Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-01-31
Fifth District Report
For 1889 Shows
Improvements
DC. Well Out in Front
In Building, With
Entire Area Gaining
8y the Associated Press.

By the Associated PreSS.
RICHMOND, Va, Jan. 31.-Cot-
ton textiles, rayon and construc-
ton work led in 1889 in continued
improvement in business and in
dustry in the five-State area which
forms the Fifth Federal Reserve Dis
tr1ct
The district bank, in a detailed
survey of 1889, said:
CONSTRUCTION work not only eX-
ceeded 1888 work but was also
greater than for any other year
since 1929. City building permits
issued in 1889 exceeded 1898 per-
mits by IS per cent, and contracts
awarded for all types of work,
both rural and urban, were Is per
cent higher.
THE cotton textile industry was
very active in the district in 1889
and consumed more cotton than in
any earlier year, while rayon mills
shipped the largest poundage of
yarn since the industry began
Rayon mills, although operating at
capacity were unable to keep pro-
ductlon up to shipments in the
last half of 1889, and reserve stocks
were reduced almost to the vanish
ing point.
Tobacco Manufactures Up.
Tobacco manufacturing eX-
ceeded that of 1888 in all lines
except smoking and chewing to-
bacco. Cigarettes, of which the dis
trict makes more than 80 per cent,
rose 5 per cent in output in 1889
over 1888.
SALES of new automobiles rose Al
per cent in 1899 over 1888 and retail
trade as reflected in department and
furniture store sales rose 4 per cent
and 10 per cent. respectively"
The fifth district includes Virginia,
MARYLAND, West Virginia, North and
South Carolina and the District OF
Columbia.
There was some seasonal recession
in December. but retail trade held
above the usual level for that month.
Department store sales were per
cent above the last month OF 1888;
furniture sales 10 per cent, and
automobile sales per cent. Con-
struction work, as recorded in per-
mits and contracts, was under
December, 1888, said the bank, due
in part to high 1888 figures and
very bad weather last month"
d. C. Leads in Building.
The report said, washington, with
(building) permits aggregatlng 81
42O.925 in December, led all fifth
district cities Gin that month"; by
a wide margin, Baltimore ranking
second with only S765,455, Norfolk
third with s242,058, Richmond fourth
with S234,413 and Greensboro fifth
with s2o1,794
All construction contracts in the
district during December totaled
s22 1853 900, which was 7 per cent
under November, 1889, and Al per
cent under December, 1888. How
ever, contracts awarded during all
of 1899 amounted to S377,47 900,
which was 10 per cent greater than
the 1888 total.
The bank noted that the jan
uary Rayon Organon said the mar
ket for that product was maintained
during 1889 at the highest level
in the history of the industry. Ship
ments outran production so much
in the last half of the year that
reserve stocks of yarn declined from
$4,000 900 to 100000 pounds. A
number of reasons were offered by
the bank for this activity.
The bituminous coal output in
the first district totaled 119,226,000
tons last year, as compared with
LOG $4,000 tons the year before, and
the December production was So per
cent greater than that of the CORE
spending month of 1898.