The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-12-11
EXPANSION IS
APPARENT IN
RETAIL LINES
Dun and Bradstreet Both See
Forward Movement in
Events of Week.

Despite continued irregularfty In
the general business situation there
was expansion In the retail trade dur
ing the week. according to the re-
views made public last night. The
Improvement in the retail trade Is
directly traceable to the approach of
the holiday season. Bradstreet's
weekly food index eased off per cent
while Dun's list of wholesale prices
showed forty-four advances and forty
two declines.
Bradstreet's food index number
stood at $2.98 at the end of the week.
compared with $3.01 last week. OF the
eighty-one commodities OF all kinds
quoted. fifteen advanced. eighteen de-
clined and forty-eight remained I'M
changed. Advances occurred In corn.
potatoes, live hogs. live sheep, iye
lambs, cotton, o. delaine wool. o. half
blood wool, hides, copper. tin and
spelter. The items which declined in
ciuded flour, red wheat, spring wheat.
hams, butter. beans, eggs, currants,
live beeves, cleo oil, condensed milk,
evaporated milk, gray goods, hay.
Southern pig iron. car wheels, old,
Chicago; steel scrap. Chicago. and vel
Prices Unchanged
The following commodities remain
ed without price change during the
week: Oats. barley, rye flour. corn
flour. mess pork. tallow, lard. cheese,
raw sugar? refined sugar. tea. tap
ioca, peas, apples. peanuts. rice, mo-
lasses, raisins, prunes. lemons, Pa
cific hops, New York hops. maca-
roni. print cloths. brown sheetinss.
Ringhams, linseed oil. refined petro-
leum. crude petroleum. gasoline.
leather, basic pig iron. Bessemcr Fig
iron. Bessemer steel billets, open
hearth steel billets, steel rails, steel
bars, Philadelphia old car wheels.
Pittsburgh steel scrap, Chicago cast
iron, wire nails. tin plates. coke, lead,
anthony, Adirondack spruce. Penn
sylvania hemlock and Douglas fir.
Reviewing the general business SIT
uation, Bradstreet's comments az fol-
lows:
"The outstanding features In the
trade reports this week are the signs
of increased activity In retail trade,
due to the stimulus Of holiday buy
ing the country over and the recur-
renee of seasonal weather in North
ern. Eastern and Western areas.
against which Ia to be noted q FUR
.her seasonal quieting down OK Dust
ness of 1obbers and wholesalers, who.
approaching the inventory period. are
indisposed to assume new commit
ments pending this.
Even In the matter Of retail buy
ing, however. there are irregularities
visible, large department stores ad-
vertising freely finding distribution
better than do small retailers in gen
eral, who return rather less satisfac-
tory reports. AS a whole holiday trade
in money value does not seem as yet
to measure up to that OF a year ago.
though II price differences are con-
sidered the discrepancies in volume are
not serious, II, indeed, an actual gain
Ia not possible.
Regular Trade.
Even in regular retail trade, how
ever, mild weather, particularly at the
South. has held down trade. Real or
claimed concessions in some lines Of
heavy wearing apparel seem to be fea-
tured at a number of cities. In In
dustry counter currents are visible
also. as latest returns Of production Of
coal, coke, lumber. with tho loadings
of railroad cars. tend to decline,
whereas iron and steel output seems
well maintained, while wool consump-
ton and building operations continue
to gain in activity. compared with out
puts earlier in the year. but especially
when compared with the low water
mark months of midsummer. Grain
movement from farms, as well as coal
production, however. gained when
compared with the holiday period Of
late November