Evening Star Newspaper, December 31, 1925, Page 20

20 THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1925. United States Has Golden Year in Almost Every Line of Industrial Enterprise BUSINESS PROSPERITY UNMARRED BY ANY SUGG Growth During Year Such That There Is No Prospect of Sharp Reaction, Su Without Stable Foundation. BY J. C. ROYLE. A golden year—all things considered, the best business year in history. at is the only fair and logical de- iption of American business in 1925. It is i} norted firml; an army of sres which have narched in order. Iy array across the page of business and come to pa- rade rest on the redit side of the edger The v ma ority of industrial orporations show- d greater net arpings than in he great St-war inflation of 1920 or in eny year since the pedik of war orofits in 1917. New records were establisned in many for industrial earr and in dividual incomes, Better than all accumulated boom ventories probability There y fig- 3. C. ROYLE. ines g8 these earning without pressure of without the inflation of in or prices and without the of a disastrous reaction no headache in the busi of 1925. Indust com- trade will not aw to re nd regret in the cold dawn of were party ¢ industr artd stead t starts wit ) prosperity rat past mistal Had Great Finish. ar closed with the heaviest 1 consumers’ goods on record, potential buying power un Business ac in De fully ding period of above that of rs were fortified by long period, with pockets period 1l ed a more d iatl In con Business tic pro- th juence th excess v ntry future regrets for sti an with The buying ut with diminist cenber ahead ¢ ind Wage earnings wded the year tvity as running the corresy These facts must not be taken to in- dicate that every business and worker in the United States had a suc 1 year. But in no annual period eavor participate in the perity. With but few exc those industries which di man ger ptions even to their lines them- methods footing _bettered djusted to ns 1924 gener selves advantage and poli materiall k Big Building Operations. The fa these result s which contributed to were many. Probably the most potent was the tremen volume of building construction. amount ex led on building in sxceeded $4, ),000,000 and r esent- #d the greatest construction yvear since man began to pile one stone on an- sther. New construction in prospect shows no fmmediate signs of slacken ing, although the building needs of some communities undoubtedly have been filled. Building material produ tlon and costs, labor costs gnd money supply were orable throughout the year Rullding had a wide influence on in AQustry in general. It stimulated the production of raw and manufactured products, provided employment at high wages, increased buying power and offered a profitable outlet for sur- plus fund Wage scales showed some advances, but there was a mini mum of labor disputes and an increase in individual worker efficiency, which banished the bonus evil pretty effec- tually. It was a vear of home bu {ng and home building. and that class of demand is still unfilled Farmers Had More. Farmers of the United States re- cefved less money for thelr big money erops—wheat, corn and cotton—in 1925 than in the previous vear, but they had more money to spend, since less of it went to pay old debts, and bought more than at any time since The relative exchange value of products for what the farmer as approximatel to 100, the ighest point reached in filve years. "The farmer had fewer debts and con sequently more ready cash for manu- factured products, owing to his im- proved financial position. The total return from all the agricultural prod- ncts of the country to growers was not far from $12,000,000,000, according 10 estimates by Government observers. The wheat crop was short, being estimated at 697,300,000 bushels, as oompared with 872,700,000 bushels in 1924, but prices were high. One late jot of white wheat, for example, sold in the Pacific Northwest at $1.50 a bushel ungraded at primary terminals. Two dollar wheat was regarded as a possibility, owing to late damage to Argentine’ and Australian crops. Corn and Cotton. The corn crop totaled over 8,000,000, 000 bushels, compared with 2,437,00 000 in 1924. Prices dropped sharply. None the less, profits were not lack- ing, as live stock prices were all well above those for the preceding year and most of the American corn is marketed in the form of meat. The cotton crop was estimated at 15,600,000 bales, as against 13,630,000 the previous year. It was the second largest ever produced. But a large part of the crop was damaged by cold in the Fall and was of inferior quality. The first third of the crop was marketed at high prices, but later the levels droped sharply. According to Secretary Hester of the New Or- Jeans Cotton Exchange, a recognized muthority, the crop will bring the planters about $2,000,000,000, as com- pared with $1,980,000,000 in 1924 The position of the agriculturists was bettered, as compared with last , by the increase in valuation of lands. Sales of farms increased 48 per cent in number and total con- sideration jumpea 121 per cent dur- dng the year, indicating higher prices. Little Unemployment in Year. Tnemployment in most lines practi- oally ceased to exist in 1925. There was the usuel labor turnover incident to transfer of jtinerant workers and “suit case” mechanics. But in gen- aral workers were fully employed at 2 level of renumeration never before equalled in the history of the world. Building, road construction, which called for expenditure of over $1,000,- 000,000; railroad improvements and public works absorbed the unskilled workers, while skilled men were in mudy demand. This served to main- n buying power without interrup- tlon. There was a_notabls lack of labor disputes. The largest strike, that in the anthracite coal fields, kept 155,000 men idle from September 1, but in the majority of other lines there was a smoothing out of differences between employer and employe, and & basis of better understanding was reached. Production Held Down. The most significant and encourag- ing trend of the vear appeared in the fact that with all this terrific buying wower i sights Sroducats did Dot Fun The commercial | hopes | 15 per cent | ral pros- | ESTION OF BOOM ch as Follows Advances wild, but kept production at il times in close ratio to consumption. This served to obviate the piling up of stocks of surplus goods and high- priced inventories. As a result there was a lack of “distress” goods on the market, and an absence of forced bargain sales and price cutting Neither did producers, manufactur- ers, distributors and merchandisers at tempt to pile up unusual profits through price advances. In general, the year was one of price stability, and in consequence buying urge was unchecked. For it is unquestioned that there still remains a strong con- sumers’ resistence to higher prices. Price levels did move upward, but in response to the laws of supply and demand instead of manipulation. Even so they were moderate. Bradstreet's price average ranged about & per cent above that of 1924. Dun's about 43y per cent and the Department of Labor’s 6 per cent. | Costs Cut Sharply. | The extraordinary profits which uc | crued to business cume rather from u cutting prices toward of costs than a boosting of There was distinet trend pelicy of quantity produc fore sales at smaller margins of profit” the watchword in a score of industries. That policy unquestion- ably was responsible for the success | chieved by the automobile trade. ¥ fuction in nearly all lines was| | stepped up, but individual worker effi- ciency prevented costs from rising in | the same ratio. The individual worker did more and better work in 1925 than ever before, and he was alded by in- stallation new and improved ma chinery Some discord resulted, how | ever, from the experiments in cotton | mills with multiple loom operation. | | Electric Current Output. | Increased efficfency of workers was | | paralleled by more scientific organiz tion and management of production | and distribution. Cheaper power play All in all, 1925 production, almost disputes and stable was the best universal em prices Industrial corporations piled year since the war pcak. positions. in some crops were counterbalan year closed with several hundred thou. not be accomodated in more substan tlal quarters. Money Was Easy. Easy money rates prevailed did much to encourage commercial expansion. rediscount rates for the 12 Federal industrial By Science Service Marked progress in s branches has been made during the year coming to u close. Among the outstanding events and science in all sclence, are Agriculture. Chemical analy plant and discov thylamine is the odorous subsi that attracts the boll weevil were re ported by sclentists of the United States Department of Agriculture, Anthropology. prehistoric skull, which ther link in evolution, was South Africa than the ape between cotton A may be the chain of human found at Taungs, in It 1s sald to be older man of Ji and half the higher apes and n. ed a star roll. Electric power output | for the year amounted to approxi-| mately 65,000,000 kilowatt hours, as | aainst 59,000,000 in 1824, Hundr | of millions of dollars went into new | steam and electric power plants. The gas companies shared in the general | | expansion. Many companies reduced | thelr rates for current or at least re | distributed them so that power for industrial purposes became ex- pensive less ons and mergers were nstrumental in reductng overhead ex | pense. The trend toward v ab sorptions was marked in the bakery | industry, where a new $400,000, company was formed; In drug store chains. in ice cream facto salmon canneries and other industries. Rail mergers seemingly are bound to come, but zot beyond the preliminary the last twelve-month stages in Transportation Triumphs. 1t was the click of the car w, and the rumble of freight trains that furnished the music to which pros perity marched. Without the aid of | the railraads, buying and distribution | | policies, which brought profits, would ! {have been abandoned. The roads cut | {the time of transporting freight in | half on some commodities. It cost the farmer less to get his crops to market, not through lower rates, but bette andling. Eguipment was in splendid condition and the roads | put more freight in less cars, had less delay in loading and unloading, | hauled more cars per train and at a less cost per train mile than ever before. They were aided materially | by the shippers’ regional conference boards. In consequence, earnings for were larger than for the previous | record y But since $4,000,000,000 had been added to capital investment, | | the returns per dollaf of capital did not | break records. However, net operat- | ing income showed a gain of about | |17 per_cent, as compared with last year. Net profits on invested capital Showed a gain of 7 per cent. Gross revenues for the first three-quarters of the year were over $135,000,000. Freight car loadings were at the rate of 1,000,000 a week for months, and for the vear totaled approximately 52,350,000 cars Motor Transport Business. Rubber tired transport became a big factor in the movement of freight and passengers. For a time, short hauls were thought to be the province of motor bus and truck. But as the year drew to a close, regular routes and schedules were adopted over thousands of miles of highway. Rallroads and traction companies either adopted the bus or fought it. The former policy was found far the more profitable. Approximately 520,000 trucks were produced. They were in keen demand. Bus manufacturers had all they could do to fill orders. Busses and trucks turned the trend of city migration into suburban sec- tions which never could have been developed without this method of transwortation. There is no question but that the street rallway companies have bet- tered their positions. They have made improvements which have gone unmade for years, have secured fare Increases in many cities and have done additional financing. Still, their gen eral situation, except in exceptional cases, is no better than fair. Big Coastal Traffic. Some shipping men were too busy to shake their heads sadly over the condition of the merchant marine. A heavy, but not record-breaking volume of coal, iron ore, grain and other prod- ucts were carried on the Great Lakes before navigation officially closed. The Mississippl-Warrior barge line, oper- ated under Federal control, was over- whelmed with shipments for which present equipment was inadequate. Traffic through the Panama Canal was heavy. The real feature of the indus- try was the boom in coastal shipping due largely to the expansion of Florida trade. Congestion of rall lines s counted on to divert a large amount of botH passenger and freight traffic to coastwise vessels for the next six months. The situation on the foreign trade routes for American ships has shown comparatively little improve- ment; the Shipping Board situation, with its hundreds of unsold, unused ships, is unsatisfactory, and fallure of varying interest to get together on a program for a real American mer- chant marine has been disappointing. Record Tourist Movement. Tourist traffic on railroads and steamships has been unusually heavy this year. Auto tourists alone, it is conservatively estimated by State road authorities, spent more than $2,500,- 000,000 on their trips. American tourists abroad left some $600,000,000 behind them and the larger portion traveled in ships under foreign flags. Much of the success of the 1925 Amer- ican tourist season was due to per- sonally-conducted tours, which gained decidedly in popularity. The citles drew as many from the “broad open spaces” as the scenic ap- peal did to the less thickly inhabited parts of this country. Hotels were full in nearly every section despite the number of hostelries, which were built apd equipped duping tho yean, FPrices | by Florida revealed closely associated mammoths under thought indicate that prehistoric elephanuts survived in America longer than previously supposed. B¢ Amerfcan tory disc dant traces of xcavations in human remains with the bones of freumstances bi Desert Museum vered in n of the His- abun- expediti of Natural Mongolia old stone age « Among other things, they learned that ancient made ornaments out of the still more ancient di man | eges. Human times were Crimea. togett mammoths, cave days of th The skull race of the ancient cave near Capernaum, A French-American expedition ex plored northern Africa and found evidences of prehistoric men stmilar to_those of southern Europe. “Dr. Edward apir, Canadian anthropologist. announced that he had discovered striking resemblances Letween American Indian dialects and the anclent Chinese language. Ten prehistoric stone tombs con- taining uable relics were un- earthed from «n ancient Indian mound near Cartersville, Ga A hoard of valuable pearls w: covered in prehistoric mound in Ohio Archeology. An expedition to excavate geddon, famous ancient battleground in central Palestine, was organized the Oriental Museum of the Uni- versity of Chicago. The Russian Geographical So- clety’s expedition to Tibet returned with an extensive collection of ancient relics, some of which indi- cate that 2,000 Years ago a Mongollan civilization flouri which had con- tact with Hellenic culture. The antiquity of the Phoenician al- phabet was set back from 830 B.C. to the fifteenth century B.C., by dis- covery of old inscriptions. Aviation and Aeronautics. The United States dirigible Shenan doah was wrecked by a storm in Ohio. with great loss of life. An attempt was made by United States airplanes to fly to the Hawalian Islands, but it was not successful. A new tvpe of airplane, the autogiro, invented in Spaln, was tested and praised by the British air ministry. It obtains its lift in part by large propeller-like rotating wings. Biology. A chemical test, by which the sex of plants or animals can be determined from a few drops of plant juices or blood was worked out in Russta and applied by sclentists of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Evidence that a severqd optic nerve can reunite and at least partially re- cover its function was obtained by study of rats at the University of Chi- prehistoric in a cave in with skeletons of hyenas and cave of later rem: 1 boars, old S of a hitherto Neanderthal men unknown vpe of discov lilee. s dis- Indian Arma- y gland was completely removed from dogs by surgeons of Johns Hopkins Hospital without kill- ing the animals, an operation pre- viously considered as productive of certain death. Starfish and sea urchins were de- veloped from unfertilized eggs at the University of Chicago with only ultra- violet light for a father. Silkworms were successfully vacci- nated against a bacterlal disease by Dr. R. W. Glaser of the Rockfeller Institute for Medical Research. A new method of Killing protozoa, the minute animals that inhabit the digestive tracts and blood systems of man, animals and insects, by an over- dose of oxygen, has been discovered by Dr. L. R. Cleveland of Johns Hop- kins University in Baltimore. While these minute animals are often harm- less and sometimes helpful, there are some that are the cause of such dis- eases as malaria, sleeping sickness and dyentery. Success in preserving the last herds of American bison from extinction was reported from Canada. For the first time, male sex glands were successfully transplanted in ani- mals and made to persist in normal condition. A sclentific survey of America's fresh-water food resources was inaug- urated by the National Research Coun- cil. Chemistry. Mercury was transmuted into gold, according to Prof. A. Miethe of the Berlin Technical High School, who found that mercury vapor lamps be- came obscured after long usage by a sooty substance, which on analysis proved to be partly gold. Arjificial production of gold from mercury by the application of strong electrical forces was also announced by Prof. Nagaoka. of Toklo. Dutch sclentists clabmed to have transmuted thallium. Methods of reclaiming old automo- bile ofl were reported by several in- vgstigators. é itamin C, the preventive of scurvy, 'was obtained for the first time concen- trated into crystalline form, tions were adequate, but in Florida the sand people under canvass, who could throughout the twelvemonth and this The average discoveries, airanged by divisions of | business year in history, with heavy ployment at high wages, few labor up greater net earnings than in any Less than half dozen basic lines of endeavor failed to better their Building construction involved $6.250,000,000. The soil yielded its tillers over $12,000,000000. Smaller Y returns ced by high prices in others. showed remarkable stabllity; in only. «a few cases were rates jumped in an ticipation of crowds gathered for spe- cial events. In general, accomoda Reserve hanks ranged well under those for the torresponding months | 1924 until November and Decem- | ber. Net demand and time deposits l f Federal e Reserve member banks averaged $18,974.545,450 for the first 11 months as against an average for the whole year of 1924 of $16,410,000,- 000. Kor 10 months the rate on com- mercial paper averaged 3.95 per cent compared with 4 per cent for the corresponding months of 1924 In general the banks were full of money. Funds for crop movement and commercial enterprise were en- Two missing chemical Nos. 43 and 75, were discovered 1 means of spectra obtained by passing a beam of X-rays through concen- | trated solutions of rare minerals. Dr. Walter Noddack of Berlin, the disc: | erer, named them masurium and rhe- Tum. Production of methanol or wood al cohol from coal was invented and de veloped in Germany. kxperiments with this Germun synthetie methanol at the Harvard Medical School showed it to be methyl alcohol A ‘ne S poisonous as wood or Proces: by which ‘“pure’ aluminum - containing 1 than two one hundredths of 1 per cent of i | purity—can be made commerciall was reported Rare element fihtum, va nadium a nickel, were found In pe troleum ash in guantities sufficient to extraction from the | i cokes and to be ‘ : these stanc | such as sub. olution | The State of Ter forbidding the teac public schools and nessee pussed a i slution in universities. The of ng of e the trial January, existed on the oldest known rocks were for |John W. Gruner of Minnesota fol blue grec h we formed by ten earth "he biggest lot ever found in one Tanganyika | \Minities between the biood i id man. much that ween the tailed m man, was shown by serologi {the Rockefeller Institute. | Evidence « process of evolution actively going on was discovered in snails of the h Seas. The diverg encies shown did not produce disti species, but the existence of divergent individuals of adult growth showed “that mutation is a real and cotem poraneous process. Geography. The Maud, Capt. Amundsen’s ship, returned after three years of drifting in Arctic ice, and Dr. Harald Sverdrup | reported tidal observations that indi- cate there is no land in the unexplored Arctic area. A great submarine current which runs from the North A ntic comes to the surface again 2,000 miles th of the Equator was discovered by the German ship Meteor. Experiments to see whether ships could detect hidden Icebergs by the Yonic depth recorder were made by United States Coast Guard cutters. Perfection of a new sounding device especially destgned for speedy ping of the ocean floor by means of echoes from the sea bottom was an- nounced. od the Univers n Archaean the di algae i rocks been dinosaur hones was uneartt nkeys and 11 tests at f Geology. The city of Santa Barbara, Calif., was badly damaged by & heavy earth- quake in June; another earthquake shook Montana and neighboring States at the same time. New England and Eastern Canada were shaken by an earthquake in February 28. The United States Coast and Geo- detic Survey, the Jesuit Seismological Assoclation” and Science Service of Washington, co-operating with seismo- logical observatories in the United States and forelgn countries, have perfected a method of quickly and ac- curately locating the epicenters, or points of greatest motlon, of earth- quakes. Footprints of animals that lived 25,000,000 years ago were found In primitive rocks 950 feet below the top of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River. They are believed to have been crustaceans and amphibians. Rich deposits of platinum have been found in the Transvaal. Inventions. A boiler in which the flame burns in direct contact with water, thereby eliminating much of the heat loss com- mon in other boilers, was invented by a Belglan sclentist. An airplane gasoline tank which can be completely riddled by explosive bullets without bursting into flames or leaking was developed in Vienna. A system of musical stenography by which the full orchestrated score can be taken down as it is played was de- vised by M. Henry Raymond in Switzerland. The rotor ship which uses wind rower by means of rotating cylinders instead of by sails was invented In Germany by Dr. Flettner. C. Francis Jenkins of Washington, D. C., reported that he had success- fully sent moving pictures by radio from one room’of his laboratory to an- other, and that long-range radio movies had been proved practicable. Synthetic “wool” was commercially produced from wood by processing similar to those used in making rayon or artificial silk, A gas mask effective against all poisonous gases, provided they are not too strongly concentrated, was developed by the United States Bu- reau of Mines. Medicine and Physiology. The use of delicate electric needles to replace the surgeon’s knife and render surgery less painful and dan- gerous was announced by Dr. Howard A. Kelly of Johns Hopkins University. A new chemical substance com- posed partly of arsenic and bismuth was found effective in the treatment of syphilis by scientists of the Pasteur lead into mercury and | Institute in Paris. Successful use of radium in the treatment of leprosy was reported by the Kalihi Leper Recelving Hospital at_Honolulu. Eggs from hens deprived of sun- light were found to lack vitamin, which prevents rickets in ~children, and | map- | I elements, | while by earth when the | than | HIGH LIGHTS OF BUSINESS IN 1925 Profits resulted from greater managerial and individual efficiency rather than from price advances. A close ratio of production to consumption was maintained and consolidations cut overhead. Railroads handled more freight, with less delay and at smaller Bus and truck cost. transportation became_ firmly established. Coastal steamship traffic assumed record proportions. ¥ Installment plan buying became a recognized factor, with remark- ably few losses. Retail trade wound up the year with a record volume of sales. Business progress at an undiminished rate seems assured for the first part of 1926, but many far-sighted judges anticipate reces- sions after midyear. tirely adequate. Total savings ac- counts increased steadily, rising to $23,134,052,000, or $15 per inhabitant more than in 1924. Life Insurance Gains. Life insurance companies wrote more insurance in the last year than in any similar perfod in their his- tory. It is estimated that the gain over 1924 amounted to fully 20 per cent, or double the average growth of the last 10 years. In addition, widows and orphans received more, from this source than ever before, the total pald to beneficlaries the eggs of hens ceiving sun light had this important food facto Eggs do not have to be fresh to re tain their vitamins, because nine-year- old eggs were still found rich in vita min A, in experiments conducted by the United States Bureau of Chem tstry The parathyroid gland, one of the duetless glands situated in the throat in the region of the Adam’'s apple secretes a - hormone that prevents tetany, a condition of spasms and stiffness of the muscle A new dletary factor that prevents pellagra has been found in fresh milk, brew s yveast and fresh beef, by cientists of the [‘nited States ublic Health Service Medicine. The casual erganism of one type of cancer was lsolated and photographed by means of the ultramicroscope, ac- cording to the claim of English workers. The germ which causes | dogs was discovered rt C. Green of the Minnesota Certain soil bacteria were found to have the same effect on plant growth us vitaming have on animal growth Dr. Florence A. Mockeridge of Swansea, England A vaccine ma ticks was fo d a tion against Rocky fever Chicago bacteriologist found bac- teria living in oil wells more than 1000 feet geep. This deuth fc hving organisms on land Hoof-and-mouth disease of cattle as fought in Denmark with serum treatment instead of by slaughtering the herds. Dr. A. Besredka Rusgian scien tist working at the Pasteur Institute ir Parls, discovered that deadly germs miy be entirely harmless 1f planted In tissue on which they are not accustomed to prey. An extract obtained from the liver of animals was found to be effective in lowering high blood pressure of human subjects and may prove to be effective in its fleld as insulin is in treating diabetes. Extract from glands was found speeding up distemper Prof. Rob- versity of 1 om infected cattla effectiva prote Mountain spotted the parathyroid to be useful in the healing of broken | bon The causative organism of sleep- Ing sickness. encephalitis lethargica was, according to claims, identified as a. minute fllter-passing organism. A new synthetic substitute for cocaine which can be used as a local anesthetic, has been discovered In Germany. It was named kain” gnd is prepared from some of the intermediate products in the manufacture of artificial rubber. The thymus gland, as obscure ductless gland In the neck, found to have influence on egg pro- duction in the case of pigeons Rats from which the thyrold gland had been removed, and which were suffering from cretinism as a result, were made to grow normally again by extra doses of pituitary extract Propylene, a gas closely related to ethylene, was found to possess im- portant anesthetie powers Vitamin E, the presence of which in foods is necessary for reproduction of offspring, was shown to be present in & large variety of vegetable and animal substances. A process of quantitatively meas- uring the flow of the blood, sought for during the two centuries, was discovered at Yale University. The League of Nations established the broadcasting of health reports from a radio station in French Indo- China, so that countries of the world might be kept informed of disease conditions, and warned of alarming changes in the plague areas of the Far East. Complications from scarlet fever, such as inflammation of the joints, infections of the ear, nose and throat, can be avolded by early use of the antitoxin perfected by Dr. G. F. Dick and Dr. Abraham Zingher, according to reports made by them. Milk, olive ofl and some other foods which had been exposed to ultra- violet light were found to have the same curative effects on children suf- fering from rickets as doses of cod- liver oil or exposure of the patients themselves to ultra-violet rays. Researches at the Carnegie Insti- tution’s department of genetics showed that determination of sex must be considered from a phystolog- lcal, chemical and biological stand- roint, and that changes in the rate of living of the organism may be even more fundamental in determining sex than the make-up of the cell ftself. A new and powerful antiseptic, de- rived from the coal-tar product re- sorcinol and called “hexyl-resorcinol,” was made by Dr. Veader Leonard of Johns Hopkins. A new X-ray machine, in which the photographic plate is exposed only when the heart is qulet between beats, which makes it possible to take clearer X-ray pictures of conditions in the lungs, was developed at the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania. A new cure for hookworm, as ef- fective as carbon tetrachloride was discovered by Drs. Maurice C. Hall and J. F. Shillinger of the United States Department of Agriculture. Physics. Penetrating radiation of cosmic origin was discovered by Dr. R. A. Millikan to be made up of ‘“ultra X-rays” a thousand times shorter than the shorter and hitherto most powerful rays known. It is belleved they are evidences of the formation of matter throughout all space. Cathode rays, shot through a me- tallic window in a vacuum tube, were found to kill bacteria and insects and produce other striking physiological and physical effects. Prof. Gilbert N. Lewis announced a new theory of radiation based on the Elnstein view of time, which makes a distant star and the eyeball of an ob- server come into virtual contact. A method for making sheets of steel 80 thin that they esuld be seen through like glass Dr. Kar] Mueller: is a record | was | invented lwl amounting to well over $1,000,000,000, This added business, insurance men say, was due to the prosperity of the country, the popularity of group insurance and the exemption granted much of the insurance written from | fncome and inheritance taxes. Poll cies Increased in amount appreciably and there are now over 200 Ameri- cans insured for $1,000,000 or more. This added business has been poured back into agriculture, commerce znd | Industry through investments by the | insurance companies. Real estate transactions gained rc- PROGRESS OF SCIENCE IN 1925 MARKED | Hafnium, one of the latest disc ered chemical elements, ha been found to be of practical value in the | making of filaments in electric lights. | An ether drift experiment, by Profs. | A A Michelson and H. G. Gale, of {the University of Chicago, in which | the speed of two beams of light, on traveling east and the other west, was compared, indicated that the ether is not appreclably dragged along with the earth in s rotation, confirming | Einstein’s theory | _Evidence of ether drift, contrary to | the famous Michelson-Morley experi- |ment basic to the Elnstein theory. was {obtatned by Prof. Dayton C. Miller, iwho set up an interferometer on Mount | Wilson, 5.000 feet above sea level, and { found positive displacement of fringes hen bewms of light conflicted. This s sald by some authorities to over- | throw the theory of relativity Measurements of the displacements of the dark lines in the faint compan fon star Sirius, the “dog star,” made at the Mount Wilson Observatory in | California, s agreement with the predictions nstein and of Prof. Eddington of Cambridge Uni- versity in England, and indicate that | the star i3 so dense that if a pint of it | could be brought to the earth it would | welgh 25 tons | Astr w close of romy The total eclipse of tiw x Prof uary 24, 1925, was found by Ernest W. Brown of Yale University |to have been four seconds late. due | partly to uncertainty as to the moon's al position in space The puzzling shadow bands appear before and after tot of the sun were traced to rising lair currents by Dr. Charles Clay Wylie of Towa University Studles hased on this eclipse she | that the sun’s corona is 5 5,000 degrees Fahrenh 1 | as hot as earlier calculations had | cated | " The total eclipse of the sun | visible along a path from B | through Ithaca. Poughkeepsie | Haven and Nantucket, was | by more than 20,000.000 peopie {than ever before obser | phenomenon. For the | history such an eclips from "a dirigible hall6on. | Angeles, of the United States |by a party of astronomers from | United States Naval Observatory | Astronomers from the Harvard Coi- |lege Observatory, Mount Wilson Ob. | servatory, Sproul Observatory of | Swarthmore College, Allegheny Ob- | servatory, Lowell Observatory and | others went to points along the path {of totality to photograph it, while | astronomers at Cornell- Universit Yale University | Vassar College | Wesleyan University observed their own observatories Many spectrum lines indicating tt presence of oxygen and other chemic elements were photographed at tk eclipse for the first time by Dr. H. D Curtis of the Allegheny Observatory at Plttsburgh. These photograph were of the flash spectrum, which « be seen just before and after a tc eclipse, and of the corona, which seen during totality. They were made by red and infra light. Astronomers from the Naval « servatory at Washington, the Observatory at Swarthmore the Allegheny Observatory |ac which eclipses hich falo New more from College at Pitts in California, Harvard University, the United States Bureau of Standards and institutions in Europe, sailed for Sumatara to prepare for the observa- tion of a total eclipse of the sun which will be seen there on January 14, 1926 Photographs made by Dr. Edwin P. Hubble of the Mount Wilson Observa- tory, California, with the great 100- inch’ telescope, showed that the spiral nebula and certain irregular nebulae consisted of great swarms of stars at vast distances. The nearest are so far away that thefr light takes about a million years to reach us, and they were, therefore, shown to be “island universes,” similar to our own stellar system of which the sun and the other stars in the Milky Way and also those seen in other parts of the sky are parts. Eleven comets, an unprecedented number for one year, were discovered; two by American astronomers, Prof. George Van Biesbroeck of the Yerkes Observatory and Leslie C. Peltier, an amateur of Delphos, Ohio; two others by amateur astronomers in South Africa, and two in Russia. Some of the 11 were old friends returning on one of thelr perlodic visits, while others were new ones. A ‘“nova” or new star was discovered in the con- stellation of Pictor, the “Painter,” in the southern skies on May 25 by an amateur astronomer in South Africa named Watson. The sups present mass will supply light and heat for the next 15 trillion years, and, as the sun may gather up more matter as it passes among the stars, it may continue longer, accord- ing to reports made to the American Mathematical Socfety. Study of sun- spots {n relation to weather continued and Dr. H. H. Clayton, former head of the forecasting department of the Argentine weather service, predicted that other nations would follow Argen- tina’s example in applying observa- tlons of solar radiation to forecasting. The craters on the moon were caused by the explosions of millions of meteors after hitting the moon with a speed as high as 50 miles a second, according to a new theory proposed by A. C. Gifford of New#Zealand. The theory that the moon is made of mate- rial that was once a part of the earth’s crust and that was peeled off Dby attraction of the sun was advanced by Dr. R. H. Rastall at Cambridge University. A branch of the Harvard College Observatory was established in_ the nitrate desert of Northern Chilé] the south to be seen from Cambridge. branch of the Yale University Ob- servatory was established in South Africa with the completion of a 26- inch refracting telescope. This ob- servatory will supplement the work done at New Haven, Conn., by Dr. Frank Schlesinger, director of the ob- servatory, in finding the distances of the stars. highest, driest desert in the world, to aid in the observation of stars too far | A | i ! buying frequently burgh, the Mount Wilson Observatory | | this respect. BUILDING HAS BE ST 12 MONTH INCE CIVILIZATION STARTED Farmers Realize Good Profits, Few Out of Work. Costs Redue d and Sales Increased, and Every- body Seems to Have Well Filled Pocket lead was | Florida and | markable impetus. The Elven Ly the exodus to the stgrtling increzses in land val- | ues there. The influence of this movement was felt all over the coun- | try. Real estate men, seeing hov the developments had been managed in the South, turned thelr attention to_operations nearer home | Many sections experienced excite- | ments. The Gulf Coast of Mississippi and Louisiana made rapid strides in | So did many other sec- | tions suitable for either Summer or Winter resorts. The call of the city proved less entic than the call | of the suburbs for many. The ex- | pansion of suburban population w & notable business factor in the 3 Favorable Trade Balance. Forelgn tra continued 1o grow steadily, due not only to better condl tlons abroad, but also to derand for foreign-made home. In the first ten months of the year ex ris increased ed 1o the ar. luxuries at 9 per cent rresponding 1o $3 ,000. In the same »d the galn in imports was 16 | per cent, to $3.454,600,000. The move- | ment was aided by the signing of the Locarno treaties, the arrangement for debt payments to the United Siates several European countries and cing in America of numer o pre om | il be expended | country for goods and rz Billions for Whether or 1ot Ame: good time, at least they ments during the vear alone accounted for me 000,000, the speak bheavily patronized and sual, and the app s maintained Base ball had a since the penn contested as com. period of Fin t 1 is v matertals. usements. cans ha re than $7 w remarkable seasor the largest e previous rec $89.70 The the popt ¥ incl ot ittia Geanions onal ibe gen stes te matches Advertising Wa bus colleg Many which Volume of n d approxim pared with ising avy for ncre owey ations sharply It was, tail stores vertising ¢ And it was the retai which really den perous the countr ended with s indicated t Rece es would be found to have e for any other month in Imost 15 per cent regate earn r, that the mair e nstrated ho has been. T bu f 2 compiled xce history burst at when were £s of ten retail Jde sed capital $14.6 in each One of the was installment-plan introduced intc h had a ctory year, as well as into many Autom les and re » owed to this system. The policy of i in small maintained in_pr f ade AS o many merchants were able to do busi ness on less capital. This reduction in some lines amounted to as much as per « The policy apparently obviated many costly mistakes Incidentally, it left many buyers out of jobs. For- merly buyers could make but two mis- | takes a year, but now they may make 10 or 12. Most employers, however, no longer let them make more than| one. The weather, as is usual, was cided factor. 'Drought in some sec-| tlons affected live stock and crops and | curtafled industrial production through | curbing hydroelectric pow Road building went forward at fully as brisk a pace as in 1924 with more than $1.000,000 expended for such work Paving of streets also was active. The new roads built were not suffi clent to solve traffic congestion, bu the situation was improved materially through the bullding of additional ga rages, widening of highways, betie traffic regulation. speeding up of traffic movement and better driving. Pi ress was made toward simplificatior and unification of traffic signals Commodities Show Trend. The preponderance of evidence tq the prosperity of 1925 {s shown by a glance at the commodity list. Aut moble makers and dealers had a ban- ner year owing to lower prices, quan-| tity ‘production and avoidance of ex-| cess stocks. Steel profits were steady and satisfactory with consistent bet terment as the year progressed. The development of demand for household electrical equipment was a distinct feature of the year and alded electrical | companies to splendid profits in con junction with the big development of central station power plants. Railroad equipment companies, with the ex-| ception of the signal concerns, saw, their business fall off. The develop ment of the Deisel-engine operated | electric locomotive was of considerable | tmportance both in the machinery and | electrical businesses. { Food Producers Prosperous. The farms yielded more than $12,- | 000,000,000, and all in all the position of the agriculturist was improved. Handlers of food products found no Cause for complaint. Live stock men | Qid better than in the previous vear. Wool was sold at satisfactory prices, cotton ylelded more than in 1924 and fruit and vegetables sold readily and | advantageously. Canners and pre- servers had a healthy year. Agricultu- ral equipment sales were remarkably | heavy. | Tobacco growers had their ups and | downs, but clgarette manufacturers | saw their business grow materially. | Makers of shoes and other leather| articles reported marked improve- | ment. Furthermore, especially of- fice furniture, was in steady de. mand. Cement production topped | all previous records. Lumber. building | materials and paints had heavy sales. | Jewelry and furs were productive of | nice profits. The raio industry bet- | tered its_position as the year drew to features ¥ the others much tit every es was a de a close. Non-ferrous metals were more active, although Wsey were not quite as strong when the r in the season Rubber manufacturers showed large profits despite the terrific increase I de rubber prices. Coffee and vere higher than in 1924, but reached lo levels. None. - of the lar t refiners was ume the dividends, and b and Loutsin ne gr entirely disappointed t ir ear closed ae suga ) re ower s were no Coal was one com v which not show great improvement strike checked anthracite profits and it 18 stlll evident that productive ca pacity in the bituminous ficlds is fa higher than consumptive de 1. The non-union eoal min however. The change in the petroleum si tion was for the hetter. This also wa« true of cotton and woolen goods ma wtures, while makers of rayon fabrics had a wor Clothing profits were or E production paper field, but has terially damaging eff Few obstacles ure along road of business progress in the early part of 19 P parts h! dia The moderate ne Prospects for Spring urchasing country atlon is on flicient derr to come the v has ickens is surround that twe ession are ome vile the 4 pr may ippears p W exert danger of labor entirely obviated With th sighted t 1 view, the far Any slump would not catch n activity inexpected and em unprepared are issuing warnings a of prices to a point w would X consum tion, against against accum In other ing the bes worst ha assure a saf bt be anticipat preparing for the t in ftself is calculated and sane business ye and Copyright. 1925.) Small Mauufacturers Urged to Re duce Costs. Is the small manufacturer heing crowded out of business by his larger competitior or is he putting himself out of business by his failure to re he evolution in production and & tribution going on about him he Chamber of Commerce of the ted tates sa he has little to ear if he fights the inro time s adapting his plant to meet chang & conditions. His field of operatior izht become more restricted, bu: ithin it he Is stronger than he wc if it were spread out. He is loser touch with conditions and the 1eads of his trade. But the mortuary tables of husiness show that the small manufacturer ust be as alert as his bigger breth. n. The blame for failure rests upon ose who faill, not upon the more succes ul and larger manufacturers who succeed The department of manufacture of the National Chamber is ready to ald the small manufacturer by suggesting methods of waste ellmination and re ducing production costs and increas ng efficiency by better ways of cost accounting In some industrinl sections chan bers of commerce are taking an inter est in the welfare of their members hv suggesting co-operation in the study of their common problems—a movement that is attracting serious attention. STEEL OUTPUT HEAVY. Iron Age Considers 1926 Outlook as Extra Good. NEW YORK, December 3! “Nirieteen hundred and twenty-five closes with the steel industry pro- ducing at a high rate, backed by a volume of orders exceeding those of a year ago,” Iron Age says. “Pros pects are considered bright for a con tinued high pace of operations for sev eral months. And 1925 will beat the 1917 war record of ingot output of 43,619,000 tons by a few hundred thou sand tons, estimating December at as much as 5 per cent under November, to allow for holiday suspension and the following cold weather. There is no sign that advances will be used to stimulate business. eeing that prices are fully §2 a ton. lower than last Januury, the trade is not looking for a repetition of the hesi tation and price weakness which oc- curred last Spring.” P