Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-16
|S|GNS OF BUSINESS
PICKUP ARE SEEN
Several Lines Expected to
Show Substantial Gains
in Near Future.
BY J. C. RoYLE.

Business is gathering momentum.
The pickup Of the business machine
has been slow, but it Is now moving at
pace which 1t win soon be difficult
to check.
Merchants are approaching the time
when buying is heavy, and they are
making preparations for active tAlera-
lions. Their shelves are not empty but
lightly burdened. They know TINT 1t
is as costly to be without goods l\len
the public wants them as it is toN be
overstocked with goods when the public
replenish stocks are having a direct
effect on the manufacturing and distri-
button fields.
Clothing Needs. q
Within the next month millions of
school children and college students
will have to be outfitted. It is a con-
under IL years old has at least $40
spent on school outfits each Fall. There
are some 24000,000 boys and girls In
this country between the ages of and
10, and the total expenditure for school
and college outfits this Fall is ex-
pected to exceed $350,000 900. This Is
a conservative estimate.
Some 100000 pairs of school shoes
are made each year The textile mills,
the cotton and wool and leather pro-
ducers, the clothing trades, book pub
fishers, printers, paper manufacturers
and a score of other lines will benefit.
as well as the retail merchants. To
large extent these expenditures are
compulsory. Even if the purchases are
reduced to bare necessities. the aggre-
gate will be large, and the volume Of
money put into commercial circulation
will be great
Meantime the steel mills are rum
ming at fairly satisfactory rate. The
volume of public work construction Is
growing constantly, although attempts
to put life into home building have
given few signs of success. The tenn
porary check which was given the
automobile industry by the shutdown
of some of the big plants is now prov
ing its value. Stocks of cars have
been reduced and production has been
brought well in line with consumption.
Radio Trade.
The radio trade is looking up, espe-
cially in the export division. Foreign
sales are most satisfactory to producers,
and the prospects are for big volume
of business later in the year. The elec-
trical equipment manufacturers are
doing SplendidIy and each Is addlns
new products in order 70 keep pro-
ducing and sales forces fully employed.
The anthracite and bituminous coal
producers are doing only moderately
well, despite the demand for coal which
has resulted from the low water in the
streams furnishing hydro electric
power The sale of oN-burntnG
furnaces this Summer has been heavy,
and the coal producers are likely &c
have to fight hard for their domesttc
markets the coming Winter. q
Oil production is gradually decreas-
ing, while gasoline consumption con-
tinues at record heights, but gasolinr
stocks still are of huge proportions, ant
the industry still has far to go before
1t is in q satisfactory condition. Nat
ural gas developments are sure to he'll
it, however, before the close of tn
year. Low prices for non-ferrour
metals have not stimulated buying r.
any great extent, but the curtailment
of production gradually is improvinf
the technical position Of copper Leaf
copyright. 1901