Evening star., 1932-11-12
BUSINESS VITALITY +.
S|GNSARE HOPEFUL.
However, Does
Not See Recovery From
Recent Suspense.
BY the Associated Press.

by the ASSCCldIeu FTeSS
NEW YORK, November 12-The cur
rent issue Of Bradstreet's will say:
Business has not yet. recovered from
the intense suspense which preceded the
election. Reports to Bradstreet's
Weekly from SIS key centers throughout
the country indicate that business is
rubbing its eyes and trying in the first
blush of complete consciousness to take
stock of the situation. The results Of
the election, though not unexpected,
seem to have been but dimly appre-
ciated until the issue was settled. Even
the security market, which has been
credited with a super-earthly power OF
anticipation, was caught fiat-footed and
is only now engaged In working out a
balance sheet of the future.
Signs of Vitality.
"The vitality of business is indicated
by a number of signs. In the first
place, the volume Of production and
distribution has held up in spite of the
retarding effect of the election. Chain,
retail and department stores report a
volume Of business in general below
the same period Of last year, but fully
as good as any time during the past
four months. Furthermore, the decline
in retail prices, accompanied by a
steady dollar volume in sales, indicates
that physical volume in terms of shoes,
coats, butter and eggs is better. than 1t
has been for some time. The specific
resistance of sales and production to
further declines is supported by the
more general indiceS of trade.
Conditions Improving.
"In the second place, advices from a
number of scattered cities indicate
progress of a more positive character.
Cleveland steel plants are operating on
a 36 per cent basis, with employment
improving IL per cent during the last
40 days. In Philadelphia hosiery mills
are working full time and have enough
back orders on hand to keep them busy
to the end of the year. Louisville
tells us that tobacco manufacturers are
working overtime to supply the demand.
Kitchen cabinet and novelty furniture
makers have good volume of business
with a backlog which will keep them
busy for 80 days Chicago notes an
increase in the production Of electrical
appliances. The work of the automo-
bile manufacturers on their new mod
els has stimulated life in the steel and
automotive auxiliary lines. In general
the Windy City is not only holding its
own, but moving into super r-depression
areas of activity. Similarly favorable
reports come from Newark and Sioux
City.
Fewer Failures
1.-THE third factor which demon
strates the vitality OF business is the
sustained downward trend In CONNER
cial and bank failures. The failures
index of Bradstreet's Weekly, which
allows for seasonal peculiarities, has
declined 22.2 per cent during the last
10 weeks. At this time of the year
business failures normally rise some
what like weddings in June. Instead
of mounting this year they have been
heading steadily for lower levels.I The
comparison with last year is also savor-
able. During the four weeks ending
November commercial failures totaled
1851 as compared to 2,111 for the same
period in 1881. In bank failures the
Improvement Is still more striking.
Twenty-Five banks bit the dust in the
week ending November 8 as compared
to 27 in the previous week and So in
the corresponding week Of 1881. TAX
ing the last four weeks the total of
bank failures Is 81, a reassuring con-
trast to the 1926 which failed in the
same period Of 1884,"