San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-03-13
|b|G PACKER
MERGER NOT
DISTURBING
Business Sees Little Change
in Pros
pect.
FACTORY LABOR SHORT
Ford Plans to Increase His
Output to 5000
Cars.
FACTORY LABOR SHORT


Conv7-isht. by The San Antonio Light.
New York, March 1S.-Formal an
nouncement of the consummation OF
the $5OO.O0O.0OO merger of the
Armour and Morris packing house
psnee*sts, now momentariiy expected
probably will have little effect on the
immediate operations of the packing
industry. The move has been pretty
thoroughly discounted in business
circles and few marked innovations
4 in production, sales or management
are 10 be expected until after the
hearings on the complaint of Secre-
tary of Agriculture Wallace against
/ the merger charging illegal combina-
ton.
Conditions abroad have not lent
themselves to active foreign demand
and the situation in the markets Ill
this country would indicate, that any
radical changes might well await
later date. Reports that Edward
Norris who with the transfer OF his
holdings will be out of the packing
industry will apply methods of mer-
chandising secured through long eX-
perience in provisions to other fields
have attracted wide attention although
the particular line which Mr.. Morris
is considering has not been made
public.
Factory Labor Still Short.
No easing is apparent i'll the labor
supply situation. Employment in De
troit has taken jump of 31,OO0 IN
4 the last week and this increase would
have been heavier could men trained
in certain lines been secured. An
acute shortage of factory help is ex-
pected in industrial centers about
April 1 when workers begin to heed
the call of the outdoors.
The working forces at the Detroit
Ford plants have been increased to
%. 900 men preparatory to the adop-
ton of schedule Thursday which
will call for an output of 5000 cars
a day. The new Ford plant near
ST. Paul will make parts which will
| be distributed from the assembling
plants in Seattle and Portland and the
new assembling unit at st. Louis.
Big Power Development.
Ford engineers announce that CON
sruction of the power plant to de-
velop $4,000 horsepower at High
Dam, near st. Paul. will start with
kSex fortnight. Auxiliary steam
plants also will be erected and cleo
tric blast furnaces installed to refine
pig iron. 1t is reported in the West
that Ford has bought an ore con-
centration plant and valuable iron
deposits at Babbitt. Mimi, from the
Mesabi Iron company.
The. Detroit manufacturers volun-
tary payment of over $4000,00O TO
the creditors of the Lincoln Motors
company has virtually put several
small manufacturers back on their
feet. The largest creditor received an
unexpected 100000.
The recent advances in wages TO
copper miners in Upper Michigan and
Butte mines have failed so far to
bring in the number of workers de-
sired. Although copper is steady
around the 11-cent mark. some of the
Michigan companies are not yet feel
| ing the benefit of the increase be-
cause they are still filling old sales
contracts made at the IA cent price
current last fall Executives of these
companies say that it may be several
months before it. is possible to take
| full advantage Of present prices IN
marketing copper.
Cotton Crops Prospects Improve.
Storms in the late winter have
meant an increase of many millions
dollars to southern cotton planters.
according to agricultural officials.
Conditions in Louisiana are now said
10 be slightly better than those of
1921 so far as the bell weevil is
concerned. In that year the yield
was 124 pounds of cotton TO the acre.
As result cotton will start off the
season under conditions which will re-
uuire weather especially favorable TO
the insects for them to iniure serious
ly the chances of making good
crop.
The Georgia Cotton Growers Co
Operative Association has mailed
checks aggregating $1.S00.000 TO its
members. These. represent advances
L<SsS bale on the spot cotton held
| BY the association. 1t is reported
that half the holdings Of the associa-
ton is yet to be marketed. None of
the product marketed through this
source was sold at less than "a cents
pound. The association is expected
TO market 20 per cent of the Georgia