O0,000 an
nually to the corporations pay roll
and affects some 268,058 employees.
Another step in the closer relation
ship between capital and labor,
hastened by the war, is seen in the
newly established conferences of
Standard Oil Company officials and
representatives of their employees,
at which questions of mutual inter-
est are to be discussed and decided.
The Dutch ships taken over by
the United States are being rapidly
put in commission. The Govern
ment has not disclosed what use is
to be made of them but its is sur
missed that some of them will be used
in the transportation of cotton from
the south Atlantic ports to New Eng
land and that others will be put in
the West Indian sugar carrying
trade.
Under the first month of Govern
ment operation the country's rail
roads were conducted at a loss of
$2,227,0 900, the first time in many
years that January has showed
deficit in operating revenues. The
loss was due to the exceptionally
severe weather, and the freight en-
bargoes.