Evening star., 1932-12-09
BUSINESS RETAINS
GAINS CRED|TABLY
Bradstreet'S States Interest
CenterS in Events on
Capitol Hill.
BY the Associated Press.

NEW YORK, December 9.-The cur
rent issue of Bradstreet's will say:
Business during the last week has
taken time out to observe ttr opening
ceremonies of the great p& Zeal arena
at the Nations Capital. It ealizes the
essential bond between government
which exacts one-third Of the national
income and recovery. Business in the
meantime is holding its lines creditably
in spite of the failure of certain signs
of activity to show desirable vigor.
THE special reports from SIS centers
to Bradstreet'S Weekly show that re-
tail trade is pointing to the holiday
peak in sales. The general consensus
is that advance volume is satisfactory,
although achieved at a price which
leaves little in the way of profit for the
stores.
Labor Resists Cuts.
'"The attempts of communities and
particular organizations to retrench in
order to permit survival has in some
instances run afoul the determination
of labor to resist the process. Butte,
Mont, reports a virtual paralysis of
trade due to the reluctance of labor to
accept cuts. The same diSinclination
to permit an adaptation to the exigent
circumstances of hard times is evident
in the opposition of municipal employees
to accept reductions in pay, the recent
pronouncement of the American Feder-
alton of Labor on the sanctity of wage
scales and in the lines of battle already
being drawn between the rail unions
and rail arrangements for the forth
coming discussion of further wage cuts
"The reports indicate that the hand
to-mouth buying policies of merchants
and manufacturers have reached an
acute stage. One manufacturer states
that he does not have enough stock on
hand to fill a single normal order. An
unusually large number of orders re-
ceived by jobbers in New York City call
for immediate deliveries, indicating the
low levels which inventories have
reached. Stocks of coffee and hard
coal are specifically reported as below
customary requirements at this time.
Complicated by States.
''This situation is not helped by the
laws of such States as Ohio, which place
tax upon inventories held at the end
Of the year.
THE heavy industries look a bit
brighter than they have for some weeks
The daily rate of pig iron production in
November was 81 042 tons, compared to
10000 tons in October. The rate of
steel operations during the past week
| moved up from 16 to II per cent of
capacity. Automobile output increased
! from 10,795 units to 11,158 and heavy
construction projects totaled $28,694 900
as compared to $19,327,oo0 for the
previous week. Bituminous coal pre-
duction Is almost at the same level as
year ago. New financing is up from
S10,054 900 to $29.086,00 Carloadings
showed a sharp decline from SIS, 1851 of
the previous week to 493, 1882 for the
last reported week. However, these last
reports covered the Thanksgiving week
and correction for this factor reveals
but negligible decline from the earlier
week.
Furthermore, reports from individual
roads for the week ending December 3
show that traffic Is holding up remark
ably we'll and may register an actual
increase after seasonal adjustment. On
the other side of the picture is slight
increase in failures from 463 to 478 and
a rise in bank suspensions from % to
&c. During the last two weeks bank
failures have exceeded the correspond
ing weeks of 1881. Commodity prices
have also suffered, the index of whole
sale food prices. compiled by Brad
streets Weekly, falling cents from
sl.72 to $l.67. This places the index
back where it was on November s.
Crop Reports Hopeful.
"Crop reports hold some hope for
commodity prices. Crop prospects in
Argentina are less favorable. Australia,
Russia and Rumania are no better
than fair. Conditions in the Texas
Panhandle are 60 per cent of normal,
while a great part of Oklahoma, the
Western third of Kansas and in Nebras-
ka the conditions are the poorest for
Winter wheat in recent years.
Moisture deficiency continues to in
crease and termination and growth Of
the Winter wheat plant is seriously
subnormal. Acreage of Winter wheat
for the 1888 harvest is estimated at 6.3
per cent below that of the preceding
year. On an average yield of 13 bushels
an acre this would account for a reduc-
ton of 100000 bushels in the next
wheat crop. As a matter Of fact, the
condition of the crop on December l
was only TAG per cent or normal, the
lowest ever reported for this date. and
compares with a condition of 794 per
cent for the last year and 10-year
average of 833 per cent. It Is signifi-
cant that millers are accumulating
cash wheat on az weak spots"