BUSINESS CONDITIONS

IN STONE & WEBSTER LOCALITIES

The managers of the companies operated by Stone & Webster write to the Management Division of Stone & Webster about the first of each month with reference to business conditions in their respective localities during the preceding month. A digest of these letters is published each month in the Stone & Webster Journal.

Baton Rouge, La., January 23rd:

Building permits for December, 1917, were valued at $35,874, against $23,400 in 1916.

Post office receipts for December, 1917, were $9,390, against $7,488 in 1916.

The average number of employees of the Standard Oil Company in December, 1917, was 2,114, against 1,971 in 1916.

General business conditions are very good. The farmers and planters are especially prosperous. Cotton has been selling at the highest prices ever known and the sugar industry has prospered in spite of a low yield of cane juice, due to the drought last summer and freezing weather at the cane cutting period in November and December.

The Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad has completed its cold storage and loading chute just north of the city and is rushing work on a machine shop and roundhouse at the same location. Some new construction work and remodelling of old buildings is being done in Baton Rouge, though curtailment of such work is noticeable as a result of the War.

The railway receipts, as well as the light and power and gas receipts of the Baton Rouge Electric Company for December, 1917, all show an increase over the same period for 1916. The gas department has recently made several new records in the amount of gas sent out both daily and monthly. The prospects are for good business during the next few months.

Beaumont, Texas, January 15th:

Bank clearings for December, 1917, were $5,072,416, against $4,313,704 in 1916.

During December, 1917, 52 building permits were issued, valued at $60, 602, against 67 in 1916, valued at $156,378.

Post office receipts for December, 1917, were $15,975, against $11,094 in 1916.

Despite war conditions, general business in this vicinity has never been in more prosperous condition. Merchants report that their Christmas sales of this year have exceeded those of any previous year. A larger proportion than usual was spent for electrical devices.

Let up in commercial and industrial activity is not looked for. Money and work are plentiful but supplies and equipment are slow in arriving and are often hard to obtain.

On January 1st, the Beaumont Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company instituted twenty hour work day to hasten the completion of the eight

vessels they are building. Work is proceeding at a rapid rate at all the local shipyards with occasional delays on account of non-arrival of material and shortage of labor.

The winter season so far has been unusually severe with more protracted cold weather than customary. The farm lands in this vicinity are recovering from a long drought and are returning to their former fertility.

Brockton, Mass., January 14th:

Bank clearings for December, 1917, were $14,147,161, against $14.584,250 in 1916.

Savings bank deposits for December, 1917, were $14,480,752, against $14,200,370 in 1916.

During December, 1917, 12 building permits were issued, valued at $10,042, against 36 in 1916, valued at $59,220.

Post office receipts for December, 1917, were $32,758, against $30,639 in 1916.

The Sterling Motor Company, manufacturers of munitions, are building an addition to their plant which will cost approximately $7,000.

Another local shoe company has started manufacturing a high-grade line of women's shoes.

During the month of December, the Plymouth County Trust Company disbursed $540,000 to its 21,000 members of the Christmas Savings Club. The release of this large amount of money stimulated business among the merchants and very good trade was reported during the holiday period.

It is stated that the local manufacturers of army shoes are making shipments far ahead of schedule.

The Sewerage commissions of the city of Brockton have awarded contracts for replacing the old steam plants at the pumping station with electric equipment, the power to be furnished by the Edison Electric Illuminating Company of Brockton.

Business for this company has been very good during the past month.

Dallas City, Ill., January 14th:

Bank clearings for December, 1917, were $442,654, against $365,026 in 1916.

Post office receipts for the last quarter of 1917 were $1,489, against $1,139 for the corresponding period in 1916.

General business conditions are likely to continue about as at present. It is stated that the Burg Carriage Company will operate at full force during the months of February and March.

The receipts of our company for December, 1917, showed increase of nearly 8 per cent over November, 1917, and an increase of 10 per cent over December, 1916.

El Paso, Texas, January 16th:

Bank clearings for December, 1917, were $15,598,767, against $16,955,843 in 1916.

During December, 1917, 78 building permits were issued, valued at $58,770, against 130 last year, valued at $262,505.

Post office receipts for December, 1917, were $43,165, against $49,306 in 1916.

The exports and imports are gradually mounting up again. The usual large imports of ore have been practically discontinued on account of unsettled conditions and the difficulties of railroad traffic.

Everett, Wash., January 12th:

During December, 1917, 10 building permits were issued, valued at $3,980, against 29 in 1916, valued at $6,475.

Post office receipts for December, 1917, were $10,007, against $8,458 in 1916.

The situation in lumber and shingle industries has been further complicated by the flood conditions which have prevailed here for almost a month. Most of the logging camps were forced to close and this has resulted in a serious shortage of logs. Lumber in the local mill yards is much below the usual quantities. Prices of lumber are higher than they have been for a great many years and one of the strange features of the situation is, according to one of the local mills, that the retail price for lumber delivered in town is in a great many instances lower than wholesale prices f. o. b. at Everett. While the flood condition prevailed there were, of course, no cars delivered to the mills by the steam railroads and now that the flood has abated, the indications are that the supply of cars will be even less adequate than it was before the flood. The inquiries for lumber are plentiful, a fact that exhausts the capacity of the mills to cut at this time, to say nothing of the capacity of cars available for shipment.

Fall River, Mass., February 5th:

Bank clearings for January, 1918, were $8,493,719, against $8,729,356 last year.

During January, 1918, six building permits were issued, against thirtysix in 1917. Building permits for the year 1917 were valued at $1,132,778, against $2,284,742 in 1916.

Post office receipts for January, 1918, were $19,369, against $15,110 in 1917.

The outlook continues good for the cotton mills, except, of course, as the Fuel Committee's rulings may interfere with their operations. With no opportunity to run all day Monday or overtime nights or Saturday afternoons, the output of the mills as a whole has been considerably curtailed. Moreover the fuel situation in some of the mills has already decreased the output quite a little because of stoppage through lack of coal, and the prospect is that this loss will be increased in the near future. Retail business is none too good, owing to the uncertainty regarding the operation of the mills, which makes the working people careful about spending their money.

The severe cold weather of the past two months, as well as the shortage of coal, appears to have substantially increased the output of the Fall River Gas Works Company.

Bank clearings for December, 1917, were $12,377,396, against $7,183,

095 in 1916.

1916.

For the year 1917, they were $108,679,766, against $84,956,305 in

During December, 1917, 8 building permits were issued, against 21 in 1916. For the year 1917, 441 were issued, against 584 in 1916.

Post office receipts for December, 1917, were $27,127, against $19,983 in 1916. For the year 1917, they were $190,299, against $176,945 in 1916. This is the quiet time of year in the cotton cloth business, consequently sales the past week or two have not been particularly large. Prices have been maintained and the outlook still is for a profitable business in the future.

The severe weather of the past week very greatly increased the output of the Fall River Gas Works Company. The week, in fact, was the greatest in the company's history by more than 1,000,000 cubic feet.

Fort Madison, Iowa, January 12th:

Bank clearings for December, 1917, were $1,558,355, against $1,696779 for 1916.

Post office receipts for December, 1917, were $4,160, against $3,018 in 1916.

General business conditions continue very good during December and local retailers reported excellent holiday trade. During the year 1917, all records of civic growth were broken and prosperous conditions prevailed during every month of the year. It is estimated by many that the population in Fort Madison increased 3,000 and possibly 4,000.

A number of houses are now under construction and from all indications it appears that building will be active during the coming year.

The Industrial Securities Company have completed their first unit of 10 residences in the Factoria addition and some of these have already been connected to our lines. The second unit of 11 houses is now under construction. The Industrial Securities Company is interested in the Keramoid Manufacturing Company which it is bringing to this city and which shall be located in the Factoria addition. The Keramoid Company will manufacture semi-porcelain fibre ware products such as milk bottles, fruit jars, etc. The Industrial Securities Company has also announced that a handle factory and pump mill will be erected in the Factoria addition within a short time.

The second unit of the Perfection Tire & Rubber Company is nearing completion. The company is moving its general offices to Fort Madison from Chicago.

The receipts of the Fort Madison Electric Company for December, 1917, show an increase of 15 per cent over 1916. The general outlook for the coming months is believed to be extremely good.

Fort Worth, Texas, January 2nd:

Bank clearings for December, 1917, were $75,141,172, against $51,851,876 in 1916. For the year 1917, they were $669,097,513, against $487,328,982 in 1916.

During December, 1917, 26 building permits were issued, valued at $136,345, against 25 in 1916, valued at $218,695. During the year 1917,

539 building permits were issued, valued at $1,795,612, against 955 in 1916, valued at $2,127,129.

Post office receipts for December, 1917, were $82,924, against $46,639 last year. For the year 1917, they were $582,199, against $471,406 in 1916. The Stockyard Reports for December, 1917, showed receipts of 116,981 cattle, against 82,866 in 1916; hogs 70,677, against 87,530; sheep 10,821, against 35,709; calves 20,459, against 17,575, and horses and mules 8,822, against 7,242. For the year 1917, the cattle receipts were 1,646,130, against 905,302 in 1916; hogs 1,062,019, against 967,994; sheep 405,810, against 430,882; calves 313,427, against 175,194, and horses and mules 115,203, against 79,181.

Business conditions have been unusually active the past year. The quarantine was lifted on the National Guard Army Camp December 18th, which, together with the Christmas holidays, made business during the month particularly heavy.

Railway receipts of the Northern Texas Traction Company for December, 1917, showed a gain of 47 per cent over the same period of 1916. The Fort Worth city lines showed an increase of 62 per cent and the interurban line an increase of 98 per cent.

Business conditions in and about Cleburne for the past year have been quite satisfactory owing to the high prices of cotton, peanuts and other crops grown in that vicinity.

Railway receipts of the Tarrant County Traction Company for December, 1917, showed an increase of 53 per cent over the corresponding period of 1916.

Galveston, Texas, January 5th:

Bank clearings for December, 1917, were $30,036,750, against $28,924,063 in 1916.

The volume of business for December, 1917, was $119,895,000, against $124,023,000 in 1916.

During December, 1917, 171 building permits were issued, valued at $1,714, against 102 in 1916, valued at $24,425.

Although there has been no important change in the general business situation during the month with the exception of the Federal assumption of control over railroad operation, local opinion seems to be that increased business is coming to Galveston. It is believed that Federal operation of the railroads will result in the diversion of tonnage to the various Gulf ports.

Until recently, Great Britain has permitted only 6 per cent of her vessels' carrying capacity to be used for cotton and as a result the English mills, as well as those of France, Italy and other countries, are behind on their cotton requirements. This deficit must sooner or later be made up and the recent ruling that 40 per cent of cargo capacity is to be held for cotton on many steamers for Europe may mean that the staple will resume its natural flow to the continental countries. If this should turn out to be the case it would mean renewed activity in the shipping industry on which Galveston is so largely dependent.

Exports of wheat have decreased during the last fifteen months, but flour exports are mounting rapidly.

The value of imports in 1917 increased five and one-half million dollars