Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-12
-GA|N IN AIR TRAVEL
IS FORECAST SOON
Rickenbacker Believes Public
win Increase Patronage
of Planes.
BY JOHN F. SINCLAIR.
elal ntsnatrh IN The Etar

GTdVel JfllS summer! IL VIII reaCn the
high tide-far understanding any pre-
.eVtous record
= This is the prophecy of Capt. E. "
Rickenbacker. the American ace, now
s2vice president of the Fokker Aircraft
Corporation.
Z Capt. Rickenbacker believes that the
: aircraft companies made a mistake in
:. thinking that the time-saving element,
which so appeals to big business execu-
'.tives could be made the basis for the
charges sufficient to warrant a large
business. But directors of business en-
terprises hesitated to become air-mind-
ed. Many refused to sanction air-travel
: by their officers. Because of this, air.
plane companies have turned from high
rates and the high rate customers to
low rates and the more lowly customers.
y The new slogan tell it to Sweeney,
the AStorbiltS know is the basis of
new and growing business, according to
Capt. Rickenbacker.
The Fokker Co. is speeding up pro-
duction of its 32-place planes with all
the resources at its command. The
demand for these planes is expected to
be followed by. demand for the smaller
planes for feeder lines.
"CrlSS-croSSing from Cleveland to
Los Angeles and from Spokane and
Winnipeg to San Francisco and FL PaSo
today, finds planes crowded. CONNER
-ciAl travellers, woman touristS-just the
average sort of folk you meet in every
day Pullman cars" says the war ace.
The luxury rate days are over. The
new emphasis is placed where it will be
most effective-with the great mass Of
Americans. e.
One hears much about the big three"
In the motion picture held, but there
are more than a dozen motion picture
companies doing a national producing
and distributing business.
In the field of production, the first
IL companies rank about in the order
named: Paramount-Publix Corporation,
Warner Brothers, Fox Films, Metro
:" Goldwyn-Mayer. First National Pic
!: lures, Radio-Keith-O rpheum, United
Artists, Universal Pictures, Pathe Ex-
change, Educational Film Exchanges,
Columbia Pictures Corporation and Tiff
.fany Productions.
Today no one company controls the
entire distribution field. There are more
than 400 chains of theaters, of which
F'only flve are actually afhliated with film
companies. Paramount's chain is oper-
ated by its own subsidiary company
s,,publix Pictures-while Fox's movie
houses work under the Fox Theaters
Corporation.
Loew's, in which Fox has a Al per
cent stock interest, Is strong in New
York City, while United Artists and
Radio-Keith each have a number of
theaters throughout the country.
=. Universal, which specialized on coun-
try theaters, and at one time operated
several hundred, has been reducing It's
number in the last few years.
Brazil's problems center around cof-
fee, United States in cotton and wheat
.Canada's In wheat and Japan's in silk
Japan'S foreign trade Is largely built
around silk. Today her slim market is
glutted. There's more silk in the world
!. than there Is demand for. Since last
: May, the price Of silk has been slipping
down. The, real reason, outside of the
rise in the yen, is the sudden drop in
American buying. Why? Let's put the
blame on the November stock market
break.
Then to add to Japan's dificulty
italy has increased her production OF
silk. Europe bought only 9,174 bales OF
Japanese silk from July, 1928, to Feb
rnary, 1929, as contrasted with %, 467
bales during the same period the year
before.
So 100000 employees in japanese silk
factories are working only part time.
Getting away from percentages, what
DO things cost anyway?
In New York City, where 100000
consumers live, No. hard wheat sold
last week for $1.1212 a bushel, as against
81.23 a month ago and $1.39K a year
ago No. yellow corn sold at 81 cents
bushel, as against $1.O4A month
ago and $l.16 q year ago. Coffee. No.
Rio, sold at 10A cents a pound. as
AGAINST 18k cents a wear ago.
creamery extra butter sold at 36 cents
o pound last week, as against so cents
pound q year ago. First fresh eggs at
25ss cents dozen, as against 38A cents
q year ago. So much for foods.
Now let's look at the textiles. Cot
ton, middling, brought IA cents last
week, against 81 2-3 cents year ago.
Raw silk, white, 1915. commanded
S4.e712 a pound, as against $5.67H2 Q
year ago. Fine Montana secured wool
commanded 79 cents a pound, as against
Sl.0712 year ago.
What about rubber and hides? Rib
smoked sheets of rubber brought 1914
year ago." Calfskins to IL pounds,
commanded $2.45 each, as against So q
year ago. Pennsylvania crude oil, $2.70
q barrel last week and $4.10 a year
ago.
Take metals. Spot lead was 1920
cents q pound last week, as against VA
cents year ago. and prime West zinc
was cents a pound last week, as
against 7-20 cents year ago.
Thus, in the field of foods, textiles,
metals, rubber, hides and oil, we find a
big drop over those prices prevailing a
year ago.
Still, lower prices are not an unmiti-
gated curse to all claSses-to the unem-
ployed and to those with small incomes,
to name only two groups.
Change - reorganization more
change! Such is the law Of life. It's
the law of business, too.
DR.. Willis A. Gibbons. research chief
Of the United States Rubber Co., puts
in a boost for research.
His example is a striking one. In the
year 1918 a comfortable suit of clothes
cost SIS. A rubber tire, good for $500
miles, cost also SIS. Today suit OF
clothes costs $50, while a tire, which Il
guaranteed now for $4,000 miles, can be
secured for $40.
The price of a suit Of clothes equaleo
the cost of $500 miles Of tire travel ir
1918, as compared with $4,000 miles to-
day--a 30-fold increase.
The Gibbons conclusion is that re-
search has done far more in the field Of
tires than 1t has in the field of clothes
There are many leaders in the cloth
ing industry that will not object to that
statement, for they know it is correct.
Copyright, 1880, by North American News.
paper Alliance.)