The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1940-12-05
"BEHIND THE SCENES IN
AMERICAN BUSINESS"
By John Croddock
NEW YORK, Dec. 2-BUSINESS-Decks clear

NEW YORK, Dec. 2-BUSINESS-Decks clear.
ed after a November in which four holidays or semi
holidays-one every week-caused some slow-downs
ELECTION day, Armistice day and two Ihanksgiv1ngs)
retail trade in plunging optimisticany into a four
weeks drive leading to the top holiday of them all,
Christmas. Many experts are predicting the period
from now to Yuletide will see heaviest buying rush
of its kind in 10 years. Expanding payrols and in
creased employment, primed by increasing United
States and British spending for arms, set the stage
for a very busy December National Retail Dry Goods
association, surveying $1,000 leading stores, estima-
ties cash registers will ring up $4,000 JUAN
increase of eight per cent in dollar volume
Experts estimate that 100000 persons previously
unemployed have found jobs since the beginning OF
the year, and predict that at least that many more
probably a bigger number-will find work in l94l.
WAR AND THE F~ARMER-What is the Euro
pean conflict doing to agriculture? A whole continent
of markets for U. S. farm produce is being an
initiated but America will spend five billion
extra dollars on defense next year, and farmers
expect added payrolls in defense industries will boost
buying power tremendously and help sell many more
bushels of apples and pecks of spinach right here
at home. Losses in foreign markets are further Off
set by the increased efficiency of Americas domestlc
surplus-disposal machine. An increasingly effective
cog in this machine today is the "producer-consumer
drive as conducted by chain stores to help market crop
exceSSeS. MdThetlHS TcpoIto Nv
sumer' drives staged by mass distributors at the
request of growers have helped boost consumption
of some farm products as much as 20 per cent dur
ing emergency periods in the first eight months OF
1910.
.
BITS o. BUSINESS-Thirty-four of country's
biggest department stores surveyed the likelihood OF
draft calls affecting their personnel; found that, on
the average, 1873 per cent Of all employees were
eligible. OF these, 89 per cent were men between
81 and SO without direct dependents The south
is beginning to lose its fear of the economic effects
of the mechanical cotton picker, which next year
will be produced in considerable quantities. Labor
shortage, acute in some spots this year, may grow
sharper as defense drive takes more workers, max
ing the machines welcome requirements of human
hands Retail sales of automobiles continued
through November the brilliant pace of October,
many makes setting alltime highs; Chevrolet has
already hit the 300, 900 mark in production of 1941
models Daniel Willard, who will be 80 next
January %, handed in his resignation as president
of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad the other day
for the tenth time in years-an as usual it vas
declined. He's been prexy since January 10, 1910
BUSINESS TURNS AMBASSADOR Private
business in the United States is taking an ever more
active part in fostering better understanding among
the American republics. While the State departments
division of cultural relations has begun distribut-
ing thousands of American books to the Latin ma
tions, efforts of private business firms are trying in
nicely in a general effort to acquaint South Ameri
cans with their Yankee %neighbors. Examples: Schen-
ley Dstillers corporation has begun publishing a
magazine interesting features of life in the Unitet
States for its customers in the southern hemisphere
Readers Digest has inaugurated a Spanish edition for
the South American trade, and the radio networks are
increasing their volume of short wave transmissions
to the Latin nations following surveys which showed
a tremendous listener interest.
THINGS TO WATCH FOR-Square milk bottles
not cardboard ones, but glass. Latest sortie in
the battle Of the glass bottle industry to hold the
milk trade, these are said to effect a 80 percent
saving in space, 20 per cent in weight, and can be
used on standard filling and sterilizing machines
Pocket flashlights that can be re-charged by plugging
into an ordinary electricity outlet-because they use
storage battery instead of customary dry cells; a
special design prevents spilling battery water
Glass airplane wings! Well, not solid glass, but fine
spun glass fabric is proposed as wing covering
Glass fiber also is coming into use Importantly as
tape for electric wire insulation - won't burn out
as happens so frequently with ordinary electric cords
on irons and toaster. An electric coffeemaker
with a built-in switch that automatically shuts off
the current when the water passes into the upper
bowl Canned French-fried potatoes
Chewing gum using southern pine pitch as a base
instead of the hard-to-get chicle from Yucatan.