Evening star., 1939-07-15
First-Ha|f Earnings
Prove Encouraging
For Business
Buyers at New York
Appear Anxious to
Get Orders Placed
Special Dispatch to The Star.

0pCClhA AAopotCl w Auc StdI.
NEW YORK, July 15.-The broad
tenor of news this week was dis
tinctly encouraging, according to
Business Week today. Early cor
poration reports for the first six
months of 1899 made excellent read
ing alongside the dour profit and
loss accounts for the first half OF
1888.
Buyers coming to displays of fall
merchandise in New York not only
were optimistic, which is to be ex-
pected, but also they were mod.
erately anxious to get their orders
in, which is decidedly convincing.
They appeared at manufacturers
and wholesalers showrooms in large
numbers; they ever early, and they
seemed TO want fairly quick de-
liveries.
Apparently the persistent strength
IN consumers purchases of apparel
and household furnishings has taken
its toll of retailers stocks. AS a con-
sequence merchants in their rela-
tlonshlp with manufacturers will
not have everything their own way
IN the next few months. Which
bodies well for the general price
structure. Day in and day out de-
mand has-for the time being
broken through war fears and
political misgivings.
Steel Proves a Point.
Actual business statistics for this
week and last do not entirely sup
port these bullish findings, but that
| Is primary because of a peculiar
bias lent the figures by the Incl
dence of the Tuesday Fourth of
July. A good many factories
closed down on NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
employees four-day week end-and
as a consequence the week of July
8 had only four to five work days
instead Of the usual six.
Steel is neat illustration. Mills
ran at 543 per cent of capacity in
the week ended July /. The next
week the operating rate was only
1875 per cent-a 80 per cent drop. as
against a holiday expectancy of at
most 20 per cent. And the sharp
rebound to 49.7 per cent this week
just about proved the point.
Autos in Transition.
Automobile production also
dropped sharply-from 7O663 units
to 42,784. Here, how ever the holi-
day conceded with the model
change over period, hence only
served to emphasize the normally
steep downward trend. But some
manufacturers have recently come
under the influence of the sharp
snap-back In sales the last 10 days
OF June following desultory show.
ing early in the month. and are
considering prolonging 1889 model
operations. There's also desire tc
get bit ahead on car stocks lust
in case of strikes.
! Probably the most substantial
source of support of the current
business level is stability in gen.
erai purchasing power (Which is
aided, of course, by Government
spending). This has been amply evi-
oCllG III Icldll safes.
Ultimately this steady movement
OF merchandise over the counters
Will IND reflection in the capita
goods industries, even though it
seems at first look long way from
a chinaware buyers enthusiasm in
a wholesale display room to blue
prints on a drawing board. The
fact of the matter is that contracts
awarded in both factory and COM
mercial building have been doing
extremely well these last several
months. Indeed although one
month hardly makes a trend, it
is interesting to note that, while
Dodge total construction contracts
awarded fell in June, factory con-
tracts rose from s130O0,OOO to SIS
100000 and commercial building
contracts from $19,500,00O to s26,-
100000.