Evening star., 1940-07-21
Defense Drive Brings
Unusual Summer e Z,
~.
Rise in Pay Rolls
Thousands Recalled;
July Activity Best
Since 1929
BY FRANK MacMILLEN,
Associated Press Business Writer.

mer upSWlng IN factory pay rolls
and employment, business reports
said today.
Many thousands Of workers, the
reports indicated, have found Jobs
in private industry since production
curves in steel, machine-building
arms factories and other plants
turned upward in May following a
winter and early spring business
slump.
Extending the summers advance,
latest figures in the Associated Press
weekly index of industrial activity
portrayed factory operations gen.
orally at the highest July level since
1929. This gauge of industry has
climbed from 936 late in April to
1867 per cent of the 1929-30 level.
A year ago it was 9o4.
Rail loadings, electric power con-
sumption. cotton textile manufac-
turing, steel output and residential
building all have contributed to
further gains the last few weeks.
The giant motor industry
leader in the earlier stages of the
rise-is making an early shift
production of new models this ,..,
causing falling off in assemblies
of old models.
Motor producers, however, have
felt the unusual summer push for
ward in a contra seasonal improves
ment in demand for automobiles.
Trade reports said July sales OF
cars may top the June total, upset.
ting the normal trend for June.
to-July decline.
Pay Rolls Expand.
Mirroring United States and Brit
ish spending for war equipment. as
we'll as business anticipation of a
boom in heavy industry when the
defense program gets into full stride,
trade data indicated additional exc
pansion in pay rolls at many in
dustrial communities.
Business commentators cited the
Federal Reserve Boards figures on
department store sales In the Phil
adelphia, Cleveland, Richmond and
Chicago Federal Reserve districts
where the bulk of industrial expan.
sion has taken place-store sales in
the four weeks ended July 13 were
10 to IA per cent larger than in the
comparable 1889 period.
Trade analysts attributed the i'm
provement in retail trade in large
part to industrial employment and
pay roll increases.
Steel pay rolls for this time Of the
year were estimated in trade circles
above the comparable 1929 figures.
Mills were running above So per cent
of capacity this week and a further
moderate gain was forecast for the
coming week.
Heavy construction-rated the
biggest single absorber of manpover
was expected to continue adding
to payrolls in the execution of large
Government contracts for shipways,
explosive plants, barracks, machine
shop extensions and other military
facilities.
Awards for Federal defense works
sent the weekly building compilation
Of the Engineering News-Record to
an unprecedented total of s217 O0e.-
900. The previous weekly peak was
sl81 900, 900 in March, 1880.
Set Record Breaking Pace.
Supplying big demand for power
in manufacturing. steel, construc-
ton and other industrial lines. elec-
tricity consumption was running at
a record breaking pace.
Despite the vigorous climb in the
business indices ordinarily watched
in financial circles, some analysts
argued they did not fully measure
the extent of the gains because they
failed to appraise closely the in
creasing output of war equipment.
Most indices, these analysts
pointed out, are constructed on a
peacetime production basis. In
coming months. they said, output
of tanks probably will increase rela-
lively faster than production of au-
tomobiles and larger share of in
dustrial energy will be diverted
toward guns rather than consumer
goods.
Out of step with the main march
toward higher levels were exports
of certain farm products, like cot
ton, and other goods which have
been shut off from the European
market since Germany got control
of most of the continent.
Likewise, speculative markets
stocks and commodities-continued
to shuttle slowly in the rearguard
of the business trend. Trading in
stocks remained the quietest In
many years.
Wall Street did little buying or
selling on the tradition -shattering
nomination of President Roosevelt
for third term.
War Developments Feared.
Some commentators suggested
markets were afraid of a sudden
business setback in this country in
event England, too, went down
under a Nazi blitzkrieg. British
orders have become an important
source of business for steel and
other lines. not counting the ex-
tensive buying of aircraft here.
Stressing this angle, the National
Association of Purchasing Agents
said in its latest bulletin on BUST
ness:
ut seems to be the concensus Of
purchasing men that the dominant
factor in the rise or fall Of COM
mercial levels In America over tho
next few months will be the rate
of success attained by the British
in their defensive home stand"
Spokesmen for the purchasing
agents attributed recent business
gains partly to stocking OF inven-
tories as precaution against the
time when deliveries Of numerous
items may be more difncult to pro-
cure" VI
: Even though defense plans are
slow in taking form here and &C.
tual progress toward fulnllment