Evening star., 1949-11-20
Labor Peace Brings
Strong Upsurge in
Trade and Industry
By 6. A. Phillips
Assoeiafsd Press Business Writer

IIouC QIIu IUuuSuy
By 6. A. Phillips
Associated Pres, Business Writer
NEW YORK, Nov. 19.-Free OF
Gripping strikes for the first time
in two months, business and in
dustry made a strong recovery
this week.
Almost all important indicators
of activity pointed higher, with
the rebound most pronounced in
the steel mills and coal mines.
Retail trade recovered sharply
in areas that had been hard hit
by the lack of purchasing power
of strikers and registered a mod
est increase over the preceding
week in other areas. Overall
volume was still under that of a
year ago, when the national econ
omy was bouncing along at an
annual gross product rate of $780,
000, 200, 900, highest in history. ut
is estimated to be currently run
ming at a $250-$255 billion an
nual rate)
The stock market shook of a
two-week decline and went into
a sustained advance that more
than regained all the ground lost
during the repeated retreats in
the closing stages Of the labor
troubles. Investment rated issues
made a good showing in the bond
department and the few new
money issues that were brought
out for investor appraisal received
an approving nod.
Textile Market Busy.
One of the most significant
events of the week occurred late
Thursday. A buying drive of size
and force developed suddenly in
the New York textile market. 1t
sent prices higher and carried for
ward bookings far into next year
for some types Of goods before
1t ended.
Economists saw in this develop
ment a vote of confidence in bust
ness trends in the first half of next
year on the part of high-trained
experts who keep close check on
conditions in the so-called con-
sumner industries.
A big gathering Of radio manu-
facturers in New York brought
out reports of booming business
not only in television sets but in
radios as well.
President Truman told q New
England Council meeting he be-
lieved the country was over the
worst part of the adjustment that
had to come after the inf1ationary
boom we experienced last year.
and Jack Straus, president of the
big Macy Department Store chain
told his stockholders the Nation
wide downward trend in retail sales
appears to be at an end.
Secretary of Commerce Sawyer
added up the box score at the con-
clusion of a five-month grass
roots" tour that carried him 1000
miles and found no reason why
business should not resume its up
swing once the kinks caused by
the strikes are Strengthened out.
Statistics Show Rebound.
This weeks business chart
bristled with convincing evidence
that no time would be lost in
shifting into high gear after the
long period of slow decline during
the labor disputes.
While the coal industry faced
an uncertain future because of
the almost complete lack of spe-
cific action to bring about peace
in that troubled industry, the
400, 1000 or so miners who were at
work brought up an estimated
100000 tons.
Steel mills hummed with activ-
ity as more and more furnaces
were brought into production. The
operating rate was officially esti-
mated at 81 per cent of capacity,
but probably exceeded that figure
due to better than looked for
progress in bringing some Of the
larger mills around to the firing
up stage.
Carloadings also picked up as
coal drags and other heavy freight
began to take on a normal pattern.
A total of 635,823 compared with
578,981 in the preceding week and
with S71 .679 a wear ago.