The Washington herald., 1921-10-18

tuc HuofeucuI1 OF INC behhS ptO
ducts such as crops and building
materials. The total of car loading
started on the upgrade with q gain
of about IN per cent for August
compared to July. Revenue figures
for freight were not available for
the August summary. but showed q
slight decline in July from June. It
Is plain that in August the improve
ment in business had not been re-
fiected largely In transportation.
Employment as q measure of bus
inesa activity is not easily measured
as has been discovered by the stat
.isticians OF the Unemployment con-
ference which has gone on record on
four separate occasions In favor OF
better government statistical
service in this connection. The num-
Der on payrolls OF LAS firms
showed a gain of IL per cent In
August over July, after a Joss OF
exactly the same percentage mad
occurred with June. Other hgureS
on the total payroll In New York
State showed q decline Of S-b per
cent Of August compared with July.
Prices as measured by various In
dex figures showed the following
changes: Wholesale, all commodi-
ties gained 81 per cent; consumers
goods, 80 per cent; producers
goods, 0.6 per cent: livestock, SO
per cent, and retail foods. al per
cent. The farm price of crops was
stationary from July to August.
making no appreciable change. And
other general price indexes, sucn
as Dun's and Bradstreets, showed
changes of only a fraction OF
cent. 1t was evident that prices
were moving on the level, but
whether this was the lag that pre-
cedes an upturn remains 10 be seen.
The banking and financial indi-
Gators of the state of business were
not SO encouraging In some respects
as the price figures. Debts TO In
dividual accounts showed nearly IL
per cent loss outside of New York
City, and 60 per cent within the
city. Bank clearings showed a de-
crease In New York Of per cent,
but no change in the rest Of the
country. Failures increased about
per cent in number, but only u
per cent in liability. There was a
large shrinkage in dividend and in
| terest payments, although new in
corporations were more numerous.
sales are the figures from mail
order houses which gained 16.5 per
cent in August over July, and 10
cent stores which gained rs per
cent, and the reports on stocks at
the end OF the month in department
stores, which showed a decline
throughout the twelve Federal Re
serve districts ranging from 1 TO Z
per cent
The measures on foreign trade is
a large section of the survey as
would be expected in a publication
| coming from the Department of
Commerce. In the last issue there
have been added to the figures for
the United States, summaries of
| foreign trade Of England. France,
Italy. Canada, and some South
American and South African coun-
tries.
During August. the grand total
imports Of the United States gained
SO per cent. while exports gained
ISL per cent. The big gain in i'm
ports was from Argentina. 1t Is in
| teresting TO note that imports nom
both France and Germany declined,
while Italian products made the
greatest gain of any European
country. Our exports increased in
the largest percentage to Canada,
Japan, Argentina, and England in
that order. Exports to Italy gained
less than per cent. which shows
that Italy is striving for a more
favorable balance with the Unite
States. This, however, has not OPP
Grated favorably on the italian ex-
change, which declined more than
any other during August compared
with July.
Taken as a whole, this survey
provides an excellent cross section
Of business and trade. 1t may be
possible to devise a compound in
dex. of production, distribution and
consumption which will show the
changes In the volume of business
as a whole. But for the present the
bulletin is of chief value because of
the variety of measures it provides
on various parts of industry.