Evening Star Newspaper, June 16, 1935, Page 67

News of Markets Pages 1 to 4 Part 5—14 Pages D. C. RETAIL TRADE WELL ABOVE 1334 DURINGHALF YEAR Department Store 'VolumeS» Regisier Advance of 8.3 Per Cent in May. POTOMAC POWER SHARES GO HIGHER ON EXCHANGE Six Per Cent Preferred Gains Hnlf‘.‘ Point as 51/, Per Cent Stock | Jumps to 114, New Peak. BY EDWARD C. STONE. Retail trade in Washington in the first six months of 1935 will far ex- ceed business in the first half of 1934, the latest trade reports indicate. The gain of 83 per cent in department store trade in May and the 12.4 per cent advance in the first five months of "this year over the corresponding periods a year ago show clearly what ihe six months’ results must be. Since these two important percent- age gains were announced by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond trade has been going ahead here steadily. Arrival of hot weather has boosted Summer business substan- tially during the last few days, the visiting Shrine crowds adding to the volume total. Trade reports from all Lehman to Head Postal Committee In Reorganization By the Assoclated Press. NEW YORK, June 15.—A protec- tive committee has been formed at the request of holders of substantial amounts of bonds and debenture stock of the Postal Telegraph & Cable Corp., which yesterday filed reorganization proposals in the Federal Courts. Robert Lehman, of Lehman Bros, investment bankers, has been chosen chairman of the committee which, it was announced, has not invited nor yet accepted deposits, but has notified holders of the company's obligations to send the committee their mames and addresses and the amount of their holdings. STAPLES FOLLOW STEADIER_ COURSE INU.S.AND ABROAD | Sharp Bulge of Farm Prices Ironed Out by Better Crop Prospects. BY FREDERICK GARDNER, Associated Press Pinancial Writer. past few weeks lends emphasis to an apparent tendency of the general do- the rest of the country reveal a simi- lar upturn. Postal receipts at the City Post Of- fice have recorded steady advances so far this year. June is certain to be | mestic price level to settle into a com- paratively steady course. | Contrary to fears which abounded in some quarters months back, infla- tionary forces hardly have been visible A small recession in farm prices the | one of the best months in the half |in the gentle oscillations in prices of vear. steadily, the number of telephones in| The trend in the United States tal- use has grown rapidly while the num- | Jies with a return to relative stability | ber of daily telephone calls has ad- vanced at the same time. All these indicators give an excellent line on what the first half year iff the Capital will be. Electric power output has also moved upward steadily month by month, the demand for electricity always reflect- ing business progress. Reports on the amounts of new insurance written in in price movements in many foreign irg the deflation period and subse- quent recoveries or leveling out of fluctuations, | Even in the remaining gold bloc countries, including France, - pressure | on prices eased in recent months, ac- cording to foreign indices received by Bank clearings have mounted | most groups of commodities this year. | countries, following a violent fall dur- | Washington in the past five months add their proof of better business con- ditions. Other facts might be cited but those are sufficient. Latest Fed- eral Reserve reports place Washing- ton ahead of practically all the other large cities in the United States, when retail trade comparisons are made. The population of the city is hold- ing up, which means that trade will, too. the Department of Commerce. Rains Impreve Outlook. ‘The sharp bulge in domestic farm prices in the second half of 1934 and the early months of this year has been ironed out a bit since copious rains improved crop prospects in areas hit by the drought last year. Aside from foods and farm proaucts, most groups in the buresu of Labor | statistics index ‘of wholesale prices, Potomac Power Stocks Hyl‘hcr. Becurities were strong on the Wash- ington Stock Exchange at the end of the week. In yesterday's session . Potomac Electric Power 6 per cent Although they have come down a preferred sold in small lots at 110, 'little from the peak, farm products on up half a point from the last previous | the average remain nearly 32 per cent sale. The same corporation’s 5% per above the comparable 1934 figure. cent preferred changed ownership at| But they have .ol regained their 114, a new 1935 high mark. The only | pre-war relationship with prices of other sale was & small lot transfer in manufactured goods, according Mergenthaler Linotype, which moved | yardsticks of the Bureau of Agricul- ot 27, off a half point. tural Economics. Bonds were neglected yesterday, but‘& Index Changes Little. the turnover for the week was satis- factory and prices were strong. Capi- | . _1he comprehensive Bureau of La- tal Transit stock, which figured in a | POF Statistics index, despite the spurt wong line of sales Priday, was also In farm products, has moveri this quiet. It closed fhe week witn 19 vear within a range of 2 points, rising bid and 20% asked. In recent ses- | {fOM & January low of 77.9 to a peak sions, when the stock has been cffered | 7f 83 in April. That index uses at 20, it has been in lively demand. 1926 prices as 100. Fcr the firsi week 43 ;| in June it stood aL 799 Inquiries about dividerd prospects &re | “p i gnajysts cay the latest drop erous the: Both " constant | &l nurt *¢ in grains and otner farm pioducts days the | Probably points t2 a further rscession Président Charles R. Gay o! « in the Bureau of Labor statistics in- New York Stock Exchange, who called dex, since it usualiy lags behind more on the members of the Securities and & . declared the visit was purely compli- | ;i embraced 1 the index fe- mentary. Dean X. Worcester, DeW | .5 0q"g cain of 8.3.per cent above executive vice president of R.ne ';x-‘ whe’ eaTaepinaing 1934 g acco him. Rej - 4 figure. change, accompanied him. Registia- |y 1o " progucts, motals and metal tions with the Secirities Commission | "¢ hi satisfactory, Mr. Gav an- | Products, building materials a ouse are Mighiy <4 imio- | furrishing goods showed decl nounced, and expressed the opinion | A g 8 showt ines that over-the-counter dealers will co- | F2PEing from about 1 to nearly 5 per q i cent operate with the commission in the | matter of registration. The latter | Along with forecasts of larger crops, < 4 | the legal termination of N. R. A. problem is of extreme importance. codes introduced a new influsnce on Directors Must Act on Loans. "cording to thur importance, thow small declines from levels prevailing & year ago. domestic prices which analysis are Chairman Hoxton ot the Feceral | Watching closely. Reserve Bank of Ricnmond has sent | Retail prices on the average had to all member banks in the fifth Re- been sagging for nearly a year pre- serv: district he text of the joint | ceding the Supreme Court's ruing on Tesolution passed by Congress and | the Blue Eagle. consisting of 8% ilems weighted ge- | | signed by President Roosevelt extend- | ing for three years to June 16, 1938, the time in which executive officers of the banks :n the Reserve Svstem must repay loans to their instititions. The resolution extended the time | limit from June 18, 1933. It &pplies only to loans made prior to June 16, 1933, and extension must be approved by directors of banks involved, and then only “if renewal is in.ibe best | interest of the bank and.if the cfficer has made a reasonable effort to re- duce his obligation.” All the Washington banks received their notices yesterday. The matter i8 one in which there hed been Na- tion-wide interest and the congres- sional action brought general relief. Bank officers all over the United States admitted freely that they were not in a position to wipe out the loans on the original date, without heavy losses, and in some instances #aid they could not meet them any- way. Since 1928 the Southern Railway Co. has reduced its funded debt by $11,987,200, President Pairfax Harri- son says in his annual report for 1934, printed coples of which have {','“ been received by stockholders in 'ashington. “Increase in Tevenues in 1934 as compared with 1933 was offset by an increase in expenses of $4,047,512, .d: along duced costs by $1,145,240 on an an- nual basis, of which $437,416 was realized during 1934. He said that the latter figures may be taken “as the contribution by the further effort of management during the year to the total of the similar reduction in the rate of operating expenses ir 1934, .compared with the disastrous year 1932, amounting to $5,521,265. President Harrison reported ‘quirements, but have mét the require- SR L B WOOL IS MORE ACTIVE By the Associated Press. BOSTON, June 15 (#) (United States Department of Agriculture) — The wool market continued hesitant early in the week, and then began to pick up in the last few days. The movement started on medium fleece wools offered from the Middlewest and then spread to the spot offerings in Boston. The decline of the previous week in the country was reported to have been largely Tegained on the re- cent movement. Strictly combing graded Ohio and similar fleeces were cuoted unchanged at 30-31 cents in the grease for all grades from fine to quarter blood. Bulk average to good French combing 64s and finer terri- tory wools in sizeable quantities were bags. NEAR CLOSE OF WEEK | 'FINANCIAL AND CLASSIFIED - The Sunday Star WASHIN BRITAIN 15 CALM IN CABINET SHIFT; RAIL PLANS HAILED 5-Year Electrification Work Would Require $175,- . 000,000 Spending. DISPUTES STRENGTHEN COALITION GOVERNMENT Franc Again Comparatively Safe, but French Eagerly Await Lower Discount Rate. Special Dispatch to The Star. radio dispatches to Business Week give the following survey of business abroad for the week ending today. LONDON.—"“Britain changed cabi- nets iast week withouf a ripple. Real reason is that only & few positions are shifted and this had been expected for some time. Also, party squabbles of the last few months greatly strengthen the position of a coalition government. Finally, London is cheered up by the prospect of a $175,000,000, 5-year rail electrification program which will em- ploy many, give a fillip to spending. “Although British stock markets, trade figures and unemployment have stood up well to a series of external shocks, everything is governed still by | three factors—Berlin, Paris and Wash- ington. Reich Policy Watched. “In London, the naval talks (with Germany) are being held against a background of a new dispute between France and Germany over the Franco- Soviet pact. This pact Germany de- clares to be a menace to the Locarno treaty. France contends that it is of | no different significance than the | Franco-Polish pact which was actu- | ally signed with the Locarno treaty itself. server is that Germany's present diplo- macy seems designed to lull Britain | but to keep France ‘on edge’ Paris | construes the German endeavor as an | attempt to divorce Britaip from her former allies. All agree that the pres- |ent talks {naugurated by Hitler's speech do little but delay the time when Germany will come forward with new and stronger demands—certainly for a return of her colonies, possibly | for other concessions more difficult to make. In the meantime, Germany is | rearming rapidly. “Domestically, two cheetful facts stand out: That all the industrial f companies now reporting maintain the | unexpectedly large increases of profi | that have marked 1935; and that the | flood of new capital issues eontinues. Taking stock markets as the only criterion, one would say that the coun- try is surging forward into a boom.” Frane Again Saved. PARIS —‘Prance has a new gov- ernment, and for the time being the lr:nc is once more comparatively safe. “Three developments what has happened. | “Pierre Laval has formed a gov- ernment. It has asked for, and re- ceived from Parliament. freedom to decree whatever laws are necessary to meet the financial emer- gency without waiting for the usual prolonged debates in the Chamber. Two restrictions are imposed: Parlia- ment may not be dismissed, and the Finance Committee of the Senate and Chamber must be kept informed of |all that the cabinet proposes doing; whatever decrees are necessary may be issued only until October 31, and they must be ratified by Parliament before the end of the year. “Pinally, the Bank of France will discontinue loans on gold in an effort to curb speculation which has been |an unsettling factor for several months. The Bank of England has asked London banks to co-operate in restricting purely speculative gold deals. . | “It is generally believed that the | franc is secure for the time being. | Next move, eagerly anticipated by | business, is a lowering of the discount | rate. This, in turn, should make it possible for the government to borrow ment at reasonable levels.” of imported raw materials and financ- ing of public works and other employ- | ment schemes—are attracting wide interest. All attempts to refinance the rapidly growing floating debt by the issue ‘of gevernment bonds in the free capital market have failed. The government met the situation a few weeks ago through the quasi-volun- tary 500 million marks loan under- written by the German savings banks. It is now the turn of private and so- cial insurance institutions to take an amount that is expected to be only slightly lower, possibly 300 to 400 million marks. The mortgage bank market is already feeling the ef- fect of this move. In prepara- | tion for the new loan, insurance com- | panies have almost suspended their | quite firm at 68-70 cents in original | regular purchases of these bonds as L0 investors or speculators for so long ‘investment for their reserves.” GTO STOCKS FORGE UP AS CHEAP MONEY DEMANDS QUTLET Recovery in Bonds- Spreads NEW YORK, June 15.—Cables and | What strikes the British ob- | it | © | held a good rank, if price is the equa- complete | necessary funds to run the govern- | BERLIN.—“The two main problems | of Hitler’s recovery program—supplies | to Common Equities. Selectivity Persists. PURCHASES OF FOREIGN INTERESTS ALSO FACTOR Currency Troubles Abroad Start Flight of Timid Capital Back to America. BY CHARLES F. SPEARE. Special Dispatch to The St NEW' YORK, June ~The per- sistent rise in common stocks, which has proceeded with brief interruptions since the end of March and has ap- proximated an average of 15 points, placing the general average at the highest in over & year and industrial | shares at the peak of a three-year | period, has several explanations. Those who believe we are steadily running into inflation will say it is | fear of monetary conditions depress- ing fixed interest securities that prompts investors and speculators alike to discount this era by increas- | ing their commitments in equities. | Undoubtedly, this reasoning is re- sponsible for & considerable portion | of the demand for stocks that origi- | nates in professional quarters. This | demand might be said to include | those who have the responsibility for guardianship of trustee funds. It has prevailed for months, subject to con- | stant ebb and flow of sentiment as | currency expansion has been empha- | sized or has been thwarted by the attitudes or acts of the administra- tion at Washington or by Congress. Outlet for Cheap Money. | The second explanation for the up- ward movement in equities is & more logical and traditional one. When money is cheap and superabundant, as it has been for nearly two years, it finds its outlet first in high-grade bonds, as Treasury obligations, those of States and municipalities and prime issues of corporations. This | has again, as it does invariably, lifted the prices of all such securities to a jevel where they become the sole, medium of investment for institutions | and seekers after the maximum of safety and tax-exempt privileges. | The next stage in this movement deals with bonds of & slightly lower rating than thosé” previously popular, | They, too, rise to unusual heights. Finally, they become “‘too rich™ fc" the average investor. So he seeks his | fortune in securities that have once |tion to be considered, but are ob- viously speculative &nd involve a risk | to the buyer both'as to principal and 'permlnency of income. This last stage includes the re- | The best of them- newal of interest in common stocks. long dividend record and are related , —those that have & | | weather the business storm—have been rising along with bonds. Others have had a long interval, since 1929 or 1930 and 1932, of lost prestige. | Capital of & certain type, however, ! does not forever remain static. It has the itch for action, for profitable employment. So every period of easy | money which begins with buoyant | bond markets finally ends with a booming market in speculative stocks. This is the phase now being wit- nessed. The floods of capital are be- ginning to break over the dikes, | . Foreign Buying Increases. | There is still another source of de- | mand for common stocks that must not be ignored. The currency crisis | in the gold countries has produced the | | same flight of capital that finally re- ! sulted in our abandonmgnt of goid. |1t is now recognized that the best | money in the world today is that of the United States. The dollar is the cheapest of the International cur- rencies and, whether a section of the American public believes it or not, it is nearest to the point of final stabili- zation, It is not surprising, therefore, that the foreigner, with capital hoarded or sterile, should have been enlarging his { investments in sound American equi- ties for safety's sake, and, quite prob- ably, because he believes a certain amount of appreciation in them will result from inflation. The particular group of common stocks in demand this week has been | the rails. Actually there is little im- provement in the railroad outlook. An exception to this statement might be made with respect to'the carriers in the Northwest. Their traffic pros- pects are brightened by the rains that have fallen in a portion of the coun- | | | | ‘What might be described as a senti- mental study of price statistics, or records, plays a larger part in develop- ing markets than one might suppose. Take, for fllustration, the railroad list. It has offered o little encouragement ntinued on Second Page.) ments of trafic fully. Obsolete rolling stock, idle for years, has been acrapped. bl Swift & Co. Branch Marks Its Golden Jubilee, Amazing Progress of Big Industry Recalled ‘mone of the live stock business, and hence nothing to lose, to haul them. , D. C, SUNDAY MORNING, JUNE 16, 1935. 5OMEHING T’ ME, (M NEVER GOV TO FORGET KM ‘r Classified Ads Pages Sto 13 W \ R Cop: York Tribune, Inc.) STATES IMPROVE HOME LOAN LAWS Approval of More Attract- ive, Understandable Plans Now Permitted. By the Associated Press. CHICAGO, Juné 15.—Legislatures this year are amending State building and loan codes by writing into them epitomize | to industries that have been able 10 | permissions for the use of more at- tractive and more understandable home owner borrowing plans, & sur- vey by the United States Building and Loan League showed today. States which have materially amend- ed their building and loan codes in | 1935, the league said, include New Jersey, New York, lowa, Missouri, Texas, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Min- nesota, Indiana and Nevada. nois and California substantial changes | are in process of enactment. Important alterations, the league said, include authorizations for the use of the so-called direct reduction loan, which retains the fundamental | building and loan practice of monthly repayments on the principal and pro- vides a definite time in which the loan will pay out. Provisions legalizing the use of new Federal agencies and insurance de- vices, such as the national housing act’s title I and II, plans for insured Joans and the Federal Savings & Loan Insurance Corp. plan for insuring share accounts, are also improvement developments in the list of 1935 legis- lation. Longer-term loans with smaller monthly payments have been pro- vided in some cases. Permission to obtain larger advances from the Fed- eral Home Loan Bank System is an- other type of amendment passed in some States. . Several have added to the old types of invest- ment offered by building and loan associations new kinds of shares, de- signed to attract a more varied class of investors and enable more money to flow into home financing through this channel. VALUE OF COTTON EXPORTS INCREASES 279,000 Bales Worth $18588,. 000, Against 285,000 at $17, 298,000 for May, 1934. The Commerce Department report- ed yesterday 279,000 bales of raw cotton exported from the United States in May was valued at $18,- 588,000, comphred with g $17,298,000 annujm;un-uu sales. | | By the Associated Press. NEW YORK. June 15 —<Corporate earn- ngs reported during the week, reduce o | & per ghare basis. included; | | | USED CAR STOCKS In Ii- | | Quarter Ended Mareh 31, | Internat’] Tele. & Tele. | Vulean Detinniag | Nat'l Power & Light ' i Six Months En | Mirestone Tire & Rubber. 1 rsheim Shoe e Year Ended April 3 Traux-Traer OCoal ........ 118 Year Ended May 31. Detroit Edison . 423 Year Ended March 31. Toéd Shipyards . 227 | *Ciass A. | e PLARE DEAER jlncrease Likely to Check New Auto Sales in Com- ing Months. BY JOHN A. CRONE. | Special Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, June 15.—Automobile production in the first five months of this year was 35 per cent over the | same period of 1934. Registration of new passenger cars in the first four 'HARVEST OUTLOOK cHEERS BUSINESS months were 60.8 per cent above the Latest Crop Reports Present [regicts a high rate of production Sharp Contrast to Grain | this month, considerably above the i i | seasonal amount. | Situation Year Ago. [ With most companies reporting rec- Special Dispatch to The Star. | ord-breaking retail sales in May and NEW YORK., June 15—The general | optimistic about June prospects. au- ¥ " tomobile manufacturers appear pretty Business opeook hes hegt it taried | well satisfied. But motor dealers in by the Government's June crop report, | moct sections of the country feel sccording to the Alexander Hamilton | somewhat differently about their | Institute. The Winter wheat crop is prmp:;vi. P;eced with inc‘ru:‘dhust]d | ear s s, the carrying of which al- placed at 441,000,000 bushels, &8 | .. "y speculgtive venture, dealers | against 405,000,000 last year. | are less inclined to emphasize profits | It is expected that the Spring wheat | derived from repair services and new crop will total 230,000,000 bushels, as | car sales. compared with 91,000,000 last year. A rising volume of used car stocks |~ The total wheat crop thus promises | slows new car sales because dealers be- | to amount to 671,000,000 bushels, as| come less generous with wrade-in al- | against 496.000.000 in 1934 and 529.- | lowances. New-car sales profits soon 000,000 in 1933. Although the crop | are tied up im second-hand machines. | will be smaller than the previous 10- | Then dealers try to delay payments to | year average, it will be more than banks and finance companies for cur- sufficient to meet domestic require- | | STORE SLES SO HGHEST N WEEKS AS HEAT ARRIES Many Wholesalers Inactive as Buyers Hold Back for Price Concessions. STRIKE THREAT SPURS BITUMINOUS OUTPUT Home Building Continues to Gain—Auto Plants Maintain Pace, but Steel Rate Lags. BY RADER WINGET. Associated Press Pinancial Writer. Blistering Summer sunshine over much of the country, after a cool, late Spring, sent the largest volume of | merchandise in weeks over retailers’ counters last week. Wholesale markets in many lines, however, remain at an impasse, as | buyers awaited possible price conces- | sions as result of the removal of the codes, while sellers held firmly to code | price schedules. | Automobile production held st re- cent high levels, but industrial ac- tivity generally continued to' follow the usual June trend toward lower levels. | . Further reports of expanding resi- | dential construction were notable. This long dormant major division of indns- { try, while still contributing but a frac- | tion of the business that it did in boom times, swelled to the highest vol- | ume in three and one-half years in May. Contracts let in 37 States ag- | gregated 81 per cent higher than for | May of last year. | Bituminous coal production spurted, |in the face of a threatened strike | tie-up starting tomorrow, but at the eleventh hour the administration in- tervened to win a two-weeks truce, in an effort to pass the Guffey coal | stabilization bill. Lumber Industry Hampered. The Jumber industry was still ham- pered by the continued strike in the Pacific Northwest, but orders, and in some sections production, mounted in reflection of the revival in residential building. Steel production continued its grad- ual seasonal subsidence, The American Iron & Steel Institute reported produc- tion for the week at 39 per cent of capacity, off !; of one percentage point from the previous week. Soften- ing of scrap prices was noted with some uneasiness, ‘but this interpreted as chiefly a reflection of the oncoming | Summer - 1yll, and reduced demand from abroad. Heavy or capital goods lines were mostly rather dull, but the gains in building activity were viewed hope- fully. The plan to use a larger portion of the $4,000,000,000 work relief funds on madework projects rather than pub- lic works requiring large material out- lays, was somewhat disappointing to steel and cement producers. | Consumers goods manufacturers widely complained of the continied impasse in wholesale markets, where orders expected for Autumn merchan- dise have been deferred pending clari- fication of the price structure. since the codes have been removed. Cotton mills were planning further curtail- ment. Prices Hold Firmly. The firmness with which prices were held, however, led to hopes of &n early end of the N. R. A. unset- tlement. The Department of Com- merce, in its weekly survey, said: “Buyers in many cases calléd for ad- ditional discounts and long credit | terms, such as existed in the . pre- |N. R. A. era. Guarantees of rebates against future price cuts also were being asked. Manufacturers and | wholesalers, however, were reported | as being loath to grant these conces- | sions.” | Crop conditions, said the Commerce | Department’s survey, were reported as | | generally favorable, although exces- sive rains and floods have exacted some toll. | Cram estimated automobile produc- | tion for the past week at 90,788 rent deliveries, with the result that | ;v ‘oo nate Pl Sne revised fig- Legislatures | ments, The oats crop was tentatively esti- | mated at 13200000000 bushels, as | compared with only 529,000,000 bushels | harvested last year. No estimate was given for the corn crop because of the earliness of the season. | The prospective production of an the elimination of the serious obstacle 1o economic recovery which the Na- tion was facing a year ago. FRUIT LOSS VIN EUROPE TO HELP U. S. EXPORTS Special Dispatch to The Star. WINCHESTER, Va. June 15.—Ap- ple exporters here continue to receive reports from European correspondents, telling as the season progresses of serious injury to many different vari- ties of fauits sustained as a result of abnormally low temperatures in the late Spring. There was no general killing of crops, but a material reduc- tion, and it was said there should be good outlets for apples, pears and other American fruits early in the season. One correspondent stated that temperatures in Czechoslovakia were the Jowest in 160 years during the cold wave that swept over the continent. ample food supply this year means | lenders tighten up, forcing dealers to | .o or 89855 for the previous week put _more time on efforts to sell old | ;ng 71203 for the like week of last cars than new cars. The tendency to cut trade-in allow- ances slows the dealer's sale of new cars. Perhaps his competitor, who is not overstocked with old machines, gets the new car order because of a more generous trade-in offer. In ter- ritories where competition is not keen, the public is deferring new-model pur- chases until better trade-in terms are offered. ‘When dealers are slow in their loan paymeuts to banks or finance com- | panies, the lenders cut or refuse new loan requests, with the result that new car deliveries in some cases are de- Iayed sufficiently to cause buyers to cancel orders. This is exactly what is happening today. (Oppyright. 1035.) —_— GRAY GOODS STILL LAG. NEW YORK, June 15 (#)—Staple gray goods continued slow yesterday but interest broadened in fancy DEMAND IS SEASONAL. NEW YORK, June 15 (#).—Recent demand in the wholesale furniture market here has been largely con- fined to seasonal merchandise. Weather Blamed for Decline In Credit Sales, Collections By the Associated Press. T. LOUIS, June 15--Unfavor- able conditions that prevailed over much of the United States during the month were blamed for a decline in retail collections and credit sales for May in an analysis by the Natjonal Retail Credit Association. Although 49 of the 60 cities’ re- comparative increases in credit sales, Kansas City, the association said, reported & 155 per cent decrease in' credit sales due to rainy weather. Collections there showed a slight in- crease. Rain for 25 consecutive days of the month slowed business activity in St. Louis but there was a nominal increase in collections. Rains were blamed for a 12 per cent credit sales loss in Casper, Wyo., and similar weather resulted in less Btrikes affected both collections and sales in Michigan and the New Eng- land States. Pittsburgh, however, showed & 7 per cent increase in credit y year. Electric power production, as re- ported for the first week of June, jumped 5.9 per cent over the preced- |ing holiday week, a substantially | larger than seasonal- gain, and was | 42 per cent over the like week of 11934, In some of the area around | the Great Lakes, however, power pro- duction was under 1934, evidently re- | flecting in part lower steel operating | rates. Freight Loadings Rise. The movement of freight for the | same week also showed a better than Isen.wml gein and topped 1934, re~ flecting partly the spurt in coal pro- duction in advance of the threatened strike. Reports from each of the 12 Federal Reserve areas follow: BOSTON—Uncertainties in the cot- | ton textile situation were miligated | as the North and South trade asso- ciations agreed upon an attempt to salvage the best features of the cot- ton code, and prices were more active, with some price recovery. NEW YORK—Retail trade quick- ened in response 0 warm weather. The Commerce Department estimated department store sales at 5 per cent over last year. Wholesale markets remained abnormally quiet, however, Buffalo steel production was esti- mated at 35 per cent of capacity, off 2 percentage points. | PHILADELPHIA—Commercial houses in the third Federal Reserve area reported moderate recessions for the early part of June. Department stores and specialty shops found sales . 5 per cent or more under 1934. Whole- | salers and manufacturers -also -neted some recession. Fair to.geots resiuts were reported for farm uimplempmuts, heavy chemicals; paper, pipés ltmber and furniture, bLOGAIGE CLEVELAND — Steel production dropped about 6 percedihge |puipts at Youngstown and 3 poinfwhis Oleve- land. General employmentavss siight- Iy down, but retail trade held up weil, Machine tool builders were busy. Richmond Reports Galfs, RICHMOND—Sales and 6ther busi< ness indices showed an upward tene dency in the fifth Reserve area the jmr Second Page.)