The Morning News from Wilmington, Delaware • Page 9

WILMINGTON MORNING NEWS, WILMINGTON, DELAWARE. MONDAY. JULY 4. 1927 NINE REVIEW OF COUNTRY'S BUSINESS AND INDUSTRIAL CONDITIONS ASK STABILIZED FRAME HOUSES PRICES IN OIL STEEL PRICES SAG BIZ BUT INQUIRY IMPROVES Freight Loadings Fall Off; Baldwin Locomotive Reduces Operations Seminole Oil Checked Up to New High Record; Textile Trade Shows Gain ISMOKED HAMS PRICES 10 PER CENT OFF IN YEAR CHICAGO, July 3. A review of the livestock and meat situation issued i today by the Institue of American i Meat Packers states in part: i "Smoked regular hams are now wholesaling at levels that are 10 to i 12 cents per pound less than those which prevailed a year ago; bacon 2 to -) cents; picnics 7 to 8 cents, and boiled hams 15 to 17 cents below thej quotations of a year ago.

Expressed in terms of smoked regular and skinned hams NEW YORK, July 3. (By the As- point they have been gaining frac- sociated Press' Tne seasonal reces- tionally. sion hi general business contimi With the beginning of the new gradually last week, with no symn- month, in which more than half a toms of a marked slump. Conipan- biMion dollars in dividends and in-son with the same period of last year terest is due for disbursement, there was not especially al-j is 4 feeling that a marked reduction though the high records of 1927 were of tiie oversupplv of new material not being equaled. Sound, conserva-, may espected- in reason.

Many tive progress was apparent in most men hottever, are not san. branches of trade, and business men. lne over the prospects for an elim. as a group, still possessed the sense of ination of the surplus, me of optimism which has characterized! tn remain umi, them throughout the first hall of the tovd the end ot the year Je' i This belief is borne out in a mea- ine sieei inausny auruig uie iasi week of June, enjoyed the best business of the month. writh some un-provement in the inquiry.

Prices sag- but on the whole held fairly Operations were estimated at around 60 to 65 per cent of capacity, a level from which further recessions may reasonably be expected duruig the summer months. Freight loadings contmued to fall! oft, although still in excess of 1.000.- (Kin rar The decrease from vear figures is laTgelv accounted for the drop in coal shipments, due to the piling up of large reserves in an ticir.ation of the bituminous mine strike in the earlv spring. A reduction of" orders bv carrier systems resulted in a considerable contraction in some branches of the railway equipment trade. Baldwin Locomotive Works an- nounced a lowering of operations from twen.y to ten per cent, begin- ning Julv 1, and one or two other displayed signs of slackening. Demand for automobiles was slow- in of last vear.

Some companies, however, were maintaining a high rate of production, while- others were working on a greatly reduced scale Rumors of i impending mergers and new models i were among the complications af- feeling the motor trade duruig tlx week. Hope for any sharp curtailment of crude oil production was given other blow when Seminole Hell chalked up once more a new ni-t i record. Important comoanies which agreed to limit activities have nUd the output in Seminole proper fair- ly ready, but opening of new fie.tis the last two or three weeks ha added steadily to the surplus. In- crease in the demand for gasolmr. however, has resulted in a sligh.

reduction cf the stocks on hand. Highway construction was stning momentum in many ates and building operations moved tomewhat more swiftly than had been ex pected. New contracts awarded in the week exceeded those of both the preceding week and coiTesponm period of 192G. The textile trade reported im- not only in orders for fall shipment, but in current sales. Cotton mills in some mlanrj nrf I i CONIIilEIN LEAD Brick Gains Considerably of Late and Cost Only Little More "Buy Home First" Slogan Heard in Race Between Cars and Dwellings CLEVELAND.

July 3 Habit plays a tremendous nart. in thp mn. struction of the homes of America. or unquestionably people acquire a habit in homes Just as they do in omer respects. America acquired the frame house habit in the period of her most rapid developmen t.

Then lumber was plentiful and cheap. Naturally more people lived in frame homes than in any other kind and became accustomed to them, got fhe habit sc-io-speak. So today more people still build frame homes than any other kind. 83 Per Cent Frame Buildings The Division of Building and Housing of the V. S.

Department of Commerce reports that of 20.697.204 houses in 1925, some 83.34 per cent, or 17 247.670 were of frame construction. And in 1919. according to the United States Geological Survev. three-fourths of the homes were built of frame, only 24 per cent were of brick or hollow tiie; 3 per cent of stone, and 2 per cent of concrete. In more recent years more brick homes are being built particularly of common brick, the cost of which is but a trifle more than frame, while the greater fire resistance, their permanent beauty and reduced cost of upkeep are proving influential arguments in behalf of more permanent; construction.

Build a Home First" is a slogan much featured of late. It is an expedient intended to head off if possible the automobile which is outdistancing its old rival in the race for public favor. Yet buying a house and buying an automobile are in one respect very much alike. In neither case is it so much the article itself as what It brings that is desired. Ranging Price Great Homes have as great a range la price and quality as have automo- biles.

And auto sense today, in ths same relation as the horse sense cf a quarter century ago. says a business writer, should dictate the purchase of homes honestly built permanent construction, insuring durability and high resale values. There are good, safe, sound homes of the Ford clase just as there are of the Packard class The early model Lincoln home a built of logs: the present day Lincoln type more often is of common brick. Beckley. West recently demonstrated by the use of common "brick in its new Woodrow Wilson Junior-Senior High School that there are even yet possibilities of econon; with the assurance of good construe ion.

This school building cost onlv $310 per pupil, yet is high grade in every feature, having been designed by William B. Ittner of St- Louis, one of the leading school architects of the country and built under his suoeryi-sion. MAKE PENS CAPABLE OF ROUGH TREATMENT "WASHINGTON. D. C.

July 3 The beauty of colors and the romance of chemistry nestles in the vest pocket that carries the fountain pen. The United States Census of Manufactures show that S48.731.957 worth of Pyroxylin solutions and plastics was produced in the United States last A -ices from industrial sources indicate Xat about three-fourths of a million pounds of pyroxylin plastics are used annually in the manufacturing of fountain pens and that 90 per cent of all the manufacturers are using this chemical product in preference to the older types of fabricating material. The new chemical products in fountain pens have the ability to withstand rough usage. In one instance a fountain pen was dropped 3000 feet from an aeroplane and remained intact. In another case a manufacturer ran a heavy fire truck over the barrel and cap of a pen made of this material without cracking it.

Improvement in Austria WASHINGTON. July 3. The steady improvement in Austrian business conditions continued throughout June, with prospects for the entire summer most favorable as a whole. Further progress was noted during the month in the metallurgical, electro-technical, building, shoe, clothing, lumber, and practically all specialty industries. On the other hand, there was a slight slackness in flour mills and In coal mines.

June Construction Leads Over May WASHINGTON, July 3. The greatest volume of construction ever undertaken during the first fix months of any year on record has been registered since the opening days of 1927, according to statistics compiled by the Associated General Contractors of America. The June volume shows an 8 per cent increase over operations carried on during Mar. Inevstment Securities Henry Nowland Incorporated duPont Buildint Wilmington, Delaware WEATHER SEEN Trade Off in Steel and Man ufacturing, Says Report to N. Y.

City Bank Gain in Textiles Partly Offset Decline in Other Business NEW YORK. July to report on general conditions to the National City Bank of New York the business of the country at the turn of the half year is moving in good volume, though with indications of unevenness here and there which reflect the presence of some retarding influence. While figures on electric power consumption and bank clearing indicate production and trade to be still running at record-breaking levels, the recent decline in steel activity to levels somewhat less than those of a year ago and a moderate falling oft in railway shipments of merchandise i and less-than-car-lot freight give evidence of recessions in some quar- ters which are not altogether sea- i sonal. On the other hand, account must be taken of the fact that business has a great deal to contend with in the 1 form of floods and unseasonable weather for trade, while unemploy- ment resulting from the coal strike and the reduction of activity in the automobile industry has doubtless been a handicap in the regions affect ed. These conditions, however, are not in themselves important enough i to interfere with the usual expansion of trade in the Fall months! which we i look lorward to with confidence.

i 4 Flood Past Crisis The Mississippi flood is now past its crisis, and Secretary Hoover's quoted as placing the economic loss at be- 'ween J200.000.000 and $400.000.000. with 6000 persons driven from their homes and made dependent upon re- i lief. Measured against the total re- sources of the country, however, the damage assumes a much less for- midab'e aspect. Considerable alarm was felt a year ao over the possible consequences i of the fall in the price of cotton, i which it was calculated would inflict still rarger losses upon the South than Those now named in connection with the flood, but no such ill effects as were feared have taken place. Ac- cording to an eUima'e by the South- east Shippers' Advisory Committee to the railroads, business in the Atlantic States during the third ouarter will run 10 ner cent ahead of that' of the corresponding quarter of last year.

In the steel industry the summer recession has carried operations down to 70 per cent of capacity, and buy- ers have become even more cautious If possible than in the joast. Automobile is hav- i ing more than a seasonal decline, the production in Msy being smafer than in May of either 1926 or 1925. Probably the greatest handicap i that business has had to face has been the weather. Excessive rains and unseasonable temperatures have nurt retail trade and resulted in a backward season in agriculture. The Trend of Prices Reflecting the prospects for small- I er cropv agricultural prices have shown important advances, thus nar- rowmg the unfavorable spread which i has existed between agricuUural and 1 non-agricultural commotia Largely because of the rise in farm products, which has offset declines in other commodities, the price in- dexe- give evidence of a stability tnat is somewhat misleading.

Whether or not the coal strike will eventually become a factor in prices raatains to be seea. but the first. three months of live lay -off have caused no disturbance in the trade. Government Finance oovernment figure of revenue re- ceived during the current fiscal year continue to provide tangible evid-; once of the prosperity which the country has been enjoying. Accord- lng to the latest available figures the Treasury will close tne fiscal year with a Furplus in excess of 000,000.

whicu would be the largest for any year since the war, the previous top figure being I 996 in The existence of so large a surplus this year naturally focusses atteu- t.idn on the possibilities for tax re- duction during tiie coming year. The Situation in Cotton Goods The cotton goods industry continues Its demonstration of a remarkable coinebac A year ago tins industry was in the depths of discourage- ment. with several yeais of poor busi- r.ess berund. and apparently little to look forward to in the imuteUiatE i future. Trt'ii came the drp at taw cotton which ptoved lo fee spark that has given it renewed lite-, i With ra.v cotton down to 12 cents a pound, compared with 20 to 23 cents befoie last year's big crop, merchants everywhere began to re- gain confidence botf.i in the raw i material ana in cotton goods.

iid to rev stocks wJv.il had allowed to run down tc the minin.un As cotton bus crept upward in price I this Spn.r. conriJciV his gron. i ing of ton goads has iven ay in many i instances- forward and many nulls at? r.ow sold sned for the first iu Sees Shingle Roof Doomed NEW YORK. July "Cudcr the; force of public opinionfl aroused by a I full appreciation of its fire danger, the wood shingle roof is rapidly pass-; lng out of the construction picture in car most progressive centers." writes a building expert. retardant or fireproof roofs are taking its place today in some 120 cities which abso-! lately prohibit the use of wood shingles upon any new construction, And the opposition is growing 1 BIG HANDICAP! PREDICTS BALL GAMES AT NIGHT INFIVE YEARS SCHENECTADY.

N. July 3. Within tiv: years the big leagues will be playing regularly scheduled basebail games at night under artificial light. Claude B. Davidson, president of the New England League, so declared alter witnessing the first game between league teams the other night on the G.

E. baseball park at Lynn which had been illuminated brighter than 500 full moons by engineers of the General Electric Company. -And I might add that within less time than five years the New England League will be playing its regulation games by electric light." Mr. Dav.Cuon continued. CHARTERS FILEO AT STATE HOUSE Ten Companies Granted Articles of Incorporation; Three Increase Capital DOVER.

July 3 Delaware charters filed yesterday: Elijay Shirt Inc. Deal in men's boy's shirts and pajamas of all kinds. $22,500. 300 shares no par value. J.

Vernon Pimm. E. M. Mac-Farland. Philadelphia; R.

L. Spur-geon. Wftmington. Del. Corporation Guarantee and Trust Congress Petroleum Corporation.

Deal in oils, greases, etc. 6666 shares no par value. Luis C. Munis. New York city: Anthony L.

Nugey, Robert R. Stephen. Rah way. N. J.

'Corporation Trust Co. of America'. Power. Gas and Water Service Corporation. Stocks, bonds, securities.

100.000 shares no par value. George V. Reilly. Samuel B. Howard.

Raymond J. Gorman. New York city. United States Corporation Co.t Service Drug Stores. Inc.

Deal in drugs, chemicals. $250 000. J. R. Davis.

B. T. Biggs. M. J.Joyce Wilmington.

Del. (Lawyers Corporation Co. I The Apache Chief Copper Company. Deal in gold, silver, copper, etc. 1000 shares no par value.

Clarence D. Maddy. Thomas S. Kemp. Mauom F.

Ferguson, New York. (Prentice-Hall. Inc.) Strand Feature Company. Deal ir in mechanical contrivances of financial, commercial and industrial accounting of all kinds. 1000 shares of no par value.

Eliot C. Lovett Elisha Hanson George D. Brabion. Washington, D. C.

'Wilbur D. Burton. Dover. Del. Blenheim.

Inc. Real estate. 100? shares, no par value. J. Vernon Pimm.

E. M. MacFarland. Philadelphia; R. L.

Spurgeon. Wilmington. Del. 'Corporation Guarantee and Trust Co. Strand Feature Company.

eDal in moving picture films. 250 shares. of no par value. J. Vernon Pimm.

E. M. MacFarland. Philadelphia; L. Spurgeon.

Wilmington. Del. (Corporation Guarantee and Trust Co. i Baumstown. Realty Co.

Real and personal property. 300 shares, no par value. Frank A. Cabeen. Haverford.

Henry P. Benson. Ardmore. I. Raisch.

P'niiadel-pltia. (United States Corporation Co. Webner and Company. Deal in all kinds of office machinery and equipment. 100 shares, no par value.

Eliot C. Lovelt. Elislia Hanson. George D. Brabson, Washington.

D. C. tW. D. Burton.

Dover. Delj Increases in Capital Kay Copper Corporation. to $10,000,000. New York. 'Corporation Trust of America.

Illinois Anthracite Corporation. 1000 to 1500 shares, no par value. (United States Corporation Co.) William M. Lippincott and Co. $25,000 to $100,000.

Philadelphia. (Corporation Guarantee and Trust Co i TO Architects anrj Builders Anxious to Produce Something Entirely Different Think That Present Structures Are Much Too Drab in Style Buildings of the future will be different in appearance from any existing today. This will be true of their color, or at least, if representative architects, artists, builders and nia-terial men are correct in their opinions. Old fashioned, conventional shades, with their more or less drsb monotony, will be outnumbered by varied and brilliant hues in terra eotti and similar materials In the daytime, clear and beautiful, and at night sparkling like jewels in the flow of mvriad lights. Such Is the scene suggested by paintings exhibited at recent Architectural Allied Arts Exposition.

Architects who foresee the use of co'or in building, to greater or less degree, include Ely Jacques Kahn, Frederick C. Hirons. John Sloan. Joveph Urban, designer of the new Z'egfeld Theatre, and now engaged as one of the architects for the new Metropolitan Opera House, and Raymond Hood, designer of the American Radiator Building, and the Chicago Tribui Tower. Wv'i a large group of authorities agreeing the buildings of the future will be of the colored type, the first pure example has still to be erected.

In modified forms, it is true, there are a number of illustrations todav. The American Radiator Building is black, with a golden top. CHANGE COLOR OF NEW BUILDINGS iER ON PAST REPORTS Market for Spring Dull; Rye Crop Outlook Bright; Oats Drop Corn Prices Higher; Hay Demand Slack; Alfalfa Quiet WASHINGTON, July 3, Trade reports of rust development in the spring wheat states, particularly South Dakota, together with an active demand for the moderate ofier-lngs of new winter wheat, held the wheat market firm during the week ending July 2. according to the Weekly Grain Markt Report of the United States Department of Agriculture. Lighter receipts of com, together with the general lateness of the new crop which making only moderate progress, advanced corn prices.

The markets for oats, rye and barley were slightly weaker. Private trade estimates, as of July 1 placed the winter wheat crop from 5,000.000 to 35,000.000 bushels higher than the official estimate of June 1. Unofficial estimates of the spring crop were also increased over thir June 1 figures and forecast of crop 50,000,000 to 75,000.000 bushels larger than was harvested last year. Foreign markets also held firm, reflecting the small supplies in Europe and the rather unsatisfactory seeding conditions in the Southern Hemisphere. I-argrst Receipts On Record Pceipts of new wheat at Fort Worth totaled 1396 cars, the larger, on record and were practically all new crop grain of er-nnt ouality and high protein content.

Receipt-new wheat in o.uer "utralwestern markets, however, were not large and were readily taken. Hedging of the new grain was of only moderate volume and was not a depressing factor in the market. The market for spring wheat was dull. Mill demand was limited and offerings of new wheat were competing with the spring wheat, particularly the medium and low protein lots. While premiums were quoted unchanged, more cars were selling at tiie lower ranges.

Twelve per cent protein No. 1 dark northern was quoted at the close of the week at Minneapolis at 12-13c compared with the July price, which closed July 1 at S1.43 3-8. 13 per cent protein was quoted at 8-16c over the July. The Canadian markets for cash wheat were also somewhateasier. No.

1 Canadian northern biing quoted at Win-nineg at $1.60 1-2. The threshing of new wheat was getting well under way in California. Good milling wheat was quoted at Los AlVeles at per 100 pounds and No. 1 hard white was selling at San Francisco at $2.30 per 100 pounds. Offerings of wheat were quite large at the latter market, and with a large crop in prospect this year the tone of tiie market was becoming weaker.

Receipts at San Francisco totaled 855 tons. The excellent prospects for the new rye crop which according to private trade estimates indicate a crop of about 50.000.000 bushels weakened the market and prices declined about 3c per bushel. Corn Prices Advance The com market advanced 3-4c per bushel with smaller receipts and prospects of some reduction in the commercial stocks. The prospects for a larger oats crop this yer. together with a limited demand w-eakened th oats market and prices declined about a cent a bushel.

Receipts were being readily taken and stocks have been considerably, reduced during the past few weeks and are now less than half ar as at the corresponding time last year. The downward trend which had prevailed in the barley market during the past two weeks was checked by lighter offerings. Hay markets continued dull with receipts generally light and demand slack during the week ending July 2. states the Weekly Hay Market Review of the United States Department cf Agriculture. The crop outlook for the current season continues good.

Meadows and pastures east of the Rocky Mountains are good to excellent with considerable improvement in the south areas as a result of recent rains. Alfalfa markets were about steady although rather quiet. Middlewestern alfalfa markets were dull and receipts were light. Brick Condition's Healthv CTJiVELAND. July 3.

Tabulated reports indicate a healthy seasonal increase, especially in the amount of brick moved from yards during the past month. Such a total increase in the month's deliveries tends to substantiate the results of construction surveys made by the architectural and trade journals, which latter evidenced a very healthy volume of construtcion for the present year. Total construction volume seems to be about equal to the similar 1. five-months period of 1926, whereas a (material reduction had been predicted. A backward season in large sections of the country evidently held up deliveries which were accelerated during May.

A favorable condition, which may also be noted from the data, is the relatively large amounts in "orders on books" and the small number of plants shut down. A. Nation Wholesale Prices Down WASHINGTON, July 3. Wholesale prices have declined by 4 1-2 ner cent since May in Italy, and their levels on June 18 represent a reduction of 26 per cent from those of August, 1928. Currency contraction continues, and on May 31 the outstanding paper circulation, including that of the state bank amounted to life, which represents a reduction of 2.979.000.000 life from the maximum obtained in December, 1920.

WHEAT STRONG I I I I i i i I I i 1 are wholesaling about 30 to 35 per cent lower than a year ago; bacon about 25 per cent lower; picnics about 35 per cent lower, and boiled more than 30 per cent lower. "The fresh pork trade in the do-; mestic field, owing to the increased supply of hogs, was of fairly large volume, but prices fluctuated con-! siderablv." FRUIT; VEGETABLES USEDJOUBLING Shipments 1917 to 1919 478,540 Carloads. While They Now Are 848,099 Population of County Gains Only 14 Per Cent, Showing Better Food Consumed NEW YORK. July 3. The American public is consuming nearly twice as many vegetables and fruit as i did ten years ago states "Barron's.

The National Financial Weekly." An editorial in the July 4 issue of from 1917 to 1919. inclusive, the Barron's reads: "Taking the years average rail shipments of the sixteen most important fruits and vegetables worked out at 478,540 carloads. For the years 1924 to 1928, inclusive, the railroads hauled an annual average of 848.099 carloads, which was an increase of 7 per cent If we add to this increase in consumption facilitated by the motor truck, a short haul of which the actual figures are not available, the double consumption seems demon-stratable. "This is something whicij affect; the whole country continues Barron's, "for the city of Chicago in 1925 consumed white potatoes from co less than thirty-seven states. Probably that would not be true New York, which occupies no such central position.

It is historically asserted that the tomato turned red because it saw the salad dressing, but its nearest friend, the lettuce, has no cause to blush. In, the ten years under discussion its consumption, measured by the freight the railroads handled, increased 44 per cent. Grapefruit came into popular, consumption, and the increas there was 202 per cent. White and sweet potatoes, apples, lemons, and to some extent oranges are not regarded as 'perishables. in railroad usage, to the same extent as strawberries or grapes, and the increase in the latter were less.

"Remember that with this startlin. change of diet the population of the United States increased only 14 per cent. The inference is that, our people are not only better fed than their fathers were but more wholesomely fed. There are one or two interesting corollaries. One is that we are not such slaves to the canned article as our critics asset.

Another is that the railroad rates were- reasonable, and even encouraging, or there would have been no such It would even be hard for that perennial martyr, the farmer, to find anything to grumble at in these figures." French Home Trade Calm trade in France continues calm, and the outlook for the immediate future I is not bright. Unemployment is small and tends to decline. Exchange pur- chases of the Bank of France remain high, and money is still abundant. PREVAILING PRICES IN PHILA. MARKETS; PHILADELPHIA, July 3.

-FLOUR Hifd whiter straight 7.50'7.80; short patent, i 1 80fc 2s; spring first clear. 7.0sr7.30: patent 7.5028.00; short patent, S.06'9 8.9ti: 1 tamily brands. 8. 6083. 25.

RYE PLOUB OATS No. a white. j. LIVE POULTRY ICarls. fancy Prrir.ouUl Rocks.

27 -a 23; small and medium-sued preferred, mixed colors not leghorns. 2s'26: leghorns lancy. 215 22; average 19 9 broilers. Plymouth Rocks weighing, 2 1-2 pounds or over. 3840; 2 pounds.

34tt36; I smaller sizes. 30432; Rhode Island Reds. and mixed colors of broilers, targe size. 33 6 35: small sizes, 30332: bareback and un- sizes. lower; leghorn broilers.

7 pounds or orer 2'2S: 1 1-21 3-4 pounds I 25 27; smaller sizes. 22-S24; old roosters, 153 17; duclrs. white Peking, young. old ducks. 15 116.

DRESSED POULTRY Fowls fresh kilted in boxes, weighing 4S3 pounds or over, 26'ft I 27: 363 1-2 poundsi 24a25: under 3 pounds 21t in barrels 4'ei pounds or over, 24 25: 23 1-2 pounds 22S23; under 3 pounds; 19tfJi; broiien. western boxes, in barrels; 34 a 36: old roosters, dry picked western weighing 5 pounds or over. I7i 18; weighing under 5 pounds 14S18; ducklings 24. BUTTER Solid packed higher scoring i than extras extra 92 score 43'-: 1 score 42; 90 score 40: 89 score 38; 88 score 37: 87 ncore 36': 86 score 38, EGGS Fresh extra firsts 27; fresh firsts! iu new cases. 25; freh firsts in second hand cases 24; seconds, 21-22W: care-! fully selected candled fresh eggs In cases, 29931: very fancy eggs la cartons CHEE3E New York, whole milk kmghonis i round lots.

24: small Jobbing lots, 295 27: single daisies, fresh 24. New York Eggs and Poultry NEW YORK. July 2 i API BGG8 Firm: Receipts 13.655. Fresh gathered extra firsts 2: gathered firsts 2425. LIVE poultry irregular; roosters by freight 14.

DRESSED POULTRY Quiet. Boston Transcript Points to I Low Costs of Gasoline As Unjust Other Commodities on Higher Level; Rates Compared by Experts BOSTON, July 3 With the petro-i leum industry in the midst of a heavy over-produc ion, says the Boston Transcript, and the government, whether or not through deference to the anti-trust laws, declining to sug-! eest or participate any plan to curtaJ and thereby stabil-: ize prices, attention is again directed to the grave results which might follow a dislocation of this stupendous industry. Americans perhaps have not realized what an enormous i business tliey are carrying on in oil, and, in fact, the comparative figures liave not been available until now. when we are indebted for them to I Judscn C. Welliver.

director of put-: lie relations of the American Petro- leum Institute, who has gone only to i governmen: sources for his informa-: lion. From these it appears that with the single exception of, agriculture. petroleum, with its investment it 1 1.000.000 000. isythe largest industry in the country. Petroleum inanu-' factures lead all o.hers in the ex-; port field and gasoline is cheaper in America than in any oilier country in the world.

Foreign Oaso ine Prices Foreign retail prices for gasoline i 'all figures here quoted are as of I February 28, 1927 run from 54. 52 1 and 50 cents a gallon, paid respec-; lively in Caie Town, Rome and Rio de Janeiro, to a low of 28 cents paid by London 28 by Berlin and Toronto and 29 cents by Vienna and Dublin. An excep.ion is Bucharest, 22 cents, icr Koumania is rich oil and poor au.omobiles; but in Mexico City, not a Jar reach lrom one of the greatest oil-producing oil fields in the world, ihe price was 38 cents. In all o.her cities figuring in a cited list of 20. representatives of 70 cities of the wor.d.

the prices ranged from 32 to 44 ten s. At filling stations in six lepreseutative American cities the i prices were: Los Angeles ltj, Seattle 19. Oklahoma City 20. Omaha 20.25 Allan. a and Boston 2i.

Below Other Commodities In the face oi enormous glutting demand, the- petroleum industry has maintained a pnee level far below commodities, generally. This may sound like news to the mo.oritt. but if lie wil. check up on what he finds in his house afier he drives home, he may reulnne that the oil baron is not i the worst of hi kind. Comparing the De pan men1 of Labor price index figures of 1926 with those of 1913.

tak-: ins 100 as a basis, house furnishings now stand at 228. white gasoline is 118.1, or less than 20 points above i pre-war normal. Hard and solt coal i and brick also are well above the 200 mark, while textiles, lumber, boots and shoes, farm products and many other common commodities range irom a low of 135.1 'structural steel) 1 to 194.3 (woolens and worsteds. Our largest export is of raw cotton. 429.000.

and refined mineral oils come next with $497,482,000, or S97.000.000 more than machinery. $177,000,000 more than automobiles and parts and I $213,000 000 more than our exports of wheat and flour combined. Perhaps these cold showings were not needed to inform Americans that oil is one of their colossal industries, but it must be startling to realize Us actual hugeness, particularly as I some of us have been prone to visual-j agriculture as the whole thing. I we add the motor car export to that of reflned oils, we find tEat even King Cotton is only a second-rate mon- arch, for autos and tractors do not run far without gas and oil. Many buildings of conventional shades are decorated or capped with bright colors.

Many white buildings are illuminated with soft lights at night. But there is none in which solid shades of the "new' colors are used as frankly and unrestrainedly as it is declared they will be used. The delay is attributed to hesi-! tance of property owners to risk any- thing not done before. When the first such building is completed, demonstrating its beauty, it w-ill be I to'lowed by scores of others, it is predicted. Many architects already have more or less definite ideas arid plans for such buildings, and are awaiting only the word of property owners and builders to go ahead.

Manufactur- ers of terra cotta and similar materials which can be produced in the proper colors, are prepared to supply the necessary facings. Artists are not even awaiting the capitulation of the builders, but as in the case of the Architectural Al-' lied Arts Exposition, are producing their pictures cf structures as they think they should and will appear. A similar situation existed just before the skyscriper type became common. ii, is recalled. Actual construction followed after the expository and pictorial phase.

If the era of colored buildings does not arrive the result of a bold step by some constructors, those who have studied the subject believe it will i come nevertheless through the in-! crease in polychrome decorative ef-! fects which finally will dominate the entire structures. Weather Hits Business WASHINGTON. July 3 Business continues to be affected by unfavor-I able weather in Canada, but on the whole, the volume of general srade is well maintained. Tourist trade thus far has been disappointing. Canada's total imports in May amounted to $94,412 000, an increase in value of more than $20,000,000 over April and $8,000,000 over May.

1926. The total value of domestic exports was 782 000. or $32,000,000 above the April figure and 18.009.000 more than in May of last year. iibimgs uiciuoea oonas ol tne west- operating near capacir. and ct.i?rs Maryland rallroad and tnc jn.

have booked orders sufficient to keep tmational Securities Corporation of! them active for several weeks. America Crops continued to feel the si of earlier inclement weather, corn I being particularly tardy. Corn prices, as a consequence, displayed considerable strength. Grain experts, showed a considerable falling off I from the week before. Credit conditions were somewhat easier after firming up in the begin- sure by a glance at new offerings in prospect, including some of formi-dible proportions.

The Polish loan of $60,000,000 or more is still being negouated. and mav be consummai- fnr ed earlv in the autumn. Several for eign municipal issues are in the making, while the largest domestic flotation in the immediate offering is one of $20,000,000 for the financ- inS a new bridge to connect the cities of Deiroit. and Windsor. New offerings last week totaled i around $56,000,000 considerably under the year's weekly average, and the smallest aggregate of any week since; January 1.

This compares with more than $88,000,000 in the preceding six days, and more than $100,000,000 in the corresponding period of last year, Although many issues advanced materially, last week in the curb mar-: ket as a period of irregular price movements, frading was on an un usually broad scale, and in many in stances highly selective. Merger rumors and reports ot unproved divi- aenos were responsmie ior tne: strength of several stocks. Buoyancy of the oils, in the lace of the mounting production of crude was a remarKaoie leatuie oi the week dealings. Pipe line shares. however, which have recently been i in demand, were more or less re-' actionary all week.

Motors declined as a group in consequence of the sea- sonal slackening of demand for cars. uwCU iurui recessions ff Plte unconfirmed predictions or: prices. meulanp' characterized the pub-; 110 division, as well as chain, and rplal1 stores. Building 'materials had good support, partly! u.eiyer prospects. Publish-: ing house issues continued to give gooti accounts or themselves.

Sugar shares were weak, but baking stocks moved forward. Curtiss aeroplane and motor again derived stimulus from current enthusiasm for aviation, and Bucvrus corporation marked up an extreme: coin rf 1 1 I peaK pnce-1 uric iiuxea. The New York Central stock, offered to holders at par. sold around f.r it alter it ws listed on a when issuea basis. A baker's dozen of other new smaller than in either the preced-i ing week or the corresponding week! of last year.

Beehive-coke production made similar comparisons with both prior periods. The cut of lum-: bcr during the same week was smal- tn stw th -v or the corresponding week of last year. Receipts of wiieat at the principal primary markets were higher than a year ago. Cattle receip's, however, were smaller than last year, while hog receipts were practically the same as a year earlier. Tiie movement of goods into consumption, as indicated by carioadings data continued heavy.

DOLLAR VOLUME OP TRAD DOWN ning of tiie week. Distribution of around s55o.ooo.ooo in dividends and Check Payments Show interest indicates a good volume of! r- available money for a time at "heat PriCCS Up FrOMl Pre-; Bank clearings receded slightly both cedina Week HoWPVPr from the week b3fore and the related i vcc nuweei period of 1926. Arrival in New York of chiefs of i CtTON' JuI' 3-Measur- the Central Banks of France. Oer- fl, dollar many and England for conferences iL. dUnnS-, "it 6ek 1 with Governor Benjamin Strong of e'jL w-h the New York Federal Reserve Bank.

ft LrrSin was the outstanding development last IJT week in the bond market, inasmuch Commerce uarimem. 01, as the conversations among the con- wholesale prices declined from the' ld between than and prom- preceding week, reaching the lowest; merit New "iork bankers are ex-j point in more than three pected to have considerable bearing Prices for wheat, however, averaged' on pians for the new International higher than in the preceding week i financing operations whUe prices 5nowed no ch Whil no direct decisions can be being lower than a vear ago. made in the discussions here, which Loans and discounts" of Federal re-: will be informal. Wall Street believes serve member banks were subslantl-that important developments regard- ally larger than a year ago. Inter-ing German and French loans and i est rates 011 time monev.

while show- refunding activities may arise from ing no change from "the preceding 1 the visit of the European bankers. week, averaged higher than last i Principal among the embryonic plans J'ear. Bond prices again declined to be discussed, it is understood, is from the preceding week, but were the retirement of the French 8 per higher than a year earlier. Stock cent loan of 1920 through a new prices declined "from the preceding issue more in conformity with the week, but averaged substantially; present ease in the money market. higher than in the corresponding Disp-ition in the American and i Period of last year.

Loans to brokers markets of certain high coupon and dealers by Federal reserve mem-; German bonds also is expected to re- i ber banks in New York city, secured ceive consideration at the conference, DV stocks and bonds, were substanti-! as well as a movement to effect an ar- ally higher than a year ago. The i rangement whereby German railroad Federal reserve ratio advanced over issue, floated under the Dawes' plan bota preceding week and the can be made saleable in others than i corresponding eek of a year ago. the German market. i New building contracts awarded in Undigested new bonds continued to i 37 stes were higher than in either be the prime factor in bond trading i tfle Preceding week or the corres-; throughout the week. New material Pnding week of 1027.

Receipts of placed on sale since around the first 0011011 into Sfht were greater than a of April has amounted to a total of year as- Busmess failures we almost $2,000,000,000 manv millions i more numerous than in either the! more than aopeared in 'the lame 1 week or the corresponding period of last year. I of ae 1 As a consequence, there has been i Prodctin of bituminous coal nr.r.ri-rahi-ih.Hi. dunil tne week ending June 18 was, v-j w-'I of new issues, which had been main tained at the level at which they were offered. An instance of this trend was found in the drop in the price of the new Erie refunding 5s iroin iub ue p.ice oi a as low as 91 1-4. Shell Union Oil debenture 5s.

likewise, have fallen from 99 1-2 i in April to around 95 1-4 in the past wees. The convertible 5s of the Chesapeake Corporation, however, have not gone below their original price. Offered at 94. these securities quickly sold up to 97 1-8. and the middle of June reacted to 93.

From thai i i LAIRD-BISSELL MEEDS 1 Etxrrhane rhuadelphia Stock Excnane WILMINGTON NEW TORK.