Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-03-16

orally is down, but not too
report they're doing better thar
the beginning Of last year.
Almost everyone is optimistic
although there is general agree
ment there is more competition
and harder work is necessary to
get the consumers dollar.
Spending Has Slowed
Hardly anyone denies that
the consumer, as a whole, has
the money to spend. But he l.
spending q little less thar
usual.
And the reason he Is, &C
cording to the nearly unani-
nous view Of businessmen AND
bankers, is that he's scared by
the letters he gets from his
home town and by the reports
he hears and reads about tough
times in other parts OF the
country.
Some other sections Of the
country are having a rough pc
Rod. But, say the local experts,
that Is no reason for the Dis
trict to have a recession.
What other section Of the
country, they ask, has such q
stable work force and payroll
that's not affected at all by
what people buy or manufac-
ture?
Point to Pay Raise
Government emplo y m n t,
they contend, isn't dropping:
it's bound to increase. The
Forthcoming Government pay
raise will wipe out the increase
Of prices that has taken place
since the last pay raise.
And once. the Government
raises its pay. private employers
in the area are almost forced
to follow suit in order to keep
their employees.
Union officials last week said
about 1000 Of their member
ship of $4,000 in construction
trades were out of work. Build
ing projects under way were
about equal to those Of the
same period of 1857. However.
new projects. both private and
Government. are expected to
reduce the jobless materially
within the next three months.
It's only natural for the Dis
trict to hear so much about a
recession and to worry about it.
the local experts agree, because
Washington is the Capital OF
the Nation and all the informa-
ton about the national picture
emanates locally.
At the same time, all the pres
sure for national action is con-
centrated here.
The Money" View
This view of the situation is
denied by labor representatives.
j. C. Turner, first vice president
of the Greater Washington
Central Labor Union. says the
decline in local business activity
is due to the high interest rates
that we're imposed by this adj
ministration."
Mr.. Turner, who contends
there is now less work in the
area than at any time since
1878, says the interest rate
slowed down consumer credit to
such an extent that people were
unable to buy or to build. This
threw people out of work, he
says. In any event, he adds. the
District situation is nowhere
near as bad as it is elsewhere in
the Nation.
Mr.. Turner's credit views are
disputed by Clarence Burton,
longtime Washington banker
and chairman of the board of
the City Bank.
Relatively Few JObless
Mr.. Burton says fatty: "I
have yet to know of anyone
here who needed to borrow
money who has not been able
to get 1t if he had q good credit
rating. He couldn't always get
money at 2 or 3 per cent. how
ever
II don't think there's any
thing for anyone to get into a
sweat about in the District of
Columbia" Mr.. Burton adds.
District unemployment, up to
$4,000 in the February report
of the United States Employ
ment Service, was 81 per cent
of the total labor force COM
pared to a So per cent figure
for the Nation. Thus. says Mr..
Burton, District unemployment
is relatively small.
Small business in the area is
hurting. he says, because the
small businessman has less
capital to work with and any
decline in consumer buying, or
any tightening of credit by his
suppliers hits him hard.
But. he adds, the situation
can't be too bad If "they can
put a million dollars through
the pari-mutuel windows at
Bowie" He continues: IF the
weather hadn't been so bad in
Florida, you wouldn't have been
able to get a reservation there
to save your life"
Period Of REIMBURSEMENT
"We're in a period OF re-
adjustment that any capitals
tic economy has to go through.
Businessmen just have to get
of their chairs and 60 to
work." he concludes.
This idea that harder work
will pull up the department
store sales that we're 4 per cent
under 1857 for the FIRST two
months Of this year is con-
Cured in by Andrew Parker,
president Of Woodward g.
Lothrop.
Mr.. Parker, who reports that
his store is finding its business
even better than a year ago,
L 4. = H..