'TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 

A. Monthly Summary of Business and Economic Conditions in Texas 
BUREAU OF BUSINESS RESEARCH THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS 
VOL. XXVIII, No. 4 TWENTY CENTS A COPY-TWO DOLLARS A YEAR APRIL 1954 
Retail trade goes to town 
Like a magnetic field, the area around a major shopping center has lines of "gravitation." And they pull the customers straight to town --the largest and nearest one 

Circling the Austin bullseye on this map are two lines. The inner one encloses Austin's primary retail trade area, from which it draws over half the out-of-town trade. Within the outer line is the city's secondary trade area, from which it attracts slightly less than half such trade. 
Beginning on page I 0 of this issue, Ralph B. Thompson, associate professor of marketing in the College of Business Administration, reviews the methods and uses of trade area research, illustrating his discussion with a case study of Austin, Texas. The results of this Austin trade area survey, a project recently completed under Dr. Thompson's supervision, are completely described and charted in a new publication of the Bureau of Business Research, to be released this month (A Retail Trade Area Survey of Austin, Texas, by Ralph B. Thompson and Robert A. Jones. Bureau of Business Research Studies in Marketing, No. I. $2.00J. 
TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 


The Business Situation in Texas 

February business activity rises. Business activity in Texas in February strengthened somewhat as most of the barometers compiled by the Bureau of Business Re· search rose. A general increase in the business indexes brought the February level to approximately the same position at which they closed the year 1953. In view of the increasing gloom over the condition of business in the remainder of the country, there seems to be little rea­son to conclude that the improved showing of the Texas figures for February is the result of anything more than an erratic movement that so frequently characterizes the measures of business activity. 
The rise in the composite index of Texas business ac· tivity resulted from general increases in the component series. The table below shows that only one of the indi­vidual series on which the index is based registered a de­cline in February. 
INDEX OF TEXAS BUSINESS ACTIVITY AND COMPONENT SERIES 
(adjusted for seasonal variation, 1947-49=100) 
Feb Jan Percent Indexes Weight 1954 1954 change 
INDEX OF BUSINESS ACTIVITY  
(COMPOSITE)  -------------------------­100.0  143•  136•  + 5  
Total electric power consumption_  _______  3.0  211  208  +  1  
Crude rum to stills ----------------­---·------­ 8.9  128  124  +  3  
Cr ude petroleum production ------
------­- 8.1  117  119  2  
Urban building permits, adiuated for price changes ·--------------­------------------­-­ 9.4  120•  gs•  + 22  
Miscellaneous freight carloadings -­--­ 10.0  95  95  0  
Industrial electric power consumption_  14.6  284  226  +  4  
Retail sales, adjusted for price changes_
_  51.0  147•  139•  + 6  

•Preliminary. 
The index of business in February stood at 143% of the 1947-49 base, compared with 150% a year ago, in spite of the rise in the various components of the index during February. The index of retail sales, which carries the largest weight in the composite, was still 7% below the level of a year ago in spite of the 6% rise between January and February. Crude petroleum production was down 9% over the period of a year, and crude runs to stills down 3%. Although building permits rose 22% in February, the index was 2% below the level of Febru­ary 1953. Freight carloadings were only 1% below a year ago, and both of the electric power series rose, in· dustrial power consumption 5% and total consumption 6%. 
In order not to place too much importance on the rise shown in the February figures, it is important to keep in mind that business in Texas is substantially below its level at this time last year. While it is not unexpected for the level of business in Texas to hold up better than for the nation as a whole, there is little hope that any serious decline in the U. S. economy would not be felt in this area. The economy of the nation is too closely integrated for one section to show any substantial deviation from the trend of the whole. 
There is still a tendency for business analysts to talk in terms of "readjustment" rather than "recession," but it is rapidly becoming clear that the level of business activity for the nation is showing a serious decline. In­dustrial production has failed to follow the forecasts that the decline would stop; retail trade has been holding up better than production, but sales are being made from inventories as businessmen try to get their stocks back into line with prospective demand. 
Consumers becoming more cautious. The most comprehensive information on what consumers may he expected to do during 1954 comes from the annual survey of consumer finances and buying intentions made by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System each 

Texas Business Activity 
Index • Adiusted for seasonal variation • 1947-1949 •100 

200 



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200 
150 
150 
100 108 
50 
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1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 
year. The preliminary announcement of the results of this survey was made late in March, and it appears that con· sumers are becoming more cautious. The interviews for this report were made in January and February, and the results suggest strongly that there is a substantial move· ment on the part of consumers to proceed with caution in their purchases this year. The percentage of consumers planning to buy new cars declined from 9.0% in 1953 to 7.8% in 1954; 26.8% plan to buy furniture and major appliances in 1954, compared to 31.9% expressing simi· lar plans in 1953; and 6.8% plan to buy houses this year, while 8.8% had such plans last year. 
The reluctance to buy major items of durable goods undoubtedly can be traced to the expectation that income will be less in 1954 than in 1953. The answers to this question showed that more people are thinking their in­comes will be smaller this year than last, and fewer peo­ple believe their incomes will be larger. The increasing level of unemployment and the reduction in the number of hours worked are apparently having their effect on the thinking of consumers. 
These influences may be expected to be felt during the coming months, and there is no reason to believe that Texas business will depart much from this general trend. The decline of 7% in sales of durable-goods stores be­tween February 1953 and February 1954 probably does not mark the end of the downward movement in consumer expenditures. While it is possible that an improvement in the business picture might induce consumers to in­crease their spending plans, it is equally likely that any deterioration in the level of expected income might bring about a revision downward. 
Information just released by the Department of Com· merce and the Securities and Exchange Commission on business plans for capital expenditures during 1954 in­dicate that business spending will ease off during the year, with a total of $27.2 billion of such capital expenditures in 1954 compared with $28.4 billion in 1953. This is a decline of only 4% and would leave 1954 the second largest year in business investment. Because of the rapid growth of industry in the Southwest, it is to be expected that Texas will fare at least as well as the remainder of the country and probably better. The mining industry expects to spend 3% more this year than last; yet manu­facturing industries, railroads, and utilities expect to spend less. Railroads expect to spend 28% less, durable­goods manufacturers 10% less, and nondurable-goods manufacturers 4% less. The total investment of commer· cial concerns is expected to rise during 1954. 
Since the rising level of business in Texas has been 
strongly influenced by the rising capital investment in the 
state, any slowing down of the rate of investment will be 

felt in the barometers of business. It is also important to 
remember in using these data that investment plans can 

!>e reduced if business activity continues to decline. Dur­
mg the long period of expansion since the end of World 

War II, the estimates of investment expenditures tended 
to be low, and business spent more than was originally 
planned. With a decline in activity the reverse pattern 
might easily hold, with expansion programs slowing 

down until management can see how serious the decline in 
business may be. 
The construction industry continues to furnish sub­

stantial support to the level of business in the state, as the Bureau's index of the value of urban building au· thorized for February 1954 rose above the February 1953 value. Although declining building costs brought the index 2% below a year ago after adjustment for price changes, it is significant that building continues at a high rate. All analyses of the backlog of construction needs in the state indicate that there is still a need for a great deal of building; in many categories the construc­tion industry has not caught up with the soaring demand. This backlog of demand is one reason for believing that the present decline in business activity bears no resem­blance to the 1929-32 debacle. 
Unemployment reflects decline. Public attention has been focused on the number of unemployed as a measure of the severity of the decline in business. Many analysts have pointed out that these data are not necessarily the best indexes of the level of business, but since unemploy­ment is one of the most serious consequences of a decline in business activity, it is watched with a great deal of in­terest. Additional interest in the level of unemployment was created when President Eisenhower announced that the March figures would decide whether or not the federal government would embark on an antirecession program. 
Some confusion has resulted from the fact that the Bureau of the Census has just announced a revised method of estimating unemployment, with the result that the currently compiled data are not exactly comparable with previous data. However, both the new and the old series showed a strong rise in the number unemployed in Feb­ruary. An indication that the decline was not arrested in March came from a report from the Bureau of Employ­ment Security of the Department of Labor which stated that unemployment continued to rise in March and was spreading to a wide range of industries. Virtually all of the 149 labor-market areas suffered increases in unem­ployment and 40 areas were moved into classifications of greater worker surpluses. Two of these areas are in Texas; San Antonio was shifted from the "moderate" to the "substantial" surplus class, and Houston was classi­fied as a "moderate" surplus area. 
Bank Debits in Texa$ 
Index • Adjusted for seasonal variation •1947-1949. JOO


The index of bank debits constructed from data for 20 Texas cities compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas rose 1% in February, bringing the level 1% higher than in February 1953. The chart above shows that this barometer has given a somewhat less pessimistic picture of the level of business over the past twelve months than the index of business activity. The February value of 165 is slightly higher than the 163 average for the year 1953 and considerably above the 154 average level of 1952. 
JOHN R. STOCKTON 
TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 

TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 

Managing Editor
Robert H. Ryan..·--------­
College of Business Administration, The University of Texas 
William R. Sprleg:ei__________________.,ean 
Business Research Council 
William R. Sprlegel (ex officio), A. Hamilton Chute, F. L. Cox, Elizabeth Lanham, R. H. Montgomery, G. H. Newlove, and Charis 
E. Walker. 
STAFF OF THE BUREAU OF BUSINESS RESEARCH 
John R. Stockton Director  Stanley A. Arblngaat Assiatant Director Resou.,.ces Specialist  Florence Escott Re•earch Supervisor  
Richard C. Henshaw, Statistician  Jr. Raymond V. Lesikar Research Aasociat<I  A. Hamilton Chute Retailiftg SpeciaU•t  
Robert H. Ryan Alfred G. Dale 


Research Aaaoeiat6 Re•earch Aasociat. 
Jo Overstreet 
William S. Lowe 
Calvin Jayroe Martha Ann Moore Frances Curry 

Offset Press Operator Statistical Aasistants Publications Assiatant 
Ann Roche Judy Vaughan Anne Schuler Bonnie Thornhill Marjorie T. Cornwell Yvonne Hawn Secretaries Administrative Clerk Statistical Clerh 
Alice R. Locklin 
Library Assistant 
Assistants 
Pierce Arthur, Jr., Marilyn Biel, Carroll Boudreaux, Robert Clay­ton, Ben Cummins, Maurice Friedman) John Hall, Olin Hardwick, Benny Hill, Vera J effrey, Virl?inia Kindig, David Lewis, Henry Love, Edward Mainous, Sam Muller, Don Noble, Candis Pattillo, Tina Piedrahita, and Cecilia Pingenot. 
Cooperating Faculty 
A. B. Cox E'lizabeth Lanham 
Professor of Associate Professor Cotton Marketing of Managemsnt 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
Retail Trade Goes to Town ........................................ 1 
The Business Situation in Texas ................................ 2 
Construction .............................................................. 4 
Retail Trade .......................................................... ...... 6 
Agriculture ................................................................ 8 
Labor .......................................................................... 13 
Industrial Production ................................................ 14 
Finance ...................................................................... 16 
Local Business Conditions ........................................ 18 
Barometers of Texas Business .................................... 24 

Publiahed monthly by the Bureau of Buslne58 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 ia not copyrighted and may be reproduced freely. Acknowledgement of source will be appreciated. Subscription, $2.00 a year; individual copies, 20 cents. 

CONSTRUCTION 
Big upturn in new construction. The value of new urban building authorized in Texas, as measured by building permits issued, gained 23% from January to February, in spite of the fact that a normal seasonal de­cline of 7% was anticipated. Private residential build­ing in urban areas experienced a remarkable increase of 29%. Nonresidential building also climbed significantly, showing a slightly less impressive gain of 13%. Accord­ing to a recent tabulation made by Engineering News­Record, Texas has a bigger construction backlog than any other state. At the beginning of 1954, the construction backlog in Texas was estimated to be at least $8,635 mil­lion, followed by New York with $8,253 million, Cali­fornia with $6,888 millfon, and Pennsylvania with $4,283 million. 
Value of Urban Building Authorized' In Texas 
Index • Adjusted for seasonal voriotioa •1947-1949 •100 

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This huge volume of proposed construction in Texas amounts to about a four-year backlog at the very fast pace set by the Texas construction industry during 1952. With such a backlog it is small wonder that a construction boom appears to have been underway in Texas during the first two months of 1954. 
The regular monthly sampling of employers by the Texas Employment Commission suggests a substantial increase in construction jobs by mid-March, as workers are recalled after the winter letup. This stirring of spring activity is looked for in virtually all sections of the state. 
Gains in building activity during February were also reflected in sales of Texas lumber, building material, and hardware dealers. Their sales climbed 24% above Janu­ary, although the normal seasonal rise is only 1 %. This large increase during February brought the sales level 3% above February 1953. 
VALUE OF CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS AWARDED 
Source: Dodire Statistical R<8earch Service 
January-February  
Type of  Feb  Percent  
construction  1964  1964  1963  chanir•  

Value (thousands of dollars) NEW CONSTRUCTION-87,620 173,435 188,983 
NEW BUILDINGS --·  74,575  145,966  152,631  4  
Residential  -------­---------­ 43,910  91,686  92,841  1  
Nonresidential --··--·---·­ 30,666  64,380  59,690  9  
PUBLIC WORKS AND  
UTILITIES  ----­---·-­ 18,046  27,469  36,462  - 26  


ESTIMATED VALUE OF BUILDING PERMITS ISSUED 
Source: Bureau of Business Research in cooperation with Bureau of 
Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor 

J anuary-February  
Feb  Percent  
Classification  1954•  1954  1953  change  


CONSTRUCTION CLASS Value (thousands of dollars) 
ALL PERMITS ---------59,212 111,111 115,896 -4 

New construction -----------53,827 97,743 103,819 -6 Residential ------------34,141 60,665 69,982 -18 Housekeeping -------------33,657 59,638 67,637 -12 One family ----81,657 66,586 64,663 -12 Multiple family _ 2,00() 3,052 8,074 -1 Nonhousekeeping ---484 1,027 2,295 -55 Nonresidential ----19,686 37,078 33,887 9
+ 

Additions, alterations, and repairs -------6,885 13,368 12,077 + 11 
CITY-SIZE GROUP (1940) 
ALL PERMITS -----59,212 111,111 115,896 -4 

Over 100,000 --------------26,078 52,040 63,272 -2 50,000 to 100,000 ------------8,864 17,358 23,706 -27 25,000 to 50,000 ------------------10,068 14,014 9,590 + 46 Under 25,000 ------------14,202 27,699 29,328 -6 
Federal contracts are not included. 
•Preliminary. 
Additions, alterations, and repairs decline. The value of Texas urban building permits issued for addi­tions, alterations, and repairs in February fell 33%. The real reason for this decline was the extremely high value marked up in January, for the February total was not abnormally low. Additions, alterations, and repairs to housekeeping-residential buildings gained 18% from Jan­uary to February, which partially offset a 57% drop in additions, alterations, and repairs to other types of building. 
Among the various classes of residential construction authorization, the increase in value of permits issued for one-family houses was the most significant ( +27%). Each of the remaining types of dwelling unit marked up substantially larger percentage increases, but they were of much less importance relatively, because of the low levels at which these kinds of building have been put in place for more than a year. Thus the value of permits issued for two-family houses climbed 81 % over January, for three-and four-family houses the rise was 61 %, and apartment buildings authorized gained by a very signifi­cant 107%. 
Permits were let for 4,234 new urban dwelling units in February, the largest number in any single month since May 1953, and a 781 increase above January 1954. In spite of the large February rise, however, the number of urban dwelling units authorized this February remained 549 below that of February 1953. 

Permits issued for tourist courts and other nonhouse­keeping-residential building thus far this year have been of negligible magnitude. No hotels have been authorized. The value of permits issued for tourist cabins rose 102% in February above January, hut this gain was over­shadowed by a 100% decline in other nonhousekeeping­residential building. 
Permits were issued in large amounts in February in all city-size classes, although the increase from January in cities over 100,000 population was negligible. Most noteworthy was a 155% rise in cities between 25,000 and 50,000 population. Moderate increases (4% and 5%) occurred in cities with populations from 50,000 to 100,000 and under 25,000. 

In spite of the sharp increases in value of building per­mits issued during January and February over December 1953, the average level remained 4% below January and February last year. All types of housekeeping-residential building this year were below the same months of 1953 except apartment building which is up 83% thus far. Likewise in the nonhousekeeping-residential categories only tourist cabins and other nonhousekeeping-residential building was above the January-February 1953 level, with gains of 54% and 148%, respectively. 
The levels of the following types of nonresidential building this year are ahead of January-February 1953: stores and other mercantile building, +67%; churches, +60%; factories and workshops, +91% ; public works and utilities, +8%; commercial garages, +109%; and educational buildings, +1% . 
Additions, alterations, and repairs to nonresidential and nonhousekeeping-residential building in January­February 1954 are up 46% above January-February of last year. 
Building levels during January-February this year like­wise failed to reach the levels of January-February 1953 in all city-size classes except in those cities with popula­tions from 25,000 to 50,000, which was up 46%. Building is only slightly below the 1953 levels: in the largest cities (over 100,000 population), -2% ; and in the smallest cities (below 25,000 population), -6%. The lowest rate of buildinl? activity this year, relatively speaking, is tak­ing place m cities with populations between 50,000 and 100,000, -27%. 
Contracts awarded in Texas. Contract data include urban and rural areas as well as federal building. The value of construction contracts awarded in Texas during February rose 2% above January to a level which re­mained 13% below February of last year. Nonresidential building was the only category which showed an increase from January to February this year, and all categories this February were below the levels of February one year ago. 
The overall decline of 8% in the value of construction contracts awarded in Texas from January-February 1953 to January-February this year can be explained by changes in construction according to ownership. The value of contracts awarded for publicly financed con­struction dipped 9%, while privately financed construc­tion fell 8%. The only type of construction showing an increase above the levels of last year is publicly financed residential building. Public and private nonresidential levels were down 1 % and 13%, respectively. Likewise, publicly financed public works and utilities were down 19%, and privately financed public works and utilities were 67% below last year's levels. 
Permit values for leading cities. Changes in value of building permits issued in the five largest Texas cities from January to February were: Houston, -8%; Dallas, -8%; San Antonio, +27%; Fort Worth, +42%; and Austin, +154%. 
RICHARD c. HENSHAW, JR. 
RETAIL TRADE 

Retail sales continue good. Aided by aggressive re· duced-price promotions, February retail sales in Texas and the nation continued generally good. Yet, the Texas level was 7% short of the peaks reached in 1953, and the national average was 5% below last year's high points. Sales in the Southwest, well above the national average since early April 1952, slipped below that average by 2% to 4% during February hut revived in early March. 
Retail Sales in Texas 
Index •. Adjusted fur seasonal variation • 1947-1949 •100 

1m .., tMt nu 110 1MS tul no 1141 1MI ttM 1111 llH 


Retail prices have generally been comparatively stable for some months, although some individual lines have continued to weaken or to firm. There is still evidence that customers are delaying their buying in the hope of further reductions. Attractive promotions with convinc­ing price concessions continue to draw good response. Substantial discounts on car sales are commonly reported, as is true with some major household appliances. Obvi­ously the overall percentage of customers unable to buy is still small, although drought conditions in the Texas Panhandle and adjoining areas have brought about seri· ous reduction in incomes and sales volume, departure of some tenant farmers, and closing of marginal retail en­terprises. 
ESTIMATES OF TOTAL RETAIL SALES 
Sales (mils of dols)  Feb 1954  Percent change Feb 1954 Jan-Feb 1954  
Type of store  Feb 1954  Jan-Feb 1954  from Feb 1953  from J an 1954  from Jan-Feb 1953  

TOTAL ------------686.1 1,363.2 7 + 1 -11 

Durable goods ---------276.6 528.1 7 + 10 -13 
Nondurable goods .... 409.5 835.1 7 -4 -9 

Liquidation of "excess" inventories has proceeded much better at wholesale and retail levels in most lines than at manufacturing levels. However (according to Ward's Automotive Reports) the stock of new cars at the close of February exceeded 600,000 units for the first time on record. But the heavy selling season is just ahead. Stocks of major household appliances are in better shape, since manufacturers began to trim their production at midyear 1953. 
With vivid recollections of their recent efforts to cut down or balance inventories, buyers in the wholesale markets are still limiting their commitments to immedi­ate needs and reorders of accepted lines. Apparel buying has remained below 1953 and has been less active, prob­ably due in part to the unusually late Easter. However, 
TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 

the flow of orders has been steady. There is some tend­ency to enlarge orders for summer clothing, as favorable response appeared to early promotions of resortwear. 
Customers paid off credit obligations this January at a faster rate than in any postwar January, their repay· ments exceeding new credit. Apparently consumer credit reached its peak in December. Fewer companies report that collections are slow, hut more demand is noted for long-term payments. January's outlay of credit was the smallest since August 1952, partly because of more cau· tious buying by consumers and reduced demand for auto­mobiles and major appliances. In 1952 consumers' retail purchases amounted to about 70% of disposable income, but late in 1953 they shrank to 67.5%. Tax reductions and easier money appear less powerful than the existing (although not widespread) "caution psychology." Sav­ings were at the rate of 7.7% of disposable personal in­come in late 1953. The Texas Region (Dun's Trade Ba­rometers) reflected the greatest increase from the 1947-49 levels of income until late 1953. But in January income in the region stood {It 3% below a year earlier. Loss was attributed to reduced farm prices and cutbacks in petro­leum output. 
January business failures were at the highest level since mid-1952. They were heavier in all retail lines but food and drugs. More apparel stores closed than in any month since early 1950. 
March apparel sales should benefit from one added business day but suffer from the postponement of Easter buying into April. Income reductions are largely in fields of production and transportation, while distribution ac-
RETAIL SALES TRENDS 

Source : Bureau of Business Research In cooperation with the Bureau of the Cenaua, U.S. Department of Commerce 
Numberof  Percent change ---------­­ 
reporting establish·  Feb 1954 from  Feb 1954 from  Jan-Feb 1964 from  
Groups  ments  Feb 1953  Jan 1954  J an-Feb 1953  


11..tND OF BUSINESS  
DURABLE GOODS  
Automotive stores --------------­ 332  - 6  + 8  -8  
Furniture and household  
appliance stores _______..______  170  - 15  7  -13  
Lumber, building material,  
and hardware stores -------­ 351  + 3  + 24  -11  
NONDURABLE GOODS  
Apparel stores ----­-----------­---­Drug stores -------­-----­------­----­ 258 167  +  1 x  -12 2  -6 -· 6  
Eating and drinking places  129  5  3  
Filling stations ---­-----------------1,042  + 7  x  + 5  
Florists ---­------------------­------------­ 41  5  + 8  9  
Food stores --------­-­---------------­ 410  4  6  
General merchandise stores  230  3  4  
Jewelry stores -----------------------­ 42  -21  x  -19  
Liquor stores ------------------­----­ 26  -24  + 3  -19  
Office, store, and school  
supply dealers --­--------------­ 41  -13  -12  -11  
CITY.SIZE CLASS (1960)  
Over 250,000 ---­--------------------­1,623  - 3  + 2  - 7  
100,000 to 250,000 -------------­ 150  - 11  4  -11  
50,000 to 100,000 --­-----------­--­ 297  - 11  7  -12  
2,500 to 50,000 -------------­-------­1,085  + 1  + 4  5  
Under 2,500 -------------------------­ 165  + 1  + 1  x  

xChange is less than one-half of one percent. 

CREDIT RATIOS IN DEPARTMENT AND APPAREL STORES 	the gains were in Greenville (38%), Kirbyville (14%), Victoria (6%), Henderson (3%), and Plainview (2%). 
Credit Collection 
Based on 1947-49=100 and adjusted for seasonal
Number ratioe• ratiost 

of 	variation, the estimated index (147) of total retail sales 
reporting Feb Feb Feb Feb 

Classification stores 1954 1953 1954 1953 	rose from the January low of 139 but remained below the annual averages for 1953 (153) and 1952 (148).
ALL STORES 70 64.9 64.8 38.0 39.5 
The range in the two years was from 137 (March 1952) 
BY CITIES 
to 159 (June 1953). Deflated for price changes, the ad­
Austin ---------------------------------------61.4 58.7 48.8 54.2 
justed index stood at 132 in February. The index for
Cleburne ----------------------------------3 41.8 42.6 37.8 36.2 

69.7 	durable goods (172) climbed well above its levels since
Dallas --------------------------------------7 70.9 39.3 45.3 El Paso ----------------------------------3 55.8 58.4 33.2 35.2 June 1953, equalling the 1953 average hut still below the 
Fort Worth ________:__________________ __ __ _ 
4 1il.2 65.2 40.4 38.2 
186 level reached a year earlier. For nondurables, the 
Galveston ----------------------------------5 58.1 57.1 44.6 38.1 
index (134) advanced a hit from January but remained
Houston --------------------------------6 57.0 63.7 33.4 31.7 

---6 64.4 43.3 below all points reachecl since March 1952 (range 133 to
San Antonio --------------------------62.3 44.3 Waco ------------------------------------------5 60.4 60.0 47.0 49.7 150). Others ----------------------------------------27 58.9 60.6 39.1 40.1 
A. HAMILTON CHUTE BY TYPE OF STORE Department stores (over $1 POSTAL RECEIPTS million) -----------------·-------22 65.8 66.0 37.0 38.9 Department stores (under $1 Percent change 
million) --------------------------17 47.9 49.1 41.0 48.5 Dry goods and apparel stores____ 5 56.8 56.1 37.9 42.0 

Feb 1954 Feb 1954 Feb Jan Feb from from Women's specialty shop• ----------16 62.4 61.3 42.2 40.6 City 1954 1954 1953 Feb 1953 Jan 1954 Men's clothing stores ------------------10 63.6 59.l 53.3 51.9 
TOTAL ----------$5,382,438 $5,662,123 $5,138,188 + 6 -6 BY VOLUME OF NET SALES (1953) 
Alice 9,995
-------------------8,295 9,095 + 10 + 20Over $3,000,000 -------------------22 66.0 65.9 37.4 39.0 
Bastrop ------------2,068 1,829 1,602 + 29 + 13$1,500,000 to $3,000,000 -------------5 60.6 59.6 51.5 48.6 
Bay City ----------------8,199 8,966 7,178 + 14 -9$500,000 to $1,500,000 --------------17 55.6 56.3 43.9 41.5 
Belton -3,390 4,743 29 -32
------------------5,018 ­
$250,000 to $500,000 -----------------10 48.8 48.3 45.5 47.2 
Brownfield --------5,799 6,156 5,825 x 6

Less than $250,000 -----------------16 45.4 44. 
5 40.5 41.6 --	­
Cameron -------------7,787 7,234 7,710 _+ 1 + 8 

•Credit 1ales u a percent of net sales. Childress ------------3,707 4,500 4,098 -10 -18 tCollectiona during the month as a percent of acCO'Unta unpaid on th• Cleburne -------8,941 12,894 10,042 -11 -31 flrat of t.he month. Coleman -----------5,213 5,493 5,019 + 4 -5 Crystal City --------2,135 8,106 2,802 -7 -81 Cuero --------------3,275 5,365 2,758 + 19 -39 
tivities continue at a high level. Business is better than El Campo ------------6,990 7,706 6,415 + 9 -9 in the "good" year 1952. Industry still has large orders Gainesville ---------9,441 9,798 8,755 + 8 -4 Garland ---------------11,337 10,241 8,834 + 28 +11
ahead. Construction is active, having set an alltime rec­
Gatesville -----------3,121 4,984 3,329 + 6 -37

ord for the month in February. Business continues to "set Giddings ---------------2,813 2,152 2,614 + 8 + 31 its house in order" through manipulating inventories, Gilmer ----------------2,526 4,998 3,416 -26 -49 cutting costs, waste control, improving operating effi­Granbury --·----------1,592 2,027 1,323 + 20 -21 
Grand Prairie ------12,073 13,907 11,337 + 6 -13
ciency, and adjusting to peacetime conditions. 
Hillsboro ------------4,775 5,411 5,174 -8 -12

Durable goods sales up. In Texas, with 3,320 re­Huntsville 
-----------5,365 6,790 6,816 -15 -21 

tailers reporting, total retail sales of durable goods this Jacksonville --------8,398 8,668 7,904 + 6 -3 February topped January by 10%, but nondurables Jasper -------------------3,099 4,087 3,389 -9 -24 
Kenedy 2,861 2,934 3,081 7 2
slipped 4%. Both classes of sales fell below February 
Kerrville ---------------8,123 9,192 6,651 + 22 -12

1953 by 7%. The January-February drop from 1953 was Kingsville -----------9,723 10,914 8,946 + 9 -11 11%, in contrast with an increase of 10% for January­Kirbyville --------------3,862 3,969 -3 February 1953 over those months of 1952. La Grange -------------4,763 2,962 4,941 -4 + 61 
Littlefield -----·--------4,674 5,018 3,805 + 23 -7
Reporting by cities, 339 Texas department and apparel 
Luling -------------------2,632 2,643 2,537 + 4 x 

stores averaged 8% decrease from January and 1% from 	McCameoy 2,605 2,443 2,293
------------+ 14 + 7 
February 1953. Of the 34 cities tabulated, only Brown­Marlin--·-------------5,796 4,988 5,486 + 6 + 16 
Mission 

----------------5,249 5,259 5,916 -11 x Monahans ----------------3,839 5,806 5,293 -27 34 
wood (+7%) and Texarkana (+1% ) topped January 

sales. Thirteen bettered February 1953 by 1% to 20%. 	-
Navasota 4,033 3,083 + 31
-·-------------3,644 	+11

Leaders were Port Arthur (20%), Lockhart (5%), and 	Pasadena ---------------15,785 15,468 12,959 + 22 + 2 
Abilene, Brownwood, Wichita Falls, and Henderson (4% 	Pecos ---------------------5,995 5,943 7,569 -21 + 1 
Pharr 3,877 4,360

each). Seven cities were ahead of January-February 1953 ---------------------· 	3,522 + 10 -11 
Pittsburg --------------2,286 2,945 2,286 0 -22

by 1% to 6%. Best were Lockhart (6%), McAllen and Sulphur Springs ___ 5,775 5,008 5,243 + 10 + 15 ------------·------­
Texas City (each 5%), and Brownsville and Wichita Taft 1,623 2,109 1,670 3 -23 Falls (each 4%). Terrell --------------------4,557 5,652 4,419 + 3 -19 Uvalde ---·---------------6,040 6,111 5,604 + 8 -1
Of 36 cities reporting enough retailers of various types 
Victoria -------------· 18,013 21 ,066 17,596 + 2 -14
to be listed individually, 19 topped January, 9 bettered 

Weatherford ---------6,426 6,908 6,431 x -7last February, and 5 outdistanced January-February 1953. Yoakum -----------------7,902 8,858 8,687 -9 -11 Best showings in the February-to-February comparison 
•The total include• receipts for cities which are listed Individually
were in Greenville (50%), Kirbyville (14%), Hender­
under "Local Business Conditions," but excludes cities which have 

son (12%), Mineral Wells (9%) , Victoria (9%) , and incomplete data. 
Denton (6%). Comparing the January-February periods, xChange Is less than one-half of one percent. 

AGRICULTURE 
Return of the drouth. Drouth conditions intensified over most of Texas during February and on into late March. By the arrival of spring, only in the southeastern and northeastern corners of the state was soil moisture anywhere near adequate. In fact, the 1954 version of the drouth appeared to be off to a faster start than during disastrous 1953. Underground water levels had reportedly dipped to new low levels in many areas, and all Texas streams were carrying deficient flows of water. February precipitation was measured to be only 18% of normal. And during most of March, normal rain clouds were re· placed by wind·driven clouds of western topsoil that blanketed all of the state. Added to the gloomy picture were reports that irrigated farms in northern Texas would get scant relief from run-off of melting snows in the Rocky Mountains. This year's snowfall there has been extremely light, and soil beneath the snowpack is dry. 
Prices Received hr Farmers­.Index • Adjusled for seasonal variation • 1909-1914 •100 


nn IMO 
1141 1141 1113 1141 1m 114' 1m 1141 1141 1111 1111 1tll 
INDEXES OF PRICES RECEIVED BY FARMERS (1909-14=100) 
11u 11u 
Source: Bureau of Aa-rlcultural Economica, U. B. Department of 
Agriculture 

Percent cbana-e  
Index  Feb 1954  Jan 1954  Feb 1963  F eb 1964 from Feb 1963  Feb 1954 from Jan 1964  

ALL FARM PRODUCTS---···--· ALL CROPS --------------------­Food grains ------------··-····--­Feed grains and bay ------­Potatoes and sweet potatoes____ 
Fruit ---------------------­Truck crops -----------------------­Cotton -------------------------­
Oil-bearing crops -----·······---­LIVESTOCK AND PRODUCTS ---------------­Meat animals ------------'----------­Dairy products ·-··-----------········-· P oultry and eggs ···--·-····---··--· Wool ---------·--------­
272  267  287  - 6  + 2  
243  238  257  - 6  + 2  
245  245  269  - 5  0  
198  196  226  - 12  + 1  
220  217  339  - 35  + 1  
81  96  147  - 46  -16  
345  334  38g  -11  + 3  
243  235  236  +  3  + a  
251  261  328  - 23  0  
309  306  328  - 6  + 1  
329  311  866  - 10  + 6  
262  267  279  6  -2  
263  296  248  +  6  -11  
385  379  366  +  6  + 2  

Decline in wheat prospects. Wheat prospects dropped sharply in March as a result of drouth. Winds and blow· ing sands added to the already bad situation, particularly in the northwestern counties. The acreage of plants ac­tually blown out, however, was negligible. All in all, each successive rainless day cuts more sharply into har­vest anticipations. But there remained the possibility that sufficient and timely rains could bring about a fair harvest. 
Rising hopes of livestock men. At the outset of spring, members of the cattle industry appeared to be 
TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 
FARM CASH INCOME BY CROP REPORTING DISTRICTS 
January-December 
Value (thous of dollars)  
Percent  
District  1963  1952  change  

TEXAS ----------------· 1,866,449 2,121,173 -12 
District 1-N 
------·--·-····--·-----­District l·S 
District 2 -----------------------­District a ----------------------------­District 4 
District 6 District 6 -------------------------­District 7 
-------------·----------------­
District 8 
-------------------·-------­District 9 -----------------------­District 10 District 10-A ---------------------------­
203,792 278,821 -27 190,031 268,770 -29 157,885 166,388 
+ 2 
99,668 106,918 -7 349,256 308,931 + 13 160,906 160,341 -6 66,179 84,787 -22 94,304 99,064 -6 228,855 284,902 -20 167,244 176,882 -6 68,669 81,991 -16 88,761 114,378 -22 
taking on an attitude of cautious optimism, even though drouthy conditions lingered on. Of oourse, the possi· bility of another dry year loomed threateningly. But the promise of rising and stabilizing market conditions gives them some grounds for optimism. Some 8,587,000 head of cattle and calves are now on Texas ranges, only 3% fewer than a year ago and less than 1% below the 1943-52 average. 
Progress in pink·hollworm control. Reports re· cently released by the federal pink-bollworm-control pro­gram point to three successive years of successful combat against this most vicious of scourges to the cotton plant . According to these reports, infestation found in field debris has declined each year in most of the 28 counties studied. Average infestation in the area was measured 


Cro.p-reporting Districts of Texas 


CARLOAD SHIPMENTS OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLES CARLOAD SHIPMENTS OF LIVESTOCK* 
Source : Compiled from reports received from Bureau of Agricultural Seurce: Bureau of Busineu R'"'earch In cooperation with the Bureau of Economics, U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Economica, U. S. Department of Agriculture 
January February Percent change 
----·­

Percent Feb 1954 Feb 1964 Item 1954 1953 change Feb Jan Feb from from Classification 1954 1954 1953 Feb 1953 Jan 1954 
TOTAL ·-···--·····-···-·················-10,252 8,003 + 28 TOTAL SHIPMENTS 1,900 3,137 1,827 4 -3g
+ 
FRUIT 59 72 -18 Cattle ---------------------------------1,486 2,433 1,455 + 2 -39 Grapefruit ···-···········-····---···--····--· 56 43 + 30 Calves 168 294 166 1 -43

---------------------------+

Oranges -·········--····--··········-·······-······-··· 2 Hogs ---------------------------------0 6 8 -100 Mixed citrus ·--···············-·······--·-············ 1 29 -97 
Sheep 
--------------------------225 404 203 + 11 -44 VEGETABLES -··········-···········-··---10,193 7,931 + 29 INTERSTATE 1,695 2,837 1,562
----------+ 9 -40 

Beets ---·-···---····--········--·······-·····-17 58 -71 Cattle --------------------------1,325 2,217 1,205 + 10 -40 
Brocccli ···-·-----··-·-······-············-·····-·-··· 93 22 +323 Calves ------249 164 --46
-----------------------136 17 

Cabbage ·-··-·····-·····---·-·············-----·-· 1,903 1,097 + 73 Hogs 0 3 0 0 -100 -----------------+
Carrots -·-···-·······--········--······-············-· 2,324 1,613 + 44 Sheep 212 368 193 10 -42 Cauliflower ---------···-··-·················· 487 115 +323 
INTRASTATE 205 300 266 -23 32 Endive ·-----···-·····--·-·····-············-········· 19 3 +533 Cattle 160 216 250

-----------------------36 -26 

Greens -········-··-·--------·-···-··-····-·-······-· 7 4 + 75 Calvea -82 ­
-------------------------45 2 + 1600 29 

Lettuce ·-····----··-······-·-···-·--··-····· 1,232 972 + 27 
Hogs -----------------------------0 8 -100 -100 
Potatoes -··-·-·····-······-·····--·········-··-·-11 12 -8 

Sheep -------------------13 36 10 + 30 -64 
Spinach ···-···--·····-······-··-·-·····-··········-· 551 816 -32 
Turnips ··-·-·-·-·-·········-·········-·········--11 4 +175 •Rail-car basis : cattle, 80 bead per car ; oalvet1, 60 ; h<>KS, 80 ; an<! 
Mixed vegetables ·····-··----·····-··-········· 3,519 3,142 + 12 sheep, 250. 
All other ----·---·-······--·-····-··-19 73 -74 

is high in sugar and protein content. The pods are a top­at 51.6 worms per 100 bolls in 1951, 11.7 in 1952, and quality fattening feed for livestock and also a source ofonly 8.7 in 1953. 
a rich food meal now used as a substitute for chocolateNew crop possibilities. Progress is being made in the in many products.
search for new cash crops that will fit into southwestern Bamboo growing on acreage formerly devoted to cot­agricultural conditions and stimulate a farm economy ton has been suggested by the U. S. Department of Agri­now depressed by drouth and the decreasing demand for culture. That the plant can be grown successfully in Texas cotton. For some time successful experiments have been is indicated by the results of extensive experimentation.

conducted with guar, sesame, and the castor bean. Most The plant now has some seventy different uses, chief recent tests suggest two more plants as possibilities--the among them being as a source of pulp in manufacturing.

carob bean and bamboo. 

As a source of pulp the plant would serve as a long­Carob beans would be particularly adapted to hot, dry needed supplement to the present stands of southern pine. 
areas with as little as six inches of annual rainfall. The Slight rise in agricultural prices. Prices received bean, a mainstay to the diets of the people of Asia Minor, 

by Texas farmers turned up in January, registering a 2% gain over December levels. Compared with levels of a
FARM CASH INCOME 

year ago, however, a 5% overall decline is evident. Feb­
January-February 

ruary gains were general, slight increases being recorded Percent for most groups. Most encouraging increase during Feb­
Commodity 1954 1953 change 
ruary was in prices paid for meat animals (+6%). Sig­
Value (thousands of dollars) 

nificant losses were measured for fruit prices (-16%) TOTAL -------------------233,095 229,590 + 2 and poultry and eggs (-11%). 
Cotton 91,797 78,974
-----·-----------
--------+ 16 RAYMOND v. LESIKAR 
Cottonseed --------·------1,285 2,099 -39 
Wheat -----------------------4,507 7,489 -40 TEXAS COTTON ACTIVITY 
Oats ----------------------932 563 66
+ Source: Bureau of the Censua, U. S. Department of Commerce
Corn ----------------------1,232 1,651 -25 
Grain sorghum ---····-··-· 6,397 4,104 56 Peanuts 2,169 + Percent change
--------------1,030 +111 

CatUe -----------------------34,350 35,985 -6 J an 1964 Jan 1954Calves -----------------------11,293 14,428 -22 J an Dec J an from from 
Hogs Item 1954 1963 1953 .Jan 1963 Dec 1953
-----------------14,209 15,804 -10 Sheep and lambs --------2,299 1,639 + 40 COTTONSEED (thous of tons)Wool 
---------------516 469 + 10 

Received at mills --· 65,762 828,618 46,332 + 42 -80Mohair -----------···· 231 263 -12 
Poultry Crushed -------------186,582 191,110 183,422 + 2 -2 Eggs ------------------7,804 8,659 -10 Stocks, end-of-month _ 724,572 846,342 459,417 + 58 -14
·----------14,067 13,267 + 6 

Milk and milk products ___ CONSUMPTION (running balea)
28,970 32,433 -10 Fruit and vegetables ____ 11,087 10,733 + 2 Cotton ···-·····-··----·····-11,647 11,952 13,268 -13 3 Linters ------------------2,082 2,011 2,521 -19 1
+Farm caab Income as computed by the Bureau understates actual farm SPINDLES (thousands)caah Income by from 6 to 10%. Thia situation result.a from the fact that Spindles in place -···-····· 280 230 222 + 4meana of securing complete local marketings, especially by truck, have Spindles active ------···· 219 222 212 + 3not yet been tuily developed. In addition, meana have not yet been Total spindle hours ······-79,000t 89,000 105,000 -25 -11developed for computing cash Income from all agricultural specialties Average spindle hours__ 843 387 473 -28 -11

of local Importance in scattered areas. Thia situation does not impair the accuracy of the index shown on page 24. 
tFor four weeks ending J anuary 30, 1964. 
TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 




Retail trade goes to town 

The dotted lines on your highway map may he useful now and then in checking the boundaries of a county or state, hut it is doubtful whether many people refer to a map in deciding where to shop-unless they simply want to check the highway route or mileage to the nearest city. 
In these days of a mobilized buying public, political and geographical lines are almost as fictitious, from the consumer's point of view, as a parallel of latitude. And the ordinary map is no longer of any use to the urban merchant as a guide to his market area. As a result, he is bombarded with claims that each of the various adver­tising media covers his market more thoroughly than the others. To he sure, he can tell through his sales or credit records that some of his customers "come to town" from the smaller communities in the hinterland of his city. But how can he know whether he is attracting his full potential share of the customers in any given location? Perhaps there are other places from which he could draw considerable trade if only the people living there were told of his merchandise or services. 
For the neighborhood grocer or druggist the problem of discovering the extent of the geographical area from which he draws his trade is not serious. His goods are such that people tend to purchase them at the most con­venient location. The traffic that goes past the door of the merchant in the primary shopping district or in a large shopping center, however, comes both from within and from beyond the city limits. These people have not been attracted to a particular shopping center by his promo­tional efforts alone, hut they may have been attracted by the combined effect of the advertising done by all the retailers in the city plus such factors as the quality and assortment of merchandise available in the city as com­pared with those in other cities which the shoppers might also visit, the nearness and size of these competing cities, and the condition of the highways serving them. 
What is a trade area? In general a retail trade area is defined as the territory from.which the stores of a city draw or can draw a considerable proportion of the pur­chasing of retail shoppers. The analysis of the Austin trade area dealt only with sales of style and fashion goods, merchandise such as clothing, furniture, house­furnishings, jewelry, luggage, and gifts. Most important of all these are ladies' coats, hats, dresses, and shoes. The customer for fashion goods is typically in search of some­thing distinctive, and this "something distinctive" must almost necessarily he chosen in a place where there are many sellers, each with a large assortment of goods. If such a place is at a considerable distance from the shop­per's home, it simply means that the family car will cover that much greater milage. The determined shopper is no longer very much deterred by distance. 
Of course a trade area that included every point from which the shopping center draws any trade would he larger than the area from which it draws most of the trade. And analysts have generally found that the pro­portion of trade a city does attract declines as the dis· tance from the city increases until a point is reached from which two or more cities divide the out-of-town trade equally. 
Trade centers and competition, Primary trade cen­ters are cities that draw a substantial volume of trade from the surrounding countryside and lose rather little to other centers. In these cities, sales of fashion goods are particularly important. Most of these primary cen­ters are greater than 25,000 in population: Houston, San Antonio, and, to some extent, Dallas and Fort Worth. 
Smaller cities, generally those between 5,000 and 25,000 in population, are known as secondary trade cen­ters when they lose about as much trade to larger centers (with larger stores and a wider field of choice) as they gain from still smaller places. Most of these secondary centers have at least three stores that offer women's ap· parel, furniture, and household goods. But these stores are often unable to satisfy the wants of all shoppers. Typical secondary trade centers in the Austin area are Taylor, Cameron, Bryan, Seguin, San Marcos, New Braunfels, and Kerrville. 
Towns that are still smaller, tertiary trading centers, usually offer little hut convenience goods in their stores. Their low-priced goods may satisfy the needs of the lowest income groups; however, they lose almost all their fashion-goods trade to larger centers. 
Retail gravitation. Not until the late nineteen-twenties was there very much interest in tracing the outlines of trade areas. By that time the automobile had already be­gun to revolutionize American life and business, includ· ing retailing. Before the first World War, retail trade analysts had only to pick up a handful of railroad and interurban timetables for the basic data of their trade area surveys. A comparison of the transportation service to one city with the service to its competitors quickly showed the extent of the respective trade areas. 
Then in 1929, William J. Reilly began studies of the trade areas of Texas cities for the Bureau of Business Re. search. The formula he evolved has become known since as "Reilly's law of retail gravitation." The "law" was originally stated: 
''Two cities draw trade from a smaller intermediate city or town approximately in direct proportion to the first power of the population of the two larger cities and in an inverse proportion to the square of the distance of each of the larger cities from the smaller intermediate city." (William J. Reilly, Methods for the Study of Re­tail Relationships. University of Texas Bulletin, No. 2944, November 22, 1929, p. 16.) 
The postulate to this formula is that somewhere along a major highway connecting two cities there is a breaking point, where their trade influences exert equal attraction. Like the hypothetical horse standing midway between two feed troughs, the shopper living at this point would be equally likely to turn toward either city. 
In 1946, Paul D. Converse of the University of Illinois revived the interest in trade area analysis, which had been pushed to one side during the depression and war periods. He tested the Reilly formula and found that after a pas­sage of fifteen years-and in another part of the coun­try-it was a reasonably reliable method of determining trade areas. Converse developed three additional formu­las-one of which is useful in determining the location of the breaking point along a highway between two shop­ping centers. 
The study of the Austin trade area began with a test application of these "laws" of Reilly and Converse to a specific situation. The division of trade between Austin and each of its principal competitors was calculated in terms of which city would attract the shoppers from smaller, interspersed communities. The breaking points between Austin's trade area and the areas of the other major cities were spotted on a map. A line drawn to connect these points represented the boundary of Austin's primary trade area. 
In using these formulas only two factors are consid­ered-population and distance. This assumes that all other factors--the condition of the highways, parking or traffic problems, or the aggressiveness of merchants in the two cities-are equal. It also assumes that changes in the population ratio between competing centers or the construction of new highways would alter the amount of trade each attracts. However, if the formulas were found to be reliable they would offer quick, inexpensive means of outlining trade areas. To check the reliability of the formulas as applied to Austin several other types of an­alyses were made. 
Analysis of the origin of credit customers. Four Austin stores selling fashion and shopping goods cooper­ated by making their credit records available for an­alysis. A random sample of the accounts in each of the 
Reilly's "law," as formulated here, states that from a given point between two major shopping centers (a and b) the relative volumes of retail business drawn to them (8a and Bb) are propor­tio.nal to their respective populations (Pa and Pb) times the square of the inverse proportion of their distances from the given point (Db and Da). 
stores was drawn, the locations of these customers were recorded, and the results combined. The number of charge accounts in each community was divided by the number of families in that community in 1950. The resulting ra­tios were considered to be a measure of Austin's relative strength in credit sales to customers in central Texas com­munities. One limitation of this measure is that there is duplication among the credit customers of the four co­operating stores. However, if it is assumed that such du­plication is about equal for all communities it is not a serious limitation. Another limitation is that some of these charge accounts are maintained in Austin for the convenience of members of the family who are students at The University of Texas. Again it might be assumed that this factor would be about the same for all commu­nities, except that in cities distant from Austin that might be the only reason for maintaining charge accounts in the capital city. When the ratios of Austin charge accounts to families were plotted on a map of Central Texas, it was found that they generally declined in direct proportion to the distance of the community from Austin. When a line was drawn on the map to include all communities having a ratio of 5% or more the area so enclosed was found to he slightly larger, but of about the same shape as that drawn on the basis of the law of retail gravitation. Llano, LaGrange and Rockdale were included in this area but not in that determined by use of the formula. 
Analysis of newspaper circulation. A second check on the validity of the Reilly and Converse formulas was made through an analysis of the circulation in central Texas communities of the Austin American and Austin Statesman. The numbers of these papers delivered by car­rier or by mail were obtained from the March 31, 1951 Au­dit Bureau of Circulation report. These were divided by the number of families in each community plus the number of rural box holders served by each post office. The re­sulting ratios showed the proportion of families taking the Austin newspapers and were plotted on a map of Central Texas. Since Lampasas sends about 50% of its fashion-goods trade to Austin and is therefore on the dividing line according to the law of retail gravitation, the ratio of circulation of Austin newspapers to families in that town was taken as a minimum. A line was drawn on the map to include all communities 18% or more of whose families take the Austin papers, since 18% was the ratio in Lampasas. Again the area included by the line was similar to that found by using Reilly's law and also to that obtained by including all communities with a 6% ratio of charge accounts to total families. In general, a larger pro­portion of the families in towns west of Austin read Austin papers than do in towns east of the city. As a result the line 

Pa 
Db 
Pb 
Do 
TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 
swung somewhat farther to the west than the line deter­mined by the laws of retail gravitation. 
Consumer surveys in Central Texas. The most logi­cal source of information on buying habits is, of course, the buyers themselves. As a final check upon the validity of the laws of retail gravitation, surveys were conducted, by students in a marketing research class at The Univer­sity of Texas, in seven towns located near the line de­lineating the Austin trade area as determined by the breaking-point formula. These towns were: Smithville, Gonzales, San Marcos, Fredericksburg, Lampasas, Bel­ton and Rockdale. In each town the sample was drawn in such a way as to insure a random coverage of all the households. First, a map of each town was obtained and every block was given a different number. Second, num­bers were drawn at random to select the blocks to be in­cluded in the survey. Third every other house in each of these blocks was selected as part of the sample. It should be noted that this last selection was left up to the inter­viewer, and it is possible that some subjective factors affected their choice. Also, due to lack of time, no call­backs were made. If the characteristics of the people who were not at home at the time of the survey are different from those who were, then an estimate of the shopping habits of all the families in these communities based upon the samples is not fully accurate. 
Although a number of questions were asked of each 
householder interviewed, the one that was most important 
in delineating the Austin trade area was: "In what out­
of-town city do you shop most frequently?" By compar­
ing the percentage of people who named Austin as the 
first, second, third or fourth choice with the percentages 
who named other cities, Austin's relative importance was 
ascertained. 
One fact that became apparent immediately upon tabu­lation of the results was that some of the towns that originally were assumed to be competitors of Austin in certain areas were not. One cannot apply Reilly's formula or Converse's without knowing what other city competes for an intermediate town's trade, since these formulas are based solely on the division of trade between two cities. It had been supposed that San Angelo and Brown­wood were Austin's competitors to the west and north­west. The results of surveys in Fredericksburg and Lam­pasas revealed, however, that it was San Antonio which competed with Austin for the fashion-goods trade of the area. It was necessary therefore, to revise the calculations using these laws to include San Antonio as the competitor. It had likewise been assumed that Waco was the chief competitor to the north, whereas the survey in Belton 
showed rather that it was Temple which was the chief competitor. It was also assumed that Houston would com­pete with Austin for the out-of-town trade of Rockdale, but it was found by the survey that the much smaller com­munities of Taylor and Cameron were preferred by Rock­dale residents to Houston. This would suggest that be­fore the formulas could be used to determine the trade area of a city, surveys should first be made. If surveys are out of the question due to lack of time and money and there is any doubt as to the cities which compete for trade, an alternative would be to determine the circula­tion of newspapers from every metropolitan city to the populations of each town suspected of being in the trade area of the city in question. Since it has been found that newspaper circulation correlates fairly well with trade pref­erence, the competitive shopping centers could be deter­mined easily enough. 
In general, the distribution of fashion-goods trade of the towns of central Texas, as determined by the surveys, was close to that determined by the formulas. The surveys revealed a higher percentage going to Austin from San Marcos and Lampasas than was shown by the use of Reilly's law. Since the competitor for the trade of these towns is San Antonio, this would tend to confirm findings of Converse, whose work in Illinois showed the very large size of Chicago to be unfavorable rather than a favorable factor as far as drawing shoppers from out-of-town is concerned. 
The Austin retail trade area. In general, the bound­aries of the Austin retail trade area determined by each of the four methods were the same. Therefore it was possible to combine them into one boundary which is shown on the map on the cover of this Review. Once the trade area has been determined, statistics can be collected from various published sources, such as the U. S. Census, Sales Management's Annual Survey of Buying Power, 
and the various state agencies, to determine more fully its characteristics and buying power. In so doing it will be necessary to adjust the boundaries of the trade area to conform to political boundaries, particularly county lines, since most statistics are classified on the basis of political units. 
In addition to the four methods described above there are others that can be used to determine retail trade areas. An obvious parallel to the analysis of newspaper circu­lation would be a study of the coverage of the radio and television stations of a central city. Not only is this cover­age limited by the distance that signals can reach, but the advertisements of a city's places of business tend to persuade those within the area to visit the city in which the station is located. In addition, the interest of out·of­town people in the sporting and cultural events which they hear or watch may arouse an interest in visiting the city to see them at first hand. 
Measurements of automobile traffic itself can help in determining trade movements, although of course, many people travel on the highways for reasons other than shopping. The state highway department has prepared maps showing the volume of traffic flowing along the principal highways of the state. It is immediately notice­able on this map that the volume declines markedly the farther one moves from a city until it begins to pick up again as one approaches the next city. These low points could be taken as the limit of a city's commercial influ­ence and compared with the breaking points determined by the other methods described. A survey of the license plates of cars parked on the lots used most by shoppers will reveal the places from which they come. Surveys of people entering a city on busses and local trains can he used to supplement counts of those coming by automobile. 
RALPH B. THOMPSON 

ESTIMATES OF NONAGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENT
LABOR 

Source: Texaa Employment Commission In cooperation with the Bureau 
Unemployment claims jump in March. After de­of La bor Statistics, U. S. Department of Labor creasing steadily in February, claims for Texas unemploy· ment insurance jumped to a 1954 high of 49,443 at the P ercent change 
Employment (thousands)

end of the second week in March. The claims were high­
Feb 1964 F eb 1964 

est since mid-February 1950, when 49,550 were filed. The 	Feb Jan Feb from from 
Indust ry 1954* 1964 1963 Feb 1953 Jan 1954

March total represented a 14,093 increase over the 35,350 claims filed during the first week of 1954. TOTAL -·············-··-······· 2,209.6 2,216.8 2,214.8 x x While the U. S. Labor Department predicted that un­employment will average 2 million per week for the na· TOTAL 
tion throughout the fiscal year 1955, Texas Employment MANUFACTU RING 424.3 428.2 435.5 -3 -1 Commission offices reported mounting unemployment in Durable goods --··-····--····-····· 198.5 201.3 208.5 -6 -1 most cities but looked toward April for at least small Ordnance ---·····-·-·····-···-6.6 7.3 13.1 -57 -23 
Lumber and wood products 25.4 25.3 26.9 6 x

gains. Unemployment increased from January to Febru­
Furniture and fixt ures _
___ 10.1 10.1 10.0 0
+ 1

ary by 200 at Amarillo, 350 at San Antonio, and 500 at 
Stone, clay, and glass........ 15.3 16.5 16.0 + 2 -1


Texarkana. However, Waco showed a decrease of 350 for 
P rimary metals ···-------25.8 25.7 22.6 + 14 x the same period, largely because construction work offered Fab ricated metal products 17.9 17.8 17.0 
+ 6 + 1 

additional job openings. 	Machinery (except 
In Dallas the district office expected a sharp drop in electr ical ) -··-·----·-······· 34.3 83.8 35.6 4 + 1 Electrical equipment -········ 5.1 5.0 3.8 + 84 2
unemployment by mid-April. From a 10,500 unemploy· 	+ 
Transportation equipment 61.9 53.8 57.3 -9 4

ment level in mid-February, a drop to 9,400 by mid-April 
Ot her dur able goods .......... 7.1 7.0 7.2 

-1 + 1

is expected. At the same time, total employment may 
Nondurable goods -·······--·-·· 225.8 226.9 227.0 1 x
reach 311,975 in April, as against 310,475 in February. 
Food ------··-······ 60.6 61.4 62.1 3 1 
Both farm and nonfarm job placements increased dur­Textile mill pr oducts.._ ___ 9.7 9.8 9.6 + 2 -1 
ing February in the seven-city San Angelo District of Ap parel --·----···-29.3 29.0 81.6 7 + 1 
Paper and allied products_ 7.1 7.2 7.1 0

the TEC. Jobs for 2,280 persons were found by TEC 
Printing and publish ing___ 26.1 26.3 24.9 + 5

offices in San Angelo, Midland, Odessa, Abilene, Big 
Chem icals and allied

Spring, Sweetwater, and Monahans. Farm jobs in the 
products ------············ 41.0 41.1 40.0 + 3 x 

seven cities numbered 301, while industrial jobs totaled 
Petroleum products .......... 47.1 47.1 46.8 + 1 0


1,979. Total February placements were 407 greater than Leather and leather the January totals but were 677 less than the farm and p roducts ----·-·-···· 2.8 2.7 2.7 + 4 
+ 4 

industrial placements in February 1953. Other nondurable goods __ 2.2 2.3 2.4 8 _ -4 The highway department will expedite a highway con· 
TOTAL NON MANU­

struction program in 12 drought-stricken plains and Pan­
FACTURING ···-··········· 1,785.3 1,788.6 1,779.3 x x

handle counties to help both the employment situation 
Mining ----------·--···-· 120.1 120.0 118.4 + 1 x
and the general economy of the area. An expected $3 mil­
Petroleum and na tural gas 113.4 113.3 111.6 + 2 x 

lion will be spent on the project during the next year. 	Metal, coal, and other 
minin g -~----······· 6.7 6.7 6.9 0
Bracero pact wins approval. The United States and 
Contract construction -···-161.2 158.9 169.1 -5

Mexico reached an agreement in March to provide for 	+ 1 
Transportation and ut ilities.. 226.8 228.9 236.1 4

U.S. recruitment of Mexican farm workers. The new pact 
Interstate railroads -········· 60.1 61.8 66.2 -9 3

will run through 1955. Changes included in the pact pro· 
Other transportation --··-94.0 94.4 96.5 -3 x

vide for a new recruiting station at Mexicali and the re· 	0
Telephone and telegraph_. 85.4 35.4 37.3 -5 

activation of stations at Monterrey and Chihuahua. The 
Public utilities -·······-·····-·· 37.3 37.3 36.1 + 3 0 

braceros who quit before their contract period is up must 
Gover nment ·······-········-··-·--·-326.2 327.1 327.2 x x 
now pay part of their fare home. The employer's share 	592.5 579.5
Trade --·---·-···-·--·---···-588.5 + 2 -1 will be prorated on the basis of how much of his contract Wholesale trade ····-··········· 152.9 152.4 153.2 x x period the individual worker fulfills. Other changes will Retail trade -·····-···-·-······ 435.6 440.1 426.3 + 2 
continue, but the Mexican government can protest and 	General merchandise -·····-69.7 73.3 72.6 4 5 
F ood and liquor st<>res...___ 75.8 75.4 71.6 + 6

present evidence in cases where it believes the prevailing + 1 
Automotive -----·······-········ 52.1 62.6 50.3 + 4 -1

wage determination is in.accurate. Employers must offer 
Apparel ------·······-····-··-27.5 27.7 27.6 -1 x

on-the-job insurance coverage as well as occupational in­
Other retail trade --··········· 210.5 211.1 204.2 + 3 

surance coverage, both at the workers' expense. The agree­
Finance, insurance, and 

ment also provides for a joint binational commission to 
real estate --·········-98.6 98.0 93.4 + 6 + 1study overall problems of illegal immigration and make Banks and trust companies 24.6 24.3 23.9 
+ 3 + 1 

recommendations by October 31. 	Insurance ------·-···· 42.9 42.7 39.5 + 9 x Real estate and finan ce____ 31.1 31.0 30.0 + 4 x
Ten new labor-management disputes reported to TEC 
Service and miscella neous..-263.9 263.2 255.6 x

in February involved 435 workers. Four settlements of 	+ 3 
Hotels and lodging places 27.3 26.9 26.7 + 2 + 1

disputes removed 42 workers from dispute status. At the 
Laundries and clee.ners...-29.l 29.0 30.1 x

end of the month, 1,800 were involved in 60 disputes, 	-8 
Other busln.ess services _ 207.5 207.3 198.8 + 4 x

compared with 1,407 in 54 disputes in January. 
x Cha n g:e is less than on e-half of one per cent. ANNE K. SCHULER *Prelimina r y. 
TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION 

The proof of the drilling. When the nation's oil men took an overall look at their basic inventories last month, their reactions ranged from complacent optimism to gen­uine alarm. The American Petroleum Institute and Amer­ican Gas Association released their annual joint report on U. S. proved reserves of hydrocarbons, showing not only the national picture but also the relative status of each producing state. 
Their estimates showed that at the end of 1953 Texas still had more than half the underground oil and gas known to exist in the country. But the proportions (51.8% of oil and 50.3 % of natural gas) were the smallest in years. During 1953, the API-AGA report showed, Texas expansion of proved reserves, only 82.5 million barrels net, was outranked by expansion in three other states, Louisiana, Wyoming, and Oklahoma, in that order. In 1946 Texas had 55% of the nation's liquid hydrocarbons in reserve. But since then the Texas share has declined every year except in 1951, when the potential production 
ELECTRIC POWER CONSUMPTION 
Consumption (thous kw-hrs)  Percent change F eb 1954 Feb 1954  
Feb  _Jan  Feb  from  from  
Use  1954  1954  1953  Feb 1953  Jan 1954  

TOTAL -----------1,168,412 1,202,525 1,105,035 6 3
+ 

Commercial --------------176,486 187,018 183,462 4 -6 Industrial ---·---------584,542 588,812 558,142 + 5 Residential -------------196,885 217,873 172,968 + 14 -10 
Other ---------------------210,499 208,822 190,463 + 11 + 1 
Prepared from reports of 10 electric power companies to the Bureau of Business Research. 
Industrial Electric Power Use in Texas 
Index • Adjusted for seasonal variation •1947·1949 •100 



WELL COMPLETIONS 
Source: Tke Oil 4"d GM Jourft<ll 

February 1954• January-February Region Oil Gas Dry Total 1954 1953 
TEXAS 781 94 494 1,369 2,709 2,460 
North Central________  290  216  511  1,001  867  
West -------­-----·------­ 223  5  80  308  635  540  
Panhandle  -----·-­---­ 42  21  14  77  143  127  
Eastern  --­------------­ 14  15  23  52  106  113  
Gulf Coast ----------­ 109  28  74  211  426  369  
Southwest -----­------­ 103  20  87  210  398  444  

•For four weeks ending February 27, 1954. 
of West Texas' Spraberry area was presumably much overestimated. The high year for Texas gas reserves was 1950, when the state held 52% of the reported national reserves. Since those early postwar years, the actual gains in Texas' proven reserves have risen only slightly, for increased production of oil has almost kept pace with the rate of new discoveries in the state. 
The innocent layman might infer that by dividing the "proved reserves" of oil at the end of last year by the year's production, he could learn how much longer the nation will he able to supply itself with petroleum. He would discover, if he carried through his calculation, that early on the morning of Monday, July 4, 1966-at 
3 :44 A.M. to be exact-the nation would be fresh out of petroleum. 
The fallacies in such a conclusion are numerous and not entirely obvious. Of course the assumption that oil pro­duction will continue at last year's rate is patently false. A glance at the chart of Texas gasoline consumption at the bottom of this page will readily show the immense in­crease underway in the use of oil products. 
GuoliH Cons11111ptio11 Index • Adjusted for Seasonal variation •1947-1949 •JOO 

1tlJ 
The electric power indexes continue their impressive up­trend as Texas' most dynamic industrial barometers. The industrial consumption index charted above hit a new high of 234 in February, 5% up from February 1953. And there is every reason to believe that the overall power consump­tion of the state is still growing, probably faster than any other major industrial activity. Several Texas electric utility companies have indicated their intention to con­tinue expanding their capacities at about the same rate this year and next as during the past two or three years. For the nation as a whole, the year's expansion ( 13 million kilowatts capacity) will not be far behind the expansion for 1952 and 1953 together (16 million kilwatts capacity). Pres­ent national total capacity: about 91.4 million kilowatts. 
At 164% of the 1947-49 base period, the January index of gasoline consumption in Texas was at the second lowest point since the beginning of 1953. By February, stocks of gasoline had reached such large proportions on the Gulf Coast that bulk prices were softening perceptably. Yet re­finery activity did not decline as predicted. Rather than having cut production to bring stocks into line, major com­panies have apparently been taking the view that demand this year will be high enough to absorb their heavy back­log of gasoline in addition to a larger current supply. Two major companies look for a 1954 increase in U.S. petroleum demand ranging from 2% to 5.5%. 

PRODUCTION OF HYDROCARBON LIQUIDS BY TEXAS GASOLINE AND RECYCLING PLANTS 
Source: Oil and Gas Division, Railroad Commission of Texas 

Product Total 
August September October November December 1953 1953 1953 1953 1953 1953 1952 


11,795,038 11,549,142 11,734,630 11,297,991 11,699,863 137,200,526 127,895,550 
Condensate-crude_________,_____________ Gasoline_
________________ ________ Butane-propane______________________ Other products___________________ 
 665,854 6,583,388 4,257,423 288,373  700,261 6,315,029 4,263,074 280,778  794,139 6,311,618 4,346,607 282,866  742,336 6,931,607 4,380,042 244,006  857,013 6,005,434 4,577,096 260,320  8,686,661 74,382,194 60,639,924 3,491,747  7,447,627 70,584,103 46,184,804 3,679,016  
TOTAL GAS PROCESSED•---­ 858,136  350,170  370,382  368,307  389,494  4,342,098  4,578,365  
Yield per Mcf in gallons.-----------­--------­ 1.38  1.89  1.33  1.29  1.26  1.33  1.17  

•In millions of cubic feet. 
The definition of "proved reserves," however, is even more essential to an understanding of the oil supply-use configuration. Proved reserves represent the underground stocks of oil and gas known to exist and economically producible by currently used methods. In spite of the fact that a rising flood of petroleum is tapped each year, the proved reserves ordinarily increase instead of shrink­ing. This happens because new discoveries of oil and the development of new production techniques add to the established reservoir faster than it is drained. 
The figures for proved reserves, then, include no oil that may become available next year or the year after through new methods of production or through chemical processing of coal, shale, or other possible sources; and they include none of the oil that may (and doubtless does) exist in untested or unexplored areas. 
Further, oil and gas fields do .not sudden~y run dry after years of steady production, like an emptied storage tank. Rather, their production gradually declines until it becomes uneconomical to operate the field unless a new method of increasing underground pressure or mak-
Crude Oil Runs to Stills in Texas 
ing the oil-impregnated rocks more permeable is dis­covered. 
It would he entirely misleading to even suggest that Texas' reserves are anywhere within sight of depletion. At year-end, the crude oil reserves, 14,998,620,000 bar­rels in all, constituted only part of the state's stock of liquid hydrocarbons. An additional 3,267,242,000 bar­rels was estimated to exist in the form of natural gas liquids, the fractions that are "swept" from gas and processed into a wide range of chemical products. The Texas reserves of gas were estimated at the same time to he 106,529,626 million cubic feet, a net gain of 796,863 million cubic feet over the 1952 year-end report. The in­crease, however, was a great deal smaller than the total natural gas production for 1953, about 4.67 trillion cubic feet. With the strong uptrend evident in gas used by petrochemical industries, some authorities believe that Texas gas will ultimately be more valuable as a basic chemical raw material than as a general-use fuel. 
ROBERT H. RYAN 
Cement Production In Texas 

Index • Adjusted for seasonal variation •1"47-1949 •100 Index • Adfusted for seasonal variation • 1947-1949 •100
.. Ill 
Ill
Ill 
..

.. .

• 


With stocks still within reasonable bounds, except for a possible oversupply of gasoline, primary output of Texas refineries continued upward during the first two months of 1954. The February level of activity (128% of the 1947-49 average) was not far below last year's high points. Current indicators suggest that the March level of the index may be down nominally, for refiners cut their output slightly during the first two weeks of the month in response to small gains in their gasoline stocks. During the week ending March 13, the nation's refineries were operating at 86.2% of capacity, and stocks of all major products except gaso­line were down from the levels of the preceding week and the year-ago week. 
A~er a precipitous drop in December, Texas cement pro­duction was back to a January index level (140) not far below the January 1953 point (149). The cement index, an 

·indirect measure of construction work, does not always follow very closely the changes in volume of building per­mits and construction contracts. Building authorities look for no very great drop in starts of new houses during 1954, but even should domestic construction decline sharp· ly, the long-range plans of commercial and industrial build­ers might be expected to cushion the market for cement. Also, the increase in public works usually sponsored by the government to stimulate employment and production in slack times demands large supplies of cement for the building of roads, dams, and public buildings. 
16 

TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 
REFINERY STOCKS 

FINANCE 
Source: The Oa and Gae Journal. 

Total deposits of the weekly reporting member banks in the Eleventh Federal Reserve District declined notice.
P ercent change Stocks (thousands of barrels) ably between January and February. Demand deposits
Feb 1954 Feb 1954 

Area and Feb Jan Feb from from registered the greatest relative and absolute decline, product 1954 1954 1953 Feb 1953 Jan 1954 
amounting to 4%. This drawing against deposit accounts 
UNITED STAT ES is largely a seasonal movement, reflecting withdrawals Gasoline -----------179,170 170,421 157,378 + 8 + 5 for income tax expenses by individuals and businesses. Distillate 69,137 83,936 68,025 2 -18
-------------------	+ Member banks covered these withdrawals partly by
Residual 45,941 46,433 44,432 3 1
-----------------	+ ­
reduction of investments (government securities -2%)
Kerosene ----------------19,506 22,093 20,550 5 -12 

and partly by drawing on reserves held by Federal Re· 
TEXAS 

serve Banks, which declined 12% from January to Feb­Gasoline --------------------32,509 30,874 27,902 + 17 + 5 ruary. Holdings of all short· and medium-term govern­
Distillate -----·-----------7,152 10,797 8,133 -12 + 34 

ment paper were contracted; holdings of Treasury notes
Residual ----------------6,503 6,953 7,002 7 6 

Kerosene ------------2,494 2,575 2,582 -3 3 declined 32%, certificates of indebtedness declined 11%, and bills declined 9%. U. S. Government bond holdings, Fi1:ures shown for week ending nearest last day of the month. however, increased 11%. 
The changes in the holdings of government securities PETROLEUM AND GAS also partly reflected the recent refunding operation of
ACTIVIT Y 

Source: State Comptroller of P ublic Accounts llnd Oil llnd Gas the Treasury, which was the largest in history. The new Division, Railroad Commission of Texas one-year 1%% certificate of indebtedness and the seven­year-nine-month 2%% bond had heavy subscriptions, 
P ercent change 

purchase being limited to holders of maturing certificates Feb 1954 Feb 1954 of indebtedness and medium-term notes and to holders of 
Feb Jan Feb from from 

Product c954 1954 1953 Feb 1953 J an 1954 	certain bonds due for redemption on June 15. Because the bondholders were restricted to changing their existing
CARBON BLACK 
holdings for the new bond issue and because the empha­

PRODUCED (value in thous of dols) _ 1,061 2,518 1,777 -40 -58 sis in the total refunding is on long-term paper, the whole 
CRUDE OIL 	operation has been successful in shifting the debt from 
Value (thous of dols) ____ 

237,208 209,571 227,218 + 4 + 13 an unduly high concentration of rapidly maturing securi· 
P roduction (thous of bbls) ---------------------83,437 73,638 87,849 + 13 Runs to stills (thous of 
CHANGES IN CONDITION OF W E EKLY-REPORTING MEMBER

bbls ) 56,243 59,113 57,904 -5 
BANKS IN T H E DALLAS DISTRICT 
NATURAL AND 
CASTNGHEAD GAS Source: Board of Governors of t he Federal Reserve System 
PRODUCED (value 
in thous of dols) -· 50,404 31,165 33,371 + 51 + 62 

Percent change•

SULFUR RECOVERED 
(long tons) --------------83 677 + 8200 -88 Feb 1954 Feb 1954 Feb 1953 
from from from 
Item Feb 1953 J an 1964 Jan 1963 

ULTIMATE DISPOSITION OF ALL REPORTED NATURAL GAS 

ASSETS PRODUCED IN TEXAS Loans and investments ----------------+ 8 2 Loans -------------------+ 8 x
Source: Railroad Commission of Texas and U.S. Bureau of Mines Total U.S. Government securities 6 2
+ 

T reasury bills ------9 -81 Percent change Treasury certificates of Reported gas 
------------9 
indebtedness 36 -11 8
----------------------
-+
(millions of cubic feet) 1953 1953 from from Treasury notes --------------------------31 -82 + 

1953 1952 1940 1940 1952 Bonds ----------------------------+ 13 + 11 Other securities 19 1
--------------+ +
Marketed production ____ 4,649,700 4,147,805 1,063.538 +337 + 12 
Reserve with F ederal Reserve 
Gas-well gas -·-····-···-3,835,636 3,779,107 1,087,089 +253 + 1 
Banks 	9 -12 x Casinghead gas ··-·-······ 1,479,135* 1,310,270* 457,100 Cash in vault -----·-·-·-------4 + 2 + 2 Total gas reported --·-··-5,314,771* 5,089,371* 1,544,089 Balances with domestic banks___.. 6 8
+ +
Extraction loss ----·-----·· 184,632 174,260 56,210 +228 	6
+ 

P lant fuel and lease use__ 414,112 381,864 216,583 + 91 8 Gas lift ---------·-·--· 105,154* 52,003 Total deposits (except interbank) 5 2 2 
+ LIABILITIES 
+
Pressure maintenance, 

Demand deposits (adjusted)_ x 4 3 repressuring, and 
Time deposits 31 2 + 1
---------+ + 

cycled ·--------·-----·-779,054 784,892 265,677 + 193 -1 U.S. Government deposits..____ -19 + 12 + 81 Carbon black ------·---··-------· 197,030 258,985 326,060 -40 -24 ---··---------+ 7 4 -4
Interbank deposits Transmission lines --·--····-· 3,440,991 3,199,003 494,826 +595 + 8 Domestic banks 7 4 -4
---------------------+ 

Consumed in stat•-·-···-·· 1,224,113 1,192,539 265,376 +379 + 8 	0 0 17
Foreign banks -··----·-···------	­

Exported from state____ 2,216,878 2,006,464 239,450 +826 + 10 Percent of marketed CAPITAL ACCOUNTS ----+ 10 + 1
+ 

production -·-·---------47_7 48.4 22.5 + 112 -1 Vented -----------------298,951* 185,219* 132,740 *Percentage changes are based on Wednesday nearest the end of the month. *Data not comparable with previous years. xChange is less than one-half of one percent. 
REVENUE RECEIPTS OF STATE COMPTROLLER FEDERAL INTERNAL REVENUE COLLECT IONS 
Source: State Comptroller of Public Accounts Source: Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Tr easury Department 
September i-February 28 July i-February 28 Percent
P ercent Source i958-54 i 952-53 change

Source i 953-54 i 952-53 change TEXAS $i,289,992,378 $i,368,92i , 773 -6
TOTAL ·--------------------------------------------$387,404,455 $336,97i ,709 + i5 Income ------------------------572,353,332 69i,421,935 -i7 Ad valorem taxes ------------------------------­24,0i5,0i4 22,550,710 + 6 Employment -------------------­i 7,660,047 i6,787,995 + 5Natural and casinghead gas Withholding --------------------571,927 ,097 536,213, 759 + 7 production taxes ----------------­i 2,553,68i 10,i37,063 + 24 
Other ------------------i 28,05i,902 i24,498,084 + 3
Crude oil production taxes ---------------­64,879,3i7 63,259,490 + 2 FIRST DISTRICT ----690,85i,574 732,279,i27 -6 Net mot or fuel taxes -----------------···­55,036,i46 53,748,877 + 2 Income -----·-----·-------307,564,905 373,460,723 -i 8 Cigarette tax and licenses -------­i6,947,843 i7,535,934 3 Employment ------------------­4,569,645 4,484,260 + 2Alcoholic beverage taxes and licenses 9,942,476 i0,379,363 4 Withholding ------------------306,729,886 283,979,767 8

Automobile and other sales taxes_____ 8,924,059 8,80i,907 + 2 + Other ----------------------71,987,138 70,354,377 + 2
Other licenses and fees ------­7,5oi,899 7,945,937 6 SECOND DISTRICT __ 599,i40,804 636,642,646 -6

Mineral leases, rentals, a nd bonuses__ 47,458,967 ll,202,i46 +324 Income -------------------264,788 ,427 3i7,961,2i2 -i 7 
Oil a nd gas r oyalties ----------11,498,640 9,46i ,3i8 + 22 Intereot on securities owned___________ 5,550,777 6,654,028 -i 7 Employment --------------------­i3,090,402 i2,303,735 + 6 Withholding --------------------­265,197,211 252,233,992 5
Sale of commodities -------------­5,690,446 5,622,705 + i + 
Other ------------------56,064,764 54,i43,707 + 4Federal aid-highways -----------­i 5,728,639 i o,388,337 + 5i Federal aid-public welfare ------------­56,433,692 49,064,243 + i5 Federal aid-public health -----­3,687,640 5,785,883 -36 Unemployment compensation taxes__ 8,118,980 9,535,987 -i 5 
All other receipts ------------33,936,239 34,897,78i -3 
ties. The popularity of the bond issue is ~nderstand.able in the light of the current general e_cono?11c uncert~ii:ty. Commercial banks, because of declines m loan activity, have undoubtedly been impelled to invest spare funds in the bond market. For the first time in three years (ever since the Federal Reserve ceased to support the govern­ment bond market) , many Treasury bonds are selling at par and the trend seems set for a continued rise in bond pri~ and diminishing yields, at least until the business readjustment has stabilized. 
At the same time, the prime commercial rate charged by banks is under pressure, because of the increasing volume of available credit in the country. Although banks are still maintaining a 314 %charge on prime commercial paper, nonbank interest charges are as low as 21h%..It is probable that interest rates charged by the banks will be adjusted downwards in the near future. 
An additional factor in this connection has been the lowering of the discount rate by the Federal Reserve banks. The Dallas bank came into line with the other members of the system on February 15, when the discount rate was lowered from 2% to 1%,%. This facilitates the extension of cheaper credit to commercial bank borrowers and is an orthodox and logical move in the face of the present situation. 

Finance in Mexico. According to the 1953 Annual Report of the Banco de Mexico the balance of payments during the last year was approximately in balance. Al­though exports shrank from 1952 levels and imports in­creased during the year, balance was achieved through continued growth in the invisible accounts (dollars earned through tourist trade and retained wages of migra­tory labor in the U. S.). Long-term loans by the Export­Import Bank and the International Bank for Reconstruc­tion and Development amounted to a relatively small ALL COMMODITIES_____ 110.6 110.6 110.5 110.0 $14 million. The expansion of bank credit has stimulated Farm products ------------------······--98.8 99.0 97.9 99.8 
-------·--·-----·-------·----------­
Food io4.7 io4.6 i o4.8 104.i
primary productive capacity, particularly in agriculture. 
All others 114.3 114.4 114.4 113.4
---·-·---·-····--·----------­

The federal debt continued to expand ; expenditures de­
clined only 2% in the face of a 10% reduction in revenue. •Estimates of the in dex for the week ending on date given. 

State revenue. During the first six months of the fiscal year commencing September 1, 1953, total revenue re­ceipts in Texas were approximately 15% greater than during the corresponding 1952-53 period. Increased in­come from mineral leases, rentals, and bonuses ( +324%) largely accounted for the change, but th~re were. signifi­cant increases in the amounts of federal aid for highways and public welfare and to a lesser extent in oil and gas royalties and natural and casinghead gas production taxes. Federal aid for public health purposes was down rather sharply (-36%) from the corresponding 1952­53 period, and there were also declines in the amoun!s collected from cigarette taxes and licenses and alcoholic beverage taxes and licenses. 
Federal tax collections. Total collections during Feb­ruary were 23% greater than during the corresponding month last year, but for the fiscal period July-February, total tax collections were down 6%. Changes in the amounts of income taxes collected influenced the total picture most strongly. In the month-to-month comparison income taxes were up 47%; but for the July-February period income tax collections were down 17% from the 1952-S3 level. In general, collections of employment and withholding taxes showed fairly consistent increases in the month-to-month and in the eight-month cumulative comparisons, but there was a marked drop in employ­ment tax collections in the First District during Febru­ary 1954 as compared with February 1953. 
ALFRED G. DALE 
INDEXES OF WHOLESALE PRICES IN THE UNITED STAT ES 
(1947-49=ioo) 
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U. S. Department of L abor 
i954• Feb Mar 
Index Mar i6 Mar9 i954 i953 

18 TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 
Local Bus.iness 

Percent change Percent change 
Feb 1954 Feb 1954 Feb 1954 Feb 1954 February from from February from from 
City and item 1954 Feb 1953 J an 1954 City and item 1954 Feb 1953 J an 1954 
ABILENE (pop. 45,570) BAYTOWN (pop. 22,983) 
Retail sales -----------------------------------+ 2 x Postal receipts ---····--···--·-·····--····-····---$ 13,591 + 4 -11 Department and apparel stores___________ 4 8 Value of building permitsll ·-·--·····------·---·$ 188,022 + 17 -53
+ 

Postal receipts _ 
_ 
_ 
·-----·-----------------------$ 55,452 + 6 -10 Bank debits (thousands) -···----------------·-$ 18,866 + 13 5 Value of building permits ll ________________$ 1,099,095 + 35 + 173 End-of-month deposits (thousands)*-----$ 21,942 + 6 + 3 52,520 + 13 -13 Annual rate of deposit turnover..______ __
_ 10.5 7 5
Bank debits (thousands) --------------$ + End-of-month deposits (thousands) L ---$ 51,992 -11 -5 E'mployment (area) ----------------·---···-·· 352,200 x Annual rate of deposit turnover ___________ 11.9 + 11 -10 Manufacturing employment (area) ___. 81,125 4 x 
26,300 2 x .Percent of labor force unemployed
Employment ----------------------------------+ Manufacturing employment --------------3,350 + 1 2 (area) ----------------------------·······-··-4.6 + 77 + 12 Percent of labor force unemployed._______ 5.6 + 37 8 
BEAUMONT (pop. 94,014)


ALPINE (pop. 5,261) 2
Retail sales• -·------·····---------------­Postal receipts ·----------··-·-····-----·-·--····------·$ 9
2,898 -2 -10 

Automotive stores• -------------------­Value of building permits ll ---·---··-----··---·$ 8,000 -85 +220 1
Department and apparel stores...·-··-+Bank debits (thousands) --······----------··-·-··-$ 1,901 -12 -12 Eating and drinking places•__________ 16 End-of-month deposits (thousands ) t......$ 3,729 -14 4 
Food stores• -----····--····-····--···------------··-· + 13 
Annual rate of deposit turnover_____________ 6.0 + 2 -5 

Furniture and household appliance stores• --------------------------­-44 +AMARILLO (pop. 74,246) General merchandise stores• ---------­-1 Retail sales• -----------------·---·---·-·---­-17 -12 Lumber, building material, Automotive stores• ---------------------------­-37 -12 and hardware stores• ----------------------+ 42 + 40 7 8
Department and apparel stores --····­-Postal receipts -----········---···---····················$ 70,129 + 8 -14 
1 Value of building permits II _________________$
Drug stores• --------------------------------­-17 -463,072 x -7 Bank debits (thousands) _______ 
_________$
F illing stations• -·--------------------­-15 -2 108,543 -13 -11 Florists• -·---------------·--·------------·--·····----· -19 + 12 End-of-month deposits (thousands )t....._$ 100,445 -3 1 Food stores* ------------------------------------18 -9 Annual rate of deposit turnover............_ 13.0 -14 9 Furniture and household Employment (area) ·---··--·-------------·------78,000 1 1 
appliance stores• ---------------------­-26 -48 Manufacturing employment (area) _ _ 26,220 -1 
Liquor stores• ------------------------­x Percent of labor force unemployed

-3 

Lumber, building material, (area) --·-·-···--···--···-····-·········------7.4 + 50 + 10 
and hardware stores* -------------+ 9 + 10 Air express shipments -----------------------­215 -3 -11 Postal receipts --·-·······--------······-----$ 106,857 + 2 -7 Waterborne commerce (tons) -----·----------33,314 + 56 -16 Value of building permits ll --------------$ 832,791 -60 -17 Bank debits (thousands ) ···-------·-·--···--·--$ 117,175 -6 6 End-of-month deposits (thousands) t-----S 96,984 -20 2 BEEVILLE (pop. 9,348) 
Annual rate of deposit turn ove r---~----14.3 4 Postal receipts -------··-··-·····--------·--·---$ 6,367 + 17 + 2
+ 

42,500 2 Value of building permitsll ········------$ 107,000 +809 + 7Employment ---------·--·········------·-·······--·· ­4,710 -7 2 Bank debits (thousands) -········-----------$ 6,289 + 1 -11
Manufacturing employment ----------------­

Percent of labor force unemployed______ 6.4 36 End-of-month deposits (thousands )t......$ 11,861 -4 + 2
+ 8 Annual rate of deposit turnover.._________ 6.4 7 -10
+ 
Air express shipment.s ------------------------5 -64 + 25


ARLINGTON (pop. 7,692) 

Postal receipts ----------------·-·---····------$ 11,751 + 39 + 13 Value of building permitsll ------------------··-·$ 512,443 -66 -1 BIG SPRING (pop. 17,286) Bank debits (thousands) ----------------····$ 7,915 + 16 -12 Retail sales -----------------------------------------------------7 End-of-month deposits (thousands ) t ......$ 10,393 + 25 -1 Department and apparel stores --····-··--9 -25 
Annual rate of deposit turnover.____
________ 9.1 -6 -10 Postal receipts --------···-----·----···--···········-$ 15,796 4 -11 
Value of building permitsII ------------------·-$ 376,690 + 42 +432 AUSTIN (pop. 132,459) Bank debits (thousands) ··-·-·-·----------------$ 19,091 4 9 End-of-month deposits (thousands) t ...-.$ 22,778 -6 -3
-8 -1Retail sales -----·····---------·-·---····­Annual rate of deposit turnover·-····--·-·---9.9 1 -6

Automotive stores ------------------------------­-21 -3 + 
Air express shipments -------------------------------23 -39 -28

Department and apparel stores....·--·-·· -1 -12 
Eating and drinking places ···-··-·-···-·--+ 23 7 
Food stores ··-···---------------·-·········-······-+ 16 -8 BORGER (pop. 18,059)

Furniture and household 11,506 + 14 x
Postal receipts ········--···-----·-------·---------·$· appliance stores --------------------------­-35 -31 Value of building permitsll 53,050 -62
···---··-·---·-·---·-·$ + 13 General merchandise stores ---------------x + 3 Bank debits (thousands) 10,525 -12 9
·····-···--·-----------·$ ­Liquor stores --------------------------------------18 -11 End-of-month deposits (thousands) t ......$ 13,170 -2 -8 Lumber, building material, 
Annual rate of deposit turnover---·······-·· 9.2 -23 Air express shipments -··········--·-···-----···-··· 32

and hardware stores ---------------------­6 + 46 -47 -27 Postal receipts -----····--··-·-····-··-·--······-·----$ 207,979 + 12 -5 Value of building permitsll ·-·-······-----·-····$ 3,466,375 + 46 +154 Bank debits (thousands) -···-····--------$ 107,534 + 6 4 BRADY (pop. 5,944) End-of-month deposits (thousands)+......$ 97,627 -20 4 Postal receipts -------·-------·---··----·$ 3,658 + 6 -11 Annual rate of deposit turnover.·-··-······· 13.0 + 2 Value of building permitsll ····--·---····----·---$ 4,450 -88 -88 
60,600 5 x Bank debits (thousands) --··-··----$ 3,783 7 3
--·---·­Manufacturing employment -----------------5 

Employment ----------···--·--···-·······---··· + 

4,225 End-of-month deposits (thousands)*··----$ 6,959 2 1
+ 

Percent of labor force unemployed._______ Annual rate of deposit tnrnover._________ 
6.5 6 2
4.7 27 7
+ + Air express shipments -----···············-··-··· 724 + 12 + 5 For explanation of symbols, see page 23. 

APRIL 1954 



Conditions 
Percent change 	Percent change 
Feb 1954 Feb 1954 Feb 1954 Feb 1954 February from from February from from City and item 1954 Feb 1953 Jan 1954 City and item 1954 Feb 1953 Jan 1954 
BRENHAM (pop. 6,941) 	. DALLAS (pop. 434,462) 
Postal receipts --------------------------$ 5,237 -13 -11 Retail sales• ------------------------­4 + 2 Value of building permitsll -----------------$ 49,949 +179 + 21 Apparel stores• ----------------------­+ 4 -6 Bank debits (thousands) -----------------------$ 5,537 + 6 -12 Automotive stores* ----------------------­+ 9 + 20 End-of-month deposits (thousands) t .....$ 10,651 + 3 Department storest -------------------------+ + 6 Annual rate of deposit turnover____________ 6.1 
+ 	2 -9 Drug stores• ------------------------------------+ 6 + 9 Eating and drinking places• -------­2 2 BROWNSVILLE (pop. 36,066) Filling stations• --·------------------------+ 6 Retail sales• ---------------------4 + 10 Florists• ------------------------------------19 + 4 
Department and apparel stores_________ -4 -26 Food stores• -----------------------­-39 -45 Value of building permits issuedll-----------$ 61,780 -71 -40 
Furniture and household 
Air express shipments -------------------------­377 -8 -2 appliance stores• ---------------------------­-5 + a Tourist cars entering Mexico -----------­
301 -27 General merchandise stores• -----------+ 1 + 7 Waterborne commerce (tons) ------------77,165 + 10 -24 Jewelry stores• ----------------------------------------23 + 8 Liquor stores• -----------------------­2 Lumber, building material,
BROWNWOOD (pop. 20,181) 
and hardware stores• --------------­+ 7 + 56
4 4
Retail sales -----------------------------------	+ Office, store, and school
Department and apparel stores___________ + 4 + supply dealers• ---------------------------13 -12 
Postal receipts --------------------------------------$ 15,060 1 9 
Postal receipts -------------------------------.$ 1,460,247 + 9 + 2 
Value of building permitsll --------------·-·---·$ 7,948 -86 2 
Value of building permitsII ----------------------$ 8,538,519 + 10 -8
Bank debits (thousands) ·-----------------------$ 10,945 + 34 + 15 Bank debits (thousands) ------------------.$ 1,518,118 + 5 -20End-of-month deposits (thousands) t..-.$ 13,261 + 4 -3 End-of-month deposits (thousands) L .... $ 895,110 -19 3
Annual rate of deposit turnover________ 9.7 + 28 + 20 ­+

Annual rate of deposit turnover___________ 20.0 1 -17 
Employment ---------------------­305,400 x
BRYAN (pop. 18,102) Manufacturing employment -----------75,575 
Retail sales• ---·----------------------------------------12 -12 Percent of labor force unemployed_______ 3.3 6 
Department and apparel stores____ ________ -2 -35 + 

.Postal receipts -------------------------------------------$ 17,641 + 5 -7 DENISON (pop. 17,504)
Value of building permitsll -----------------$ 387,850 +504 + 15 -13 -4

Retail sales -----------------------------------­Department and apparel stores___________ -10 -14 
CISCO (pop. 5,230) Postal receipts ---------------------------$ 11,130 + 6 -28 
Postal receipts ---------------------------------$ 3,330 -17 -29 Value of building permitsll ----------------·$ 170,368 +351 +379 
Value of building permitsll --------------------$ 8,000 Bank debits (thousands) -------------------$ 10, 769 + 7 -12 
Bank debits (thousands) -----------------------$ 2,124 + 11 + 8 End-of-month deposits (thousands) L ....$ 18,318 + 31 
End-of-month deposits (thousands) t ......$ 3,932 + 1 x Annual rate of deposit turnover___________ 7.0 -19 -9 
Annual rate of deposit turnover____________ 6.5 + 10 + 10 

DENTON (pop. 21,372) CORPUS CHRISTI (pop. 108,287) Retail sales --------------------------------+ 6 + 20 
Postal receipts _____________$ 
19,669 9 -6
x + -19 Value of building permitsll ---------------$ 165,650 + 76 + 75 Retail sales ----------------------------------------7 
Apparel stores ----------------------------------­+ 3 
7 x Bank debits (thousands) -----------------------·-$ 10,393 + 5 4
Automotive stores -----------------------------­End-of-month deposits (thousands) t-----$ 13,891 + 3 + 1
Country general stores ------------------------­5 -7 Annual rate of deposit turnover____________ 9.0 2 3
Department storest --------~------------------­5 + 20 	+ 
Lumber, building material, 
and hardware stores __________'.________________ -30 + 5 EAGLE PASS (pop. 7,276) 113,375 -5 Postal receipts ------------------------------$ 4,534 + 5 -10
Postal receipts ---------------------------------$ + 5 
Value of building permitsll ______________$ 22,450 
+rn2 -66
Value of building permitsll -------------------$ 1,942,485 -44 -20 
B~nk debits (thousands) ----------------------·--$ 3,215
Bank debits (thousands) --------------------$ 134,766 -1 -11 
End-of-month deposits (thousands) t ......$ 3,210 7
End-of-month deposits (thousands ) t----·$ 102,378 -13 x Annual rate of deposit turnover___________ 11.6
Annual rate of deposit turnover............. . 15.8 + 1 9 + 
Employment ------------------------------------------------60,400 + 1 x 
Manufacturing employment ---------------7,825 + 9 x EDINBURG (pop. 12,383) 
Percent of labor force unemployed_______ 6.9 + 50 + 10 Postal receipts -----------------------$ 8,095 + 23 + 9 
Value of building permitsll -------------$ 86,210 +219 +in 
Bank debits (thousands) ____________$ 7,296 

-16 -16
CORSICANA (pop.19,211) 
End-of-month deposits (thousands) f ......$" 10,108 9
Postal receipts -----------------------------------------$ 11,838 -18 -28 Annual rate of deposit turnover____________ 8.6 -10 -14
Value of building permitsII -----------·-----------$ 47,300 + 31 -81 
Bank debits (thousands) -----------------------$ 12,665 + 4 -18 
End-of-month deposits (thousands) t ......$ 21,493 5 -3 GLADEWATER (pop. 5,305) 
Annual rate of deposit turnover_________ 7.0 0 -16 Postal receipts -----------·----------------------------$ 3,961 -5 -36 

Value of building permitsll ------------------$ 194,000 + 270 
DEL RIO (pop. 14,211) Bank debits (thousands) --------------------$ 3,729 -18 5 
Postal receipts ------------·------------------------$ 8,798 + 5 -16 End-of-month deposits (thousands) t---$ 4,522 x 3 
Value of building permitsll --------------------$ 9,675 -82 -93 -23

Annual rate of deposit turnover..________ 9.7 
Bank debits (thousands) ---------------------$ 6,251 4 -12 Employment (area) ------------------------23,850 x 
End-of-month deposits (thousands) t ...... $ 10,082 -3 -1 Manufacturing employment (area) ___ 3,985 x 
Annual rate of deposit turnover_________ Percent of labor force unemployed

7.4 -1 -11 Tourists entering Mexico ----------------------­19,311 + 51 -10 (area) ------------------------------------5.5 + 8 Tourist ears entering Mexico ----------------6,094 + 54 -8 
For explanation of symbols, see page 23. 
TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 

LOCAL BUSINESS CONDITIONS 
Percent change 	Percent change 
Feb 1954 Feb 1954 Feb 1954 Feb 1954 February from from February from from City and 'tern 1954 Feb 1953 Jan 1954 City and item 1954 Feb 1958 Jan 1954 
EL PASO (pop. 130,485) 	GOLDTHWAITE (pop. 1,566) 
Retail sales• ----------------­
Retail sales• --------------­-18 -9 -15 + 8 Apparel stores• --------------­+ 4 -17 Postal receipts -----------------$ 1,179 -8 -82 24 Bank debits (thousands) ________$ 1,971
Automotive stores• -----------------­--14 + 7 
Department storest ------------­

9 2 	End-of-month deposits (thousands) t---$' 8,081 + 22 + Annual rate of deposit turnover___ _ 7.7 -12
Drug stores• --------------------­+ 8 2 
Furniture and household 
appliance stores• ----------­-55 GONZALES {pop. 5,659)
General merchandise stores• ------­-10 8 

Postal receipts -	-----------$ 4,007 + 30 -2
Lumber, building material, 
Value of building permitsll -------$ 13,500 -7 -58
and hardware stores• ------------­-54 + 6 
Bank debits (thousands) -----$ 4,071 -4 -10

Office, store, and school 
End-of-month deposits (thousands) t--S 5,756 -11 -5
supply dealers• ----------25 -24 
Annual rate of deposit turnover_____ 8.3 6 +159
+
Piano and musical instrument stores• -32 -13 Postal receipts -------------$ 178,717 + 6 -9 Value of building permltsn ---------------$ 1,182,813 -14 -38 GREENVILLE (pop. 14,727) 
Bank debits (thousands) --------$ 191,724 -a 9 Retail sales• ----------+ 50 + 46 End-of-month deposits (thousands) L --$ 121,197 -31 5 Department and apparel stores___ + 3 -21 Annual rate of deposit turnover__________ 18.6 + 4 4 Postal receipts ---------------$ 15,155 -12 -8 Employment --------------------70,000 + 3 Value of building permitsll -------$ 396,432 +514 +675 
Manufacturing employment _____ 10,500 2 Bank debits (thousands) -----$ 11,504 + 8 9 Percent of labor force unemployed___ 5.2 + 11 Fnd-of-month deposits (thousands) t--$ 16,148 + 24 4 Air express shipments ---------­1,427 -3 -7 Annual rate of deposit turnover_ _ _ 8.4 -13 + 2 Tourists entering Mexico -----------­3,250 +14 + 12 Tourist cars entering Mexico ------1,006 8 -10 


HARLINGEN (pop. 23,229) 
Postal receipts ----------$ 22,675 + 1 -5FORT WORTH {pop. 278,778) Value of building permitsll --------$ 168,175 -77 + 27 Retail sales* ---------------------­x Bank debits (thousands) -------$ 22,596 -13 -5 Apparel stores• ------------------­2 -30 End-of-month deposits (thousands) t-$ 18,463 -4 1
+ Automotive stores• ----------------------­-17 + 7 Annual rate of deposit turnover_____ 14.8 -7 -26 Department storest --------------------------­-6 + 1 Air express shipments -----------187 +202 -17 Drug stores• --------------------------8 3 
Eating and drinking places• ________ -10 6 

HENDERSON (pop. 6,833)
Filling stations• ---------------­+ 9 + 2 Retail sales• --------------+ 12 + 17
Food stores• -----------------­-4 3 
Department and apparel stores____ 4 -22
Furniture and household + Postal receipts ---------------$ 7,429 + 10 + 16
appliance stores• ----------------­-30 2
+ Value of building permitsll _ _ __$ 44,200 -16 -19
General merchandise stores• -------­+ 2 + 2 
Bank debits (thousands) _$ 4,956 -15 -15
Hay, grain, and feed stores• -------­-29 3 
End-of-month deposits (thousands)t_ g 13,866 -3 -1
Lumber, building material, 
Annual rate of deposit turnover____ 4.3 -12 -38
and hardware stores* -----------14 + 2 Postal receipts -------------$ 470,080 x 5 Value of building permitsn --------------$ 8,488,214 -22 + 42 

HOUSTON {pop. 596,163)
Bank debits (thousands) --------------$ 463,411 -2 -13 
Retail salesU -------------­+ + 2
End-of-month deposits (thousands) t-----$ 322,157 -24 -5 
Apparel storesn ----------------------­+ 4 -16
Annual rate of deposit turnover..___
_ 16.8 0 -11 
Automotive storesff ------------­	+ 9
Employment ------------------------170,100 -2 x 
Department storest -----------­2
Manufacturing employment --------50,200 -9 
Drug storesff ----·----------4
Percent of labor force unemployed________ 5.7 + 39 6
+ Eating and drinking placesU _ _ _ 
+ 8 +
Air express shipments -----------1,539 -14 4 
Filling stationsIT + 16 + Food storesff ----------­2 x GALVESTON (pop. 66,568) Furniture and household Retail sales -------------------­-12 -15 appliance storesU --------+ 4 + Automotive stores ----------­-50 -31 
General merchandise storesff ___ 1 3 Department and apparel stores -----­-5 7 Jewelry storesff ---------­7 + 17 Eating and drinking places -----------14 9 Liquor storesn ------------­-33 + 8 Lumber, building material,
Food stores ------------------------5 8 Furniture and household and hardware storesn -------­+ 38 + 25 appliance stores ---------------------­+ 14 -88 
Office, store, and school Lumber, building material, supply dealersn ---------------------------2 and hardware stores ---------------7 + 7 Postal receipts --------------------$ 888,725 + 7 Postal receipts ______ ______________$ 62,555 + 2 -11 Value of building permitsll ---------·---$10,854,318 + 39 Value of building permitsn ___________$ 93,796 -93 -42 Bank debits (thousands) ----------$ 1,526,055 + 1 -11 Bank debits (thousands) ----------$ 72,041 8 End-of-month deposits (thousands) t--$ 1,072,081 2
+ 5 
End-of-month deposits (thousands) t--$ 80,525 Annual rate of deposit turnover______ 16.9 '3 Annual rate of deposit turnover_ _ 
_ 10.8 7 7 Employment (area) -------------352,850 x x Employment (area) -------------45,200 6 x 
-22 + 
Manufacturing employment (area)___ 81,126 4 x Manufacturing employment (area) ____ 11,000 6 Percent of labor force unemployed Percent of labor force unemployed (area) ----------------------4.6 + 77 + 12 (area) ---------------------5.9 + 64 + 4 Air express shipments -------------4,008 -8 -s Air express shipments --------------------863 + 72 + 9 For explanation of symbols, see page 23. 
APRIL 1954 

LOCAL BUSINESS CONDITIONS 
Percent change  Percent change  
Feb 1954  Feb 196'  Feb 1954  Feb 196'  
City and Item  February 1954  from Feb 1951  from Jan lllU  City and Item  February 1954  from Feb 1951  from Jan 1954  
HEREFORD (pop. 5,207) Postal receipts ---------­-------------$ 4,U7  + 7  -16  LOCKHART (pop. 5,573) Department and apparel store salea__  + 5  -15  
Value of buildin1r permitsll _____$  75,700  + 89  +sov  Postal receipts -----------­----f  3,200  - 2.  - 35  
Bank debits  (thousands )  -------f  6,676  -17  -29  Value of building permitsU -­----$  10,200  -51  -69  
End-of-month deposits (thousands>t-S  9,661  + 4  - 6  Bank debits  (thousands)  --­----$  2,796  x  -13  
Annual rate of deposit turnover___  8.0  - 18  +us  End-of-month deposits (thousands) i---$  6,028  + I  -2  
Annual rate o! deposit turnover_____  6.6  1  -10  
KERMIT (pop. 6,912) Postal receipts -----------­-­---$ Value of building permitsll --­----$  3,910 174,975  x +1607  -16 -18  LONGVIEW (pop. 24,502) Poetal receipts -------·-------$ 22,772  - 6  -15  
Bank debits (thousands) -----• End-of-month deposits (thoueands) i­s Annual rate of deposit turnover___  2,448 2,189 10.4  -n -57 + ll  -29 -87 -20  Value of building permitsU ________$ Bank debits (thousands ) ------$ Emd-of-month deposits (thousands) t--$  161,300 29,369 35,430  -43 -H -6  -7S  
Annual rate of deposit turnover_____  9.8  - 8  +  
KILGORE (pop. 9,638) Postal receipts ----------­--------$ Value of building permits! ------$ Bank debits (thousands) -------• End-of-month deposits (thousands) i-S  9,217 7,000 12,006 18,968  -5 -511 2 -a  -25 -10 ll g  Employment (area) --------------­-Manufacturing employment (area) ___ Percent of labor force unemployed (area) -------­---­---­-­Air express 1hipments --------­ 23,850 8,985 5.6 118  - 26  x x + a -24  
Annual rate of deposit turnover___ Employment (area) -------------­ 10.0 21,860  -1  x  LUBBOCK  (pop. 71,747)  
Manufacturing employment (area) __  1,985  x  Retail sales ------------­--­ -20  -H  
Percent of labor force unemployed  Automotive stores -----------­ -21  - 8  
(area)  ----------------­ 5.5  +  8  Department and apparel stores_____  - 9  -22  
Furniture and household  
KILLEEN (pop. 7,045) Postal receipts ---------------------$ Value of building permitsII ------$ Bank debits (thousands ) ___________$ End-of-month deposits (thousands) t--S Annual rate of deposit turnover_____ 21,195 208,799 4,657 9,708 6.8  + 64 +581 + 4 8 + 9  + 20 +274 + 'x + 7  appliance stores ---------­----­General merchandise stores ------·---­Lumber, building material, and hardware stores ------­-------­Postal recr,ipts -----------
------------$ 72,601 Value of building permitsll -------$ 3,199,703 Bank debits (thousands) ----------$ 99,605  -23 -10 -42 -s +120 -15  -1 -22 -20 -19 + 53 -26  
End-of-month deposits (thousands) i- S  86,233  -25  - 7  
LAMESA (pop.10,704) Postal receipts ------------------------­$ 5,825  - 3  -22  Annual rate of deposit turnover________ Employment --------------------------­ 13.S 39,100  6 + 1  -25  
Value of building permitsll ---­-$  24,800  - 6  +107  Manufacturing employment  ----­ S,780  + 4  x  
Bank debits  (thousands)  -------------$  6,753  -20  -13  Percent of labor force unemployed____  6.1  +  85  + 9  
End-of-month deposits  (thousands) i._$  10,969  -18  6  Air express shipments -------------­ 676  +  24  7  
Annual rate of deposit turnover_____  7.2  - 3  -9  
LAMPASAS (pop. 4,869) Retail sales• -----­---------­ -17  + 13  LUFKIN (pop. 15,135) Postal receipts --­-----------------------­$ Bank debits (thousands) __________________$ 11,989 12,837  2 16  -19 -23  
Postal receipts -----------------­---$ Bank debits (thousands) _ _________$  2,765 8,088  + 1 -H  -37 -18  End-of-month deposits (thousands)t____$ Annual rate of deposit turnover____ _ 19,983 7.8  - 10 6  + 4 -21  
End-of-month deposits (thousands) i---S  6,129  -5  -1  Air express shipments ------­----­---­---­ 24  -52  -11  
Annual rate of deposit turnover ____  6.0  - 10  -10  
McALLEN  (pop. 20,067)  
LAREDO (pop. 51,910) Poetal receipts -----------------------$ Value uf building permits! ---­--S Bank debits (thousands) _______$ End-of-month deposits (thousands) i_ $ 22,955 34,345 18,779 18,805  + 11 -94 -10 -28  -5 x -13 + 1  Retail sales ---------------------------­Department and apparel stores__ Postal receipts ---------­----------$ Value of building permitsll ------$ Air express shipments --­------­ 16,275 31,500 39  -15 + 3 + 12 -57  7 2 3 -25 + 8  
Annual rate of deposit turnover___  12.1  + 1  -12  
Air express shipments ­------------­Tourists entering Mexico ------­ 147 8,483  -37 -17  + 2 + 7  MARSHALL (pop. 22,327) Retail sales --­---­--------------­ - 3  + 2  
Tourist cars entering Mexico ----­-­ 3,232  - 7  + 5  Department and apparel storea____  -11  -11  
LEVELLAND (pop. 8,264) Postal receipts -
---­-----­----------------$ 5,058 Value of building permitsU-----S 88,525 Bank debits (thousands) _________ $ 6,050 End-of-month deP'>sits (thousands) t----­$ 10,217  -1 +a22 -21 + 20  -21 + 90 -29 -a  Postal receipts -----------­----------­--$ Value of building permitsll __________ $ Bank debits (thousands) ___________$ End-of-month deposits (thousands) t---$ Annual rate of deposit turnover____ Air express shipments ---------­14,375 78,975 13,322 20,226 7.9 15  + 8 I 1 + 3  -14 + 88 x -1 0 -32  
Annual rate of deposit turnover______  7.0  - 27  -26  
LLANO (pop. 2,954) Poetal receipts -------­---
-------$  1,492  + 1  -30  MERCEDES (pop.10,081) Postal receipts ----------------­--$ 4,265 Value of building permitsD -------$ 3,750  + 1 -96  -7 -51  
Value of buildini' permitsO --------$ Bank debits (thoueands) ________, End-of-month deposits (thousands) i----S Annual rate of depo1it turnover_____ _  15,000 1,94' 3,284 7.0  + +  6 3 3 8  + 25 8 2 '  Bank debits (thousands ) __________$ End-of-month deposits (thousands) t__$ Annual rate of deposit turnover_____  6,251 5,520 13.2  -1 -10 + 10  -20 -5 -11  

For explanation of aymbola, see paJl'e 23. 
22 TEXAS BUSINESS REVIEW 

LOCAL BUSINESS CONDITIONS 
Per cent change Percent change 
Feb 1954 Feb 1954 Feb 1954 Feb 1954 February from from February from from City and item 1954 Feb 1953 Jan 1954 City and Item 1954 Feb 1953 Jan 1954 
MIDLAND (pop. 21,713) PLAINVIEW (pop. 14,044)
P ostal receipts __________________$ 41,514 + 3 -11 Retail sales --------------------+ 3 + 1 
Value of building permitsll ----------$ 923,543 -7 + 56 Department and apparel stores..______ -7 31
-
Bank debits (thousands) ______________$ 43,342 -16 -16 
Pasta! receipts --------------$ 10,601 -12 -23 End-of-month deposits (thousands) l---S 67,522 + 2 x Value of building permitsll -------·······$ 96,050 -22 -65 Annual rate of deposit turnover_____ 7.7 -21 -15 Bank debits (thousands) _____ _ 
__ ___$ 17,294 1 -30 Air express shipments -------------------295 + 47 + 20 End-of-month deposits (thousands);__ $ 24,615 + 1 -9 Annual rate of deposit turnover ----­8.0 -2 -29 NACOGDOCHES (pop. 12,327) Air express shipments ----------------13 -43 -50 
Postal receipts ----····---····------···$ 10,266 + 34 + 3 Value of building permitsll --·---·----$ 22,530 + 85 + 90 
PORT ARTHUR (pop. 57,530)
Bank debits (thousands) _________$ 8,252 7 5 End-of-month deposits (thousands); ___$ 14,587 -5 1 R"tail sales* ------------­+ 3 Annual rate of deposit turnover______ 6.8 -3 4 
Automotive stores• ---------21 + 12 Department and apparel stores_____ + 20 -9
-100 0 Drug stores• ------------­+ 3 + 1 Eating and drinking places• ----··· --59 -12 NEW BRAUNFELS (pop. 12,210) Filling stations• -------------+ 7 6 Postal receipts --··-·-··----------$ 11,303 + 14 -9 Food stores• --------------+ 25 8 Value of building permitsll --·-·-····---$ 64,815 -17 -29 Furniture and household Bank debits (thousands) --·-----------$ 6,322 + 6 6 appliance stores• ------------------­+ 16 2 End-of-month deposits (thousands ) :I--$ 9,227 -11 Lumber, building material, 
Annual rate of deposit turnover___ 8.2 5 and hardware stores• -----------­+ 8 + 28 Postal receipts ----·-···---------$ 30,488 + 3 -23 Value of building permitsll _________$ 234,212 -43 + 53
ODESSA (pop. 29,495) 
Bank debits (thousands) _ ______$ 42,054 2 8 Retail sales -----------------­-2 + 13 
Fnd-of-month deposits (thousandsJ*.._ $ 39,543 9 
+
Postal receipts ·----------------------$ 34,103 + 8 -11 
Annual rate of deposit turnover___ 13.0 2 9 
Value of building permits ll -···-------$' 552,087 -35 -32 

Employment (area) ·······-----------78,000Bank debits (thousands) --·--------$ 31,343 -9 8 
Manufacturing employment (area) _ 26,220
End-of-month deposits (thousands );____$ 29,283 -14 -8 
Percent of labor force unemployed
Annual rate of deposit turnover______ 12.3 + 3 -1 
(area) -----······------------7.4 + 51 + 14 
Air express shipments --------------142 + 7 + 16 
Air express shipments --------------93 -21 + 21 
ORANGE (pop. 21,174) ROCKDALE (pop. 2,321)
Postal receipts ····---···---------$ 13,269 + 3 -26 Value of building permits ll ---··-··-·-$ 218,538 + 30 + 31 Postal receipts -
------------------$ 3,886 + 37 -6 Bank debits (thousands) __________$ 17,221 + 3 7 Value of building permitsll ···-··--·-··----$ 82,650 -49 +106 
24,502 Bank debits (thousands) _____________ _$ 3,718 -17 5
End-of-month deposits (thousands) l ---$ + + 3 Annual rate of deposit turnover_____ 8.6 7 End-of-month deposits (thousands) :I--$ 3,540 -14 8
+ 2 
Annual rate of deposit turnover________ 12.1 -11 
+ 
PALESTINE (pop.12,503) Postal receipts ---······--------------$ 9,346 -6 -3 SAN ANGELO (pop. 52,093) Value of building permits ll --------$ 87,291 -56 +121 -19
Retail sales ----------------·----­Bank debits (thousands ) _________$ 5,349 -10 
Department and apparel stores____ 9 -26 End-of-month deposits (thousands) :l--S 12,804 + 1 Postal receipts __________ _________$ 48,109 -12
+ 9
Annual rate of deposit turnover_______ 6.0 -11 
Value of building permitsll ___:_____$ 1,038,847 +z53 +153 
Bank debits (thousands) _______$ 34,973 -11 
PAMPA (pop.16,583) End-of-month deposits (thousands) t-$ 44,786 -15 -2 Postal receipts ______
________$ 13,179 -2 -5 Annual rate of deposit turnover_ _ _ 9.2 + 10 -11 Value of building permitsll _________$ 70,075 -86 -45 Employment ---------------21,650 + 3 x Bank debits (thousands) __________$ 13,984 -1 8 Manufacturing employment -----2,430 + 13 2 End-of-month deposits (thousands) l --$ 20,804 + 38 2 Percent of labor force unemployed____ 6.3 + 37 + Annual rate of deposit turnover___ 8.1 -18 6 Air express shipments -----------342 + 71 
+ 5 
PARIS (pop. 21,643) SAN MARCOS (pop. 9,980) 
Department and apparel store sales__ -3 -8 Postal receipts _______________$ 
10,574 + 1 -7 
P ostal receipts ------------------$ 13,463 + 2 -12 Value of building permitsll --------$ 106,546 +249 +101 Value of building permitsll --··--------$ 66,950 +135 +513 
Bank debits (thousands) -----------$ 4,764 -9 + 2
Bank debits (thousands) _________ $ 11,967 7
+ 2 End-of-month deposits (thousands) t.--$ 8,370 + 9 +End-of-month deposits (thousands) :I.-.$ 14,670 7 -2 Annual rate of deposit turnover.______. 6.9 -16 
+
Annual rate of deposit turnover_________ 9.7 + 6 0 Air express shipments ----------41 0 + 11 
SEGUIN (pop. 9,733) 
Postal receipts _ ____________$ 
7,807 7
RAYMONDVILLE (pop. 9,136) + 2 
Postal receipts _____________ ___$ 4,244 3 -9 Value of building permitsll -----$ 103,291 + 78 + 2
-Value of building permitsll _________$ 500 -97 + 11
Bank debits (thousands) ________ $ 6,494 2 16,776
Bank debits (thousands) --------------$ 3,758 -13 --22 78 End-of-month deposits (thousands) :I----$ + 7 + 
Annual rate of deposit turnover_________ 4.7 + •
End-of-month deposits (thousands) t--$ 7,669 -13 -8 Annual rate of deposit turnover____ _ 5.8 + 2 -19 For explanation o! aymbola, aee p~e 28. 
APRIL 1954 	23 
LOCAL BUSINESS CONDITIONS 
Percent change 	Percent change 
Feb 1954 Feb 1954 Feb 1954 F eb 1954 February from from February from from City and •tern 195.4 Feb 1953 Jan 1954 City and item 1954 Feb 1953 Jan 1954 
SHERMAN (pop. 20,150) 	TEXAS CITY (pop. 16,620) 
Department and apparel store sales----··­3 -10
Retail sales ··----··-·-···-····-······--·-·-···---·------· 5 + 10 	+ 
Department and apparel stores_________ 	-4 Postal receipts --·-------·----------------------··$ 12,716 -5 -12 
+ Value of building permits ll --·---------··---$ 302,460 -11 -48Postal receipts ······-----------------··-·-----------·-······$ 20,982 + 6 x Bank debits (thousands ) ---------------·-------$ 22,527 -13 -13Value of building permits II --------·---·-------$ 212,686 + 55 + 57 
E'nd-of-month deposits (thousands ) t -----$ 22,703 7 -13 Annual rate of deposit turnover____________ 11.0 8 8SAN ANTONIO (pop. 408,442) Employment (area ) ···-··------·-··-·--·-----------45,200 6 x 
Retail sales• -··--·-·······--·----·------------·---·-··· -7 + 1 Manufacturing employment (area) ··­11,000 6 Apparel stores• ·-----······-----··----------··-·--·­-3 -6 Percent of labor force unemployed Automotive stores• ---·-----------------------­-10 + 27 (area ) ------------··---·-·-------------·-·-----5.9 + 64 + 4 Department storest ·-------------------------------11 8 Drug stores• ----------------------------------------2 2 
TEXARKANA (pop. 40,628) §
Eating and drinking places• -···--·---·--­9 5 Retail sales§ -----··----------··------·-----···-·-··----3 x
Filling stations• ----------------------------------­+ x Department and apparel stores§__······­-5
Food stores• ------------------------------------...-­	+ 
Postal receipts§ -----·-------·---·-·----------------$ 40,100 + 10 -22
Furniture and household Value of building permits§ -··--·-·---·---···-$ 61,219 -25 + 9
appliance stores• -----------------------------­-21 + Bank debits (thousands ) § --------··---·-····-$ 33,528 -1 -12
General merchandise stores• -------------­-11 -12 
End-of-month deposits (thousands ) t ------$ 17,873 -34 2
Lumber, building material, Annual rate of deposit turnover___________ 10.9 + 5 -8
and hardware stores* ----------------------+ 9 + 27 Employment§ ---------------------·-----------85,900 -16 -5Postal receipts ----·---·-·---······--·····---·-··---·-$ 475,283 + 7 -1 
Manufacturing employment§ ----·---····· 6,730 -30 -16
Value of building permitsll ···---·······---·-----$ 3,196,884 -52 + 27 Percent of labor force unemployed§ ···-­11.6 +lrn + 16Bank debits (thousands) ---------·--···---····-·-$ 354,025 + 2 7 Air express shipments§ ·-·-·-····---··------179 +116 -24
End-of-month deposits (thousands) t ------$ 308,284 -23 x Annual rate of deposit turnover___·---·----13.8 + 5 Employment ------····-------------------------··--··--175,200 -6 x WACO (pop. 87,706) 
Manufacturing employment ---·-·------·-·· 19,550 -6 x Retail sales ·----------·---·----·--·-·----------· -14 -7 Percent of labor force unemployed________ 8.8 + + Apparel stores -­
69 2 	------···------------··--·-·­26 20 
2,065 -1 3 	Automotive stores --------------­-20 3 Department storest --------·-···-------5 + 1 Florists ····----------··----·····--··--------19 + 2
SNYDER (pop. 12,010) 
General merchandise stores -------­5 -10
Postal receipts -----·-----------·-··-·----·------------···$ 7,706 -1 -15 Postal receipts --·-----···-·---·-·-·-------·-------$ 93,725 + 2 -12Value of building permitsll -··---------····-·-$ 208,650 +328 +346 Value of building permitsll ----------··---···-$ 882,476 + 9 -30Bank debits (thousands) ----··------------·----$ 11,207 -18 -13 Bank debits (thousands ) ·--··-····---·------··$ 73,501 + 7 3End-of-month deposits (thousands) t ------$ 10,533 -15 -17 End-of-month deposits (thousands) t --·--$ 66,300 -23
Annual rate of deposit turnover.____________ 11.5 -12 -4 	+ 
Annual rate of deposit turnover____________ 13.4 3 Employment ---------------··--··---········---43,050 -2 
+
SWEETWATER (pop.13,619) Manufacturing employment ---------7,910 -1 x Postal receipts -------·-------------------·····--·--$ 10,607 -2 -21 7.9 + 96 8
Percent of labor force unemployed_________. 
Value of building permits II ··--·-·---·------$ 49,175 +109 + 1 Air express shipments ---------------------------261 + 49 Bank debits (thousands) --·---··-··-····---$ 8,236 + 4 -18 End-of-month deposits (thousands ) t -·-·-$ 9,530 -7 -11 
+ 	WAXAHACHIE (pop.11,204)
Annual rate of deposit turnover_·--------·· 9.7 5 -15 Postal receipts ---···---··---···--·-------··-----$ 9,643 -48 + 16Air express shipments ----··--···-----··----------37 +147 -23 
Value of building permitsll ·--·-·---------·$ 118,100 +275 -41 Bank debits (thousands) ----·-·--······-·----$ 3,869 + 15 + 6
TAYLOR (pop. 9,071) End-of-month deposits (thousands) t ---··$ 3,367 1 -40 Postal receipts ---·---·-·--··--·---------···---·-··--$ 6,207 -1 -25 Annual rate of deposit turnover___________ 10.4 -8 + 37 Value of ·building permitsll -·------··--$ 75,255 + 97 + 70 Bank debits (thousands ) -·------------··-$ 8,959 -12 -11 
+
End-of-month deposits (thousands) t----·-$ 15,550 8 -2 WICHITA FALLS (pop. 68,042) Annual rate of deposit turnover_____________ 6.8 -19 -12 Retail sales ---------------·---··----·---·-------····--14 -9 Department and apparel stores_______.. 
+ 4 -22 
Postal receipts -·---··-·----------------··········$ 68,459 9 -14
TEMPLE (pop. 25,467) 
Value of building permits!!--··-·--·-----·---$ 930,012 16 + 149Retail sales --··-----···-----·-····----------------3 + 17 
Bank debits (thousands) ··--·---·----··$ 79,188 1 3Department and apparel stores._.__ 10 ­
-12 
End-of-month deposits (thousands) t .-.$ 99,086 8 Postal receipts ··-------·-·-------··----··-$ 23,465 -7 -17 
Annual rate of deposit turnover_·--·-----· 9.4 
Value of building permitsII ----------·-$ 205,902 + 12 +283 Employment ···-·---·----·-·-----------·-----·-34,450 5 Bank debits (thousands) ···------··--·-··$ 14,916 1 8 Manufacturing employment ----------------­3,420 -12 2
End-of-month deposits (thousands) L--$ 23,165 -2 ­
1 Percent of labor force unemployed-----·· 6.3 + 19 + 9
Annual rate of deposit turnover_
____ 
7.7 1 3
+ ­Air express shipments ·-----------------------496 +123 -23Air express shipments ---------------------144 +235 + 64 
xChange is less than one half of one percent. 
TYLER (pop. 38,968) 	*Preliminary. 
Postal receipts ··---------····-----------·--$ 56,629 -12 -3 tReported by the Federal Reserve Board of Dallas. 
Value of building permitsll ·--·--··---$ 3,531,994 +532 +643 tExcludes deposits to credit of banks. 
Bank debits (thousands) ----------·-----$ 53,965 -t s 8 fl Federal contracts are not included. 

4 -2
End-of-month deposits (thousands)*-··-$ 55,510 UReported by Bureau of Business and Economic Research, University Annual rate of deposit turnover.-·--·----­11.5 of Houston.
-5 Air express shipments ····-··-·······---··-··--189 §Figures include Texa.rkana, Arkansas (pop. 15,875 ) and Texarkana,
+ -10 Texas (pop. 24,753). 
TEX.AS BUSINESS REVIEW 

BAROMETERS OF TEXAS BUSINESS 

Feb Jan Dec Feb 1964 1964 1953 1953 
.~1 -)1' 
GENERAL BUSINESS ACTIVITY 
·­
tlndex of Texas Business Activity (100.0) __ _
______________________________________________ __ _ 143* 136* 142* 148 ]!'' 
Index of bank debits_______ ____ ____________ . ···-------------------------------------------------------------------· 165 163 163 163 
Index of bank debits in the United States...........................................____ _______ _________ 162 153 154 148 

~·" 
Income payments to individuals in the U.S. (bilions-seasonally adjusted at annual rate) -------------------------------------·----·--------------------------------............ $ 282.5 $ 284.6 $ 281.0 s 280.5 Index of wholesale prices in the U.S. (unadjusted) ............................................ 110.5 110.8 110.l 109.6 109.9 Index of consumers' prices in the U.S. (unadjusted) __________________________ ..______ ....... 115.0 115.2 114.9 113.4 113.9 
:t:lndex of consumers' prices in Houston (adjustedl-----------------------------------------------· 116.9 116.1 Index of postal receipts ·---·-------------·--------·------------------------------..·---------..·-----..--.......... 162 155 180 156 153 tlndex of miscellaneous freight carloadings in the Southwestern District 
(10.0) _
________________ ____________________ ,.___________ _
_________,.____ ,.___ ......................................... 

95 95 86 96 102 Business corporation charters issued (number) ________________________........................... 291* 306 273 347 340 
Business failures (number) -----------------------------------------------------------..·---------..·--------..·· 18 12 24 15 . 8 
Index of ordinary life insurance sales (adjusted for price changes) _______________ _ 188 183 200 179 184 Index of ordinary life insurance sales....... -·----------·------------------------------------------163 159 174 158 162 
Index of life insurance sales in the West South Central states______ _________________ _ 180 167 173 168 165 Index of life insurance sales in the United States....-------------------------------------------­
160 150 169 151 146 
TRADE 
tlndex of total retail sales (adjusted for price changes, 51.0) ______ 132* 124* 134 142 146 Index of total retail sales___________________________________________________________ ,.............................. 
147 139 150 158 163
Durable-goods stores__________________________________________________________________________________________ _ 
173 153 159 186 191 Nondurable-goods stores...---------------------------------------------------------------------------------134 131 146 143 149 
Ratio of credit sales to net sales in department and apparel stores__________________ _ 64.9 63.5 58.9 64.8 63.4 
Ratio of collections to outstandings in department and apparel stores____ 38.0 42.0 39.8 39.5 42.7 

PRODUCTION tlndex of industrial electric power consumption (14.6) _________ 234 226 232 223 225 tlndex of crude runs to stills (3.9) ---------------128 124 118 132 133 
Index of wheat grindings·----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------­61 65 64 67 lndex of cottonseed crushed..-----------------·-----------------------------------------------------------------121 122 127 119 
lndex of southern pine production (1935-39=100, unadjusted) _ _____ 115 109 118 129 tlndex of urban building permits (adjusted for price changes, 9.4) 121* 98' 98° 123 119 Index of urban building permits--·--------------------------------------------------------------------------157* 128* 127° 152 147 
tlndex of crude petroleum production (8.1) _______________ 117 119 120 129 130 
Index of gasoline consumption.........------------------------------------------·-------------------·------·---164 185 172 196 tlndex of total electric power consumption (3.0) ____ 211 208 216 200 200 Index of industrial production in the U.S·-----------·--------------------------------------------------· 123° 125* 126 134 134 Index of cement production....----------------------------------------------------------------------------------140 104 143 149 Construction contracts awarded (thousands) ....................................................... s 87,620 s 85,815 $104,755 $100,902 s88,081 
AGRICULTURE 
Index of farm cash income (unadjusted)--------------------------------------------------------------85 123 49 91 Index of prices received by farmers (1909-14=100, unadjusted) ..........__________ _ 272 267 263 287 291 Index of prices paid by farmers in the U.S. (parity index-unadjusted, 
1910-14=100) ----------------------------------------------------------··----------------------·------------------· 282 282 278 281 284 Parity ratio....---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------96 95 95 102 102 lndex of prices received by farmers-livestock (unadjusted, 1909-14=100). 309 305 296 328 339 
Index of prices received by farmers-all crops (unadjusted, 1909-14=100) .. 243 238 237 257 255 
FINANCE Loans, reporting member banks in Dallas district (millions) ____ ________________________ _ $ 1,889 $ 1,909 $ 1,905 s 1,755 $ 1,756 Loans and investments, reporting member banks in Dallas district (millions) ______ _____________ ____ ·------------------------------------------------·------------------------------------$ 3,326 s 3,372 $ 3,377 s 3,091 s 3,158 Demand deposits adjusted, reporting member banks in Dallas district (mill ions) _._
_________ ........ -·-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------s 2,455 $ 2,545 $ 2,623 s 2,448 s 2,533 
Bank debits in 20 cities (millions) _________________________________________________________________________ . 
s 5,094 s 5,903 s 6,422 s 5,046 s 5,948 
Revenue receipts of the State Comptroller (thousands) ____
________________________________ . s 55,117 s 53,239 s 97,247 s 54,479 s 54,444 
Federal Internal Revenue collections (thousands)---------------------------------------------$307,707 $207,860 s 69,339 $250,434 $275,449 

LABOR 
Total nonagricultural employment (thousands)--------------------------------------------------· 2,209.6 2,216.8 2,277.9 2,214.8 2,221.4 Total manufacturing employment (thousands) ............................................. 424.3 428.2 429.4 435.5 434.6 
Durable-goods employment (thousands) ·----------------------------------------------­198.5 201.3 200.6 208.5 206.7 Nondurable-goods employment (thousands)-----------------------------------------225.8 226.9 228.8 227.0 227.9 
All ftl1.'llreo are for Texas unless otherwise indicated. All indexes are based on the average months for 1947--49 except where indicated and are 
adjusted for seasonal variation (except annual indexes). 
Manufacturing employment estimates have been adjusted to first quarter 1953 benchmarks. 
*Preliminary. 
tThe index of business activity Is a weighted average of the Indexes Indicated by a dagger (t). The weight rfven each Index In compntln1 th• eomposite Is given In parenthesea. Undex computed for February, May, August, and November only.