Evening star., 1925-09-20
HUGE BUSINESS BOOM IN NATION
SEEN In PROSPERITY In STORES
Retail Business of Country Is Climbing Steadily and
the Greatest September in History Is Predicted
for the Man Behind the Counter.

out in August swept to the record
total for the month of 949 600 In
August of last year the number was
7S4 900.
Nine chain systems of drug stores
report II per cent increase in bust
ness last August, over the preceding
one.
Grocery Stores Boom.
Twenty-seven chain systems of
grocery stores report 20 per cent
increase in total business for the
same periods.
Six chain systems of shoe stores re-
port per cent increase.
Four chain systems of music stores
say business is up 80 per cent
Five chain systems of candy stores
record an increase of 10 per cent
Department stores-359 all told.
scattered throughout the United
States-report an increase of per
cent.
Commercial failures increased about
per cent in number, but the total
liabilities Of the defunct firms dropped
more than $2,0O0,OOO below the liza
bilities of defunct firms reported in
August, 1924.
The foregoing figures were taken
from reports to the Federal Reserve
Il
latest word as to the country's bust
ness condition and prospects To cor
roDorate the accuracy of the upward
trend, as thus reflected, the Bureau of
Labor Statistics reports an increase of
IL per cent in its retail food price in
dex for July as compared with JULY.
1924. August figures are not yet com.
pleted.
Railroads See Prosperity.
Railroads with rising totals of car.
loads Of traffic say the story of the
coming business boom Is right. Late
ngures show loadings of nearly / 900
600 cars week and before the neak
OF tran1c Is reached next month q
record of 1,250,000 carloads handled in
a single week-notwithstand the
coal strike--probably will be hung I'm
as something for the future to shoot
az. There never has been anything
ike the volume of traffic that fs roll.
ing now over the rails; In fact the
nrst 100000 car week Of which there
Is a record bobbed up in 1920 and wa
nailed as wonderful mark at the
time. az 'he
Now that record will be bettered IN
all likelihood. by 25 per cent. In.
asmuch as 1920 marked the crisis of
our postwar industrial fever. as
Showh w IASH HRureS then recorded
on the business thermometer. todav,s
still higher readings show how far the
country has progressed since its great
wartime boom.
Record Christmas.
The present volume of retail busi.
ness throws a long shadow across
the coming holidays and presages q
Chrlstmas-for the merchants-the
like OF which the United States has
never known before.
Government. economists agree that
the almost unparalleled employment
conditions are largely Responsible for
the excellent showing. Returns TO
the Federal Government ernployment
service show no areas Of real unem.
ployment anywhere in the United
States, except for the white-collar
men. who never have been fully en-.
ployed and probably never will be go
long as they prefer store and ONCE to
factory and farm. The solitary ex.
ceptiOn to this rule is in the anthra.
cite fields Of Pennsylvania, and even
there the erstwhile mining hosts find
little difficulty in obtaining other tenn.
porary employment at good wages.