Evening star., 1939-09-24
u. 5. Industry Sets
Best Pace Since
October, 1887
Growth Of Domestic
Demand Is Major
Foctor So Far
BY SMITH REAvIs,

| ny 6MAXn nEAVlS,
| Associated Press Financial Wri.sf,
NEW YORK, Sept. 23.-The blast
furnaces. mills, railroads and other
productive forces of the United
States clattered along this week at
their best gait since October, 1887,
and registered the sharpest period
to-period rise In almost five years.
Stimulation came to some extent
from orders generated from neutrals,
very slightly as yet from belligen-
ents needing our products as a
result OF Europe's war, but mostly
through enlargement of domestic
demand. Some factories went on a
three shift basis and clerical forces
were overwhelmed with the wealth
of inquiries.
Paced by steel, which reported a
wide gain In activity, almost every
branch of industry joined the for
ward movement. Cotton and woolen
textile mills hummed with renewed
speed In an attempt to keep up with
the flood Of business offered them.
Railroad freight carloadings. which
show how the Nations trade is NOV
Ing, were boosted on the basis Of
preliminary reports, well above nor
NAL expectations, and ships began
loading cargoes for foreign ports.
Neutrals More Active.
Foreign inquiries far exceeded &C.
tual buying. Neutrals were much
more active than belligerents In in
quiries in most fields.
In the third full week of hostilities
many businessmen warned against
buying too far ahead and, as the
Dun & Bradstreet survey put it,
there were efforts of the sellers
themselves to curb excited buying
and to restrict bookings to orders
which could be filled within a short
time.
Whether the demand within the
country was inspired by fear of
higher prices later on. and therefore
a preliminary stocking up, or reflect
ed a stimulated expension of
the trade recovery which had ap-
peared in early summer, was con-
jectural, businessmen said. Perhaps
both explanations were partly cor
rect.
The attitude of industry generally
appeared to be that it didn't want to
be stampeded into an appearance of
false recovery that might cave away
like an under-cut bank on a swift
river.
War means years of blackout of
prosperity" said William B. Warner,
chairman Of the Executive Commit
tee of the National Association Of
Manufacturers. Others urged that
good times" based merely on the
profits from conflicts might prove
indigestible later on. Warner said
the anti-profiteering pledge of the
association had been indorsed widely
by leaders in industry and that
scores of companies are issuing
statements to their customers tell
ing just what their production posi-
bilities are and giving assurances Of
price stability for definite periods"
Staple Prices Jump.
In the meantime. wholesale COM
modify prices, many of which are
controlled from abroad. jumped
again. The Associated Press index
of IS staples was at its best since
December "a, 1887. Prices Of some
goods sold directly to the consumer
advanced. but the average increase
was considerably less than in the
last two weeks. The wholesale food
price index which had moved up %
cents in the preceding fortnight
gained only / cent in this period.
The business rise led to more en-
ployment. Secretary of Labor Per-
kins estimated about 100000 addi-
tional workers had been employed
by American factories since the be-
ginning Of the war. and of these, a
large number must have started
this week. Thousands more went to
the mines and railroads.
Supporting, some said, the theory
that renewed activity was stimu-
lated continuation of the summers
reversal of procedure was the fact
the Associated Press index of indus
trial output moved higher for the
tenth successive week to 101 per
cent Of the 1929-30 average, COM
pared with 81 last week and 1875 a
year ago. 1t was the widest Jump
since July. 1894.
Steel Operations Soar.
The advance was due largely to
an increase in steel mill operations
to 1913 per cent of capacity, against
70.2 the preceding week and 473 q
year ago; a record peak in electric
power output: an acceleration Of
textile mill activity; a heavy in
crease in freight carloadings and a
new high for the year In residential
building.
Steel mills were flooded with
orders from domestic sources and
were said to be inclined to discour-
age inquiries from belligerents for
the moment, one of which, England
was reported in the market for
200, 900 tons. There was an increase
of bookings, however, for South
America and Canada.
| AS far as domestic orders are con-
cerned, Iron Age" said: "The expec-
tation that rising costs will force
some steel companies to charge
higher prices before the year-end is
causing steel users to protect them
selves to the fullest possible extent"
Because of this the mills continued
to allocate orders and to avoid any
that appeared speculative.
In the meantime. scrap steel in
Pittsburgh in the last 10 days has
risen $3.50 to $3.50 q ton to the