Semiannual Issue 
TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 

A Monthly Summary of Business and Economic Conditions in Texas 
BUREAU OF BUSINESS RESEARCH THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS 
VOL. XXVII, No. f> 6 TWENTY CENTS A COPY-TWO DOLLARS A YEAR JULY 1953 

Tin: f.o.b. Texas City 
The Longhorn Smelter in Texas City, only major source of refined tin in the Americas, poured out nearly half as much tin as U. S. consumers used last year. But the nation remains heavily dependent upon other, far-flung sources to help build a domestic stockpile of this nearly indispensable metal. At the beginning of World War ll, the nation was caught short. The chart below shows why such a shortage is unlikely to recur.Two circles, at center, represent the 1952 U. S. supply of tin, about I 03,000 long tons, and the year's consumption, less than half that amount. Most of the rest was stockpiled, an undisclosed portion of it for defense purposes. A report beginning on page 15 of this issue sketches the important place of the tin industry in Texas and the world. 

TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 
•

The Business Situation 10 Texas 
Nearly all phases of business in Texas showed an in­crease in June over May and established the first half of 1953 as the best six months ever experienced by busi­ness in the state. The composite index of business activity compiled by the Bureau of Business Research rose 2% in June to bring it to 297% of the 1935-39 base period. This level of the index has been exceeded only once, by the 300 registered in January 1953. The upswing between May and June was shown in most of the component series. Industrial power consumption remained un­changed, and five other series increased. Only crude runs to stills declined (-1% ) . The detailed changes in the component series are given in the following table. 
I N DEX OF TEXAS BUSINESS ACTIVITY AND COMPONEN T SERIES (adjusted for seMonal variation, 1935-39=100) 
Indexes  Weight  June 1953  May 1953  Percent change  
INDEX OF BUSINESS ACTIVITY  
(COMPOSITE)  ---------­--­-­-100.0  297•  291 •  + 2  
Retail sales, adjusted for price ch a nges....  47.7  251•  246  +  2  
Industrial power consumption -­-----------­-·­ 14.8  625  625  0  
Crude oil runs to stills --­----­----.----------------­· Electric power consumption -----­------------­-­ 4.5 3.0  220 749  222 678  -1 + 10  
:Miscellaneous  freight carloadings  -----------­ 17.6  145  143  +  1  
Urban building permits, adjusted for  
price cha n ges -----------------­------­---­----­---­Crude petroleum production ----­-----­--­--­- 3.8 8.6  212• 222  191• 211  + 11 + 5  

•Prelimina ry. 
The all-time high for the index in January was fol­lowed by a rather sharp drop in February, but March and April showed a rising trend. May witnessed another downward movement, which was reversed in June, leav­ing the level of business only slightly lower than at the beginning of the year. Month-to-month changes in the index can be seen in the chart at the bottom of this page. 
In spite of the fact that business has established a record, many businessmen are watching for indications that a change of direction is imminent. For this reason it seems wise to examine the extent of the boom that has established this new record, in the hope that this exami­nation will give some indication of the degree of sta­bility in the present situation. The average of the index of business activity for the first six months of 1953 was 295, an increase of 10% over the average for 1952. Re­tail sales, adjusted for changes in prices, increased 9% between the two periods. Total electric power and indus· trial power consumption increased considerably more than the composite (14 and 18%, respectively). Crude runs to stills and urban building both increased 7%, while crude petroleum production decreased 3%. 
The most dynamic element in the Texas business situa­tion has been the growth in industrial activity. New manufacturing plants--petroleum refining, chemicals, aircraft, automobiles, and many types of fabricating in· dustries-have been built in the state since the end of World War II. The industrial expansion in the United States stimulated by the start of the Korean war affected the Texas industrial picture significantly. The first half of 1953 saw the industrial expansion still in full swing. We have no direct data with which to measure the expan­sion in industrial activity, but since the use of electric power is affected by all changes in industrial activity, particularly power sold under the industrial rate, the changes in industrial power consumption have been used to measure the changing industrial activity. The fact that this series showed the greatest increase over 1952 of all components in the index of business activity is taken as corroboration of the assumption that industrial activity has been one of the most dynamic forces. 

TEXAS BUSINESS ACTIVITY 

Index • Adjusted for seasonaI variation • 1935-1939 "100 


1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 

The increased employment of industrial workers has resulted in increased disposable income in Texas from industrial sources, offsetting much of the decline in agri· cultural income that took place in the first half of 1953. With the stream of income to consumers well maintained, it followed more or less automatically that retail sales to consumers would stay at a high level. As long as dis· posahle income continues to increase, it can logically he assumed that retail sales will increase, except as savings and consumer credit affect consumer buying power. The question that deserves the most attention at the present time is not the level of consumer buying hut rather the decisions businessmen are making with respect to plans for expansion. 
Wholl!sale Prices in the U.S. 
Index •.1947-1949 • JOO 
120

120 110110 
100llO 
ID 
90 
" 

ll 
10 
60 
ID

" ijll ii.a IMI 11<2 1843 1114 1945 114' 1917 1941 1949 1150 1951 1552 195l 
Economists who are trying to determine what will hap· pen to business are not unanimous in their forecasts of the immediate future. One group holds that demand is still so strong that there will he no letup in the rate of business activity. Another group fears that the peak has been reached and that the level of business is going to decline and perhaps has already started down. This decline was expected by the second half of 1953, hut some analysts now believe that the second half of 1953 will be as good as the first. 
The picture for Texas business during the second half of 1953 is no clearer than for the rest of the country. One major question will be how fast building and indus­trial expansion taper off. The listing of new plants and additions to existing plants in Texas that is maintained by the Bureau of Business Research shows a slowing down; in fact, some major projects have recently been cancelled. The increase in interest rates threatens to slow down building operations, although permits issued by Texas cities rose 11% in June and for the first six months of 1953 were 11 % higher than the average for the year 1952. The tapering off of defense expansion has resulted in a reduction in some contracts held by Texas manufacturers, and it seems likely that still further reduc­tion is coming. There appears to he little doubt that the administration will still further reduce the number of contractors; with the armed services beginning to ap· proach their peak strength, the building of new facilities is about ended. The signing of the armistice in Korea probably will have little effect on the course of business, since it had already been discounted rather completely. 
- f  .,,-­ I'-... ,-.... I Ir' -....... ..... J J  


In spite of the fact that employment, consumer income, and retail sales are at all-time peaks, a slowing down of capital expansion in Texas and the rest of the country seems inevitable, and when it comes a reduction in total economic activity will result. The tremendous expansion since 1945 has filled most of the need for manufacturing capacity, including the equipment needed for munitions production. In other words, future capital creation will he to replace existing plant and equipment and to pro· vide for the growing population and rising standard of living. It does not appear likely that these factors will support a level of activity as high as the past eight years. 
One important result of the high level of business ac­tivity is the fact that inventories at the beginning of June totalled 77 billion dollars, an increase of 3% from Janu­ary 1. However, during the five months sales also in­creased, with the result that inventories per dollar of monthly sales increased only slightly. A different pic­ture is revealed when inventories are compared with their level of June 1950. Manufacturers' inventories have in· creased 50% during this period, while inventories per dollar of monthly sales have increased from $1.34 to $1.71. Over the same period, total business inventories increased 42%, and inventories per dollar of monthly sales have increased from $1.37 to $1.56. There is a general, uneasy feeling that too much of current output is going into inventories; if sales continue at their present high level, inventories are not too large, but if a reduc· tion in consumer demand should develop, the large stocks of goods could become a serious factor in the business situation. 
The index of bank debits rose 2% from May, which brought it to a level 15% above a year ago. The first six months of 1953 averaged 5% higher than the year 1952. The chart below shows that this index parallels rather closely the composite index of business activity and that both show the high degree of stability main· tained during the first half of the year. 
Banl< Debits in Texas 


Consumer prices in the United States rose in June, the fourth consecutive month of rise. Wholesale prices, which were higher on the average in May than in April, fell slightly during June. Prices of farm products and foods declined throughout June, hut industrial prices rose slightly during the last half of the month. 
JOHN R. STOCKTON 
TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 

TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 

Robert H. Ryan Managing Editor 
College of Business Administration, .The University of Texas 
William R. SpriegeL_.___________________Dean 
Business Research Council 
William R. Sprlegel (ez officio), A. Hamilton Chute, F. L . Cox, Elizabeth Lanham, R. H . Montgomery, and C. Aubrey Smith. 
STAFF OF THE BUREAU 
OF BUSINESS RESEARCH 

John R. Stockton Stanley A. Arbingast Marjorie T. Cornwell 
Director Assistant Director Research Supervisor Resources Specialist 
Stella Traweek A. Hamilton Chute Richard C. Henshaw, Jr. 
Cimsulting Statistician Retailing Speci<lliat Statistician 
Raymond V. Lesikar Robert H. Ryan Frank T. Cadena 
Research Associate Research Associate Research Asaociate 
Jo Overstreet Harvey B. Smith William S. Lowe Calvin Jayroe 
Research Assistant Statistical Assistants Offset Press Operator 
Judy Vaughan Beverly Webb 
Della Henry Jo Anne Horne Yvonne Hawn 

Secretaries Library Assistant Statistical Clerks 
Assistants 
Carroll Boudreaux, Robert Clayton, Floyd Eiland, Maurice Fried­man, Tom Greer. Olin Hardwick, Benny Hill, Vera Jeffrey, Bill McClelland, Gene Myrick, Jack Stillinger, Fred Varnado, and Newton Youngblood. 
Cooperatin6' Faculty 
A . B. Cox Elizabeth Lanham 
Prof•1NJor of Aaaista'lt.t Pro/BUMCotton Marketing of Management 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
Tin: f.o.b. Texas City ------------------------------------------------1 The Business Situation in Texas______________________________ 2 Construction --------------------------------------------------------------4 Retail Trade --------------------------------------------------------------6 Agriculture ---------------------------------------------------------------8 Texas Water Resources -------------------------------------------9 Industrial Production ----------------------------------------------10 Cotton ------------------------------------------------------------------------12 Labor --------------------------------------------------------------------------13 Finance ----------------------------------------------------------------------14 Local Business Conditions ----------------------------------------18 Barometers of Texas Business ----------------------------------24 
Published monthly by the Bureau of Business Research, College of Business Administration, The University of Texas, Austin 12. Entered as second class matter May 7, 1928 at the post office at Austin, Texas, under the act of August 24, 1912. Content of this publication is not copyrighted and may be reproduced freely. Acknowledgement of source will be appreciated. Subscription, $2.00 a year: individual copies, 20 cents. 
CONSTRUCTION 
Strikes slow Texas building. Picketing on large con­struction jobs in South Texas has tied up over $150 million worth of industrial and commercial construc­tion during mid-July. A complete shut-down would lay off about 45,000 workers. 
Labor contracts expired on July 1 so June construc­tion activity was not affected by any major strikes. Per­mits let for four large office buildings in Houston, which are to cost more than $9 million altogether, caused the seasonally adjusted index of building permit values to turn up for the whole state in June compared to May by 11%. A 4% decline would have occurred instead had it not been for the tremendous value of nonresidential per­mits issued in Houston. 
Completion of a great amount of defense installation building and the slowing of residential expansion have not materially reduced the number working in the con­struction industry group in Texas. According to the Texas Employment Commission, wage and salary work­ers in May totaled 168,600, and although this total was 2% below April, it represented a dip of only 1 % from a year ago. 
Sales of Texas lumber, building material, and hard­ware dealers increased by 8% from May to June, a substantial rise, since a 2% seasonal drop was to be anticipated. Sales in June this year were at a rate 4% below the same month in 1952. The level of sales of the first half of 1953 is 8% below the comparable period last year. 
Texas permits soar. The value of building permits is­sued in the state turned up by about 20% in June over May, an increase 11 % in excess of the normal seasonal rise. Most of this rise must be credited to nonresidential construction, which climbed about 82%, and to addi­tions, alterations, and repairs, up 22%. Residential per­mits issued in the same period were down by 11 %. All major categories of residential building declined except three-and four-family houses, which were up 58%. 
Value of Urban Building Authorized in Texas .Index • Adjusted for seasonal variation • 1935-1939 • 100 
11111 
800 
100 
I 
600 
J· 
500 
J.. I ~
A' 
I
·400 
\) 
~00 
\ 
~
I 
Ill 
1J
,.,. 
JOO 
n 
J 
~ 
200
lOD 
"'\_,,
~I,,__fv 
vvl 
Bureau of Business Research 
1
A/' 
1.. U•i•m ilJ •I hu1
\
• 
1539 mo 1941 1942 1943 194-4 ms 1!14& 1941 ma 1949 mo 1ss1 t952 1953 
The only substantial changes occurring in the non­residential building classification were in the following types: office and bank buildings ( +363% ) , stores and other mercantile buildings (+86%), and educational buildings ( +47%). 
Value of permits issued in the first six months of 1953 was at a rate 13% in excess of the first half of last year. Practically all of this increase was due to a 47% climb in nonresidential construction. Increases in the other two major categories were: additions, alterations, and repairs (+a%) and residential construction ( + 1% ) . 
ESTIMATED VALUE OF BUILDING P ERMITS ISSUED 
Source: Bureau of Bualnees Research In cooperation with the llureau of Labor Statlatlca, U. S. Department of Labor 
Januar y-June  
June  P ercent  
Classification  1963•  1953  1962  cha nge  

CONSTRUCTION CLASS 
Value (thousands of dollars) ALL P ERMITS ---·--------66,338 368,788 327,056 + 13 
New construction -----­--­------­ 67,692  326,244  285,655  + 14  
Residential  -------­---------­­ 28,712  206,947  204,339  + 1  
Housekeepin g -----------­-­One fam ily -----­--·--­--­ 28,476 27 ,444  201 ,259 192,208  202,999 185,106  -1 + 4  
Multiple fam ily ---­----­ 1,032  9,061  17,893  -49  
N onhousekeepin g --­----­Nonresldential ---­--­-------·­- 236 28,980  6,688 119,297  1,340 81,216  +au + 47  
Additions,  alterations,  and  
repairs --·----·-----------------­ 8,646  42,544  41,501  + 3  
CITY-SIZE GROUP (1940) ALL PERMITS --------­- 66,338  368,788  827 ,056  ·+ 18  

Over 100,000 -------------------------39,312 176,516 139,816 + 26 50,000 to 100,000 -----------------8,399 69,760 60,451 + 15 25,000 to 60,000 --------------------4,998 30,638 33,488 9 Under 2,500 ----------------·-·-----13,634 91,875 98,310 -2 
Only building for which permits were laaued within the incorporated area of selected cities is included. Federal contracts are excluded. 
•Preliminary. 
The city leading the state in per capita value of build­ing permits issued during June was Irving with $183.14 per person. Other top cities: Arlington ($116.09), San Marcos ($76.75), Garland ($71.14), Canyon ($41.93), and Houston ($35.66). It is unusual for one of the largest cities in the state to appear in the ranks of the first ten cities in per capita value of building permits issued. Average per capita municipal building in the state for June was $15.74. 
U. S. expenditures at all-time high. Expenditures for new construction in the United States were at the highest level in history during the first half of 1953, according to preliminary estimates of the U. S. Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Build­ing Materials Division of the U. S. Department of Com­merce. Each month this year, spending for new construc­tion has reached peak levels and by the end of June totaled $16 billion-almost 8% above the January-June 1952 total. Even after adjustment for price changes, new construction activity so far in 1953 was at an all-time 
high. Contracts stable in Texas. The value of Texas con­struction contracts awarded remained practically un­changed from May to June. Increases of 5% in resi­
dential building and 12% in public works and utilities were nearly enough to offset a 16% decline in non­residential building. 
Publicly financed construction accounted for 31 % of the June contract total and private for 69%. In May, these same two categories had split the total 30-70 a nearly identical proportion. However in June of 1952 public construction accounted for nea~ly half ( 46%) of 
all contracts. 
VALUE OF CONSTRUCT ION CONTRACTS AWARDED 
Source: Dodge Statistical Research Service 
Type of construction  June 1953  1953 January-June 1952  Percent cha nge  
Value (th ousands of dollars)  
ALL CONST RUCTION  89,957  563,114  695,234  -19  

NEW BUILDINGS ____ Residential ---·-·-----·-----·­Nonresidential ----·---·--··-···­ 70,040 42,503 27,537  450,197 272,660 177,537  529,740 288,118 241 ,622  --- 15 5 27  
PUBLIC WORKS AND  
UTILITIES  ·-··­-·--·--­ 19,917  112,917  165,494  - 32  

Total value of construction contracts awarded during the first six months of this year are 19% below the same period o~ 1952. This sharp decline is explained by drops of 5% In residential building, 27% in nonresidential building, and 32% in public works and utilities. 
LOANS BY SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATIONS 
Source : F ederal Home Loan Ba nk of Little Rock 
Type  J u ne 1953  1953  January-June 1952  P er cent cha n ge  
Number  
ALL LOANS -·---­--­-·­ 3,130  19,167  16,687  + 15  
Construction  --·--·-·----·----·--­ 657  3,482  3,770  - 8  
Purchase --··-··­-----·­··--­----­··  1,050  6,566  5,615  + 17  
Refinancing ------------­--­---------­ 258  1,827  1,566  + 17  
Reconditioning  -----------­ 417  2,132  1,658  + 29  
Ot her  --·······----··-·-----···--··­ 748  4,800  4,078  + 18  

Value (thousands of dollars) 
ALL LOANS ···----···-· 17,122 101,348 80,758 + 25 
Construction --------------6,816 29,831 25,050 + 19 Purchase 6,207
------------------------38 ,872 30,451 + 28 
Refinancing 1,529 9,955 
-------------------8,674 + 15 
Reconditioning 1,078 5,519 3,965 + 39 Other ------------------------------2,992 17,171 12,618 + 36 
The overall change can also he explained by the de­creases of 32 and 12%, respectively, in the public and private segments. Public residential construction has all hut stopped this year, with a rate 93% below the first half of 1952. Private residential building is the only category showing an increase in 1953 over 1952. It is up 15%. Nonresidential building and public works and utilities construction is proceeding; at a slower rate in 1953 in both the public and private parts. 
RICHARD c. HENSHAW, JR. 
TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 
RETAIL TRADE 
Volume still high. Business continued through June at generally high levels, with consumers' disposable in­come and their use of credit at the all-time peak. Al­though personal income for January through May was about 7% over the same months of 1952, farm income was estimated to be 3% lower for the nation as a whole and 11% off in some areas of the Southwest. Trade 
ESTIMATES OF TOTAL RETAIL SAL ES 
Sales Percent change (mils of dols) J une 1953 June 1953 Jan-June 1953 Type of June J a n-June from from from store 1953 1953 June 1952 May 1953 J an-June 1952 
TOTAL -----------667.0 3,995.9 + 6 4 + 8 
Durable goods ----------296.8 1, 771.3 + 1 + 9 
Nondurable goods ____ 370.2 2,224.6 + 11 + 7 

slowed materially in localities where farm income is a major support for business activity. To add to the grow· ing feeling of uncertainty, cutbacks in defense spending have become noticeable in some areas and industries. 
Inventories still higher. Steady accumulation of in­ventories has continued through the past year, although the accompanying build-up of sales has proceeded even more rapidly in some lines. Shortages of goods have largely disappeared except for spotty deficiencies of small air-conditioners and some types of light-weight apparel. Manufacturers have cut output during the past 
Retail Sales in Texas 
.Index • Adjusled for seasonal varialion • 1935-1939 •100 


1ut li4a 1141 1142 1143 1944 1145 19~ 110 1141 1141 1150 1951 1952 1m 

few months, as distributors have been buying on a re­placement basis in accord with slower sales of trucks and tractors, refrigerators, washing machines, clothes driers and some other household appliances. Previously sluggish sales in television revived during recent weeks. Automobile inventories, built up for five months, eased off in May and June. But large stocks of used cars over­hang the market, with the average price of models esti· mated to be about 20% below last year. Clearance sales in numerous lines have helped streamline inventory bulk. On the whole, inventories appear to be in line with the high sales expectancy for coming months. 
Sales buoy summer marketing. At the wholesale markets, orders for apparel are materially ahead of last year, with commitments on somewhat longer terms than before. Demand is strong for men's clothing of blended fabrics. There has been considerable activity in summer lines as buyers sought to rebuild stocks depleted rapidly by the continuing upsurge of consumers' buying that began about a year ago. However, the markets for furni­ture and household goods were sluggish although well attended. Cautious shopping proceeded to the point where manufacturers fear delivery bottlenecks in the fall unless current commitments are increased substantially. Toy and gift markets were active. 
Prices tighten at lower levels. After two years of downward adjustment, wholesale prices have shown a slight firming or upward tendency in some lines. Al­though wholesale price reductions have been imperfectly reflected in various retail lines, some commodities have shown strength at retail levels. Merchants are uneasy about the question of whether customers will accept stiffer prices at this time. Manufacturers and distributors of various household products containing steel are now questioning their ability to express in wholesale and retail prices the recent advances in costs of steel as well as labor. While it has changed only nominally and at a high level during the last year, the Consumer Price Jn. dex of the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed an increase from May 15 to June 15, the fourth consecutive monthly rise. The new high point was at least 12% over the index level registered before Korean hostilities began. 
The market psychology and selling prospects are promising. Various surveys among businessmen show strong optimism, especially among retailers, for whom the autumn and Christmas peak-sales periods are not 
RETAIL SALES TRENDS 

Source: Bureau of Business Research in cooperation with the Bureau of the Census, U. S. Department of Commerce 
Number of  Percent change  
Group  reportin g establish­ment.s  June 1953 Jun e 1953 J an-June 1953 from f r om from June 1952 May 1953 J an-June 1952  


KIND OF BUSINESS  
DU RABLE GOODS  
Automotive stores -------------­Furniture and household·  270  +  7  - 5  + 18  
applian ce stores ----­----­J ewelry stores -----------­Lumber, building material,  156 32  + 2 + 3  + 10 -12  + 4. 2  
a nd hardware stores -----­ 317  - 4  + 8  
NONDURABLE GOODS  
Apparel stores -------------­Country general stores ______  237 44  x x  -15 -7  +  
Department stores ------­-­ 77  4  -10  - 1  
Drug stores -----------------­Eating and drinking places  180 111  + 2  -- 5 4  + 3 2  
Filling stations -------------­Florists -------­-----­---­---­-------­Food stores ------­------------­---­General merchandise stores  854 37 224 146  + 5 + 5 + 17 x  + 6 -32 6 8  + 4 + l + 7 + 1  
Liquor stores -------------------­Office, store, an d school  8  + 12  + 8  + 12  
supply dealers ----------------­ 38  - 2  - 9  + 2  
CIT Y-SIZE  CL ASS  (1950)  
Over 250,000 -----­-------­-------­1,220 100,000 to 250,000 ------­-------­257 50,000 to 100,000 ---­--·----------­264 2,500 to 50,000 ·-------------­-----­874 Under 2,500 -------------------------­120  + 6 + 7 + 4 x -7  5 2 -5 -5 + 5  + 5 + 9 + + -10  

xChan·ge is Jess than one half of one percent. 
JULY 1953 
CREDIT RATIOS JN DEPARTMENT AND APPAREL STORES 
ings for the six months were in Texas City (+15%), Corpus Christi (+11%), Marshall (+10%), Houston 
Credit Collection 

Number ratios• ratiost (+8%>, and Sherman (+7%). of 
reporting June June Advertising linage in 34 Texas newspapers as a group
June June 
Classification s tores 1953 1952 1953 1952 


fell 12% from May but equaled June of 1952. The first 
ALL STORES -----------·-----··-··-----·--69 63.9 64.2 38.1 39.7 six months of 1953 topped January-June 1952 by 4%, BY CITIES 
with 23 papers ahead. 
Austin -------------····-------------------------5 58.2 57.8 52.6 50.0 
____________..__________ ______

Corpus Christi 3 60.9 58.5 38.7 40.5 Sales of gasoline subject to tax totaled 260,760,000 Dallas ------------------------------------------8 71.1 71.0 39.6 43.9 gallons in May, 3% below April and 1% down from a Denison ------
----------------------
----3 57.7 55.8 41.0 34.9 year earlier. Gasoline sold to the federal government
El Paso -------------------------------------3 58.7 32.4 36.1

56.4 	amounted to 1,393,554,000 gallons, 4% under April but
Fort Worth ---------------------------------4 62.3 64.5 43.4 39.8 Galveston ---------------------------------3 56.4 54.2 44.9 46.2 40% higher than in May 1952. Houston ------------------------------------7 62.4 63.2 32.9 32.8 
San Antonio ---------------------
---------5 64.8 65.8 43.6 45.9 A. HAMILTON CHUTE Waco ------
------------
--------------..---------4 59.9 58.6 49.5 52.3 Others -----------------------------------24 57.0 55.1 40.4 44.3 
POSTAL RECE IPT:;

BY TYPE OF STORE Department stores (over $1 million) -----------------------··-----21 65.2 65.7 36.5 38.2 January~June Department stores (under $1 
June Percent

million) --
------------------------------20 46.8 44.0 43.6 44.4 City 1953 1953 1952 
change 
Dry goods and apparel stores.... 4 69.7 68.6 54.2 54.0 

TOTAL• -------·-·· $ 5,362,690 $32,994,291 $30,896,181 + 7Women's specialty shops...·-·--·--14 60.4 59.0 42.4 44.4 Men's clothing stores ·-----·----10 59.8 63.1 53 .0 52.7 

Bastrop ---·----·--------·--­1,339 10,209 9,860 
+ 4
BY VOLUME OF NET SALES (1952) Bay City ·-·----·-------·-­7,396 44,655 42,164 
+ 6
-20 65.8 38.6

Over $3,000,000 ----------------------65.4 37.0 Belton -------···-------···----­5,238 28,933 31,331 -8$1,500,000 to $3,000,000 ---·-·---··-6 57.6 60 .9 48.4 50.4 
Borger ·-----·-----·-----·----12,162 71,949 72,019 x $500,000 to $1,500,000 -----------·--20 56.0 64.5 48.7 48.7 
Brady ----·------·-·-----3,586 23,462 26,254 -11 
$250,000 to $500,000 --·--·-·-·-·--··-11 39.2 38.3 41.8 41.3 

Brownfield ----··-------5,616 35,489 34,461 + 3
Less than $250,000 ----·----·------12 46.8 45.0 42.5 43.2 

Bryan -·-----···----17,015 103,344 88,816 + 16 Cameron --------------­6,189 43,421 39,605
•Credit aales as a percent of net salei. 	+ 10 
Childress ·----·-·-4,126 27,068 28,856
tCollections durinii the month as a percent of accounts unpaid on the 	6 
Cisco -------·-------3,621 23,393 23,761 -2first of the month. 
Cleburne -------·-·­9,574 61,443 57,701 
+ 6 

Coleman ---------·----­4,818 29,190 29,939 3 Crystal City ----------·--2,120
far ahead. Although consumer credit has reached an all· 	14,944 15,842 + 6 
Cuero -------------------4,475 24,528 26,248 7
time high point of about $26.2 billions, and consumers 

El Campo ---------··-­6,317 39,752 37,307
are still saving about 8% of their disposable income, yet Gainesville ------·-------· 8,425 52,982 49,446 + 7 

+ 7

their spending intentions remain high, as reported in Gatesville ------·---· 3,194 21,558 25,859 -17 the 1953 Survey of Consumer Finances of the Federal Giddings --------------·--·-2,374 14,578 14,750 -1 
Gilmer ----·-·-·--·-·---·· 3,753 21,663 22,862 6
-
Reserve Board. Numerous basic economic indicators are 

Goldthwaite -----···-----­1,595 8,888 9,141 -astill favorable, although others have developed challeng­Granbury ---··-------·-···· 1,341 8,221 6,749 + 22 
ing positions or movements. 	Grand Prairie --------­11,200 67,390 52,765 + 28 Hillsboro ----·------­4,925 29,686 30,496
Texas retailing at mid-year. Of 45 cities reporting 	3 
Huntsville -------··--­5,357 39,037 39,708 + 2enough retailers of various types to be listed individu­Jacksonville -·----······ 9,524 58,541 57,178 
+ 2

ally, 11 bettered May, 18 topped June 1952 and 27 were 	Kenedy ··--------------·-·-­3,413 19,152 17,457 + 10 Kermit ··-·------···-·-----· 4,388 28,382 27,807
ahead of January-June 1952. Best showings in the June­	+ 2 
Kerrville -··------····--­7,811 45,220 44,575 
+ 1
to-June comparison were at Big Spring (+26%), Hous­

Kilgore -----·---·-·---·--··· 9,637 63,213 61,576 
+ 8

ton and Pittsburg (+24% each), Denison (+ 18%), 	Kingsville ----·-----·---·­10,737 59,351 48,994 + 21 
Texas City (+17%), Austin and Marshall (+14% 	La Grange ----------·--·· 4,346 25,792 23,141 + 11 Levelland -----·····--------­4,912 35,168 32,864
each), Waco (+12%), and Orange (+IO%). Compar­	+ 7 
Littlefield ---------------­5,096 27,032 26,884 
+ 1
ing the January-June periods, leading increases were at 

Luling --··-··-·----·-----­2,801 16,089 15,646 + 3Houston (+25%), Pittsburg (+24%), Texas City McCamey --·-··----·--··--·-2,325 16,202 17,154 6 5,217
(+19%), Orange (+18%), Corpus Christi and Deni­Mission ---·------------------34,312 33,918 + 4 
Navasota -·-·--·------------· 3,238 22,073 20,518

son <+15% each), Austin (+14%), Odessa and Port 	+ + 4 8 
New Braunfels ----··----10,791 64,721 62,055
Arthur (+12% each). 

Pampa ··-··--·--··--·-·---···-15,417 83,637 81,769 + 2 14,274 79,949 72,204
Reporting by cities, 328 Texas department and apparel Pasadena -··--··-----··--·----	+ 11 
Pecos --··---------····-····----8,209 46,490 42,846 + 9
stores averaged a decline of 10% from May but equaled 
Pittsburg ···-----·····-···--­2,369 14,773 11,854 + 25
June 1952 and gained a nominal 1% over January-June Snyder -·---·-·--·-----····-----­7,892 49,417 56,140 -12 of 1952. Among the 37 cities included, only three topped Terrell ··----·-----··-·-··--···-· 4,573 28,694 28,490 + 1 May: Marshall (+7%), Denison (+2%), and Texas Uvalde ----·---·-··-·---·····---­6,315 36,016 33,594 + 7 
Vernon -------------·-------­7,109 52,865 54,122 -2
City (+ 1%). Sixteen cities bettered June 1952 and 14 
Victoria ---···--··----------­19,463 113,858 96,626 + 18 
were ahead in comparing January-June with those months 	Weatherford ·------·-----7,616 41,573 37,151 
+ 12 

of last year. In the June-to-June comparison, the leaders Yoakum ---·----·-··---·-----8,182 53,053 50,510 + 5 were Texas City (+27%), Marshall (+17%), Green­
xChange is less than one half of one percent.

ville (+ 16%), Denison and Houston (+ 11 % each), 
*The total includes receipts for cities which are listed individuallySherman <+10%), and Brownwood (+8%). Best show-under "Local Business Conditons." 
TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 
FARM CASH INCOME
AGRICULTURE 
January-June

Continued drouth. Drouth, the worst in Texas history, tightened its grip on the western half o~ the state during Value 
(thousands of dollars)

July, in spite of light to moderate ramfall _over much 	Percent 
Commodity 	1953 1952 change

of the area. Rains fell in a spotty pattern, varymg sharply m amount from farm to farm. Yet much of the stricken TEXAS ---···-·-···-····---·················-····· 648,011 792,403 -18 
Cotton 	116,539 193,287 -40CARLOAD SHIPMENTS OF LIVESTOCK* Cottonseed ---···-··-·········-·--·-------·-·-···-··· 1,934 9,756 -80 
Ssurce: Bureau of Business Research In cooperation with the Bureau of 

Wheat -·····--·--·---------····-··-··········--·-·--­27,398 50,286 -46 A11:ricultural Economics, U. 8. Department of Agriculture 
Oats ···-·--·······---·······-···-···------·---·---··--····-·­6,717 5,833 + 16 Corn -····---------·-·····--·-········-··-·--·------·--· 4,475 6,054 -26 Percent change Grain sorghum ·-·---------·-·······-······-----·· 10,179 28,119 -64 Flaxseed ·----·---·······--·---··----·-··---···-··· 8,911 3,155 + 24
June 1958 June 1958 

June May June from from Peanuts -····-·------·-----··-···-·-···-----········ 1,294 1,584 -18 Classification 1953 1953 1952 June 1952 May 1958 Cattle ---·-------········---····----··-····-···-----·· 133,017 215,211 -38 Calves ···--·-·-···--···-·--········-···-----------·--·-· 44,013 60,731 -28
TOTAL SHIPMENT S 6,072 4,418 2,060 + 146 + 15 

Hogs --·----····-·······-------------·········-----··--·· 40,922 50,195 -18 Cattle 3,983 3,092 1,422 +180 + 29 Sheep and lambs --··-···---·---·---···-···-··-· 12,368 10,076 + 23
-------------·-----------·--­

Calves 564 433 209 +170 30 	Wool ·-·--····-··········--·-------·--··--······-------·· 13,006 20,382 -36 
----------------------~---------+ 2 48 96 -60 Mohair ··-··---·--··-··········--·--·----·--·-·········-· 5,481 8,292 -34
Hogs ------------------------	­

41 P oultry --····--··---·--------·-·····-······-----------··· 30,657 36,107 -15
Sheep --------------------523 888 381 + 37 ­

INTERSTATE ------------4,771 4,230 1,824 +162 + 13 Eggs ·····-···-----··-··--·--·-·-··-·-···-······-44,753 43,083 + 4 Cattle 3,712 2,948 1,259 + 195 + 26 Milk and milk products ···---··----·----···· 103,672 127,855 -19 Calves 540 408 200 +170 82 Fruit and vegetables ···---------··········---47,675 52,905 -10
-----------------------------	+ 
0 2 6 -100 -100
Hogs -----------------------------­
Farm cash income as computed by the Bureau understates actual farm
Sheep ---519 872 359 45 -40
------------------	+ 
cash income by from 6 to 10%. This situation result.a from the fact that
INTRASTATE -------301 188 236 + 28 + 60 
means of •ecuring complete local marketings, especially by truck, have
Cattle 	271 144 163 + 66 + 88 n ot yet been fully developed. In addition, means have not yet been
Calves 	24 25 9 +167 -4 
--------~-----------------­
developed for computing cash income from all agricultural specialties
Hogs 	2 3 42 -95 -33 of local importance in scattered areas. This situation does not Impair4 16 22 -75
Sheep ---------------------
--------	82 ­
the accuracy of the index shown on page 24. 
•Rail-car basis: cattle, SO head per car: calv•, 60 ; bop, 80 ; and 

sheep, 250. 	were made, principally from cotton to sorghums. Wide variation in the state of the cotton crop was reported, 
region remained dry, as sun-scorched ranges deteriorated although the general condition was said to be good. In to the worst condition ever reported for July. Farmers the Rio Grande Valley, excellent progress was made in and stockmen, hard hit by the drouth, held on to hope harvesting the short 300,000-bale crop. 
for survival as carloads of feed for hungry cattle and Decrease in vegetable production. Texas' summer $150 million in loans were made available through ac­vegetable crop was sharply cut by disease, drouth, and tion by the federal government. 
intense heat during July. The East Texas tomatoes,Reduction in cotton acreage. Cotton acreage in the usually a big crop, were reduced to less than a third state as of July 1 was estimated at 9,600,000 acres­
F R UIT AND VEGETABLES

about 18% under that for a year before. Most of this 
cut may be attributed to the drouth, not to the intentions Source : Compiled from reports of Bureau of Agricultural Economics, 

U. S. Department of Agriculture
of farmers. In counties where farmers vainly waited for enough rain to bring up dry-planted acreage, major shifts 
J anuary-June 

INDEXES OF PRICES RECEIVED BY FARMERS Rail shipments (carloads) (1909-14=109) Percent
Item 
1953 1952 change 

Source: Bureau of Agricultural Economics, U. 8. Department of Agriculture TOTAL ·--·-····--··-···-·---··---·····--26,677 25,720 + 4 
FRUIT ··---·-·-----·-··-·······---····--·-····-· 1,812 449 +304 Percent change Cantaloups -·---···--·---····----·-···--·-·····­1,124 314 +258 Grapefruit -··---------------······-·-···--······ 43
June 1953 June 1953 

June May June from from Lemons --------------------------------------­23 
Index 1953 1963 1962 June 1952 May 1953 Oranges ----·---··-----····--·-··-·-·-··-83 
Plums and prunes --··-·--····--······----··-·· 35

ALL FARM PRODUCTS-··-····-264 280 338 -22 6 
Tangerines ------------------------------------------1
ALL CROPS ---------------260 267 307 -15 + 1 Watermelons ···-·--·--·---···-··---···-···-···-··---484 135 +259Food grains ----··------------·--·· 246 266 236 4 8
+ ­
Mixed fruit -------·---··----·-·-··--········:·-·· 19Feed grains and hny ···-··--·---· 198 206 226 -15 -6 Potatoes and sweet potatoes--. 310 356 339 
VEGETABLES ···---·-···--··--·---·--24,865 25,271 -2
-9 -13 Beets ····----··-·--·--------·-------------·······-··· 139 208 -33
Fruit 	147
--------------------·----147 240 -39 0 
Cabbage ---···--------·-·-----··------····-1,390 2,196 -37
Truck crops -······---------··--------------388 295 472 -18 + 32 Carrots ···---·-··--·-·---········----·····-·--···-· 4,518 3,705 + 22
Cotton ------··---------------·-----
· 252 252 304 -17 0 
Cauliflower ··-·---··--·---····----·······-·-···-·-····-115 162 -29
Oil-bearing crops 290 307 325 -11 LIVESTOCK AND 
-----------------	-6 

Corn -··-·---·-·----··----··-····--···-··----··---512 423 + 21 PRODUCTS 269 
L ettuce ---····--····--------··---·---·--·-····-····-1,311 1,156 + 13------------------309 380 -29 -13 Onions ------···-·--···-··-----···········--······-6,524 6,583 -1

Meat animals -·-····-·····-·······--264 334 482 -45 -21 Potatoes ----···--···-·--···-··-·····--····-··---·--66 94 -30
Dairy products ---------------242 254 271 -11 5 

Poultry and eggs 251 258 204 	Spinach -------··-·--·-·-··--·-······-·---1,009 1,074 -6
----------------	+ 28 3 

404 891 366 	Tomatoes -----·-·-·-·-·-···-·--·--·--·····-4,254 4,175 + 2
Wool ···---·--··-···---··-·-···--·--·-···· + 10 + 8 Mixed vegetables ·-··-·····-··-···-··--···-···-·-··· 5,027 6,495 -85 
of normal as a result of unfavorable weather. In other areas, lack of rainfall parched large acreages of vege· tables, especially watermelons and peppers. In the Pan­handle the season's potato yield was sharply cut by disease. But early July rains did benefit vegetable fields in Central and South Texas. 
Fall in agricultural prices. Prices received by farm· ers during June averaged 6% under those of the pre· ceding month and 22% under those received in June 1952. The sharp May-June drop was largely a result of an overall 13 % decrease in prices of livestock and products. Crops changed little in value, rising to about 1 % above the May level. 

RAYMOND v. LESIKAR 

TEXAS WATER RESOURCES: I 
1953-YEAR OF THE DROUTH 

Drifts of sand and topsoil blocking the highways pro· vided daily work for bulldozer crews from Lubbock to Lamesa. And southwest of Lubbock, a baby dust bowl stretched across the High Plains and far into New Mexico. Section crews on West Texas railroads had to shovel sand off their track to keep the lines clear for emergency ship· ments of grain and feed. 

After nearly four years of drouth, some areas of Texas reached what seemed a breaking point in June and July. In spots, conditions appeared to be the disheartening equal of the Dust Bowl drouth of the 1930's. The causes were similar; scant, ineffective rainfall; scorching heat; high winds that dug into every acre of uncovered ground; and continued efforts to cultivate lands that in many cases should never have been plowed. 
The breaking point, however, has not come, nor is there much indication that it will. Improved methods of dry· crop farming, the spread of irrigation, experience gained in the last great drouth, and above all the much higher economic stability of the state and nation have kept what might have been a major agricultural crash from being anything worse than a painful adjustment. Many farmers have been obliged to move to town in search of nonagri· cultural work. But the employment market they are enter· ing is a relatively active one, far from the jobless depres­sion that bankrupt Dust Bowl farmers faced twenty years ago. 
The map on this page shows the shaded, western half of Texas, 128 counties officially designated as drouth disaster area by Governor Allan Shivers. In some of these counties, the 1953 crop of grass withered and died before it was well out of the ground. And around Lub· bock, Del Rio, and Falfurrias, these conditions have pre· vailed with little natural relief for 45 months. Late in June, agricultural experts set July 20 as the deadline for cotton planting, provided some rain had fallen by that time. Early July showers scattered across most of the state promised that the late planting might be justified. But the promise was broken. In temperatures above 100°, half the sparse rain that did fall evaporated at once, and much of the rest ran off the hard crust of earth. Now High Plains cotton growers face their third year of ruined crops. Unless August brings a fair quota of rainfall, fields of grain sorghum, planted in desperate attempt to hold the soil in place, will also fail. 
During the days of the 1930 Dust Bowl, most of the hardest hit drouth area of 1953 suffered little, for it was unplowed grassland at that time, and the grass cover held soil in place. High rainfall and high prices during the 1940's were the factors that stimulated cultivation of the dry High Plains. In many cases, one bumper crop repaid farmers the low original cost of their land. Cotton and grain sorghum rose in green opulence. Then the rains stopped, and with them the brief prosperity. 
The black blot on the accompanying map indicates the region where wind has reportedly done the most drastic damage. And that damage may be only a token of what is to come, for October is the windiest season in this windy area, and unless rains fall by then, the blown region may spread as sharp sand, driven from field to field, blasts the cover of vegetation from lands that now have some natural protection. 
It remains to be seen what August and September may bring. A late summer heat wave, almost a yearly event even in better times, could undo the slight good that July rains did some regions. Farmers in the rainiest spots have complained that July torrents eroded their fields severely, or that their oncoming crops of grain sorghum will bring them little cash income. But their neighbors who have had no rain at all are almost beyond complaining. 
R.H.R. 
TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION 
By the last, torrid week in June, production of elec· tric power across the nation had reached a new high. Unusually heavy demands on Texas air-conditioning and water-pumping equipment combined with the increasing industrial power consumption to help raise total power use to its highest recorded level, 7.49 times as great as during the 1935-39 prewar period. 
The Texas electric power indexes are computed by the Bureau of Business Research from reports that include the major portion of the Texas electric utility business, and the nearly constant rise in these indexes is one of 
Industrial Electric Power Use in Texas 
Index • Adjusted for seasonal variation • 1935-1939 • 100 
PETROLEUM AND GAS ACTIVITY 
Source : State Comptroller of Public Accounts and Oil and Gas 
Divl•ion, Railroad Commission of Texas 

Percent change  
Product  June 1953  May 1953  .Tune 1952  .Tune 1953 .Tune 1953 from from .Tune 1952 May 1953  

CARBON BLACK PRODUCED (value in thous of dols) .. 1,855 2,920 5,138 -64 -36 
CRUDE OIL Value (thous of dols) .... 209,879 213,907 157,175 + 34 -2 Production (thous 
of bbls) ----··············-··--80,732 82,745 60,820 + 33 -2 Ru ns to stills 
(thous of bbls) -········ 61,109 62,291 56,699 8 -2
+ 
NATURAL AND 
100 
"'" 
"")
v 
v 
h,,-J 
100 
,_

,,.,., 
-.J~ 
. 
,,/ 
.zoI 
_,,,.; f-.r"' " 
.100 
I 
800 
600 500 
400 300 200 100 
mt tw:i 1941 m2 m J 1gu 1945 1946 190 1948 ms m o 19s1 1ss2 1953 ELECTRIC POWER CONSUMPTION 
J anuary-June  
.Tune  P ercent  
Use  1953  1953  1952  change  

Consumption (thous kw-hrs) 
TOTAL .................... 1,387,137 7,133,795 · 5,834,956 + 22 

Commercial .................... 261,428 1,224,336 1,106,274 + 11 Indust rial ---···················· 616,679 3,456,201 2,796,771 + 24 Residential ...................... 222,695 1,089,448 934,339 + 17 Other ······-·······-················ 286,335 1,363,808 997,572 + 37 
•Prepared from reports of 10 electric power companies to the Bureau of Bus iness Research. 
the most revealing measures of growth and moderniza­tion in Texas homes, businesses, and factories. It is oh· vious from other statistical series that even though Texas industries have grown tremendously since the prewar years, their output is not 525% greater than it was then, although their consumption of electric power is. The explanation lies partly in the greater use of elec· tricity per unit of product. Many manufacturers have installed more efficient, electrified equipment to turn out their products at lower cost; some have moved into streamlined, windowless buildings provided with high· 
CASINGHEAD GAS PRODUCE'D (Value in thous of dols) .. 32,271 32,923 24,966 + 29 ­
and by other factors. The longer-term increment to the electric power load is reflected in gains of 11 % for com­mercial use and 17% for residential use in the com· parison of January-June 1952 with the first half of this year. 
In an expanding economy like that 0£ Texas, it is difficult or impossible to separate the long-term trends of industrialization, population growth, and technologi· cal change from the month-to-month fluctuations that may superficially suggest, for example, that in the Texas industrial world, June 1953 was a 16% better month than May. 
With the speed-up in industrial activity has come a related increase in manufacturing employment. The aver· age for the first half of this year, 437,200, is more than 4% up from the January-June 1952 level. And in cer· tain industries the payrolls have grown even more strikingly. Texas primary metals plants, for instance, em· ployed 32% more workers this June than last; electric equipment manufacturers employed 19% more, metal fabricators 12% more, and chemical producers 9% more. 
During the second quarter of the year, industrial prices throughout the nation rose an average of less than 1 %. While no industrial price index is available for Texas alone, it is likely that the state ran somewhat ahead of the national increase. Crude petroleum, top Texas commodity, was up 25.5 cents a barrel in price (the first oil price rise in over five years) ; and Alcoa 
Crude Petroleum Production 
wattage lighting and cooling facilities. In addition, cer· 
Index • Adjusted for seasonal variation • 1935-1939 • 100
tain manufactures that require enormous amounts of power 
250 
(e.g. aluminum refining) have only recently been estah· 
m 
225 
lished in Texas. Today, residential and commercial use of electricity in 
175

Texas registers an exaggerated "thermometer effect." It might be expected that these classes of power consump· llO 
150 

tion would rise rather sharply with the opening of the 125 
125 
air-conditioning season. But the increases scored this year 
IOO
from May to June ( +26% for commercial; +28% for 
75
residential) were apparently distorted by the widespread installation of new air-conditioning and ventilating units 
50 


WELL COMPLETIONS REFINERY STOCKS 
Source: The Oil ""d Gaa J<YUrnal 
Source: The Oil tlnd Gas J<YUrnal 
June 1953* January-June 

January-June (average month) Region Oil Gas Dry Total 1953 1952 Area and 
June Percentproduct 1953 1953 1952 changeTEXAS ----·-·-------------738 75 587 1,350 8,802 8,972 (Stocka (thoW!ands of barrels)
North Central 303 8 222 528 3,174 2,797 West ---------------------------185 4 85 274 2,029 2,816 
UNITED STATES
Panhandle ---------------------28 23 7 58 408 327 Gasoline -·--·----··-·--·----146,965 154,450 137,746 12

Eastern ---------------------------21 7 41 69 427 465 + Gulf Coast -----------------------91 18 79 188 1,330 1,317 ------------------------82,985 70,845 54,395 + 30
Distillate Southwest 110 20 103 233 1,434 1,250 Residual ·----··--·--·-····--··-· 43,771 42,663 38,689 + 10 Kerosene ------------·-··----------26,956 22,130 18,573 + 19 
•For four weeks ending June 27, 1953. TEXAS Gasoline -----·-··----·-··-26,858 27,406 27,076 1
+
Distillate i3,645
-·
-----------------10,104 8,537 + 18
Crude Oil Runs to Stills in Texas 
Residual --·-···-·---·-·-------7.973 7,462 7,084 5
+
Kerosene 
-----------------4,217 3,190 3,176 x
Index • Adjusted for seasonal variation • 1935-1939 • 100: 

1939 mo 1941 1942 1943 1... 1945 1946 1941 1941 IM! ISSO m 1 1952 1953· 
aluminum was 5% more expensive by the ingot. Dur­ing the March-June period, average hourly earnings of Texas manufacturing workers were up 1.8%, while con­sumer prices rose only 0.89% nationally. 
War and peace in Texas industry. With truce damp­ing the highest pitch of current war interest, the do­mestic economy of the nation is likely to take an even more prominent position in the news. One basic ques­tion: what will happen to industrial output with the possible cutback of military requirements? As for Texas, some decline is already apparent. The quarterly bulle­tins published by the Bureau of Business Research sum­marizing Texas industrial expansion already reflect a decline in new manufacturing projects, not so much in number as in size. A General Electric appliance factory previously scheduled for construction in Tyler has been cancelled; and in the North Texas aircraft industry there h~ ~een some indication of recession in subcontracting act1v1ty. 
At the opposite corner of the state, the Carthage Hydro­col synthetic gasoline plant at Brownsville, largely owned 
Cement Production in Texas 
xChange is less than one half of one percent. Figures shown for week ending nearest last day of the month. 
by the Texas Company, has nearly completed its shut­down. '.f.he .firm announc~d in mid-June that large-scale recond1~ionmg . and the mstallation of new equipment would ~ncapacitate .the plant for an indefinite period. Mechamcal production problems have hindered efficient operation of the Hydrocol unit, which was designed to synthesize gasoline from natural gas and oxygen. Mean­'":hile, a S~anolind Oil a~d Gas Company unit in Browns­ville, which has prev10usly processed chemical by­products from the Hydrocol plant, will be forced to close as soon as current raw material stocks are exhausted. 

In spite of the lull in military activities, it is generally thought that the need for new oil reserves will continue to stimulate drilling and other phases of the Texas crude petroleum industry. In West Texas, oil revenue has done much to offset the withering economic effects of the pro­lon9ed drouth. If authoritative forecasts prove accurate, an mcrease from 1,860 new Permian basin wells in the first half. of 195~ to 1,974 during the remaining six months will.be r~gister~d; such a gain would help cushion the d~pressio~ m agricultural employment. Rising con­sumption of oil products-gasoline use is up 11 % from a year ago-has placed a heavy drain on reserves and there has been a recent lag in the development of ~ew major fields. As a result, Texas drilling for the second half of the year is projected at a level nearly 3% higher than in the first half. 
ROBERT H. RYAN 
MANUFACTURE OF DAIRY PRODUCTS 


J anuary...June 
June 
P ercent
Product 
1958 1953 1952 change 

TOTAL PRODUCTION OF 
MILK EQUIVALENT 
(thous of lbs) 

JOO 

---------------------66,019 336,8i5 270,024 + 25 200 Creamery butter (thoWI of lbs) .... 683 4,946 3,250 + 52 Ice cream (thous of gals) ·····--·····-2,561 10,934 12,395 -12 American cheese (thous of lbs) .. 419 2,821 2,345 
+ 20 Cottage cheese (thous of lbs) ...... 840 3,380 3,247 4

100 +
Concent rated milk products 
(thous of lbs ) 

-------------------------7,483 34,196 13,213 + 159 
Milk equivalent of dairy products is calculated from production data. 
TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 
REPORTED PETROLEUM PRODUCTION Source: Oil and Gas Division, Railroad Commission of Texas 
Percent change  
Production (barrels)  
Mar 1953 Mar 1953  
Oil and gas  Mar  Feb  Ma r  from  from  
district  1953  1953  1952  Mar I952  Feb 1953  
TEXAS ______ 87,0I7,387  80,632,803  90,I53,057  - 8  +  8  
District I  --------­-1,140,811  1,025,624  I,041,643  + IO  + 11  
District 2 --------­4,779,119  4,472,628  5,206,096  8  + 7  
District 3 _______ __ _14,048,837  13,068,789  I 5,032,422  - 7  +  7  
District 4 ---------­7,960,532  7,428,339  8,280,045  -4  +  
District 5 ---------­I,521,686  l ,438,705  1,912,577  -20  +  
District 6 _________ll,504,996  10,714,491  12,099,217  - 5  +  7  
District 7b -------­ 3,514,936  2,161,381  2,916, 721  + 21  + 63  
District 7c -------­5,368,387  4,769,802  4,283 ,934  + 25  + I a  
District 8 ----------29,067,440  27,173,980  3I,760,376  - 8  + 7  
District  9 ---------­5,741,036  5,236,037  5,085,917  + 13  + IO  
District 10  ______  2,369,607  2,I43,027  2,584,109  - 6  + 11  

Bureau of Business Research Publications 
Job Evaluation in Automobile a.nd 
Automotive Parts Industries 

William R. Spriegel, Dean and Distinguished Pro­fessor of Management, and E. Lanham, Assistant Professor of Management, College of Business Ad­ministration, have written this fifth in their series of "Personnel Studies" from information gathered from throughout the automotive field. Price, one dollar. 
TEXAS COTTON ACTIVITY 
COTTON 
Source: Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce 
The cotton balance sheet for the current crop year 
Percent chan11e
has lost its influence over cotton price movements. A few facts about the cotton balance deserve special atten­
May I 953 May 1953 May Apr May from from

tion if one is to see the cotton situation in the United Item 1953 1953 1952 May 1952 Apr 1953 States in its proper world perspective. Most important 
COTTONSEED (thous of tons)
of these facts is that the increase in carryover, or bal­

Received at mills ------------2,556 3,437 6,264 -5I -26 ance, on July 31 is due mostly to the decline in exports, Crushed ----------------------71,386 84,804 65,777 + 28 -16 
Stocks, end-of-month______ 77,309 I35,Sl2 63,746 + 21 -43
which is explained largely in terms of world location of 

the cotton supply. Last year, much of the world carry· CONSUMPTION (running bales) Cotton ------------------------------10,840 13,517 10,579 + -20
over of U. S.-grown cotton was in foreign countries ; 
Linters --------··--------------------2,388 2,203 2,206 + 8 + 8
now it is in the United States. 
SPINDLES (thousands)
It is apparent that consumption in this country for 
Spindles in place ------------229 229 222 3

+the year just ending (the cotton crop year ends July 31) Spindles active ---------------220 222 208 + 1 
is substantially larger than for last year. World consump­+
Total spindle hours --------86,000t 102,000 79,000 9 + 16 Average spindle hours.... 376 445 356 6 -16

tion of all cotton is also higher. + 
t F or four weeks ending May 30, 1953. 
World production of cotton outside the Iron Curtain nations for 1952-53 is less than for the preceding year. 
is stronger now than at this time last year, as indicated The prospective production for the same area during by mill margins and sales for forward delivery of goods. 
1953-54, as indicated by acreage planted so far, is sub­stantially less. Demand for cotton throughout the world 
A. B. Cox 

COTTON BALANCE SHEET FOR THE UNITED STATES AS OF JUNE t, 1953 
Year  Carryover Aug 1  Imports to July 1 •  Final g innings*  Total  Con1ump. t!on to July 1  E xporta to J uly 1  Total  Balance as of J uly 1  
1943-44___________ ______________________ 1944-45__________________________________ 1946-46____ _______________________________ 1946--4 7 ___________________ _____________ 1947-4i_______ ________________________________ 1948-49_________________________ ________ 1949-50 ____________________________________ 1950-51_________ ___ _____________________ 1951-52__________________ ____________ ______________  10,687 10,727 11 ,164 7,522 2,521 2,823 5,283 6,846 2,179  I 32 183 321 276 236 16lt 251 t 180t 69t  11,129 11,839 8,813 8,513 11,552 14,540 I5,908 9,899 15,130  21,948 22,749 20,298 16,311 14,309 17,524 21,442 16,925 17,378  9,220 8,895 8,434 9,358 8,71 9 7,343 8,259 9,884 8,448  1,044 1,615 3,186 3,468 I,819 4,016t 4,765t 3,784t 5,207t  10,264 10,610 11,620 12,816 10,538 11,358 13,024 13,668 13,650  11,684 12,239 8,678 3,495 3,771 6,166 8,418 3,257 3,728  
1952-53-------------------------------------­---­ 2,745  209t  14,951  17,905  8,680  2,964t  11,634  6,271  

The cotton year begins August 1, and figures are in thouaand1 of runnln11 bal• except u noted. 
•In 478 pound bales. tTo June 1 only. 

LABOR 

More workers; no more jobs. Texas nonagricultural employment continued stable in June, showing only a minor drop from comparable May figures. But barom­eters of employment suggest that growing labor sur­pluses, not yet serious, are developing in the 17 key labor markets of Texas. 
Since employment held steady, increases in unemploy­ment reflected a rise in the nonfarm civilian labor force. An increased supply of workers was available through­out the state, many of them students leaving school and colleges. These youths, however, are mostly seeking work only for the summer months and have little or no work experience. Many of them will not likely be placed, for employers, especially in the industrial centers, are look­ing for skilled workers and technicians. Another cause for the expanded nonfarm labor force was the continu­ing drouth. In a year of average crop conditions thou­sands more might be engaged in seasonal farm work. 
Waco was the only key labor market to record a si~­nificant increase (3%) over last month, with 1,100 addi­tional persons placed in employment. This increase was primarily due to the return to work of persons made idle by the recent tornado, and also to the hiring of construc­tion workers for rebuilding the devastated area. 
Total June nonfarm unemployment increased approxi­mately 20% over May; the increase was general over the key labor markets. Only El Paso, with no change, and Waco, with its 12% decrease in unemployment, showed countertrends. 
Data received from the Texas Employment Commis­sion indicate that June unemployment, expressed as a percent of the labor force, rose in all tabulated labor markets except Waco. An 83% increase in unemployment at Lubbock brought the total there to 2,200 persons seek­ing work. Unemployed in that area surged upward to 6.3% from a moderate 3.5% in May. 

July strikes hit construction. A rash of labor disputes marred the state labor picture during July. The first rumble of discontent was noted July 14 when AFL iron workers at Houston and carpenters at Port Arthur, Beau­mont, and Orange remained away from their jobs follow­ing refusal of their demands for a wage increase. Then, on July 21 AFL operating engineers left work in the Houston-Texas City-Galveston area. Combined walkouts have halted work on approximately $100 million worth of industrial construction, including a multimillion dollar expansion at Du Pont's Orange chemical plant; a $5 mil­lion plant under construction for Allied Chemical and Dye Corporation, also at Orange; and a $6 million expansion project at the Texas Company's Port Arthur refinery. 
One bright spot in the labor dispute picture was the ~ettlement, July 21, of the Austin plumbers strike, end­mg a walk-out of nearly three weeks duration. 
HARVEY B. SMITH 

ESTIMATES OF NONAGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENT 
Source : Texas Employment Com mission in cooperation with the Bureau 
of Labor Statistics, U. S. Department of Labor 

Percent change Employment (thousands)------­----------June 1953 June 1953 J une May June from from Industry 1953* 1953 1952 J u ne 1952 May 1953 
TOTAL ·-----------·-·--------·---2,281.5 2,267.9 2,215.4 + 3 + 1 TOTAL 
MANUFACTURING .... 437.2 437.5 421.0 + 4 x 

Durable goods ------------------------·-207.9 207.0 200.3 + 4 x Ordnance ------------------------------11.7 11.3 11.9 2 + 4 Lumber and wood products --------------------------·-27.6 27.6 29.3 0 Furniture and fixtures________ 10.6 10.4 10.0 
+ 6 + 2 
Stone, clay, and glass........ 15.7 15.6 15.3 + 3 + 1 Primary metals ------------------22.3 21.9 16.9 + 32 + 2 Fabricated metal products 17.4 17.5 15.6 + 12 Machinery (except 
electrical) ----------····--------37 .3 37.6 37.1 + 1 Electrical equipment ____ __ __ 3.7 3.7 3.1 + 19 0 Transportation equipment 55.6 55.5 55.4 x x Other durable goods ·---------6.0 5.9 5.7 + 5 + 2 
Nondurable goods ------·--·--------229.3 230.5 220.7 + 4 -l Food --------------------·--------·--------62.1 62.9 64.1 3 1 Textile mill products -----·--9.4 . 9.4 9.2 + 2 0 Apparel -------------·--------·-----32.0 32.9 29.6 + 8 -3 
Paper and allied products 7.0 6.8 6.6 + 6 + 3 Printing and publishing_
__ 25.0 25.3 24.1 
+ 4 
Chemical and allied products ------------------------39.3 39.5 36.1 + 9 + 1 
Petroleum products -·----------49.5 48.7 46.6 + 6 + 2 Leather and products........ 2.5 2.5 2.3 + 9 0 Other nondurable goods...... 2.5 2.5 2.1 + 19 
TOTAL NON MANU­FACTURING ----·--------· 1,844.3 1,830.4 l,794.4 + 3 


Mining ------·-·----------------------·-----131.0 126.9 123.7 + 6 + Petroleum and natural gas 123.8 120.0 117.1 + 6 + 3 
Metal, coal, and other 
mining --------·-------------·----7.2 6.9 6.6 + 9 + 4 Contract construction __________ 173.6 168.8 176.1 
+ 3 

Transportation and utilities.. 235.2 232.5 233.4 + 1 Interstate railroads -----·--·---66.3 65.7 66.6 x 
+ 
Other transportation ........ 95.6 94.4 95.1 + 1 + 

Telephone and telegraph.. 37.3 37.4 37.0 + 1 x 

Public utilities -----------·------36.0 35.0 34.7 + 4 + 3 Government ______________________:____ 324.5 328.0 320.6 + 1 
Trade ------------------------------·----605.2 603.9 584.0 + 4 x 
Wholesale trade ----·--------·---149.7 149.7 151.7 1 0 
Retail trade --------------------·--455.5 454.2 432.3 + 5 x General merchandise ____ 79.1 80.4 76.4 + 4 2 Food and liquor stores.... 76.9 76.5 72.0 + 7 + 1 
Au tomotive --·-··----··----------52.4 51.8 50.2 + 4 + 1 
Apparel ----·----------------------27.5 28.1 28.3 3 2 Other retail trade ______ __ __ 219.6 217.4 205.4 
+ 7 + 1 Finan ce, insurance, and 
real estate -----------------··----96.3 95.5 88.8 + 8 + 1 Banks and trust 

companies ------------------------24.8 24.5 22.1 + 12 + 1 Insurance ----------------------------38.1 37.9 35.3 + 8 + 1 Real estate and finance.... 33.4 33.1 31.4 + 6 + 1 Service and miscellan eous...... 278.5 274.8 267.8 + 4 + 1 Hotels and lodging places.. 25.5 25.6 25.6 x x Laundries and cleaners...... 31.1 30.5 30.8 + 1 + 2 Other business services...... 221.9 218.7 211.4 + 5 + 1 
xChange ia less than one ha ll of one percent. 
• Preliminary. 
TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 
FINANCE 
Bank investments gain. Investments of the weekly re­porting member banks of the Eleventh Federal Reserve District in U. S. Government securities increased 6% dur­ing June (from $1,085 million to $1,154 million). Ex­plaining this upward surge is the fact that during June, yields of these securities reached the highest point in almost two decades. Most of the increase in holdings was in Treasury bills, up 76% from $85 million to $150 million. Treasury certificates of indebtedness accounted for the remainder of the gains with a 9% increase to $120 million. Slight decreases in holdings of Treasury notes and United States bonds were reported. 
Bank loans shrink slightly. For the first half of June, bank loans, particularly agricultural, commercial, and industrial, continued the slight downward trend obvious since early February. Increases during the final week of June, however, left the total figure barely changed from that for the same period a month earlier. 
Deposits increase. Total deposits of the reporting banks rose $34 million (1 % ) to a total of $3,072 million at the end of June. Accounting for this increase were supplementary U. S. Government deposits (up from $36 million to $92 million) and a 2% gain in time deposits ($560 million to $570 million). Marked gains were also reported in interbank deposits, the month-end total of $854 million being 21 % greater than the $703 million recorded a month earlier. 
Revenue collections show contrasting picture. Texas revenue receipts for the current fiscal year con­tinue to run ahead of last year's levels. At the end of June over $616 million in receipts had been counted by the State Comptroller of Public Accounts; last year the comparable total, 8% less, was $537 million. Nearly all categories of tax receipts registered gains. In contrast to state collections, federal receipts in Texas for the cur· rent fiscal year were 4% below their year-ago level. The loss is almost wholly explained by a 5% reduction in total income tax payments. 
RAYMOND v. LESIKAR 
FEllERAL INTERNAL REVENUE COLLECTIONS 
Source : Internal Revenue Service, U .S. Treasury Department 
July 1-June 30 
Percent 
Source 1953 1952 change 
TEXAS --------------$2,198,642,829 $2,194,766,738 x 
Income --------·-----------­ 1,307,636,463  1,358,428,386  4  
Employment  ------------------­ 20,385,302  21,392,836  5  
Withholding  -------------------­ 693,868,883  651,934,594  + 6  
Other  ------------------­- 176,752,181  163,010,922  +  8  
FIRST DISTRICT ---­ 1,180,461,602  1,206,930,021  2  
Income  ------------------------­ 723,731,107  755,998,058  4  
Employment  -----------­ 8,860,483  5,102,226  -2(  
Withholding  --------­--­ 355,626,636  360,744,224  - 1  
Other  ----------------------­ 97,243,376  85,085,513  + 14  
SECOND DISTRICT_  1,018,181,228  987,836,717  +  3  
Income ---------------­ 583,905,355  602,430,328  - 3  
Employment  ---­----------­ 16,524,819  16,290,610  + 1  
Withholding  ---------­-­ 338,242,249  291,190,370  + 16  
Other  ---------------­ 79,508,805  77,925,409  +  2  

xChange is less than one half of one percent. 
REVENUE RECEIPTS OF STATE COHPTllOLLER 
Source: State Comptroller of Public Accounto 

September 1-June 80 
Percent Source 1952-53 1951-52 change 
TOTAL ...................................... $616,892,914 $573,S12~,0-61--+~·· 8 

AD  VALOREM TAX ................. .  26,137,922  24,112,440  + 8  
INHERITANCE TAX ···-···········­ 5,547,061  5,140,244  + 8  
POLL TAX ··--··-···---·-···-········  1,559,321  2,651,406  -41  
GROSS RECEIPTS-UTILITIES  
AND  TELEPHONE  ........... .  6,182,802  5,463,915  + 13  
GROSS  PRODUCTION  
Natural and  casinghead gas ..............  17,719,546  14,826,108  + 20  
Gas gathering tax ·-·······-······-···-·-· 1,093,846 Crude oil ········-··-········­-························ 102,857 ,669  3,687,877 99,901,255  -70 + 3  
Other  ·····················------··-··············  8,400,931  8,717,884  - 4  
LICENSES AND FEES  
Occupation taxes ----··--------------------------­Net motor fuel tax ·······················-·······  19,579,035 90,728,186  16,049,379 86,343,679  + 22 + 5  
Cigarette tax and licenses ------------­Alcoholic beverage tax and licenses..  29,463,919 16,071,599  28,737,670 15,716,845  + 3 + 2  
Sales taxes ···························-·········-······  16,084,844  14,690,465  +  
Other ·············-···-··-··-·············-············ FRANCHISE' TAXES ··--··········  15,252,568 13,913,509  14,447,961 13,754,474  ++ 1  
UNCLASSIFIED RECEIPTS  
Mineral leases, rentals, and bonuses..  28,798,185  20,139,760  + 43  
Oil and gas royalties ··--·······-··········· Interest on securities owned_____________  16,666,989 13,091,411  15,026,649 11,317,044  + 11 + 16  
Motor vehicle licenses, permits, and fees ·--···---··-··················-···· Sale of commodities ·······-····-···············  37,317,288 7,768,409  33,916,237 3,978,721  + 10 + 95  
Other  ·-···-·-----···················-······-····  8,720,337  8,001,704  + 9  
FEDERAL AID  
Highways ····-··-······································ Public health -········································  22,817,569 8,835,113  25,580,499 8,318,179  + 11 + 6  
Public welfare ....................................... .  77,339,771  59,827,553  + 29  
Public education ................................... .  7,361,753  15,128,179  -51  
Other  ··-······---·-·-···················-·-········  1,624,129  1,212,832  + 34  
DONATIONS  ····-·--·····-·--·····-·  55,373  65,403  -15  
UNEMPLOYMENT  COMPEN­ 
SATION TAXES  ................. .  15,403,829  16,549,699  - 7  

CHANGES IN CONDITION OF WEEKLY-REPORTING l\IEMDER 
BANKS IN THE DALLAS DISTRICT 
Source: Board of Go-.ernora of the Federal Reserve System 

Percent change•  
Item  June 1958 from June 1952  June 1953 from May 1953  June 1952 from May 1952  

ASSETS  
Loans and investments ................  +  8  + 2  + 4  
Loans ····----··-···--·······-·············  +  12  x  + 2  
Total U.S. Government securities  - 6  + 6  + 6  
Treasury bills ··--····---·-············  - 22  + 76  2  
Treasury certificates of  
indebtedness ···············-·-········  - 30  + 9  + 2  
Treasury notes ······-····-··········-··  +  2  1  + 1  
Bonds ··--····-········-············--······  +  2  1  + 12  
Other securities ··--··---····-······  +  11  2  1  
Reserve with Federal Reserve  
Banks --·············-·····················  - 7  4  + 8  
Cash in vaults ·················-·············  +  5  + 2  -11  
Balances with domestic banks....  +  14  + 27  + 15  
LIABILITIES  
Total deposits (except interbank)  +  2  + 1  + 4  
Demand deposits (adjusted)··­ +  4  -1  -2  
Time deposits --------­--··-·  +  24  + 2  0  
U. S. Government deposits......  - 60  + 156  +179  
Interbank deposits -········-···········  +  8  + 21  + 16  
Domestic banks ····-············--···  +  8  + 21  + 16  
Foreign banks -·-··----····-····  0  + 13  + 13  
CAPITAL ACCOUNTS ··-··  +  11  0  x  

•Percentage changes are based on the day nearest the end of the 
month. xChange 11 Iese than one half of one percent. 

Tin: f.o.b. Texas City 

It was Easter morning, April 5, 1942, and the war was 17 weeks old. On Bataan there was savage fighting all day, and U.S. newscasters announced that enemy submarines had sunk two more Allied ships off the coast of Virginia. The news from Texas barely had a chance of making the front pages of the Sunday papers. But in all probability, it was the best news of the day: at Texas City, the Longhorn Tin Smelter, world's largest and the only major one in the Americas, went into operation. 
Up to that time, supplies of the vitally needed, soft metal had been almost wholly imported from Old World smelters under British, Dutch, and Belgian control. When the outbreak of war in Europe threatened some of these sources, our government set up the Metals Reserve Com­pany to build a stockpile of tin and other metals. As early as February 1941, considerable quantities of tin were on hand. Yet it seemed advisable to establish a smelter in this country in the interests of national de­fense. Aircraft engines and the motors of mechanized army units turned on bronze and babbitt bearings, almost impossible to make without a certain proportion of tin. Electronic equipment for military use required tin solder. And there were other important applications for the metal. 
If a stockpile had not already been built up by the MRC, war production might have been impeded by a tin shortage before the Longhorn plant went into opera­tion. With the German invasion of the Low Countries, the large refining capacity of Belgium and the Nether­lands was lost to the Allies, although a limited amount of the tin ore mined in the Belgian Congo was smelted there and shipped to the United States. Within months, Japan had captured the tin resources of the Far East, from which most of the world's supplies had previously come. Mines in Malaya and the Indies and major re­fineries at Singapore and Penang fell into enemy hands. Furthermore, the smaller smelters in Australia were cut off from their source of ore, and China was barely ac­cessible to the Western Powers. The free world was left with only two major tin refining centers, England, with four principal smelters, and Texas, with the Tin Process­ing Corporation at Texas City. 
Before the opening of the Longhorn plant, tin smelting in this country had been a tenuous business; its output was irregular and small. As early as 1903 the Inter­national Tin Company had opened a unit at Bayonne, New Jersey, to smelt Malayan ore concentrates; but the enterprise soon failed owing to the high export duties placed by Great Britain on those tin ores shipped to non-English smelters. The American Smelting and Re­fin.in.g Company plant at Maurer, New Jersey, and the Williams, Harvey and Company plant, backed by British, American, and Bolivian interests, were built and operated 
during World War I. Both of these were constructed specifically to take advantage of a 100% rise in the price of refined tin. With war's end, the drop in tin prices coupled with higher labor and ore costs than those of competing foreign smelters forced them to shut down. From then until 1942, U. S. tin was all purchased from foreign smelters, except for the secondary tin tonnage recovered at detinning plants in this country. 
But the experience after World War I indicated that private enterprise might not wish to incur the financial risks of constructing and operating plants that could not compete successfully with established low-cost operations in Europe and Asia. Therefore, the United States govern­ment, through the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, began the task of establishing the Longhorn Tin Smelter. 
The RFC gave the assignment to build and operate a plant to the Tin Processing Corporation, a subsidiary of the N. V. Billiton Maatschappij, a Dutch firm, chosen because of its successful experience over an extended period in smelting Bolivian ores. 
Bolivian tin ore was selected for processing by reason of its nearness to the United States and relative safety from German and Japanese interference. In 1940 the government concluded a five-year treaty with Bolivia to purchase all Bolivian tin ore except the output of the large Patino mines. At that time the Patino mines had a 10-year contract with the British providing for the smelt­ing of all their ore in England. However, by early 1944, the British tin supply had become so improved that sub­stantial amounts of Patino ore were shifted to the Texas smelter. 
Since imported ore was to be used, it became obvious that the plant should be located on or near the coast. After a search by the National Resources Planning Board for suitable sites, Texas City was chosen because of its proximity to the ore deposits and because of the avail­ability of a large supply of natural gas and hydrochloric acid, two commodities consumed in large quantities in the production of tin. 
The Texas City smelter was originally designed to produce 18,000 long tons of pure tin annually, about a sixth of the prewar U. S. consumption. The 1940 total of tin used, 115,497 long tons, was far in excess of the domestic aggregate recovery of secondary tin, only 29,700 tons. 
Before operations began in Texas City, U. S. supplies of tin came from smelters controlled by the British and Dutch. In the face of this virtual monopoly, the position of American stocks was extremely precarious. 
Operations at the Longhorn Tin Smelter started in the spring of 1942; by December of that year 15,695 long tons of pure tin, 87% of the quota, had flowed from the smelter. Loss of the two large tin smelting plants at 
TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 
Singapore and Penang to the Japanese resulted in un· expected dependence upon the Texas center, and plans to expand output to a point commensurate with the needs of the United Nations were set in motion. The possi­bility that the enemy might damage tin smelters in Eng· land and the Belgian Congo was considered. In 1943 an official at the Longhorn Smelter announced that the productive capacity of the plant would be increased to 94,800 tons annually. At this time the installations in Texas and England were the only major smelters left in the hands of the United Nations. Production from the Texas plant increased rapidly-from 20,727 long tons in 1943 to 40,591 in 1945. Output of 43,468 long tons, approximately 44% of the total world production, was reached in 1946. 
Since then, rehabilitation of smelters in Europe and Malaya, together with higher ore prices, has caused pro· duction at Texas City to fall. In 1952, when operations closed down during the summer months, production was at a postwar low of 22,541 long tons. 
Domestic consumption of primary and secondary tin, on the other hand, had not fallen correspondingly. Sus· tained use by various manufacturers accounted for 74,881 long tons of the metal during 1952. The self. evident need for continued supplies has moved Congress to approve legislation extending the cost-plus-fixed-fee arrangement with the Tin Processing Corporation for five years through June 30, 1956. 
The Texas City plant was designed to smelt low-grade ores as well as high tin-content material. During the war years, approximately 70,500 tons of ore were received annually at Texas City. The vast majority of the stocks, averaging 59,000 tons yearly, were low-grade 42% tin ores from Bolivia. To these supplies were added annual stocks of 74% metal-content concentrates from the Bel­gian Congo ( 6,300 tons) and Indonesia ( 4,500 tons from stockpiles obtained before Japanese occupation). 
Since the Japanese surrender, increased quantities of high-grade tin ore from Southeast Asia have arrived. In 1950 about 20,200 tons, with an average tin-content of 73.3%, were imported from Indonesia and Siam. Bolivian concentrates, amounting to 50,600 tons and averaging only 34% tin, continued to make up the largest percent· age of the the receipts at the Longhorn smelter. Light shipments from the Belgian Congo and smaller quanti· ties from other sources brought the total ore at the smelter to 74,500 tons for 1950. 
Tin prices, long subject to rapid changes in level, re­cently fell to about 85 cents a pound from more than $1.21 in March. This present price for Straits tin (metal at least 99.75% pure) is the lowest since July 1950. 
On August 16, 1941, the Office of Price Administra· tion and Civilian Supply established a ceiling price of 52 cents a pound for Straits tin, a price that remained in force until November 12, 1946, when price controls were removed. Thereafter, the price was increased stead­ily by the RFC, until a set price of $1.03 was reached. This remained in effect until September 28, 1949. A series of separate markdowns then lowered the price to less than 74 cents by February 1950. 
In March, following the session of the International Tin Study Group, the falling price pattern halted and even improved slightly. On the eve of the North Korean invasion, the price was 76% cents. At this point the up­ward movement hastened, especially with the prospect of reduced offerings by the British Ministry of Supply. By December 30, 1950, the price for Straits tin was quoted at $1.51. Less than a month later, the New York price was the highest on record, $1.84 a pound. 
Shortly, the United States began curtailing purchases of both ores and metal. Imports in 1951, in terms of metal content, dropped to 29,248 tons, and the price fell to $1.03 in December. Imports from Bolivia, repre­senting 12,869 tons of tin, dropped to their lowest level since smelting operations began at Longhorn. 
The RFC, the sole importer of tin from March 1951 until August 1952, began to be concerned about the de­clining stocks of ore but refused to meet the price of $1.50 demanded by the Bolivians. In January 1952, nego­tiations between representatives of the British and United States governments resulted in an exchange of Ameri­can steel for British tin and aluminum. The United King­dom agreed to sell 20,000 tons of Malayan tin for $1.18 a pound over a twelve-month period. The stalemate was broken. The price of tin quickly rose just above $1.21 per pound where it remained until the recent price decline. 
Although the United States has had no long-term con· tract with Bolivia for almost two years, concentrates con· taining 12,495 tons of tin were purchased during 1952. Recent developments indicate that the long Bolivian tin controversy, which culminated in the nationalization of the large tin mining companies by the new revolutionary government headed by President Victor Paz Estenssoro, is about to be ended. Our State Department has held that no contract would be signed until American stockholders recover their losses. This position has brought forth as­surances from the Bolivian government that holders will be recompensed for their investment. 
Through war and peace, tin remains one of the most indispensable of metals. While the public mind usually associates the metal with tin cans, this is but one of the more important of a number of essential uses. Consump· tion figures for 1952 reveal that tin and terneplate took 38% of primary and secondary tin production. Most tin plate went into the manufacture of tin cans while terne· plate, made by coating sheet steel with a tin and lead alloy, was used in the fabrication of roofing material, automobile gas tanks, oil cans, and other manufactured products requiring a thick, rugged coating. The manu· facture of bronze and brass took the second greatest quan· tity of tin, and third was solder manufacture. Collapsible tubes and foil, which formerly required substantial amounts of tin, are now being fabricated primarily of aluminum, partly to take advantage of inherent quali· ties which are not possessed by tin and partly to conserve tin. The quantities of tin required in the manufacture of babbitt metal and type metal and in tinning have held steady over the years. Of the total quantity of tin consumed in the United States during 1952, practically two-thirds of the tonnage was primary metal from the Longhorn and foreign smelters, with the Texas smelter contributing ap· proximate! y half of this primary tonnage. Secondary tin tonnage comes from various detinning plants in this country, where tin-containing waste and by-products are processed to recover the metal in the most economical 

manner. The waste products processed include (a) ma­terials of an oxidic character, such as tin ash, liqua­tion residues, and slags; and (b) materials of a pre­dominantly metallic character, such as tin-plate wastes from the plate and canning industry and tin alloys. 
The Longhorn Smelter is constructed to handle all grades of tin ore from the pure alluvial concentrates to the lowest-grade primary ores. The process used depends upon the chemical composition and the physical prop­erties of the tin compound. 
In the case of pure alluvial ores which contain only small amounts of impurities, a single two-step reduction process in reverberatory furnaces is sufficient to yield a high recovery of top-purity metal. Approximately half the tin mixtures processed at the Longhorn Smelter, how­ever, are primary ores and concentrates from Bolivia, containing base metals in such large quantities that reverberatory smelting would yield a low-grade metal of limited use. In addition to their high base metal con­tent, most Bolivian ores contain excessive sulfur which must also be eliminated before subjecting the ores to reverberatory smelting. Often the iron content of Bo­livian ores is excessive for direct smelting, and in the low grades the percentage of silica is also high. 
Upon arrival at the smelters, the ores are weighed, sampled, and stored in piles according to their required treatment. Most ores received come under the less-than­10%-silica-content classification. These ores are pow­dered, with or without a reducing agent, and cooled to room temperature, thus making for their ready solubility in hot hydrochloric acid. Dust losses occur in these powdering kilns, owing to the extreme fineness of the ore, but the dust is caught, precipitated in a dust col­lector, and immediately returned to the kiln. Cooled gas from the kilns is further treated in an installation which precipitates the remaining dust together with the fu~es. The precipitate from this latter installation has a high percentage of arsenic and antimony and requires separate treatment. 
The medium-and low-grade ores received at the plant generally contain excessive amounts of worthless rock, vein matter, and iron compounds. These ores fall into two groups. In the first group the percentage of base metals is sufficiently low to allow direct smelting which will yield an alloy of tin from which pure metal may be produced. The worthless rock, vein matter and iron compounds are carried off in the slag together with a small amount of tin. In the other group, in which metallic impurities are too high to yield a clean alloy of tin by smelting, a roasting and leaching process must be em­ployed first. Generally, these ores become free-milling following this treatment, so that the residues yield high­grade concentrates in the dressing plant. In some cases it is necessary to repeat the roasting and leaching process to obtain a residue sufficiently high-grade to warrant sending through the reverberatory furnace. 
Smelting in the natural-gas-fired reverberatory furnace is a two-step process. In the first step a limited quantity of the reducing agent is used so that metallic tin, prac­tically free from iron, is obtained. After this operation the slag still carries considerable tin. In the second step, the primary slag is further reduced to a low tin content in the final slag. This is brought about by introducing a great amount of iron which combines with the tin to form an alloy called "hardhead." This alloy, which usually contains over 80% tin, is treated simultaneously with the ore in the first operation, whereby the iron acts as a reducing agent. 
Texas-produced tin is cast in bars or pigs weighing about 83 pounds and trademarked "LONGHORN THREE STAR" (two stars and one star have been used on lower­grade products no longer made). The present rated yearly capacity of the smelter is 96,000 tons of finished tin assaying 99.75% purity or better. 
The future of the Longhorn Smelter is closely linked with the future use of tin in this country. During the last decade, a strenuous effort has been made to find sub­stitutes for tin. World War II gave such impetus to the search that we are now close to rendering the metal 
noncritical. I~ the case of tinplate manufacture, long the greatest use of tin, new methods and substitutes have sharply reduced the required tin tonnage. Wider use of the eco­nomical electrolytic tin plating method (the coating of tin on one side only, or just sufficient coverage for mini­mum external protection and solderability), the use of lacq~er-coat~d black plate, elimination of the solder by weldmg or side-seam cements, and the use of aluminum­coated steel are but a few of the means by which the use of tin in the canning industry has been reduced. If cost were not a consideration, widespread substitution of other metals for tin in plating would he possible. Reduction of the use of tin in solder is feasible hut here again cost is a factor, and it is likely that no ;harp reduction in this use will come about in the foreseeable future. The amount of tin used in collapsible tubes and foil has also grow~ steadily smaller, its place having been taken by alummum and lead. Bronze and babbitt are gradually having their tin content reduced, and titanium is taking tin's place in bronze. On the other side of the balance are the new tin-con­taining alloys being developed by the electroplating in­dustry. These alloys are expected to consume substantial quantities of tin. Meanwhile, in the field of electronics tin i~ its c~pacity as a semiconductor may play an in: creasmgly important role in transistors, devices being developed to replace the vacuum tube in many uses. While this use may not take many tons of the metal ini­tially, it is the type of development that could drastically change the picture for tin. In summing up, the future for tin does not appear as bright as that for other metals, such as aluminum, mag­nesium, titanium, and molybdenum. Its production should show modest growth, however, probably somewhat under the average growth shown for other metals. Reserves of tin ores appear to be adequate for at least 25 years' pro­duction at current or slightly increased rates. Finally, while efforts to make tin a noncritical metal continue, the tendency seems to be to maintain the status quo as regards its production, for we are secure in the knowl­edge that soon we shall be in such a position that an emergency will find us able to take tin or leave it. 
FRANK T. CADENA 
TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 




Local Business 

Percent change 	Percent change 
Jan-J une 1953 June 1953 Jan-June 1953 June 1953 June from from June from from City and item 1953 Jan-June 1952 May 1953 City and item 1953 Jan-June 1952 May 1953 
ABILENE: (pop. 45,570) 	AUSTIN: (pop. 132,459) 
Retail sales ------------------------------------------8 Retail sales --·------·---------------------+ 14 -5 
Department and apparel stores________ 

-22 Automotive stores ------------------------------+ 25 -14 Postal receipts ---------------------------$ 53,336 + 2 -5 Department and apparel stores__________ + 1 -18 Value of building permits ----------------$ 1,463,133 5 + 142 Eating and drinking places ·--···---·-----··· + 15 -21 Bank debits (thousands ) __________________$ 51,172 x + 2 Filling stations ------·---·····-----------··--------·· + 1 x End-of-month deposits (thousands) t-----$ 51,162 4 + 4 Food stores -------------------·----···-------------­+ 2 x 
Annual rate of deposit turnover________ 12.2 + 4 Furniture and household
+ 

Employment ----·-----------·---··-------·----·--25,450 3 x appliance stores ----------··---------------­-30 
+ 

Manufacturing employment ----·---····-3,340 + 5 + 1 Lumber, building material, Percent of labor force unemployed______ 5.6 + 26 + 40 and hardware stores ---------·-··--·--------­+ 16 + 19 Air express shipments -·-·---··--·---·--··---·---259 + 27 -8 Postal receipts ------------·-·-·-----------·---·-·$ 202,134 + 7 2
+ Telephones in service ·---------------------22,698 + 7 Value of building permito ·------------·--------$ 2,251,835 + a -35 Bank debits (thousands) --------·---------$ 116,207 6 + 11
+ 

End-of-month deposits (thousands) t------$ 101,144 8 x
ALICE : (pop. 16,449) Percent of labor force unemployed________ 3.3 

+ 6 

Postal receipts ---·-------------------$ 9,628 + 1 + 3 Air express shipments ----··---·----··-···-··--·--607 + 32 -4 Value of building permits ----------------$ 82,100 + 7 -38 Telephones in service ----·-··-·-·-----------------·-59,271 + 4 Bank debits (thousands) ------------------$ 11,778 + 8 End-of-month deposits (thousands ) t ------$ 14,104 -1 Annual rate of deposit turnover______ 10.0 0 BEAUMONT: (pop. 94,014) 
Air express shipments -----------------------12 + 7 -14 Retail sales• ---·-·------------------­+ 9 5 Automotive stores• ---------------+ 21 Department and apparel stores___________ 
+ 2

ALPINE: (pop. 5,261) Eating and drinking places•-·-----·---1 4 Postal receipts --------------··-----·----$ 3,492 -3 + 7 F ood stores• -··--------------------------···----4 + Value of building permits _______________$ 2,000 -Furniture and household
+ 12 83 
Bank debits (thousands) ______________$ 2,053 

-10 appliance stores• ---------------·----------+ 32 + 2 End-of-month deposits (thousands) t___$ 3,987 -5 x General merchandise stores• ________.,:._ ___ + Annual rate of deposit turnover__________ 6.2 -6 2 Lumber, building ma.terial, Air express shipments ----------------8 -31 -38 and hardware stores• -------------------­9 + 14 Postal receipts -------·----·----··----·-·-····---$ 76,143 9 3
+ 
Value of building permits -----·------·-·---$ 507,758 -22 7
AMARILLO: (pop. 74,246) 
Bank debits (thousands) --------------·-----$ 129,880 + 4
+ 

Retail sales* ---------------·-------+ 6 -1 End-of-month deposits (thousands)t______$ 94,519 -1 1 Department and apparel stores_________ -15 -18 Annual rate of deposit turnover__________ 16.3 + 6 + 3 
Drug stores* ------------------------------­-9 Air express shipments ---------------------­289 -10 + 5 Office, store, and school Waterborne commerce (tons) -----------­41,876 1 + 28 supp ly dealers* -------------------------­-14 9 Telephones in service ------------------------40,489 3
+ 

Postal receipts ------------------··-----------$ 115,408 + 2 Value of building permits ------------·----$ 1,040,138 7 -27 Bank debits (thousands ) -----------------·--··$ 132,499 3 + 4 BEEVILLE: (pop. 9,348) 
E nd-of-month deposits (thousands) L ----$ 105,863 4 + 4 Postal receipts -··-----------·-·-----------·-----$ 7,135 + 4 + 42 Annual rate of deposit turnover______ 15.4 2 4 Value of building permits -$ 10,815
----···-·----­Employment -----·---------·----------------------42,950 + 5 Bank debits (thousands) ·----------------·-----$ 5,734 6 5 
+ + 	-26 + 20 
+ 

Manufacturing employment ------------5,060 + 12 1 End-of-month deposits (thousandsH-----$ 11,846 x 3
+

Percent of labor force unemployed_____ 6.2 + 43 + 27 	Annual rate of deposit turnover___________ 5.9 8 -5
+ Air express shipments ------------------------­676 + 45 -7 Air express shipments +141 -38 
Telephones in service --------------------------43,608 + 12 
BIG SPRING: (pop. 17,286)ARLINGTON: (pop. 7,692) 
Retail sales ---·-----------------·-----·--------8 -15
+

P ostal receipts -----------·------·---·-------$ 9,602 + 34 x Department and apparel stores_________ 
1 -21
Value of building permsts _________________ $ 
893,155 -11 P ostal receipts ----··---·----·--------·---------··-----$ 17,811 + 5 + 28Ba nk debits (thousands) ---···-----·---·----$ 8,257 + 36 8

+ Value of building permits -----·-·---··------··-$ 41,040 -63 	-88End-of-month deposits (thousands) t------$ 9,993 + 53 + Bank debits (thousands) ··-·-------------·---·$ 20,231 8 s
Annual rate of deposit turnover_________ 10.3 -12 + 3 	+ 
End-of-month deposits (thousands) t------$ 23,521 -8 2
+Annual rate of deposit turnover__________ 
10.4 1 3
+ + 

BAYTOWN: (pop. 22,983) 	Air express shipments ---------------------------­75 + 15 + 44 Telephones in service -----------------------8,172 + 18
Postal receipts -------·-----·-·---------··------$ 15,072 + 5 + 8 Value of building permits ---------------------$ 119,220 -21 -36 Bank debits (thousands) ·-·-----·-----····-·----$ 18,348 9

+ + BRENHAM: (pop. 6,941)
End-of-month deposits (thousands)+---·-$ 18,934 7 1
+ 

Annual rate of deposit turnover____________ 
11.6 2 8 	Postal receipts -···---------·---·---·------···-------$ 5,833 + 6 + 17
+ + 
Value of building permits ·-----------·---·------$ 38,650 ­

Employment (a rea) --·---·-·----------·------355,800 + 4 x 	+ 30 55 
Bank debits (thousands) -------···-------·-·--·---$ 5,655 1 4

Manufacturing employment (area ) ·--­84,850 + 5 x 	+ 
End-of-month deposits (thousands) t --·---$ 9,867 3

Percent of labor force unemployed 	+
Annual rate of deposit turnover __________ 6.9 3 6

(area) ----------------·-··-------·------------3.1 + + 15 	+ 
Telephones in service ------------------------------8,553 + For explanation of aymbol1, -p. 28. 
JULY 1953 


Conditions 

Percent change Percent change 
J an-June 1953 June 1953 Jan-June 1953 June 1953 June from from June from from City and item 1953 Jan-June 1952 May 1953 City and item 1953 Jan-June 1952 May 1953 
BROWNSVILLE: (pop. 36,066) CORSICANA: (pop. 19,211) 
x -16 Department and apparel stores sales.... -------------5 -11
Retail sales* ----------------------------------------·-··----­
Department and apparel stores·---·------­8 -34 Postal receipts ----·-------------------------··-----------$ 22,006 + 19 + 86 18,942 x x Value of building permits ------------------------$· 115,810 -27 + 80
Postal receipts -----------------------------··--·----·----$ 
Bank debits (thousands ) -----------$ 12,399 2 15
Value of building permits ---·--·-·----···---·---·$ 171,915 + 38 -68 -------·-+ 
End-of-month deposits (thousands) t -----$ 19,655 7 2
Air express shipments --------------------··---------­873 -13 + 6 + 
Annual rate of deposit turnover________ ____
Waterborne commerce (tons) ---··--------·-­77,074 + 11 x 7.7 + 7 + 17 Telephones in service ----------------------------6,696 + 2
Telephones in service --------------------------------8,694 + 6 
DEL RIO: (pop. 14,211)BROWNWOOD: (pop. 20,181) Postal receipts ----------------------$ 8,466 + 26 + 4 5 -6 Value of building permits -------------·---------$ 32,580 -19 -8
Retail sales ---------------------------------------+ Department and apparel stores-------·---­+ 6 -11 
Bank debits (thousands ) ----------------------$ 7,411 + 21 -13 14,577 2 -1 End-of-month deposits (thousands ) t-----$ 10,137 -1 -2
Postsl receipts --------------·-------·------------------$ 
Annual rate of deposit turnover________ _ 8.7 + 22 -20Value of building permits ----··--·--··---------$ 38,888 -34 + 50 Bank debits (thousands) -----------·------··----$ 9,006 -15 + 4 
Air express shipments ------------------14 -4 -7 
End-of-month deposits (thousands) t......$ 12,943 x + 1 
Annual rate of deposit turnover_____ ________ 8.4 -15 + 4 DEMSON: (pop. 17,504) 
Retail sales ---------------+ 15 2

Air express shipments -------------------------13 -19 -32 
Department and apparel stores_____ 5 2

+ + Postal receipts ---------------------------------$ 11,516 -1 1 CORPUS CHRISTI: (pop. 108,287) Value of building permits ----------------$ 42,652 + 74 -53 
Bank debits (thousands) _________________$ 
11,917 + 11 -9 Retail sales ---------------·---------------------------------+ 15 + 8 End-of-month deposits (thousandsH---$ 16,016 + 22 6

+-

Apparel stores -----·--·--------------------------­1 + 3 Annual rate of deposit turnover_______ 9.2 9 Automotive stores ---------------------------------­+ 22 + 6 -12 
Telephones in service ------------------------7,241 x 
Country general stores ----------------------­-12 -10 
Department store salest -------------------­+ 13 + 2 


DENTON: (pop. 21,372)
Lumber, building material, 

Retail sales --------------------------------+ 11 -17
and hardware stores ------------------------+ 1 + 10 Department and apparel stores_________ x 36
-Postal receipts -------------------------------------$ 116,599 + 7 + 7 

4 Postal receipts --------------------------------$ 18,710 x -2 
Value of building permits -----------------$ 1,638,198 + 21 Value of building permits --------------$ 238,797 + 16 + 96
Bank debits (thousands) -----------------$ 152,448 + 10 + 8 Bank debits (thousands) ---------------------$ 10,477 x + 5
End-of-month deposits (thousandsH..-.$ 110,175 + 7 + 1 
End-of-month deposits (thousands) t--$ 13,720 8 5
Annual rate of deposit turnover__________ 16.7 + 3 + 8 + + 
Annual rate of deposit turnover_________ 9-4 8 + 3 
Employment -------·--------------------------------·-60,900 + 4 

x 
Manufacturing employment ----------7,510 + 8 + 1 


EAGLE PASS: (pop. 7,276)
Percent of labor force unemployed__________ 5.8 + 48 + 23 

Postal receipts --·------------------------------------$ 4,819 + 2 + 7
Air express shipments -------------------·-------­371 + 17 -22 

Value of building permits ------------------------$ 31,420 +253 -85Waterborne commerce (tons) --------------­1,998,805 + 4 -13 
Bank debits (thousands ) --------------------$ 3,224 -11 
Telephones in service ------------------------51,694 + 8 End-of-month deposits (thousandsH------$ 3,056 Annual rate of deposit turnover____________ 12.3 + 3 
Air express shipments -------------------------17 + 9 0
DALLAS: (pop. 434,462) 
Retsil sales• -------------------------­+ 6 -8 EL PASO: (pop. 130,485)Apparel stores• ----------------------­+ 4 -14 9
Retail sales• --------------------­+ ­Automotive stores• -------------------­+ 31 

-14 Apparel stores• ---------------------------------­+ 2 -20 Department store salest ----------------­+ 5 -14 
Automotive stores• -----------------------------­+ 5 7 

Drug stores• -----------------­-1 -8 Department store salest -----------------------+ 7 5 Eating and drinking places•----------­x -9 
Drug stores• ----------------------------------·-----+ 10 6 Farm and garden supply dealers*-------­-16 -29 Furniture and household 

Filling stations* ------------------+ 4 + 1 appliance stores• ---------------------------+ 12 13 
8 -23

Florists• --------------------·----------­General merchandise stores• _______________ _ 
+ 1 

Food stores• ----------------------------+ 4 8 Lumber, building material, 
Furniture and household 

and hardware stores• ---·-----·····---------­+ 18 + 17 appliance stores• --------------------­+ 8 + 5 Office, store, and school Lumber, building material, 
supply dealers• ··---·----·-----·-·---·---·-----·--+ 37 + 8 and hardware stores• ----------------------­+
5 6 
Piano stores• -------------------------------------------+ 13 -21 
Office, store, and school 
Postal receipts -------·--·--·---·-----··-------·-----------.$ 178,407 + 1 + 5 
supply dealers• -------------------------------+ 16 -22 

Value of building permits ---·-----·-·---··-·--·--$ 1,564,108 +101 -35 Postal receipts ---------------------$ 1,428,027 + 10 2 Bank debits (t housands) --·-·-------·-··--·------$ 193,837 + 19 + 7 
Value of building permits -----------$ 8,179,858 + 29 6 

End-of-month deposits (thousands) t .....$ 119,853 -7 + 4 Bank debits (thousands) ----------$ 1,618,612 + 15 x 
Annual rate of deposit turnover ----·--··-·--­19.8 + 27 + 8End-of-month deposits (thousands)t.____ 
$ 892,418 7 3-+ Employment ----··-----·---------------------------·--·-----66,900 + 5 x Annual rate of deposit turnover__________
_ 22.1 + 23 3 

Manufacturing em ployment -------·---· __ 10,640 + 8 + 3 Employment ----------------------·----------·---291,965 + 4 x Percent of labor force unemployed ···---·-­3.6 0
+ 17 
Manufacturing employment ------------·--75,735 + 10 x 
Air express shipments -----------·----------------_ 1,409 + 18 2 
Percent of labor force unemployed_________ 2.6 + 10 + 18 Tourists entering Mexico --··-----------·-·-··----­3,925 8 + 28 Air express sh ipments ----------·--·------------7,831 + 2 -12 
Tourist cars entering Mexico -----------------· 1,447 -5 + 34 
Telephones in service ------------------------279,868 + 5 
For explanation of symbols, see P-t~. 
TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 



LOCAL BUSINESS CONDITIONS 

Percent change Percent change 
Jan-June 1963 June 1953 Jan-June 1953 June 1953 
June from from June from from 
City and item 1963 Jan-June 1952 May 1953 City and item 1953 Jan-June 1952 May 1953 
EDINBURG (pop. 12,383) GREENVILLE: (pop. 14,727) 
Postal receipts -------------············-···-----$ 8,120 + 5 + 16 x
Retail sales• ---··-·--·-·-··--·--··········-­

Value of building permits -----·········-······$ 7,644 1 -86 ........ . 8

Department and apparel stores--2 Bank debits (thousands) -·····-····--···-------$ 8,701 2 + 2 15,923 x 6
Postal receipts --···------········-···········$ + 
End-of-month depo•its (thousands) L ....$ 8,920 + 9 -4 Value of building permits -----·---·----········$ 110,639 -23 + 47 
Annual rate of deposit turnover___________ 11.5 9 8

+ Bank debits (thousands) ·········--·-····-···-$ 12,014 x + 13 Air express shipments ---------------------­6 + 26 -60 End-of-month deposits (thousands) t----$ 12,439 x -1 
Telephones in service -·······-·-·····-········-3,109 + 4 Annual rate of deposit turnover.. ·--·--···-· 11.5 + + 13 
FORT WORTH: (pop. 278,778) Retail sales• -------------------------3 -7 HARLINGEN: (pop. 23,229) Apparel stores• ---------·····-·------------­+ 
7 -17 

Retail sales• -·-·-----·-····--·····-········-·--+ 7 Automotive stores• ------------------------·----­+ 15 + 
Postal receipts ------·--------···················--$ 23,640 + 22 + 8 Department store salest ----···············--1 

Value of building permits ····················-··$ 86,700 2 -42 ----------················
Drug stores• --------+ 9 Bank debits (thousands) ---·--········--·---$ 26,789 + 4 + 21 
Eating and drinking places• ------------­

End-of-month deposits (thousands) t......$ 19,944 3 + 10 Filling stations• -----------------------········ + Annual rate of deposit turnover.___________ 16.9 + 8 + 17 Food stores• ------------------····-············ + 
7 7 Air express shipments -·---··-------------····· 77 + 17 + 38 
Furniture and household 

Telephones in service ------------·-···-----9,829 + 18 appliance stores• -------------------------­7 -11 Lumber, building material, and hardware stores• --------------­-8 HENDERSON: (pop. 6,833) Postal receipts ---------··········------$ 452,080 + -2 
Retail sales• ---··-·····-····--··--··-­1 

Value of building permits -·-··············---$ 5,461,992 7 + 84 + 
Postal receipts -----·--···----$ 7,644 x + 7
Bank debits (thousands) _________$ 646,989 8 + 31 + Value of building permits -···············---$' 51,400 + 134 + 66 End-of-month deposits (thousands) t----$ 340,248 9 5+ Bank debits (thousands) ------··----$ 6,061 -17 x Annual rate of deposit turnover__________ 23.4 + 19 + 29 End-of-month deposits (thousands) t---$ 13,518 8 x

+ Employment -----------------------············ + Annual rate of deposit turnover_____ 5.4 -19 + 2161,900 1 x 
Ma nufacturing employment -------··---62,430 -4 x Percent of labor force unemployed________ 6.3 + 12 + 10 Air express shipments ----------------------­1,682 6 -18 HOUSTON: (pop. 596,163) Telephones in service ----------------------163,457 + 8 
Retail sales• -·---·--···············--·-·-·--­+ 25 -3 Apparel stores• --·-··--········-········-··­+ 25 -15


GALVESTON: (pop. 66,568) 

3 -3 Automotive stores• ----··--···-----------­+ 64 Retail sales ----·--·-·-········-·--··-·-+ 
Department store salest ·----····--·· + 8
Automotive stores ------·---·------+ 31 + 6 
Drug stores• ---------·----­-14
Department and apparel stores_ ....... . 2 -14 

Eating and drinking places•--··--·-· + 6Eating and drinking places·-··-··---· 6 + 9 

2 4 Filling stations• --------------­+ 2 + 8 
Food stores ··-------·-----------· 
Food stores• -------···--·-·--­+ 18 8
Furniture and household Furniture and household 
appliance stores -------------------···--­+ 12 
appliance stores• ----------------­7
Lum ber, building material, 
Lumber, building material,
and hardware stores ---------··--------·-­-17 + 16 and hardware stores• -------------·----···· + 15 
Postal receipts ---------···--····--·-·······-$ 63,071 -2 -5 
Postal receipts --·-·-----------···--··-·-··--·$ 862,653 + 9 -6 Value of building permits -------·-----·--·-·$ 172,166 + 101 -17 Value of building permits ···········-·····--$21,258,342 + 35 + 91
Bank debits (thousands) ···-···-·····-----· $ 78,953 -1 + 7 
Bank debits (thousands ) -------····---$ 1,713,193 8 6

End-of-memth deposits (thousands)!......$ 81,442 -15 + 4 + + 
End-of-month deposits (thousands) t......$ 1,064,156 -2 +Annual rate of deposit turnover_._______. 11.9 + 16 + 4 Annual rate of deposit turnover____________ 19.6 + 10 +
Air express shipments ---------------­466 + 31 
Employment (area) ---------·--·--········· 366,800 + 4 x Telephones in service ---·-·-···---·-------28,981 + 1 
Manufacturing employment (area) .... 84,850 + 5 x Percent of labor force unemployed
GARLAND: (pop. 10,571) 
(area) --·--·----------··-·----·---3.1 + 8 + 15
Postal receipts -·-------·--------·-$ 9,167 + 7 -3 
Air express shipments --·--------------·--·-­4,214 2 -8Value of building permits ---·-----$ 761,722 + 9 + 40 Telephones in service --·---------········· 346,410 + 9Bank debits (thousands) ------·-----$ 10,020 + 22 + 21 End-of-month deposits (thousands) L -$ 8,616 + 21 -1 Annual rate of deposit turnover---·----14.1 + 1 + 23 
HEREFORD: (pop. 5,207) 
Postal receipts -·-----·-------·--·········-$ 5,455 + 7 + 24


GLADEWATER: (pop. 5,305) 
Value of building permits -··--··--·-··------$ 46,500 -10 -26Postal receipts -----·--······················$ 4,157 + 2 -12 Bank debits (thousands) ···---···-·--··········$ 7,166 + 2 + 7 Value of building permits --·---····-·-········$ 39,000 -22 End-of-month deposits (thousands) L ....$ 8,201 + 10 -10Bank debits (thousands) --··-··············--·$ 4,109 + 7 -9 
Annual rate of deposit turnover._ .......... . 9.9 -7 + 15

End-of-month deposits (thousands ) t......$ 4,648 + 8 -4 Annual rate of deposit turnover.__........ 10.6 -1 -10 Air express shipments --------·-······· -21 -88 

LAMESA: (pop. 10,704) GONZALES: (pop. 5,659) Postal receipts --------·-·-----············-$ 6,431 -6 + 12 Value of building permits ·········-··--····-·$ 12,000 -32 +500
Postal receipts --------······--····-····· $ 4,667 + 3 -2 Value of building permits ·----·········-----$ 18,500 -21 + 22 Bank debits (thousands) -----········$ 6,116 -26 7 End-of-month deposits (thousands);___$ 12,169 -18 -3Bank debits (thousands) --··---·········$ 4,765 8 + 9 End-of-month deposits (thousands) t ----$ 6,041 + 2 -2 
Annual r ate of deposit turnover.......... -.. 6.9 9 -6 2,868

Annual rate of deposit turnover-..·-··-·· 9.4 9 + 12 Telephones in service --··--····---·--·-+ 11 
Telephones in service --------------·----1,77() + 4 For explanation of symbola, see pair• 28. 


LOCAL BUSINESS CONDITIONS 

Percent change 	Percent change 
Jan-June 1953 June 1953 J an -June 1953 June 1953 June from from June from from City and item 1953 J an-June 1952 May 1953 City and item 1953 Ja n-June 1952 May 1953 
KILLEEN: (pop. 7,045) 	LUFKIN: (pop. 15,135) 
Postal receipts -----------------------------------$ 16,470 -47 + 15 13,009 5 7 Value of building permits ---------------------$ 49,390 +237 Postal receipts -------------------------------------------$ + ­
Value of building permits -----------------------$ 28,200 7 -56 Bank debits (thousands) ------------------------$ 4,229 -27 3
+ Bank debits (thousands) -----------------------$ 18,989 + 7 + 16 End-of-month deposits (thousands)+-----$ 10,077 2 1
+ + End-of-month deposits (thousands )+-----$ 21,363 + 10 + 2 Annual rate of deposit turnover_______ ____ 
5.1 	-30 + 4 Annual rate of deposit turnover_____ _______ _ 10.8 4 + 14 Air express shipments ----------------------------31 + 18 -21 
LAMPASAS: (pop. 4,869) 
Retail sales• -------------------------------------------	-5 
McALLEN: (pop. 20,067)
Postal receipts ------------------------------------------$ 2,956 -5 + 6 Value of building permits ------------------------$ 26,150 -29 +4258 Retail sales ----------------------------------------------+ 10 -12 Bank debits (thousands) ________________________ $ 4,119 5 1 Department and apparel stores____________ + 7 -30 
End-of-month deposits (thousands)+------$ 6,791 + 3 + Postal receipts -----------------------------------------$ 14,361 + 1 -5 Annual rate of deposit turnover______________ Value of building permits _______________________$ 105,600 + 36 +
7.3 	8 4 67 Air express shipments ----------------------------­60 + 9 +n Telephones in service --------------···--·------------6,844 + 8

LAREDO: (pop. 51,910) 
Department and apparel stores sales____ -2 -19 
Postal receipts ----------------------------------------$ 22,076 + 12 -13 MARLIN: (pop. 7,099)Value of building permits ________________ __
_____$ 26,175 +201 -75 
Postal receipts ----------------------------------------$ 5,684 -3 + 13
Bank debits (thousands) _________________________$ 
20,097 -5 1 Value of building permits ____________________ ____ $ 27,586 -59 + 17 
End-of-month deposits (thousands>+------$ 18,961 -11 + 1 Bank debits (thousands ) -----------------------$ 2,933 -7 + 9
Annual rate of deposit turnover__ ___________ _ 12.7 7 0
+ End-of-month deposits (thousands>+-----$ 4,240 -17 + 2 Air express shipments -----------------------------­143 -24 -14 Annual rate of deposit turnover__________:__ 8.4 + 11 9 Telephones in service -----------------------·--­10,099 + 13 + 
Tourists entering Mexico ----------------------11,198 -21 + 24 
Tourist cars entering Mexico.................... 4,143 -12 + 43 MARSHALL: (pop. 22,327) 

Retail sales ------------------------------------------------+ 5 -9 
Department and apparel stores____ ________

LLANO: (pop. 2,954) + 10 + 7 Postal receipts ------------------------------$ 1,682 -4 + 7 Postal receipts -------------------------------------------$ 15,675 + 11 -14 Value of building permits _________________ ___ ____$ 9,000 -24 -31 Value of building permits _______________________$ 154,446 + 73 + 49 
Bank debits (thousands) -----------------------$ 2,115 -19 -10 Bank debits (thousands ) -------------------------$ 14,673 + 15 + 8 
End-of-month deposits (thousands)+------$ 3,497 -1 x End-of-month deposits (thousands) i -
----$ 20,109 + 5 x 
Annual rate of deposit turnover____________ _ 7.3 -17 -12 Annual rate of deposit turnover______________ 8.8 + 9 + 10 

Telephones in services -------------------------------8,301 + 4 
LOCKHART: (pop. 5,573) 
Postal receipts ---------------------------------------$ 2,861 + 5 + 14 MERCEDES: (pop. I0,081)

Value of building permits ____________________ __ 
$ 15,850 -71 + 89 
Bank debits (thousands) __________________________$ +

Postal receipts -----------------------------------------$ 4,363 3 -1 2,646 -2 -13 
Value of building peTmits ------------------------$ 2,650 + 175 + 919
End-of-month deposits (thousands)+------$ 4,459 + 7 -1 Bank debits (thousands) __________________________ $ 6,531 6 6
Annual rate of deposit turnover.............. 7.1 -13 -10 + 

End-of-month deposits (thousands) i ______$ 5,728 Annual rate of deposit turnover___________ _ 13.4 0 7 
LONGVIEW: (pop. 24,502) + Postal receipts -------------------------------------------$ 27,605 + 6 + 15 
Value of building permits _______________________$ 337,882 -34 3 	MIDLAND: (pop. 21,713) 
Bank debits (thousands) --------------------------$ 32,847 + 2 + 1 	Postal receipts ------------------------------------------$ 41,072 + 12 + 7 
Value of building permits ________________________ $

End-of-month deposits (thousands)+------$ 36,676 + 6 + 3 567,509 3 + 61 Annual rate of deposit turnover.............. 10.9 -1 + Bank debits (thousands) ------------------------$ 49,103 4 Air express shipments ----------------------------­175 + 42 End-of-month deposits (thousands) t -----$ 62,626 + 4 + 3 
Annual rate of deposit turnover______________
Telephones in service -------------------------------12,588 + 7 9.5 9 -5 Air express shipments ------------------------------­159 -13 -15 
Telephones in service -----------------------------17,671 + 18

LUBBOCK: (pop. 	71,747) 
Retail sales -----------------------------------------------+ 10 -14 Automotive stores --------------·------------··---+ 16 MONAHANS: (pop. 6,3ll)
-1() 
Department and apparel stores___________ _ x -21 


Postal receipts ----------------------------------------$ 4,654 -3 + 11 
Furniture and household 	Value of building permits _____________ _________$ 
51,235 + 138 + 23 

appliance stores ------·-----------·---------­+ 46 -7 Bank debits (thousands) ------------------------$ 6,122 + 8 + 3 General merchandise stores -------------·--­x -23 
End-of-month deposits (thousands) t ------$ 6,163 + 4 + 7 Lumber, building material, Annual rate of deposit turnover______________ 12.S 4
+ +

and hardware stores ---···----···-----·------­+ 10 -7 Postal receipts ------------------------------------------$ 78,745 + 5 + 6 Value of building permits ------------------------$ 1,323,093 + 14 + 11 NACOGDOCHES: (pop. 12,327)Bank debits (thousands) -------------------------
$ 95,929 + 3 + 1 
Postal receipts -------------------------------------------$ 8,795 + 8 + 10
End-of-month deposits (thousands) t ------$ 82,507 6 2+ Value of building permits ------------------------$ 40,900 +25(} + 962Annual rate of deposit turnover____________ 14.2 9 2
+ + Bank debits (thousands ) -------------------------$ 9,431 2 + 6 Employment --------------------------------------------32,950 + 8 0 End-of-month deposits (thousands ) +------$ 14,493 -3 -3Manufacturing employment -----------------3,430 + 7 1 Annual rate of deposit turnover_________
___ 7.7 1 + 8
Percent of labor force unemployed__
__ _____ 6.3 + 26 + 80 ­Air express shipments ----------------------------14 + 52 + 40
Air express shipments ···----------··---·····----· 721 + 135 -6 Telephones in service -·--··-------------·--·-··--33,357 8
+ For explanation of symbols, see page 23. 


TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 


LOCAL BUSINESS CONDITIONS 

Percent chanire Percent change 
Jan-June 1953 June 1953 Jan-June 1953 June 1953 June from from June from from 
City and item 1953 Jan-June 1952 May 1953 City and item 1953 Jan-June 19.52 May 1953 
NEW BRAUNFELS: (pop. 12,210) PALESTINE: (pop.12,503) 
Department and apparel stores sales____ + 2 -17 Postal receipts -----------------------------------------$ 8,790 x -12 
Postal receipts -----------------------------------------$ 10,791 + 4 + 9 Value of building permits ------------------------$ 83,585 + 28 -35 Value of building permits ----------------------$ 103,450 -27 + 30 Bank debits (thousands) -----------------$ 6,415 4 + 29 Bank debits (thousands) ---------------------$ 7,151 -13 End-of-month deposits (thousands) t-----$ 12,422 + 4 -2 End-of-month deposits (thousands) t-----$ 10,049 + 22 + 30
Annual rate of deposit turnover___________ 6.1 7 Annual rate of deposit turnover____________ 9.4 -13 
PHARR: (pop. 8,690) ODESSA: (pop. 29,495) Postal receipts -------------------------$ 4,044 + 1 + 15 
Value of building permits _______________ 
$ 39,327 + 20 +649
Retail sales ----------------------------+ 12 + 6 

Department and apparel stores_________ _ 
Bank debits (thousands) -----------------$ 2,467 -9 -15
-10 7 End-of-month depoiilts (thousands) L ----$ 3,375 + 15 + 10
Postal receipts -------------------------------------------$ 30,484 + 2 6 
Annual rate of deposit turnover____________ 9.2 -18 -16Value of building permits ------------------------$ 1,350,675 -21 + 52 Bank debits (thousands ) -----------------------$ 34,736 -13 2 End-of-month deposits (thousands) t------$ 32,630 


-13 + RAYMONDVILLE: (pop. 9,136)
Annual rate of deposit turnover_____________ 12.7 -2 2 
Postal receipts -------
--------------------------$ 4,878 -2 -4
Air express shipments --------------------------138 -27 + 3 Value of building permits ----------------------$ 2,800 -52 -75 Bank debits (thousands) -----------
----------$ 5,847 -13 + 62 End-of-month deposits (thousands)t_____$ 8,601


ORANGE: (pop. 21,174) -9 + 15 
Annual rate of deposit turnover____________ 8.7 -3 + 53Retail sales --------------------------------+ 18 -17 
Telephones In service ------------------------1,718 + 15Postal receipts ---------------------------
--------$ 13,597 + 1 + 9 Value of building permits -----------------------$ 510,112 +163 +184 Bank debits (thousands) ________________ _______ 20,403
$ + 13 + 22 


ROCKDALE: (pop. 2,321)
End-of-month deposits (thousands) t------$ 24,258 -7 + 2 Annual rate of deposit turnover_____________ 10.2 + 22 + 19 
Postal receipts ----------------------------$ 2,888 + 12 -2 
Value of building permits _________________$ 39,505 -11 -55
Telephones in service ---------------------------10,896 + 7 Bank debits (thousands) ---------------$ 3,694 + 84 + 19 End-of-month deposits (thousands) t------$ 3,675 + 30 + 13 Annual rate of deposit turnover________ 


PARIS: (pop. 21,643) 12.8 + 3 + 8 
Retail sales ------------------------------------+11 -16 Department and apparel stores____________ -3 -18 
SAN ANGELO: (pop. 52,093)
Postal receipts -----------------------------------------$ 12,292 x -9 
Retail sales ----------------------------9 + 3
Value of building permits -----------------------$ 62,219 + 49 +125 Department and apparel storefi__________ 7 -14
Bank debits (thousands ) --------------------------$ 11,314 6 + 6 
Postal receipts -----------------------------$ 42,850 2 -1
End-of-month deposits (thousands) t------$ 14,161 -5 + 3 Annual rate of deposit turnover__ ____________ 9.7 -1 + 5 
Value of building permits ---------------------$ 499,674 -34 -19 Bank debits (thousands) ----------------------$ 39,756 9

Air express shipments ---------------------------­33 + 52 -52 + 
End-of-month deposits (thousands) t-----$ 45,271 x
Telephones in service -----------------------------·--7,435 + 2 
Annual rate of deposit turnover__________ 10.6 0 + 9 

Employment -------------------------------21,350 6 x PLAINVIEW: (pop. 14,044) Manufacturing employment ---------------2,230 + 6 + Percent of labor force unemployed_________ 
4.9 7 
+ 7 -20 
Retail sales ----------------------------10 + 
Department and apparel stores____________ Air express 1hipments --------------------241 6 2 Postal receipts ------------------------
-----------------$ 14,841 + 1 + 80 
Value of building permits _____________________ $ 79,800 + 17 -52 


SAN ANTONIO: (pop. 408,442)
Bank debits (thousands ) ----------------------$ 12,708 -7 8 

8 Retail sales• --------------­+
End-of-month deposits (thousands) t----$ 20,333 + -3 -------4 -5 Annual rate of deposit turnover_____________ 7.4 -13 -4 
Apparel stores• ---------------------------­-1 -16 Automotive stores• ---------------------------­+ 89
Air express shipments -----·--·----------·-----­40 + 15 +11 Department store salest -------------------­xTelephones in service ----------------------6,020 + 7 
Drug stores• ------------­+ 8 

Eating and drinking places• -------------­8 4 PORT ARTHUR: (pop. 57,530) Filling stations• ---------------------------2 + 4 Retail sales•--------------------­+ 12 x Food stores• -------------------------------2 
Furniture and household

Automotive stores• -----····-----------------+ 30 4 
Department and apparel stores___________ -15 -11 appliance stores• -----------------­-10 + 
Lumber, building material,

Drug stores• --------------------------+ 5 -10 
Eating and drinking places• ---------­+ 30 

and hardware storefi• -------------­-9 + 5 Office, store, and school
Filling stations• --------------------------9 4 
8

9 --------------------­
Furniture and household Postal receipts -------------------------$ 442,350 + 2 ·4 appliance stores• --------------------------­+ 22 Value of building permits --------------$ 4,412,066 + 44 -19 Lumber, building material, Bank debits (thousands) ---~-------$ 405,776 + 7 + 4 
End-of-month deposits (thousandsH-----$ 325,839 -10 + 4 Food stores• ---------------------------------------+ 7 supply dealers• + 36 

and hardware stores• -------------------+ 8 + 16 Annual rate of deposit turnover___________ 15.2 + 19 + 8
Posta! receipts ------------------------------------$ 33,679 + 5 -2 
x

Value of building permits -------------------$ 372,938 + 12 + 74 Employment ----------------------------193,400 + 2 50,967 + 12 + 11
Bank debits (thousands) ______________________$ Manufacturing -employment --------------21,940 x x Percent of labor force unemployed______ 5.2 + 49
End-of-month deposits (thousands) t ------S 36,912 -10 -2 + 24 Annual rate of deposit turnover_______ __ 16.4 + 24 + 13 Air express shipments ----------------­1,966 9 -16 
124 6 Telephones In eervlce --------------------156,862 + 8
Air express shipments -····-------------------­+ + 18 
Telephones in service --·------..·------------·--28,600 + 4 
J'or uplanatlon of 171Dbola, 1ee pas• ZS. 




LOCAL BUSINESS CONDITIONS 

Percent change  P ercent change  
Jan-June 1953 June 1953  Jan-June 1953 J une 1958  
June  from  from  June  from  from  
City and item  1953 Jan-June 1952 May 1953  City and item  1953 J an-June 1952 May 1953  
SAN MARCOS: (pop. 9,980)  TEXARKANA: (pop. 40, 628) §  
Postal receipts -----­-------­------------­---­$ 10,099  + 7  + 6  Retail sales§ ----­-------------­---------------------­ + 4  + 4  
Value of building permits ----­----------------­-$ Bank debits (thousands) ______________$ 765,751 4,922  -11 1  +soi + 4  Postal receipts§ -------­------­-----------------------$ Vslue of building permits§ ------­-----------$  41,749 144,944  + 1 + 48  -11 + 35  
End-of-month  deposits  (thousands) ______$  7,752  2  x  Bank debits  (thousands) § ---------------$  41,500  + 6  + 6  
Annual rate of deposit turnover____________  7.6  +  +  7  End-of-month deposits  (thousands) j _____$ 19,302  -12  + 1  
Annual rate of deposit turnover______________  11.8  + 20  + 9  
SEGUIN:  (pop. 9,733)  Air express shipments§ ---------­------­---------­Telephones in service§ ----------­-----------­-----­ 95 15,419  -6 + 10  + 16  
Postal receipts  ----­-----
----­-----------------$  8,812  + 10  + 17  
Value of building permits -------­-----------­-$ Bank debits (thousands) ________
________ 
$  113,580 6,352  + 7 -11  +sos + 3  WACO:  (pop. 84,706)  
End-of-month deposits (thousands) t------$ Annual rate of deposit turnover________ 
 15,362 5.0  + 6 -29  2 + 4  Retail sales ------­-----------­-------------------­Apparel stores ---­-----­---­----­----------­----­ + - 4 6  + - 1 21  
Automotive  stores  ----­----------------­---­ + 14  + 10  
SHERMAN: (pop. 20,150) Retail sales ---­---­--­-------------­--­-------­- +  9  + 4  Department store salest -------­----------­Florists -----­-------------------------­Furniture and household  + 1 + 7  + 62 -48  
Department and apparel stores________ ____ Postal receipts --------------------­----­----­---$ Value of building permits ---------­------­--­--$ Bank debits (thousands) ----------­--$ End-of-month deposits (thousands) j ___ __ $ Annual rate of deposit turnover__________  21,560 162,862 23,997 15,028 19.7  + 7 + 3 + 50 + 7 + 2 + 6  7 + 4 + 99 + 11 + 6 + 8  appliance stores --------------------------­Lumber, building material, and hardware stores --------­-------­-----­Postal receipts -----­-----------------------­$ 96,180 Value of building permits----­-------------------$' 1,225,140 Bank debits (thousands) ---------------$ 78,490  -16 + 9 + 5 -25 + 11  + 94 + 15 -3 + 40 + 22  
End-of-month deposits (thousands)+---$  61,574  -21  + 4  
SULPHUR SPRINGS: (pop. 8,991) Postal receipts ----­-----­--------­-------$· Value of building permits -------­--­-------$ Bank debits (thousands) ----­----­-------$ End-of-month deposits (thousands) t ----S Annual rate of deposit turnover___________ 4,999 13,000 5,913 10,394 7.0  + 3 6 x 5  -4 -52 + 9 + 6 + 8  Annual rate of deposit turnover_____ ________ Employment ------­-------­----------­------­Manufacturing employment ---------­Percent of labor force unemployed_______ Air express shipments ------------------­----­Telephones in service --­-------------------­ 15.6 42,700 7,340 6.4 132 38,614  + 41 -8 -3 + 34 2 + 10  + 18 + 3 + 7 -12 -20  
Telephones in service ----­------------­----­-­ 2,640  + 4  
WAXAHACIDE:  (pop. 11,204)  
SWEETWATER: (pop. 13,619) Retail sales -----­----------­---­---­Department and apparel stores____________ Postal receipts -----------------'-­--­--------­-------$ Value of building permits -----------­----­-----$ 9,667 35,550  -16 -10 -1 -74  -13 -13 -33 -26  Postal receipts --­-------­----------------$ Vslue of building permits -----------------­---$ Bank debits (thousands) -----------------------$ End-of-month deposits (thousands)+------$ Annual rate of deposit turnover____________  5,272 70,487 3,757 3,686 13.5  + 8 + 30 1 +  -44 + 24 + 17 + 23 + 13  
Air express shipments ------­---­-----------------­ 13  -29  -28  
Telephones in service ---­--­------­------·-­---­ 4,618  + 2  TYLER:  (pop. 38,968)  
TAYLOR:  (pop. 9,071)  Postal receipts -----------­-------­·-------­-----­$ Value of building permits --------­--------------$ 47,166 743,490  + 19 + 169  -23 -60  
Postal receipts -------­--------------­-------­-----$ Value of building permits ----------­--$ Bank debits (thousands) ---------------$ 6,222 46,802 9,937  + 2 + 49 -8  x -78 + 6  Bank debits (thousands) -------­---------­$ End-of-month deposits (thousands) t­-----$ Annual rate of deposit turnover____________ 
56,666 53,183 12.8  + 8 + 2 + 6  + 4 x + 6  
End-of-month deposits (thousandslt---$  13,560  + 7  2  Air express shipments --------------­---------­ 238  +  31  +  
Annual rate of deposit turnover____________  8.7  - 12  + 7  Telephones in service ---------------­---------­ 20,067  + 4  
TEMPLE: (pop. 25,467)Retail sales _
________________:____ _
_______ Department and apparel stores_______  -5 -12  5 2  WICIDTA FALLS: (pop. 68,042) Retail sales ---------------------------------­Department and apparel stores___________  +  4 7  -3 -22  
Postal receipts ---------------------------­$ Value of building permits --­--­--------$ 22,271 16•,162  + 5 -38  7 +190  Postal receipts --------------------------------------$ Vslue of building permits ______________________$ 87,568 565,250  + 5 -63  + 13 -32  
Bank debits (thousands) ---­----­---$ End-of-month deposits (thousands) t­--$ Annual rate of deposit turnover___________ 15,760 22,726 8.6  2 + 1 -2  + 2 + 7 + 1  Bank debits (thousands ) --------------------­$ End-of-month deposits (thousands) +------$ Annual rate of deposit turnover______________ 82,773 98,440 10.3  +  4  + 4 + 4 + 3  
Air express shipments -------­-------------­---­Telephones in service --­------­--------­-­42 10,111 TEXAS CITY: (pop. 16,620)  -15 + 6  2  Employment -----------­------­---------------­---­Manufacturing employment ---------------­Percent of labor force unemployed ---------­Air express shipments -----­-----------------------­Telephones in service --------­----------------------­ 39,650 3,880 4.4 389 32,740  1 + 13 + 36 + 74 + 15  0 2 + 2  
Retail sales ----­---------­---­------­--­ + 19  2  
Department and apparel stores____
______ 
Postal receipts ---------------------------------------$ Value of building permits ------------­---------­$ Bank debits (thousands) ---------­------------$ End-of-month deposits (thousands) L ----$ Annual rate of deposit turnover_____________ 18,942 689,039 27,941 27,001 12.4  + 15 + 18 + 10 + 23 + 24 0  + 1 + 4 + 98 + 3 x + 2  xChange is less than one half of one percent . •Preliminary. tReported by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. ;Excludes deposits to credit of banks. §Fi&'ures include Texarkana, Arkansas (pop. 15,875) Texa1 (pop. 24,753) .  and Texarkana,  

24. TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 

BAROMETERS OF TEXAS BUSINESS 

Year-to-date Average June May Apr average month 1953 1953 1963 1953 1962 

GENERAL  BUSINESS ACTIVITY  
tlndex of Texas Business Activity (100.0) _________ ___ ___ ___ ___ _______ ____ ___ _ Index of bank debits________________________________________  297* 708  291* 695  294 706  295 697  268 664  
Index of wholesale prices in the U.S. (1947-49=100, unadjusted) ...... . Ulndex of consumers' prices in Houston (1947-49=100, unadjusted) ­--­Index of consumers' prices in the U.S. (1947-49=100, unadjttsted) ....... . Index of postal receipts·-·-----····-­-----­----------···· t Index of miscellaneous freight carloadings in the Southwestern Dis­trict (17.6) ------·-··--··-·····-········-·············-· ···········­-···-········· ··--·· ·· ·······-·······--·-··-· Business corporation charters issued (number) ····························--··--··-·--··-· Business failures (number) ·····················-······················-·········-·············-··-··-­ 109.4 114.5 415 145 277* 13  109.8 116.8 114.0 404 143 344 12  109,4 113.7 401 145 357 13  109.7 116.5 113,9 398 144 329 13  111.6 115.4 113.5 382 144 278 8  
fRADE  
tlndex of total retail sales (adjusted for price changes, 47.7) ..... . ............ . Index of total retail sales _______________________________________ _  251* 520  246 510  248 514  249 517  229 481  
Durable-goods stores ·········--­···-··­··········· ·······-············ ··--····-······-················ Nondurable-goods stores ·····--·-···-···--·······················-·-··· ·-·····-·· ················­tindex of total retail sales in the U.S.................. ..................... ............... ........ .  717 425  696 419 448  739 406 443  722 418 446  653 398 424  
Durable-goods stores_______ _____ Nondurable-goods stores ________________________  647 383  645 377  650 379  582 372  
Ratio of credit sales to net sales in department and apparel stores .....  63.9  65.6  63.6  64.1  63.7  
Ratio of collections to outstandings in department and apparel stores.  38. 1  39.0  40.0  41.3  44.4  
PRODUCTION  
tlndex of industrial electric power consumption (14.8) _ ............................  625  625  627  634  536  
t Index of crude runs to stills ( 4.5 ).. ............................................................... .  220  222  229  224  209  
Index of wheat grindings ................... .. ............. ......... ______ _____ ........................ ··-·  99  110  101  99  
Index of cottonseed crushed ...... -----··----·············· ··········----· ····· ····--· ·--··············--·  212  183  203  126  
Index of southern pine production (unadjusted) ....................................... . Index of dairy product manufacturing ________________  63  127 70  139 77  128 72  123 49  
tlndex of urban building permits (adjusted for price changes, 3.8) ...... .  212•  191*  210  203  190  
Index of urban building permits ....... .......... ......... ........................................... .  463  417  458  441  399  
tlndex of crude petroleum production (8.6) ................................................ ..  222  211  216  225  232  
tlndex of total electric power consumption (3.0) ................................ ..........  749  678  686  680  594  
Index of industrial production in the U.S .. ..................................... ............. .  241 *  24f"  241  240  219  
Index of cement production ........................ ........... .......................................... .  330  332  329  325  
Construction contracts awarded (thousands) ................................ ............... .  s 89,957  $130,338  8112,277  $100,422  $111,344  
AGRICULTURE  
Index of farm cash income (unadjusted) ..................................................... .  291  312  314  309  506  
Index of prices received by farmers (unadjusted).................................... ..  264  280  279  281  332  
Index of prices paid by farmers in the U.S. (parity index-unadjusted,  
1910-14=100) ............................................. .................................................. .  275  279  279  279  288  
Parity ratio ---­--­---····-····-------------------------------­Index of prices received by farmers-livestock (unadjusted, 1910-14=  104  100  100  102  116  
100) ................... ................................... ............................................................. .  269  309  311  312  371  
Index of prices received by farmers-all crops  (unadjusted, 1910-14=  
100) ............................................................. ..................................................... .  260  257  255  258  303  
FINANCE  
Loans, reporting member banks in Dallas district (millions) ..................  $ 1,759  $ 1,761  $ 1,781  $ 1,763  $ 1,609  
Loans and investments, reporting member banks in Dallas district (millions) ................... ................................ .................................................... .  $ 3,103  $ 3,039  $ 3,071  $ 3,095  $ 2,999  
Demand deposits adjusted, reporting member banks in Dallas district (millions) .. ..................................... .. .............................................................. . Bank debits in 20 cities (millions) .......................................................... .. .... Revenue receipts of the State Comptroller (thousands) ........................... .  $ 2,410 $ 5,718 $ 69,068  $ 2,442 $ 5,377 $ 68,027  $ 2,448 $ 5,511 $ 84,614  $ 2,447 $ 5,538 $ 64,724  $ 2,385 $ 5,382 $ 58,076  
Federal Internal Revenue collections (thousands) ....... .. .................. .  $249,509  $171 ,596  $153,695  $232,144  $188,187  
LABOR  
Total nonagricultural employment (thousands) ........ ................................. . Total manufacturing employment (thousands) ................................. . Durable-goods employment (thousands) ........................... .......... . Nondurable·goods employment (thousands) ......................... ...... .  2,281.5* 437.2* 207,9* 229.3*  2,267.9 437.5 207.0 230.5  2,268.2 437.1 207.9 229.2  2,259.0 437.2 206.9 230.3  2,215.2 425.9 203.3 222.6  

All figures are for Texas unless otherwise indicated. All indexes are based on the averaire months for 1936-39 except where Indicated and are adjusted for seasonal variation (except annual indexes) . Manufacturing employment estimates have been adjusted to first quarter 1962 benchmarks. 
•Preliminary. 

tThe index of business activity is a weighted average of the index"9 Indicated by a dagger (t). The weight &inn each Index In computlnir the composite is given in parentbesee. 
tNew series. Index computed from estimates of retail sales published by Bureau o! the Cenaus. 
Vlndex computed for February, May, August, and November only.