The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-10-16

was in the Presidents mind, but the domestic economic situation was uppermost.
 Toward the closing days of the last congressional sesslon, when the crop control bill still was buried In the dust of the House Agriculture Committee, Joe Ken- nedy, dynamic chairman of the Maritime Commission, went to Roosevelt and urged the immedi- ate passage of that bill.
 "Rfere we are faced with . Ire.
 mendous cotton crop, MT. Presi-' dent" said Kennedy, who Is one
 of RoOsevelt's closest friends,
 land if farm prices drop, and
 the buying power of the farmer
 falls off, the whole industrial
 East is going to be thrown out
 of gear. We can't afford to lot farm Income 90 into . tail-
 spln."
 Roosevelt's push for the pas- sage of the crop control bill be- gan with that interview.
 The thAngs the President saw on his western trip made him ex- tremely optimistic, but the lnin- ute he got back to the White House he was surrounded with hrows furrowed over the stock market. He had already made up his mind to call on extra ses- sion. Suddenly, on his return, he added the flreside chav.
 REASONS for this were not mentioned, but actually the chat was calculated to throw out on aura of confidence to the inoguls Of big business who have been curtaillng orders as If the coun- try were headed into DARK BLUE HOOVER FUNK.
 Business Picture
 Sometimes the stock market is Q barometer of business, sonie- times 1t is not. This time either the market knew that c slump was coming, or else the markets un- certainty helped induce c slump.
 For, behind fifteen billions of values squeezed from securities during the last two months, are some none too encouraging fac. tors. Here are some of them:
 STEEL1-The backlog of orders in the steel industry has been pretty well used up. Official fig- ures show steel mills operating ct 63 per- cent. However, Philip Murray of ClO's Steel Workers Organising Committed, who keeps his car closer to the ground than any figures, estimates Pittsburgh steel mills operating only 4B per cent. Mills making light steel are operating almost full time.
 RAILROADS.-haVe stopped oil steel orders, are manufacturing no more COTS, have laid off their shop men to such on extent that they haven't been able to supply enough coal cars in the West Vir- ginia bituminouy field. However, this may be deceptive. one motive for the recession probably is to bluff the Brotherhoods with whom they are now wage dickering; also to bluff the Interstate Commerce Commission with which they are rate dickering.
 TEXTILES -- Southern cotton mills are running two and threo days 6 week. Most of them pro- duced their fall goods In the spring when cotton was i4 cents Q pound. Now that cotton is eight cents, they must sell at loss.
 ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT - operating for the most part ct capacity. However, there has been such c shortage of skilled work CTS in this industry, that some of the big power companies or- dered dynafnoS, turbines, etc, two years in advance, to Do sure of delivery. Some of these orders now are being cancelled.
 AUTOMOBILES--Productio iS holding Up, due partly to the scar- city caused by last springs strikes, but no forecast is possible until November after the public hes seen the new models.
 CAPITAL GOODS-industries in general enjoyed c good year, but began curtailing orders in midsummer, apparently afraid of . slump. This curtailmont has affected other industries. Also the psychology has spread.
 BHOES--AuguSt and September usually are the peak production months in preparation for tho winter buying, but reports to the CIO, which follows these things closely, show shoe factories oper- ating only about two or three days c week.
 CLOTIEIN0-Both the Amal- gamated Clothing Workers and the International Ladies Garment