VOLUME V, NUMBER 12 January 28, 1932 BUSINESS WEEK in the January 20 issue states: "The first half of January has been distinguished chiefly by pronounced improvement in securities markets, principally in rails and especially in bond prices. Sorne of this is usual at the season, but most of it is undoubt­edly due to improvement in railroad prospects, high hopes of early relief from banking strain through the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and recent expecta­tions of vigorous reversa! of passive Federal Reserve policy in face of destructive deflation. . . . Moves toward easier money rates in the New York market have stim­ulated speculation on the possibility that the Reserve banks will embark on aggressive open-market operations to force member bank credit expansion and facilitate federal financing. . . . Political and popular pressure toward (credit) expansion is powerful and may prove irresistible; but the response of banking authorities to the inevitable has been so belated and the credit mech­anism so crippled by lack of confidence that sorne form of more direct inflation may be forced upon us if the commercial banks cannot or do not cooperate in carrying o.ut Reserve policy." Highly significant is th·~ following excerpt from a recent article by Dr. H. Parker Willis, of Columbia University, which appeared in the Bulletin o/ the Na­tional Association o/ Purchasing Agents. "From the standpoint ')f many economists and business men, the price question is now the crux of the whole business outlook. Prices at wholesale have fallen heavily, and are now on the whole, well below the leve! of 1913. At retail the decline has been far less marked, while sorne items, and among them a few that are generally regarded as "necessities," are as high as they ever were. lt is this irregularity of the price movement and this unresponsiveness to the normal and regular influences upon it that constitutes one of the greatest handicaps to restoration of steady demand and supply. With prices moving as irregularly as they do, and with profits so directly influenced and affected by discrepancies between classes of prices, it is obvious that trade finds serious handicaps to overcome. This situation has greatly pro­moted the demand for measures of inflation, which would, in the opinion of their authors lift the leve! of prices back toward its old status. The trouble seen in such an effort is found in the fact that inflation works unevenly, and is as likely to produce new evils of glaring nature as it is to produce alleviations of or aids to, the present situation. On the whole, however, a few helpful indications may be detected. Prices are, at wholesale, pretty fully deflated; the downward movement is believed to have about reached its limit. Those businesses which are most inclined to readjust their prices to consumers are finding themselves most prosperous; those which decline to do so are least well off. The result is a power­ful impetus to the readjustment of price levels, especially at retail, and considerable changes in this regard are being noted. For the coming year, there is a good deal of ground for real encouragement in regard to readjust­ment of prices." Less emphasis is being placed upon the international economic situation by the national administration in Washington than was true a few months ago, but in the opinion of Dr. Lewis H. Haney of New York Uni­versity, "only international cooperation regarding debts, tariffs, and the gold standard can bring recovery next year (1932) ." In the light of the foregoing statement, the definite postponement of the Lausanne reparations conference casts an additional shadow upon the immediate busi­ness outlook. However, restoration of confidence in the domestic financia! situation which is expected to result from current legislation in Washington should at least tend to check further decline in American business. FINANCIAL Rates in the short-term money market remained almost stationary throughout December, prime commercial paper discounting at 3% per cent to 4 per cent and 90-day bankers' bilis at 3 per cent. Early in January, however, the New York Reserve Bank reduced its buying rate for bankers' bilis slightly. The Federal Reserve Banks have not been buying in the open market in any volume and have apparently decided to allow short-term money rates to rule at the higher levels in order to increase the desirability of short-time paper from an income point of view. One effect of this policy has been a marked increase in the bill holdings of foreign banks in New York. Gold continued to flow into the United States throughout December, although in comparatively small volume. Total federal reserve bank credit extended increased sharply during the first three weeks of Decem· ber, but has been declining since. Apparently member banks found it necessary to borrow heavily in order to meet the seasonal demand for the holiday purchasing. For the same reason, the total volume of currency in circulation increased materially during the month. Sorne of this increase unfortunately reflects a renewal of cur· rency hoarding caused by an increasing number of bank failures in the east and north. The condition of reporting member banks in the Dallas Federal Reserve District appears to have improved somewhat in December. Deposits, both time and demand, have declined to sorne extent, but these declines have been offset by an equivalent drop in loans. lndebtedness to the Federal Reserve Bank has been materially reduced and holdings of Government securities have been sub­stantiall y increased. Outstanding federal reserve notes of the Dallas District bank have decreased by approxi­mately $3,000,000, reflecting the return not only of holi­day purchase money but of sorne hoarded currency. The banks in the district are continuing to sacrifice earn· ings by cutting clown on new lending, and they are making liquidity their prime consideration. The decline in deposits is largely the result of this refusal to lend. Debits to individual accounts as reported to the Fed­eral Reserve Board by banks in the leading cities in the Dallas District totalled only $536,000,000 for the four weeks ending December 30. The drop during the last week of the month was unusually sharp; the total for the month was 25 per cent below that for December 1930. Significant items in the statement of reporting member banks to the Federal Reserve Board for the Eleventh Federal Reserve District were: (In Millions of Dollars) Dec. Nov. 0 f'c. 1931 1931* 1930 Debits to Individual Accounts...._ 536 670 $713 Deposits (total) end of month___ 378 390 416 Time ··----------·--·-----··­ 133 135 147 Demand -·----·-·-··-·-···-··--·-···· 245 255 269 Borrowing from Federal Reserve, end of month.......·------·-··--·· 3 11 1 Loans (total) end of month______ 275 290 329 On Securities ------­ 81 82 95 All Others ---------­ 194 208 234 Government ecurities owned by member banks, end of month .._ 84 74 61 *Five weeks. STOCK PRICES The nation's financia} markets closed the year 1931 in considerable gloom. Unsatisfactory corporate earn· ings reports, many reduced or passed dividends, threat· ening railroad receiverships together with the unsettled foreign situation and the further decline in general busi· ness activity have carried stock prices to their lowest post-war levels. There is ground, however, for expecting the usual seasonal bull market to show itself by the last of the month, and, with any encouragement whatever from improving business conditions, this reaction might easily attain considerable magnitude. The bond market continued throughout December in a near panic condition with prices dropping steadily. The declines affected ali bonds, high grade issues as well as the poorer credit risks. The explanation appears to be steady selling pressure by holders who are forced to liquidate and by panicky holders, with little or no sup· porting demand. The financia! institutional demand from savings banks and insurance companies ordinarily supports the high grade bond market firmly but that demand has been almost entirely missing for sorne months because these institutions are not making new investments. Dec. Nov. Dec. 1931 1931 1930 The Standard Indexes of the Stock Market: 404 Stocks ---·-----·-·--··­ 57.7 71.7 109.4 337 lndustrials -----··-­ 54.3 67.5 101.9 33 Rails -------·-··-·­ 33.0 46.0 93.5 34 Utilities ---------------­ 95.6 114.7 157.9 COMMODITY PRICES Dun's index of commodity prices went up for the third consecutive month to reach $140.68 for January l, as compared with $140.40 on December l, and $159.72 on January 1, 1930. Practically ali of the gain during December occurred in the two groups including meats and dairy and garden products. Dun's index was the only one in the group listed below to show <:'l increase, however. The new revised and expanded inde.z of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is based on 1926 as equal to 100 and which includes 784 commodities, lost almost two points during December, dropping to 68.6; most of this drop is due to declines in the prices of agricultural products. The Annalist index of wholesale commodity prices, which is measured in terms of the average for 1913 as equal to 100, lost the small gain made during November and fell to 97 .6, due also to lower prices of agricultural and food products. Bradstreet's index dropped to the lowest point since J une 1908. Dec. Nov. Dec. 1931 1931 1930 Bureau of Labor Statistics * --~----······-68.6 70.2 79.6 Farm Price Indext -·--·-·--··--····-· 66.0 71.0 97.0 Prices Farmers Payt -·---·--··---·--·· 123.0 123.0 139.0 The Annalist ---------·----97.6 102.0 116.6 Dun _________________$140.68 $140.40 $159.72 Bradstreet ---------------·--$7.73 $7.91 $9.51 · *Ncw revised index. !United States Bureau of Agricultural Econon1ics. TEXAS CHARTERS Although the total number of new firms which received charters from the Secretary of State during 1931 was 3.6 per cent under that for 1930, there was an increase in total capitalization for the year of about 16 per cent. The total capitalization of the 2,116 companies which were incorporated during the year was $86,096,000, or practically $12,000,000 more than in 1930. Even with this increase, however, total capitalization for 1931 is small as measured by the totals for the ten years begin­ning with 1920 and pales before the records set in 1927, 1928, and 1929 of $269,000,000, $390,388,000, and $285,612,000 respectively. The number of new corpora­tions, on the other hand, showed up rather well in com­parison with previous years. Oíl companies accounted for 463, or about one-fifth of all of the new charters granted in 1931, and made a gain of 68 per cent over the number for the previous year. The number of banking and finance corporations increased to 128, or 35 per cent over the total for 1930, although the record for 1931 is not particularly large as compared with that for previous years. Thirty-six public service companies were incorporated both in 1930 and in 1931, but the number of manufac­ turing concerns declined 3 per cent from the previous year to a total of 247 in 1931. The real estate and build­ ing group included 182 firms, or 5.2 per cent more than in 1930. The number of out-of-State corporations which were granted permits to do business in Texas equalled the all­ time high set in 1928. There has been a gradual falling off in the number of new oil corporations since last spring, and the total for December was only 28 as compared with 34 in the previous month. Oil companies, however, were still the largest individual group and amounted to approximately one-fifth of the total for the month. Two public service companies were incorporated, as were 10 banking and finance corporations and 21 real estate and building firms; the latter two groups made substantial gains over the total for November. Only · 17 manufacturing con­cerns were incorporated in December as compared with 21 in the previous month. Of the total of 132 companies which were granted charters in December, 40 were capitalized at less than $5,000 and 8 had capital stock of $100,000 or more. Total capitalization gained 42 per cent over November to reach $4,407,000 in December. Charters granted by the Secretary of Sta te were: Dec. Nov. Dcc. Year Year 1931 1931 1930 1931 1930 Capitalization (In Thou ands of Dollars) -4,407 3104 10,813 86,096 74,436 lumber 132 147 154 2,116 2,196 Clas ification of new corporation : 28 34 28 463 275 Oil ----­ Public rvice_ 2 o 2 36 36 Manufacturing 17 21 13 247 255 Banlcing-Finance 10 7 11 128 95 Real Estate- Building _ _ 21 19 14 182 173 General ---54 66 86 1,060 1,365 Foreign Pennits _ 32 25 25 454 378 fxU COMMERCIAL FAILURES Improvement carried forward from the previous month marked the commercial failures record for December, as indicated by weekly reports to the Bureau of Business Research from R. G. Dun and Company. Although nor­mally, December and January are the two highest months in the year in the number of firms which go into bank­ruptcy, in December 1931 there were only 76 failures, the smallest number for any month since July. In spite of the seasonal tendency for an increase of about 25 per cent, failures in December were 27 per cent less than in November. The rate of failures per week dropped from 26 in November to only 19 in December, the same as in December 1930. Average liabilities per failure rose from $15,538 in November to $19,895, so that total liabilities for Decem­ber did not show so large a decline from the previous month as did the number of failures. At $1,512,000, total liabilities for December 1931 are 6.4 per cent under November and compare with $1,961,000 in December 1930. Average liabilities per failure in December 1930 were $20,862. That the number of failures increased to 991, or more than 50 per cent during 1931 as compared with the 660 failures reported in the previous year, while total liabilities declined by 38 per cent, evidences the fact that 1931 was particularly a hard ye~r for small firms. Aver­age liabilities per failure, at $17,897, were less than half those for 1930. Dun's Review says that the number of failures reported in the entire United States during 1931 is the highest on record, with approximately 28,275 firms going into bankruptcy. These firms had total liabilities amounting to $733,100,000, as compared with liabilities totalling $668,284,000 for the 26,355 firms which failed in 1930. Failures as reported weekly to the Bureau by R. G. Dun and Company were as follows: Dcc. Nov. Dcc. Yenr Ycnr 1931 1931 1930 1931 1930 umber· ---------76 104 94• 991 660 Liabilities (In Thousands) --1,512 1,616 1,961 17,736 28,576 As ets (In Thousands) 631 808 933 8,493 20,621 *Five weeks. EMPLOYMENT There was a slight seasonal drop during December in the number of persons employed by the 594 firms reporting to the Bureau of Business Research and the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. At 67,895 workers, the number of persons on payrolls of the 594 reporting firms on December 15 was 15 per cent under that for the corresponding date in 1930. Waco was the only one of the 11 cities in the State included in this service which showed an increase over last year. Seasonal gains in the number of workers were made in thirteen of the employment groups. Retail stores cotton textile milis, women's clothincr manufacturers' confectioneries, and railroad car shop~ made the bes~ showings as compared with November. As compared with December 1930, only cotton textile milis, men's and women's clothing manufacturers, and cotton oil mills showed improvement. Although average weekly wages per worker for the entire list of reporting firms in December were only $25.4·9, or about 5 per cent less than in the previous month, 37,339 workers distributed in thirteen of the groups were receiving higher weekly wages per worker than they did on November 15. This situation probably means that these particular employees are working more hours rather than receiving higher wage rates. The report on employment by cities, as prepared by the Bureau of Business Research in cooperation with the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, follows: Workers Percentagc Change Number from from of Dec. Nov. Dcc. Nov. Dec. Firms 1931 1931 1930 1931 1930 Austin ····--33 1,158 1,195 1,209 3.1 -4.2 Beaumont __ 26 4,225 4,323 5,336 2.3 -20.8 Dalla 14,759 14,499 15,847 + 1.8 6.9 El Pa o ···--36 1,819 1,870 2,333 2.7 -22.0 Fort Worth _ 48 5,833 5,699 6,667 + 2.4 -12.5 Galve ton -··-20 756 775 800 2.5 5.5 -HouHon ___ 73 18,329 19,237 22,795 4.7 · -19.6 San Antonio 75 8,084 7,962 9,936 + 1.5 -18.6 ······-···· 27Waco 1,180 1,169 ·1,169 + 0.9 + 0.9 Wichita Falls 38 872 890 1,193 2.0 -26.9 Mis­ cellaneous 97 10,880 10,662 12,516 + 2.0 -13.1 STATE ........ 594 67,895 68,281 79,801 0.6 -14.9 DEPARTMENT STORE SALES In spite of a seasonal increase slightly higher than usual, sales as reported by 86 Texas department stores to the Burea_u of Business Research were 20 per cent under those for December 1930. At $6,893,000, total sales for December compared with $8,552,000 in the cor­responding month in 1930 and showed a gain of 48.7 per cent over the total of $4,635,000 reported in Novem­ber. Only those stores reporting from Tyler showed im­provement in their December sales in 1931 as compared with 1930. Corsicana, Waco, and Galveston also made good showings, however. Sales for the year amounted to $53, 783,000 in 1931, or 16 per cent less than the $64,109,000 reported by the same 86 stores in 1930. The stores in Austin, Fort Worth, Galveston, Houston, Port Arthur, and Waco showed smaller declines than did the total for the State, while Tyler was the only city where 1931 sales exceeded those for 1930. Collections improved considerably during December, as indicated by the gain in the ratio of collections to outstandings as reported by 68 stores. In the United States, sales in December were 13 per cent under those for the corresponding month in 1930, according to the Federal Reserve Board, while the total for the year was 11 per cent below that for 1930. The Richmond, New York, Minneapolis, and Boston districts made the best showings. As compared with the cor­responding periods in 1930, the Dallas Federal Reserve District showed the largest declines both for December .and for the year 1931. Percentage changes in sales as reported to the Bureau by 86 stores were: Percentage Change in Sales _____121 - Number Dec., Dec., Year-to-da te of 1931 1931 1931 Stores from from from lleport-inc Dcc., 1930 ov., 1931 Year-to-date 1930 Abilene ·············-·-····--··­3 Austin -··-··-··-·--·--·--·· 6 Beawnont -·········---···-·-· 4 Corsicana -··-····-·---···· 3 -25.l -13.9 -34.5 -6.2 + 27.7 + 54.3 +43.9 + 29.2 -22.6 -14.3 -24.3 -17.5 Dallas ··-·····-·-···------·-···· 6 El Paso -····-···------­4 -17.6 -24.8 + 46.7 +46.9 -16.6 -21.8 Fort Worth ----···-···-···-·· 7 Galveston ·····---···-···-·······-··· 4 Houston ···-····-··-····-···---··· 9 Port Arthur ·--··········-'···-··--· 4 -20.0 -11.2 -18.7 -14.3 + 67.1 + 75.9 +52.7 + 49.7 -12.9 -10.6 -14.4 -14.1 a.n Angelo --···················-··· 3 San Antonio -··········-··-····­10 Tyler ·····-·--···-··-····-·-·-· 3 W aco -··---········-··-·············· 3 Ali Others -···--··--------··-17 -30.7 -25.7 + 31.0 -1.6 -28.8 + 34.7 + 40.6 + 48.9 + 38.9 + 26.0 -25.0 -16.2 + 4.1 -6.1 -23.9 TATE -----···--·-········86 -20.1 + 48.7 -16.1 Sales of 86 Comparable Stores: 1931 1930 December -------------·-······-·-····$ 6,893,000 $ 8,552,000 ovember ·····-··----·-···-·-·-···--4,635,000 ···-······-··-··· Year-to-date -···-······-·····--···-·······--53,783,000 64,109,000 BUILDING PERMITS During December the total volume of building permits in the 35 leading Texas cities reporting to the Bureau o{ Business Research amounted to only $2,707,000, the lowest on record. Although an index based on the ayerages for 1927­1928-1929 shows that there is usually an increase of 13 per cent in the dollar value of building permits from November to December, in 1931 there was a drop of 6.8 per cent. This drop occurred in spite of sharp gains in building activitity in Amarillo, Beaumont, Dallas, Lub­bock, San Antonio, and Tyler, and the beginning of a new Federal building in Brownsville which brought building permits in that city up to $418,000 for the month. Brownsville, Galveston, Tyler, and Waco closed the year substantially ahead of 1930 in total permits, with Marshall and Paris also ahead, but the total volume for the State was $46,649,000, which was 39 per cent under the total for 1930, and is the lowest yearly total on record for the 35 cities. Houston, with perÍnits amount· ing to $11,674,000, led the State. Dallas carne second with $6,490,000, and Fort Worth was a close third with $5, 798,000. The total for San Antonio was $3,282,000, while building permits in Amarillo, Austin, Galveston, and Tyler ranged between $2,300,000 and $2,600,000 for the year. However, on the basis of construction contracts awarded, Texas made a better showing in December than did the 37 Eastern States. According to data released by the F. W. Dodge Corporation, total contracts awarded in Texas during December amounted to $5,857,000, a gain of 39 per cent over November and only 27 per cent below December 1930. Residential building, which made up 18 per cent of the total in December, and non-residen· tial building showed substantial declines, however.; new projects in the public works and utilities group bolstered the total for the State. In the 37 Eastern States, total contracts awarded, as reported by the F. W. Dodge Corporation, amounted to $136,852,000, as compared with $249,436,000 in Decem­her 1930, and $151,196,000 in November 1931. Ali three groups were well below December 1930, while the public works and utilities group was the only one to show a gain over Novemher. Building material prices, as measured by The Annalist index of wholesale commodity prices based on 1913 as equal to 100, lost about a point during Decemher, aver­aging llO.l for the month as against lll.4 in November. In December 1930 this index stood at 127.8. Building permits as reported by chambers of com­merce to the Bureau of Business Research were as fol-Iows: Dec. Nov. Dec. Year Year 1931 1931 1930 1931 1930 Abilene 1,300 9,923 39,781 $ 183,000 569,000 Amarillo 4.3,241 29,539 69,505 2,538,000 3,501,000 Austin 85 361 351,298 406,573 2,318,000 3,510,000 Beaumont 40,659 23,238 129,734 1,098,000 2,666,000 Brownsville 417,695 14,050 683,000 469,000 Brownwood 1,500 2,000 5,200 563,000 795,000 O eburne 300 1,100 2,905 63,000 361,000 Corpu Christi 16,055 12,105 31,775 497,000 1,150,000 Corsicana 2,900 2,000 9,554 124,000 467,000 Dallas 363,657 325,608 1,206,321 6,490,000 10,277,000 Del Rio 1,480 1.235 7,560 141,000 361,000 Deni on 2,935 úoo 34,500 44,000 183,000 Eastland 2,000 750 1,165 27,000 62,000 El Pa o 17,425 22,049 126,325 961,000 2,966,000 Ft. Worth 258,413 346,670 473,673 5,798,000 10,124,000 Galveston 28,036 341,509 699,948 2,542,000 1,798,000 Houston 354,000 876,873 968,196 11,674,000 17,367,000 Jacknonville 600 1,570 7.125 94,000 202,000 Laredo 4,750 60 11;930 73,000 152,000 Lubbock 250,428 8,940 2,695 573,000 1,652,000 McAllen 14,300 13,450 4,800 135,000 206.000 Marshal 20,270 15,130 6,653 180,000 14ÚOO París 5,915 6,561 865 204,000 138,000 Plainview 5,950 57,000 293,000 Port Arthur 6,112 11,249 12,326 916,000 2,809,000 Ranger -----------55,000 16,000 68,000 San Angelo 2,675 4,185 42,970 306,000 615,000 San Antonio 445,441 312,178 607,959 3,282,000 8,~02,000 Sherman 4,550 '18,280 9,115 218,000 342,000 Snyder 15,000 39,000 Sweetwater 2,005 650 64,650 132,000 331,000 Temple 22,970 6,400 57,770 459,000 1,4.39,000 Tyler 276,975 63,837 33,860 2,322,000 876,000 Waco 10.906 73,340 27,820 1,771,000 1,153,000 Wichita Falls 1,815 5,975 7,000 152,000 930,000 TATE 2,706,668 2,904,452 5.171,203 46,649,000 76,514,000 LUMBER Continued apathy in building and other wood con­suming industries is reflected in a further slowing up in lumber mili activity accompanied by a reduction in un­filled orders. Average weekly shipments per unit, at 146,960 feet, were slightly above production but were 22 per cent under 'shipments for November. Reports from the Southern Pine Association showed that average weekly production in southern pine milis amounted to only 145,889 feet per unit. At this figure, average weekly production has slowed down by one fourth as compared with Novemher and has declined 36 per cent from the average for December 1930. Unfilled orders at the end of December stood at only 438,065 feet, not quite four weeks' run, as compared with 696,2ll feet at the close of December 1930. At the end of November, unfilled orders amounted to 470,­687 feet. Reports from milis in the southern pine area as received by the Southern Pine Association are sum­marized below: (In Board Feet) Dec. Nov. Dec. 1931 1931 1930 Average Weekly Production per Unit ---------------145,889 191,963 229,419 Average Weekly Shipments per Unit ·-····-·-··--···-······· 146,960 188,783 214,465 Average Unfilled Orders per Unit, End of Month ________ 438,065 470,687 696,211 CEMENT In line with the usual seasonal tendency, production of Portland cement in Texas declined during December. The decrease for the month was greater than usual however, so that except for that in February 1931, pro­duction was the smallest recorded for any month since early 1922. At 291,000 barreis, output for December was 35 per cent under that for the previous month and was 100,000 barreis short of the total for December 1930. . Shipments, too, declined sharply during December. Total shipments for the month amounted to only 214,000 barreis. This figure is the lowest since early in 1922 and represents an addition of more than 10 per cent to stocks already unwieldy in the face of present demand. Stocks at the end of December totalled 716,000 barreis, as compared with 639,000 barreis in November, and 799,000 barreis in December 1930. Activity in the cement industry in the United States followed the same general lines as did that in Texas. There was the usual seasonal curtailment in production and shipments, and a slight building up of stocks. Pro­duction during December amounted to 5,998,000 barreis, as compared with 8,161,000 barreis in November, and 8,480,000 barrels in December 1930. Shipments were 1,850,000 barreis less than production and stocks at the close of the year amounted to 24,079,000 barreis. Stocks at the close of 1930 amounted to 25,850,000 barreis. Only 26 per cent of the total cement production capacity in the country was being utilized in December, as against 38 per cent in the corresponding month in 1930. The December report from the United States Bureau of Mines shows activitv in the Texas cement milis as follows : . (In Thousands of Barrels) Dec. Nov. Dcc. Year Year 1931 1931 1930 1931 1930 Production ------------291 459 392 6,182 6,781 Shipments 214 378 362 6,244 6,793 tocks 716 639 799 ·---------·­ TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW -·--·--===== = =================== PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS Continued curtailment of crude oíl production as well as the higher seasonal consumption of gasoline due to the open winter constitute the two major current features of the oil industry. Of the three leading states in oíl production, Oklahoma has steadily declined since the beginning of 1932, where­as Texas and California have risen slowly. In the three producing areas in East Texas, Kílgore, Lathrop, and Joiner, all have had increased production since the begin­ning of the year. Of the other Texas fields, most have been able to hold their production to about what it was at the beginning of the year. The Gulf Coast production has declined very slightly. For the week ending January 16, the estimated daily production of crude oíl from the three areas in East Texas amounted to 332,121 barrels; that for the rest of the State, 848,446. Of the other fields in Texas, West Texas for this period average 175,235; that of the Gulf Coast fields, 105,662. Since the first of the year daily crude runs to stills have decreased for the country as a whole from 2,207,700 barrels to 2,124,900 for the week ending January 16; for the same period, gasoline stocks have gradually increased from 37,989,000 barreis to 39,853,000 barrels. These data concerning the oíl producing industry are remarkable when it is considered that the daily shut-in potential production of crude oíl in the country is esti­mated at 3,000,000 barreis. The continued curtailment of production in the face of such shut-in poteritials is all the more remarkable when it is remembered that this has occurred so soon after the discovery of the three greatest producing fields in the history of the oil industry in this country-East Texas, Oklahoma City, and Kettle­man Hills (California) . In Texas, since the beginning of the year, activities in the various fields have continued. A wildcat in south· west Kerr County may open new territory; considerable interest is being attracted to wells in the McFaddin and Keeran areas in Victoria County; continued exploration goes on in West Texas, in the Wichita Falls, Ranger, Palo Pinto, and Panhandle districts. East Texas opera­tions continue in spite of rains; that district has 3,854 completed wells; and the first gas well in the district, brought in on January 8, is estimated to be producing from 8,000,000 to 10,000,000 feet a day. Daily average production as reported by the American Petroleum Institute was: (In Barreis) Dec. 1ov . Dcc . 193 1 1931* 1930 Panhandle -------------·---------­ 51,950 61,575 67,430 orth Texas ____ --·----------­ 54,390 57,075 62,130 West Central Texas --------­ 25,740 26,375 31,170 West Texas ---------·-------­ 189,240 199,475 246,530 East Central Texa --------­ 54,330 56,425 40,670 East Texas ---------------------­ 361,410 397,475 Southwest Texas -----------­ 55,680 57,425 83.200 Coastal Texas --------------­ 120,970 126,325 161,910 State ------------------­913,710United States ___________.2,366,960 982,150 2,448,587 693,040 2,174,630 l mports --------------------­ 217,000 199,071 252,800 *four wccks. New field developments in Texas, as reported by the Oil Weekly, were as follows: Dec. Nov. Dec. 1931 1931* 1930 Permits for New Wells_._________ 628 793 322 Wells Completed --------------------------611 656 388 Producers: Oil 512 546 168 Gas 14 19 43 Initial Production (In Thousands of 4°,170 157 Barreis) _____________3,776 *Four wecks. Gasoline sales, as indicated by tax reports t~ the State Comptroller, amounted to 68,550,000 gallons m Novem­ber 1931 as against 70,948,000 gallons in October 1931, and 64,785,000 gallons in November 1930. Very closely allied to the petroleum industry is nat­ural gas; the latter has much more rec.ently attai~ed national prominence. Although commercial product10n of natural gas is restricted to a relatively few districts in the United States, natural gas is now being marketed in 38 states and the District of Columbia; this industry, which has very largely grown up with the development of lono--ame as for this date last year. They are therefore not a factor causing price change, except that relatively speaking Europe has less than its normal part of the supply available. To that extent, the supply situation in Europe is slightly bullish. COTTON BALANCE SHEET IN THE UNITED STATES Y ear 1924--1925 -------------------­1925-1926 -------------­1926-1927 ---------------­1927-1928 ------------­1928-1929 ---------------­ 1929-1930 ----------2,313 1930-1931 --------------4,530 1931-1932 ------------6,369 *In 500-pound bales. AS OF JANUARY 1 (In Thousands of Running Bales) Carry· Dcccmbcr l over Jmporta• Estima te• Total 1,556 1,610 3,543 3,762 2,536 98 13,153 14,807 98 15,603 17,311 135 18 618 22,296 146 12,789 16,697 152 14,373 17,061 140 14,919 17,372 19 14,243 18,792 34 16,918 23,321 Conaumption Ex-poru Total Balance 2,358 4,290 6,648 8,159 2,598 4,647 7,245' 10,066 2,826 5,512 8,338 13,958 3,042 3,784 6,826 9,871 2 779 4,788 7,567 9,494 2,738 4,162 6,900 10,472 2,012 3,947 5,959 12,833 2,196 4,035 6,231 17,090 The cotton year begins on August l. AGRICULTURE Department of Agriculture. The year 1931 was marked by bountiful harvests of practically all important agri­ The acreage, production, and farm value of the leading cultura! products which because of the low prices crops for both 1931 ¡µid 1930 are shown below for Texas brought farmers much less in terms of total income than as given in the December crop report of the United States did the smaller production of 1930. (In Tho usands) ACREAGE PRODUCTION* FARM VALUE CROP 1931 1930 1931 1930 1931 1930 Corn ----------------------------------------------------------------------------­5,236 4,634 94,248 74,144 $ 30,159 $ 54,125 Wheat ------------------------------------------------------------------­3,635 3,029 57,433 31,804 23,548 22,263 Oats -----------------------------------------------------------------------­1,764 1,411 59,976 33,864 11,995 14,223 Barley --------------------------------------------------------­221 184 5,194 2,760 1,506 1,518 Rye ---------------------------------------------------------­3 2 46 20 19 13 Rice -------------------------------------------------------------------197 186 10,441 9,709 6,369 7,670 Grain Sorghums --------------------------------------------------3,871 3,593 60,000 35,930 17,400 23,354 Tame Hay ---------------------------------------------------------­543 491 606 479 4,727 5,988 Wild Hay ------------------------------------------------------205 195 174 166 1,270 1,843 Sweet Sorgbums ___ ----------------------------------------------------------767 604 997 725 7,378 8,990 Cowpeas (Harvestedt) ----------------------------------------------------­155 115 1,705 1,127 1,705 2,141 Peanuts (Harvestedt) ---------------------------------------------201 194 106,530 80,510 2,131 2,818 Potatoes ------------------------------67 57 4,891 4,788 3,913 7,182 Sweet Potatoes ----------------------------------------------------------­59 47 4,968 3,290 2,981 3,126 Cotton --------------------------------------------------------­15,421 16,950 5,270 4,038 144,925 189,786 Broom Corn ------------------------------------------------------------------11 10 2 1 66 105 ugar Cane Sirup ---------------------------------7 6 1,029 852 720 809 Sorgo irup -------------------------------------23 16 1,380 701 676 528 Total Truck Crops (except potatoesl -------------------------------------201 171 14,814 21,044 Total Ali Crop& (duplications eliminated) ___________ ___________________ 31,675 31,161 $297,281 $402,002 *Production is in bushels except cotton in bales. hays and broom corn in tons, peanuts in pounds, and sirups in gallons. t including acres planted in com reduced to equivalent salid acres as well as the acreage grown alone. tlncluding peanuts hogged or otherwise utilized as well as those gathered. · FRUIT AND VEGETABLE SHIPMENTS Fruit and vegetable shipments as compiled from daily reports from the United States Department of Agri­ Most fruits and vegetables improved during December, culture were : according to a condition report of the United States (In Carloads) Department of Agriculture as of January l. Dec. Nov. Dec. Year Year Condition of Crops 1931 1931 1930 1931 1930 Percentage of Normal Mixed Vegetables ____ 770 177 580 8,325 7,052 Snap Beets Jan. 1 1932 Beans --­----------------------­45 ----­---­------------­82 Dec. 1 1931 45 73 Jan. l 1931 79 10 yr. av. Jan. 1 '21-'30 69 Spinach -----------­--------­Cabbage ---------------------Grapefmit --------------­Sweet Potatoes ---­------­ 816 584 445 46 170 39 563 13 1,275 237 398 77 6,457 8,949 Z,539 481 6,678 5,239 2,407 525 Broccoli ---­----------­-----­ 82 84 79 Ca.uliflower ------­--­-- 8 1 16 38 Cabbage -----------------­Carrots -------------------------­ 84 86 75 75 82 77 81 82 Strawberries -----­--­Onions -------------------­ 61 5,574 101 6,357 Cauliflower ~------------­ 75 75 Lettuce ------­----------­ 42 67 Eggplant -----------------­Turnips ----------------------­Lettuce ________ 80 8270 80 75 65 82 85 79 Tomatoes -----­-----­---­Oranges ----­----------------­Potatoes ----------------­ 120 29 25 110 27 1 118 6 52 8,612 113 4,995 7,212 135 5,322 Onions (Bermuda and Creole) ­------­Peppers ------------------­Potatoes --------­---­------­Spinach ---------­Strawberries 85 78 54 65 86 74 78 57 66 83 82 70 67 86 84 74 Green Peas -------------­Beans-Snap, Lima, and String ------------­Mixed Citrus __________ Cucumbers -------------­ 1 73 17 61 10 46 8 543 178 616 1 599 393 855 Tomatoes _____ 74 72 Watermelons -------­--­ 4,029 6,022 With the season for Texas fruit and vegetable ship­ Cantaloupes ----------­Peaches ------------------­ 590 131 368 24 ments beginning to get into full swing, loadings for December 1931, as compiled from daily reports of the United States Department of Agriculture, totalled 3,246 Celery ---------------­Peppers ---------­----­Grapes -----­-----­Pears ----------------------­ 1 5 7 8 6 101 4 14 22 97 cars, the highest for any December on record. This total is 15 per cent ahead of that for December 1930, and represents a gain of 138 per cent over the 1,364 cars loaded m November. Apples -----------­----­Eggplant --------------Decid uous Fruits -------­Carrots ---------------­Honey Dew Melons ___ 1 73 5 5 2 9 1 7 1 1,242 18 4 7 2,084 1 Cahbage shipments jumped from 39 cars in November Mixed Melons --------19 to 584 cars in December. Loadings started earlier than Beets ---------------108 141 1,379 Turnips and Rutabagas 185 usual this year, so that the total is the highest for any Greens --------------------146 30 516 December on record. Spinach loadings did not come up Green Corn _____ 381to expectations, and, at 816 cars, did not reach the high Plums and Prunes_______ 2 totals set in 1929 and 1930. TOTAL ___________________3,246 1,364 2,818 56,125 51,630 Shipments of Valley grapefruit and of mixed vege­tables, which together with cabbage and spinach already mentioned made up about 80 per cent of the total move­ment for the month, accounted for 445 and 770 cars respective! y. Favorable growing weather during December bene­fitted vegetable crops; the transplanted Bermuda onion crop in the Laredo district is said to have reached an unusually quick and sturdy stand. POULTRY AND EGGS Shipments of turkeys out of Texas during December amounted to 547 cars compared with 431 cars during the corresponding month in 1930 or an increase of 27 per cent. In addition, 74 cars of chickens were shipped out of the State, compared with 51 cars last year, an increase of 45 per cent. The Thanksgiving and Christmas turkeys deals com­bined showed shipments out of the State of 1,316 cars compared with 1,165 cars in 1930, an increase of more DECEMBER CARLOAD MOVEMENT OF POULTRY & EGGS* Shipments from Texas Stations Can of Poultry Live Dressed Can Chickens Turkeys Chickens Turkeys of Eggs 1931 1930 1931 1930 1931 1930 1931 1930 1931 1930 Arkansas -------__ 1 ew York _____ 12 13 2 14 10 159 117 2 3 Kentucky --------1 New Jerseyt ------1 1 3 1 13 25 3 Mississippi 3 Massach usett:. 4 1 5 3 117 79 2 Alabama ---2 Lou:isiana --1 4 1 2 11 5 1 Indiana --------1 1 Illinois 3 11 60 35 3 Virginia 3 3 1 Georgia -----6 6 Ohio _______ 1 7 25 Michigan ___ --1 5 17 1 New Hampshire __ 1 5 2 Florida 2 10 10 1 Wisconsin ___ ---2 1 Tennessee ___ 4 1 1 1 4 Nebraska -----9 Pennsylvania ---2 16 6 61 32 4 3 Connecticut ---1 1 5 1 14 13 1 California ___ 2 2 Missouri ----1 3 24 26 1 Rhode Island __ 1 12 7 1 Maryland ---9 6 Maine -----7 7 1 Interstate _____ 13 14 15 3 61 37 532 428 18 15 Intras tate ------16 4 4 2 7 8 TOTAL __________ 13 14 31 7 61 37 536 430 25 23 Receipts at Texas Stations Illinois _____ ---3 3 Arkansas --------­ 1 Kansas ----­ 46 19 Missouri ----40 47 Ol