Evening star., 1940-07-22
6tore Sales Reflect
Rising Industrial
Employment
Volumes at Factory
Centers Boosted by
Defense Drive
BY PAUL d. GESNER.

NEW YORK, July 22.-Cash reg
tsters in retail stores in scores of
Industrial towns throughout the
Nation are jingling louder these
days, taking in dollars from ex-
banded pay rolls in industries pro-
ducing or getting ready to turn out
defense materials and products for
the Government.
Some plants are working on in
Ptial orders in connection with $13,-
poo, 100000 of projected Federal de-
fense spending, but most peace
ime heavy industries are speeding
butturn of non-defense orders
pairing down the untitled contracts
on corporation books so that the
green light" may be given Gov
ernment business in the busy DAYS
looming for fall.
Inventories Go Down.
merchants by the score have been
Hught asleep at the switch and,
IN mems wear especially, New York
wholesale houses report frantic re-
quests for goods to fill rapidly
emptying shelves. Walking the
bear track of hand-to-mouth pur-
cnaslng since they overbought in
1887. key retail proprietors on every
hand are admitting they under
guessed current demand.
Retail merchants are not the sole
beneflciaries of expanding indus
trial pay rolls, however. All work
and no play makes Jack a dull bov.
me Old saying goes, and new pros
perity in factory centers is reflect
ing itself in doubling and tripline
pf receipts at amusement parks,
pog tracks, motion picture theaters,
auto salesrooms, gasoline stations.
peer stubes and ice cream parlors.
Movie Attendance Up.
Especially welcome to film execu-
tives has been the quickening of
motion picture attendance. On TOP
OF loss OF large part of the foreign
export market because of the Eu-
Fopean war, radio and other at
fractions lately had been cutting
sadly into the film business.
Samuel Goldwyn, motion picture
executive, recently estimated movie
attendance had dropped to around
65 600, 900 admissions weekly. con-
trasted with 100000 a few years
ago.
Collections of old bills are re-
ported improving in some towns
booming under heavier orders for
machine tools, airplanes, merchant
ana Warships, armor plate and mis-
celianeous munitions. A large num-
Der of recipients of fatter pay en-
Velopes use part of their first extra
Dollars in boom periods to reduce
personal Indebtedness.
Credit Sales Watched.
The great fear OF many economists,
however, is that bigger industrial
pay rolls may expand to dangerous
peak load of installment purchases
carried by many industrial workers.
When Slight recession follows a
boom period in town where time
purchases are large, consumer
fredit often not only abruptly coll
apses, to the detriment of stable
trade, but wave of reclamation of
fefrigerators, vacuum cleaners and
automobiles follows.
Some added pay roll dollars con-
inue to pour at rapid rate
nto residential construction. Home
building for the first half of the
year ran 7 per cent ahead of last
year and the biggest since 1929, with
indications the second half of the
year will be equally favorable. More
pver, building of new F.. H. A.
Insured homes under title II in the
Fecond week of this month was 48
per cent above the like week last
year, indicating in part the rising
impetus that heavier pay rolls
have given residential construction
recently.
Retail sales for the year to date
averaged about per cent above the
ike 1899 period. At industrial CEN
fers the past week they ranged from
to Is per cent above the cor
Responding week year ago.