Evening Star Newspaper, December 31, 1925, Page 22

THE EVENING STAR, Lo 1925. ty Movements in U.S. Constituting Analysis of Business in Highlights in 1925 Commodity Markets ND ALL Marked improvement in farm equipment sales. All automobile sales records broken. Cheap sugar boosts candy industry. Canned goods in very heavy demand. WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, Review of Commodi "RADE IN BUILDING MATERIALS SHOWS PROSPERITY IN INDUSTRY 1925 TEXTILE AND ALLIED INDUSTRIES ARE IN UNFAVORABLE CONDITION especially the nonunion prop- erties of West Virginia, began to speed up. In the late months of the vear weekly production hovered around the 12,000,000-ton mark. Prices to the consumer advanced for both hard and soft coal as Winter approached. Bituminuous, in many hands had risen from 69,007 tons to 72,855. They decreased, however, in November. Production was ahead of that of 1924 in practically every month of the year. Prices were alzo higher, and, since overhead in some prop- erties was cut through mergers and | other profits were better. iotor Car Manufacturing Leads All Other Years. Healthy Condition in Agriculture Reflected in ales of Traction and Farming Implements. There v TRU e pa ot Bricl America the buildin owing building under w stabilizati tion of d Ly sharp Yard p \ctional 4 diew Lo fces BY J. . ROYLF wre whi elem condition, in. the 1 Amer i chemist n with: ihe B ver of used | be ns in a ns on hand | JCKS AND BUSSES. " st th inter- the ve pro. ind carriers | bus for | Bus | n rushed to capacity. | 19 ms hound | the production and | | BRICK. ) | oduction contizaed in than turned out. Common prices remained steady the tremendous volume of | construction completed and | adequate labor supply, | of costs and determina. ealers not to check demand advances in price. In fact, | or build ick showed lecreases, red with | ocks on hand the vear close @ecreased as compared | 300,000,000 | firm of sections, sold as high as the former price for anthracite. Coke prices also advanced but later reacted. The threat of a possible bituminous strike had a strengthening effect and soft coal prices in December were 20 per cent above those of July, while pro- duction was the highest since 1923. Some of the West Virginia non- unfon mines made excellent profits on the year. But the period was too split up to be a satisfactory one to the industry in general. Shipments | on the lakes to the northwest showed fmprovement over 1924. | with the preceding vear, while un tilled orders gained. Plants were able to supply demand promptly and with- out undue strain. which fell to records, did much to make manufacturers’ year a su The period drew to a factc working at ca with no violent fluet of raw materfals to overthrow expectations, ‘he prices for some The v low candy sful one with and price of sugar, COFFEE. Efforts of the Brazilian to stimulate or increas sumption in the United the past year and to control supplies jeties of |met With some suc: dexpite opposi- s i soms s “were | Uon from Secretary Hoover. There firmly maintained, but demand con I"' 5 npaneL Lt o Bt o tinued to grow bevond the 1924 level. | 906,200,000 pounds of coffee, as com i ror i hi oils was|Pared with approximately 1.4 and ¢ nal pr nz:"“i},"”"" Dairy products | 4 g o used in fectionery muanufacture |[{han in luctuated ally and regionally, | it within fairly narrow limits. Chew- | a pound for the first S e R i el along | ten months of the year, as compared L dieers of fruit juices and es.| With a general average of 16.83 for the = I’ ¥ " entire yvear of 1924, tial oils, T real blow to the Brazi growers came when Secretary Hoov was instrumental in inducing Ameri- can bankers to withhold a loan to be {used in the valorization of Brazilian | {coffee. English bankers indicated |*hey would follow suit, but loan egotiations were imed chere be. ¢ the year cl producers coffee con. tates during | ity fons was_appreciably highe: For spot Rio No. York the price ave r some an | 1925 an | ¢! profit goods normal ng industry found of canned excellent. When d. | ment wer will go into 1926 with a fine volume of unfilled orders on thelr books. Not only have the standard products been in_keen demand, but sales of electric refrigerators and other household de- vices have been suflicient to create a large volume of additional business. The heavier types of machine factories busy on order: electrification, and to equip new st and_hydroeléctric power plants and additions to central power stations. Production cos have been stable, so that increased s have been easily translated into net fncome, Electrification of hom Increased sharply and sales of household equip- helped by attractive part- payment plans and extensive advertis- inz. Orders hooked by the General Electric Company in the first nine months, of the year totaled $224,000.- 000, or 10 per cent more than a year ago. Westinghouse reported a similar trend, as did some others concerns. hort crop of Winter wheat, the high prices of that grain and the con- solidation of big baking concerns, on )t which Involved prospective capita ization of $400,000,000, all had a bear- ing on the flour market of 1925. Pro. duction in the first three quarters of The med that there of some goods, were met i &k amounted to 18,000,000 sold sely’ at profit. record, | | COTTON GOODs | e mical laboratory held out [ hand he cot 4 conjunction stim ies. was out ch ass pack bare, ver re of corn market and satisfactory prices. | ) great that Iowa, pack could not fill all The entire output st hands. was a large pack of tomatoes, at 15,000,000 ners put up uld not iped them, demor Jme Wester meet S onie for ved to ttractive fab s mills which from cotton ovement ¢ the lar was showed the also irin ses imy veu { by crop of cotton anc pri that raw material, None the less, the yvear for the tex industry satisfactory great industry which half a | nillion workers aged and, in | d times 50,000,000 to $400,- | s been n the 1921. Wt Ther hated ern ¢ earn $ h. since exter th fo their heavy |! s not suf-| the West- of demand w to clean up entirely supp! e South, h kins, sweet berries we w level. | pass hd prices profitabl products have hands 1926 is ned at u Thi into higt much wis = price tha 1ed vl ~p ONT rut in CEMENT. vea. sre topped by cement |Ring at nearly iuring 1925. More tha 15 dus £ tue barrels were produ 1 ".! fanl o s realed to the that resista not less D Ite > to increase pri ba above existed Expar of mills Produc in the since phe far which and prospect the industry at present than at any time | the increase. building pr than in 1924, su of this countr absorb about on was needs he roads ¢ tion smaller dairy n in pre 1924, fairly f: e condensed rated milk h bee such a icter as to m: up for diminis] put There was a decided siump in but ter production veraging around 0,000 pounds a month, over much | the vear. This curtail re- moved the big carry-over surplus from last and resulted in prices hich at mnd hi ace supp production dustry recorded held close to con d the ended e stocks on ha the first favor % cheese 1o burdenso quently spite down and a drop in pi appeared in December. Gain in profits to manufacturers held closely to the -atio of the The ger v 1 Octobe vear 1u ¥ pe but The cheese ing the early months of increased percept ze prices for the entire pe ing a slight improvement Condensed and evaporated m duction dropped off about pounds from 1924 figures in most months, but picked up later, in com mon with butter and cheese. output was the ter, r priced clothing show- plan was the fea- | in the clothing in- those engaged in it iment vear which k pro- | W clothi 8 r declared that people would buy automobiles and radio on o part payment basis than i new clothes. nated the part payment n to “fight fire with fire,” though its sponsors said they did )t expect to see more than 15 per cent of the high priced clothing sold that way even after several years. he sules of heavy-weight clothing in he Fall was excellent but the ad. nce ers for Spring goods were 10 means so good. Women's apparel was more active ind in better demand than clothing for m This seemingly was due to style trends which led away from the buying of piece goods and making of | their own dresses by women. Silk, sayon and velvet goods were the fa- Ve in women's wear and while the woolens nefited to some tent they were not so extensively em- 1as in some other years, consumers and retailers de- the manufacturers of men clothing were hehind the times and were attempting to sell what wanted to make, rather than ments the public wanted to v Some large retailers in consequence made heavy purchases abroad. The pride in appearance campaign of the clothie which is a three-year program, was waged vigorously and undoubtedly had wonsiderable effect on the public Buying by lots and m DRUGS AND CHEMICALS The drug and chemical trade was materially aided during the yvear by the improvement in the fertilizer situ- ation and‘the general advance in in- dustrial activity. One or two severe blows were given some firms by de- velopment of synthetic chemicals in foreign countries. Industrial alcohol was extensively contracted for when prices were down | in June. The rise of 14 per cent in| automohile registration boosted its use in anti-freeze radintor mixtures, Fertilizer consumption in the 1925 selling season was estimated at 8.000.- 000 tons. as compared with 7,250,000 tons in 1924 and 7,600,000 in 1920, the previous record year. De d alcohol prices for the| first 10 months averaged 59.85 cents a g on as compared with an average | of 55.1 for the entire year 1924, yeerin prices were higher in each of the first 10 months than in the cor- responding periods of the previou year they reflected road and mining activity. The same was true of nitrate of soda. Soda ash remained at the same level as in 1924 and sulphuric acid fell off slightly. ites DRY GOODS. ers was in small nufacturers gradual to see that this was a perms trend and adjusted themselv here were comparaticely few disputes. Work clothing was 1 splendid demand throughout the vear. Trices were fairly stable at wout the same relative levels as in 1924 Record-breaking sales records were | hung up by many dry goods and de- | partment store merchants in 1925. The | ear furnished most of the leading | merchandising organizations with ex- | cellent profits. In some cases these! were the largest on record. The pe- riod closed in a haze of holiday ac- tivity, which was materially aided by the distribution of some $300,000,000 in Christmas club funds. Fall buying in the main business centers was the largest ever known, with the aggregate business of 553 canvassed exceeding that of by above 16 per cent. The mail order - houses registered the largest gains, these running about 271 per cent above those of the preceding Autumn. One of the outstanding features of he year was the estdblishment of re- tail stores in various centers by mail order organizations. The chain store | companies also recorded larger busi- ness than in any previous year. ime ent to it labor The anthracite strike split thin wide open in the coal industry in 19 hroughout the first half of the anthracite mines, operating close pacity, did exceptionally well. the other hand, the bituminous producers found themselves with sroduction exceeding demand. Many rtailed sharply, especlally those who operated unfon mines. A good number of properties were closed en- tirely. Some of these did not resume all year while others, notably mines of the Pittsburgh Coal Co., reopened with their men working on the 1917 scale. When megotiations between _the anthracite miners and operators were broken off August 4, bituminous |+ = 15 ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT New high records were established by the 1925 sales of many of the elec cal equipment manufacturers. They | . | coming season | fur bearers of the North will be called Installment clothing buying spreads. Strike hard blow to coal industry. Record-breaking dry goods sales. Heavy fruit yield well marketed. Soaring prices in potato market. Big gain in shoe production. Steel profits much improved. the canning and preserving industry necessitated active production of con- tainers. the latter trends. HARDWAR Firmness in prices and strong mand were features of the hardware business throughout the year. Th tremendous volume of construction erved to maintain the call for build- | ers’ hardware and plumbers’ and steamfitters’ supplies at a high level, and quotations, strengthened before Winter, offered a seasonal check. Th general improvement in the farmer tinancial position also aided the trade Manufacturers made more profits after they concentrated on fewer siz: and stvles. The variety of shovels far example, was cut from and 7,000 items of bu were cut 26 per cent With stocks reduced and moving off the shely more rapidly, retail dealers improved their profits’ materially. They had need to do so, for in 1924 profits of 1.300 dealers In 43 States amounted to only 44 cents on cach $100 worth of | business transacted. HATS. the year totaled 90,390,000 barrels, compared with 96,100,000 barrels the corresponding period of 1924 The average prices for the months of this ye » $1.78 a bar rel higher than fc responding period of last yea sre was a re vival in millin ineapolis as the vear cle tions rose to about 90 per cent of pre-war c: v of the mills. Exports improv E showing @ betterment each month mpared with 1 in FRUIT. fruit 25 was heavy main prices. favorat of the ¢ in most The untry ted fons a was marke at s 1y, b caused det 1 fresh prr 1924. The 1 sn in California and heavy > which reached ket hape brought good ce market, with m plums, Imper fine e upes m In the row season in wer > growers Production ¢ the * . but qua The Ge 7.304.000 hels spotty apple prosperou es for « istern isfactory. ¥ years ples and | was ler | and prices | rds | sm tter rela cer 7 a bushe 21000 busk last year. The apple hushels sold at he 1,388,000 b verago §1 $1.01 74 of el 600 p brought bushel. The Louisiana str but brought outhern w n wherry crop was wereased prices. | welon yield was | eted more ad ta sly than many pre vea The Florida orange crop is| likely to be shorter than in 1924. The | ana orange crop brought an| werage of $4.50 a box. Fruit crops of the Mid dwest brought Ty 4 tu FURNITURE. riture manufacturers and deal sitting pretty” at the c They had behind them a vear far more profitable than 1924 and be-| re them bright prospects for the| The huge volume of | building had a marked effect on the industry, calling, as it did, for a tre-| mendous quantity of furniture. The| demand for office furniture and equip- | ment was fully as heavy as that for domestic varieties. Labor costs were high and the de- mand for hard woods helped stiffen the raw material markets. New furni- ture designs were attractive in ap- pearance und in price. Competition remained strong between the Grand Rapids and Chicago markets. South- ern manufacturers were well engaged all year. - ers were of 1925. @id much for the fur industry in the last ve Fashion dictated a demand for pelts for trimming pur- poses which was difficult at times to fill, while the call for garments en- tirely of fur was increased by the gen- eral prosperity which prevailed. Un- doubtedly, the features of the year in the fur industry were the strong de- mand for muskrat and the merging of three huge concerns into the largest fur organizations in this country. Among other activities it will have the marketing of the Government seal skins from Alaska. The muskrat demand was such that | more than 20,000 trappers took out licenses Iast Autumn in Louisiana, the main source of supply. Outfitting by trappers was equally active out of Kansas City and other centers. The Style: on to fill a greater demand than ever before. Many furs were developed under trade names during the year, and this trend aided sales of skins of domestic animals, especially rabbit. Fox, skunk, squirrel, mink, beaver, fisher, marten and other furs were in keen demand, as were raccocn and opossum. The development of extremely expensive garments ranging from $15,000 up- ward in price was not extensive. GLASS. Urgent demand for plate glass for automobiles and for commercial build- ings, coupled with the heavy window =lass demand incident to a $6,000,000,- 000 national building program, as- sured ‘glass manufacturers an active ind profitable year. These factors were joined with bet- ter production methods, lowering of production costs, greater working effi- ciency and lack of violent labor dis- putes. The production of electric light bulbs and glass for lighting fix- tures increased steadily. The prosperity of the soft-drink manufacturers led to additional bottle demand, and the active condition of t nine | for Winter sales of straw hats went far toward making 1925 a good vear for the hat manufacturers. The heavy flow of travel to Florida : fornia and to oth 1the kept sales going in good volume. wterbalanced the tendenc wearing light-welght felt hats Summer in the North. Manufac of felt headgear did w strength of raw material vogue for velours and felt men was a factor in the sit for time in - leather satisfactory in 19 ks which had hung over the since war years, doing as price dan by their quality their ime were fina leared out of exister Production by ta was h to con imptive requirements. were satisfactory increase in th < after Autumn s industrial « red by business But the dema was for the leathers of cheaper gr, n for the qualities five companies were The s wich s by Ve clos owing production in and to sharp £ she the active ine e for than in the latte prices for the vear nts a mnd above t Calfskin prices average cents a pound, as against 18.42 Sole leather prices were month in 1925 thar corresponding month of the nd the same was true Production of backs up to October 1 to 1zed around the sides 2 ded 11,426,000, JEWELRY Nothing so_strikingly emphasizes the extent and prosperity of the elry business during the past v the epidemic of jewel robberies. profits made in”speculation, sober walks of busi ness, led to heavy p: ses of gems, 1d the higher-priced stones came into nd for the first time sinc oW~ ar Th of the foreign jewel collec dangled tantalizingly before the eves of rich Amerieans, went unpur. chased, owing to the exorbitant fig res asked, but some of the famous but {llfated Romanoff rubles and em. eral ssed into the hands of clti- zens of this country Rubfes, pe nd sapphiry been extremely fashionable. Mergers involving American and foreign firms have aided to stabilize diamond out-. put and prices. Watch sales were heavy. Platinum pri have gained in favor. of this metal has ranged are n ounce throughout the yi The ind ar. LUMBER The vear for the lumber industry was marked by two outstanding de- velopments—the grade marking of lumber by the Southern Pine Associa- tion and ‘the standardization of sizes. The industry fn general exhibited e bus policy, and in conse- quence reaped adequate profits from operations. Despite the heavy vol- ume of business, production was held well within bounds and prices were not shoved up to a place where con- sumption was affected. The volume of railroad buying was not so heavy as in 1924, but this was compensated for by the increase in consumption of lumber on the farms. Industrial consumption was a factor, especially in the strength of the hard woods, such as oak and red gum. Some producers were unable to ad- just themselves temporarily to the trend in buying, which caused dealers to order in smailer lots for immediate delivery. Consequently, they were ing production on the market in the early part of the year, with con- sequent price declines. The building and industrial demand, however, furnished a strong base of operations and prices rose after mid- year Profits were increased by the fact that it cost many lumber pro. ducers less to do business than in 1924 and the fact that at the year's close production and consumption were closely balanced. For the first three-quarters of the vear production consistently exceeded that of the previous vear in yellow pine, western pine and Douglas fir. No check to consumption seems im- vending after the turn of the year. Late months were featured by heavy purchases of virgin timber lands in the West. When final figures are in it is expected that annual production of vellow pine will exceed 5,668,300,000 of fir, §,311.000.000 feet, and of Western pine 1,790,300,000 feet. Heavy consumption spelled greater prosperity to the producers of the non-ferrous metals in 1925 as com- pared with the previous year. The 12 months ended with ~practically all of them in a strong statistical po- sition. World production, however, m:gkes the cunl(nua‘me of that po- sition uncertain. I_"ilteen-(‘enl copper proved too high a jump for the red metal to compass, although that level was approached. Lack of foreign buying was all that prevented its attainment. American consumption was at a record rate, but as of November 1 stocks in dealers’|were anxivus to take advan \ Low prices of sugar helped | well obtained in December. Lead and zinc suffered sharp drops in prices in the early part of 1925 but recovered sharply. Lead rose to above 10 cents at St. Louls, with a premium for prompt delivery, but later relapsed slightly although the ate_months of the year showed the market strong and fairly stable. Zinc went to the highest mark since April, 1920, and as the yea# closed the metal was statistically very strong. | Each montl: showed an increase in production as compared with 1924, yet stocks declined. Prices for both lead and zinc showed a gain for each of the first 11 months of 1925 over the sponding month of 1924. prices were consistently nger than in 1924, under urge of sed use in the arts, »se to new high price 1l from tin plate manufac 3 1 influence of a world supply well under that of the previous year. As the vear closed production was on the increase, with indications of reces- sions In quotations. | Aluminum prices in general were at | a slightly higher level in most months than in 1924, with demand excellent. As_the yvear closed, consumer buving of Bickel was heavy, with the leading interest producing at 80 per cent of capacity and profits _estimated at nearly double those of last year. The contracts for 1926 sigr ~ate price increases in the near future. levels OIL. | Better but not good. ;vmm.m;: up of the year with the pe: | troleum companies. 0l was maintained at a remark especlally to gasoline, ption of which was main tained even into the Winter. As a re sult of the improvement in statistical the earnings of many oil con the best in several vei m | the neared | seemed no likelihood 1«\‘”‘:‘1 add materially | msumption le rate s end and that T to outpr veu there tields I r agc continued to 2,000,000-barrel rength year and dvancec have producti close to the > late weeks grades were stocks, which the market for a y drawn upon in nths, which improved the position, t « nia crude stocks continued very heav sroduction there st profitable to ship 1 gasoline East tinent proc mark. Ke ened in Crude h some it uctuated in vari was prices the vear e-quarters of productions te consum 0,000 barrels There s completed s 8,078,100,000 ga in and ng we sands Ire it deeper ploited territory { total output PACKING INDUSTRY general business svailed was re prospe ected in from n 192 inventories p during the 24 i Turi I WaS nArrow. s, export de. pork products, in that of a vear of the United were willing and the pork produced e and leather de packing companies prices dressed than to n es rose 1o a lesse ago. But States apparently able to pay The subsidiary I partments of the showed strongly owing to the betterr tical positions and prices of This ¢ | ! PAINT. New developments in the paint in-| dustry, especially those involved in the painting of automobiles, helped the paint manufacturers in 1925 almost a nuch the heavy building construc- tion program and the improvement in | the farmer purchasing power. Pro. duction and sales by the {larger companies was a high level. Profit spite advances in the materials. Lead, zinc, linseed oil and turpentine advanced in price as the year pro- ressed. After the first quarter tur- pentine prices shot up sharply. Lin seed ol was strong on account of a short flax erop, both in America and | Argentina. Lead and zinc were in commanding positions, but the paint companies in some cases obtained their supplies from their own mines. By-products used in making dves benefited from the improvement in the textile trade. were good de- prices of raw Despite record-breaking output and | consumption, earnings of United States print paper mills declined omewhat in 1925. This was because | savings in production costs have not been sufficient to offset price cuts, ex- cept for those companies with excep. tionally low costs or those which sup- plement income by the sale of hydro- electric power, The reason largely has been the ex- pansion of the Canadian mills. For the first 10 months of the year the combined output of American and Canadian mills was 6 per cent greater than in 1924, The Canadian output, according to present plans, shortly | will be increased by 16 per cent. News print contract prices fell from $73 a ton late in 1924 to $70 in 1825 and to $65 for 1926 requirements Profits to American companies in| 1925, however, were not absent by any means, Other branches of the paper in- dustry did well. There was a con- sistent increase in sales of wrapping paper, book paper and tissue. has resulted in some price increases. POTATOES. The smallest crop of potatoes in six years forced prices for the tubers to high levels in various sections of the country as the year drew to a close. In the Fall of 1924 prices ranged from 65 to 90 cents a bushel. At the core- sponding time in 1925 prices were §1.65 to $2.50 a bushel. Hot weather in Midsummer and reduced acreage were the factors in reduction of the crop. The yield amounted to approximately 346,500,000 bushels. The world crop was 8.4 per cent below 1924. It was a curious fact that out of this small crop grew a shipping con- d o far indi- | nd was downward as | improved earnings, | | chanical r high prices and avoid danger of rot and storage expense. This caused s jamn of shipments at marketing distributing centers The high price of potatoes c increased demand for other etables as substitutes. A lean year. Th railroad manufacturers {1925, despite the spurt which developed in the | Much of this buying was | Spring delivery and did not affect 1t | earnings. There was a ing railroad traffic, but ound 1924 equipment fu Exceptions must be r of manufacturers and specialty equip ince many of the roads s nest to comply with the the Interstate Commerce sion to supply themselves w system For such 1925 was one of the the story. The total orders months of the y 52,291 freight ca | for the full { motives, against 1,626 in tk vear 1924, Locomotive companies | # ood export business Rail orders for 1926 delivery ed 1,600,000 t to Decen the. summed of late t was ! brake orders Commis ith safety ufacturers 2 rs i for the first r included o against 149,61 19 nd 10 much had 1 do to supr forced in s lown new orders “hout urers Thro A nufac ver | production came closer | have vel and Leen first-quarter price establish last-quarter | “Local mills s { ment, but, even witt jers cutting prices to be heavy enoug next few months t Practically throu orb the all d there mand, but this trend or has b this year and 53,0 ext year is expect an betw pour ed to re: These figures com pare with 38,850,000 pounds i RICE. production rose above 35 1925, the largest over 52,000,000 As the statist 910 els were produc sition of the crop was excelle reign demand was high and ver after four small crop y the . produ | fornia their I Protes s and cor ts by n facturers and Government restriction of om her Far Britain - | officials rubber ship- | astern colanie ‘ were unavai triction of suy | traordi dema » manufacturers and makers ¢ ber goods and f , entailed record consumption and high prices. In the first nine 636,900.000 pounds | were imported, of was used in tires. | pounds were used for tire vear of 1824 around the 40-cent-a-pound level early in the vear to §1.23 for spot rubber smoked sheets, the highest point since 108. There followed a drop of nearly 50 cents a pound, but this reaction checked ar end rose well above $1 a pound. | Crude rubber supplies in this coun-| try and abroad have been dwindling. ocks in London recently have fallen | 0,000 tons from the amount on han June 30, 1925. The export allowanc under the Stevenson plan was in creased 10 per cent November 1, but this did not serve to build up stocks. There is no sign of a slackening in manufacturing actlvities. The advance in crude rubber most cases wasg passed on to the con sumer. Tire prices to retail buyer eat g in months ¢ of crude ru which 431,5 O 850,001 ires in the en Prices rose from 192 be 530,01 | were jumped 60 per cent during the vear, and tire makers are : have piled 1919, The shortage in crude rubber caused | those American manufacturing firms | which own plantations to make every effort to increase crude production. | One maker has started extensive cul- tivation on a Liberian concession. development of plantations is a mat- ter of six or seven vears, and in the | meantime production is expected to | ndvilice somewhat slowly, although world stocks probably will increase ap- preciably in 1926. The silk 1925 piled serted to | up the best profits since industry in a son in 1924. Silk demand kept manu- | facturers working at a record rate throughout ‘ the vear, and while pro- duction fell off seasonally in the late months, bookings for the Spring of 1926 were such as to assure strong activity for months to come. For the first 11 months of the year ption reached the record total 574 bales, which far exceeded the amount consumed in the entire | vear of 1924. In August American | manufacturers took 44,047 bales, the monthly peak for all time. Raw silk fabrics had their fluctua- tions, but showed steady and con- sistent advances from January on. In the late part of the year prices for some grades were almost £1 a pound higher than in the corresponding pe- riod of 1924. This was due less to speculation than to strong statist position. Reports indicated an in- crease of 17% per cent in the Summer and Autumn Japanese cocoon crop: but consumption bids fair to oversize this additional production. Many mills have accumulated good stocks of goods for Spring, but early gestion which caused railroad em- bargoes at many Ints. TS e of 1926 business should absorb these and some secti. and prices toward the |} But | splendid year on top of a good sea-| more without difficulty. The popularity of rayon fabries | 1 Anthracite Strike and British Rubber Restriction Hamper Businesses Dependent on Commodities. Records Set in Dry Goods Trade. 324,000,000 1 of retailer its appen call sthened b into the Sprir en's shoes nee of eme appear mpr o ded by bette per man 1S the ve of the 1 totalled er The Weste ear. In Califorr re both disappoin and some other St tions hampered rado and ¢ acreage was d tion did mor its_competitive tabilize prices n Ameri & in Consumption ulated by which were cent mark £ the ve cient growing inte sugar prices duction | have : the Presi ers assert such a put them ¢ leave the mercy of the by low I Cuba or Costs, | competition had bee field In g one of nies hea tations wa of the 1 leadin intere able th i sing their raw | stances had exceller No curta sight in 1 ordinary aveather just getting back i with the in of cane. Hawaii crop. Java will more than ever bef output is sure 1925 and p: to be duction | in Scotland, Eng! ico. Consequ sharp advance tes. irvestin ed in ( to nd refiners who b i conditic | heavy. The Louisiana can. produce re ve 1 weather cond In Colo 1in sectior rican con tead some in is in der rieties record iy have a The uropean heavier than in be pressed 1n and Mex prices is dim TEA. Approximately 60 tea was imported States and consur in 1924. In addition were over 3 ¢ in the previous sumption was undoubtedly by intensive, newspaper ad English p prices was due not to the improved (Continued on Page 0,000 § into t nts a pound b nds more e United 1925 than received cher than vemonth. Con- stimulated P position of English exchange, which h on_the price of tea. a4 marked eflect The placing of Twenty-threél