TRADE-IN ALLOWANCE CONTROL From an Article by Fred Merish in "Radio and Television Retailing", June 1939. "Commissioned by the Editors (of 'Radio and Television Retailing') to (a) investigate radio trade-in practices at present in vogue and (b) to report methods limiting losses on such transactions, the author and his staff have just completed several months of intensive study in New England and the middle Atlantic states. "Stripped of non-essential details for the busy reader who wants facts, here are our findings (a) in brief: "1. At this writing seventy percent of all dealers contacted have no fixed policy relative to trade-ins, handling each transaction individually on a horse-trading basis. "2. Forty percent of the dealers interviewed attempt to limit allowances to 10 percent of the new set's sale price, but are readily induced to exceed this figure where used radios offered are relatively new or where the new radio is in the upper price brackets. "3. Allowance percentages generally increase by questionable leaps with the price of the new set, models selling for more than $150 carrying with them nearly double the percentage allowed against models going for $50 or less. "4. Rigidity of allowance policy seems to bear little relation to what competition is doing, depending largely upon the determination of the individual dealer to reduce losses from this source regardless of location. "5. "6. By far the majority of radio receivers taken in trade are still junked. There is a rapidly growing tendency to refuse trade-in allowances of any kind when new radios in the extremely low price-brackets are purchased. This last mentioned point is, perhaps, the only major departure in trade-in practice noted by comparison with those reported in recent years." "THE INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF RAW MATERIALS" From the Book of that Title, by Herman Kranold, "War and preparation of war cannot, under modern conditions, be undertaken thoroughly without a large measure of planning... It is certain that private initiative can scarcely hope to enable any modern industrial country to hold its own in a modern war even for one month. Already in peace-time armament is beginning to force planning on all nations which seriously want to prepare for their defence. Even liberals who oppose protectionism with convinced passion proclaim the necessity of hoarding in the United Kingdom at least one year's supply of wheat, dispersed in specially-built underground warehouses. The next step is clear. This wheat would have to be sold each year and replaced by fresh wheat, so that before anyone knew what was happening governments would find themselves ankle-deep in the wholesale wheat trade. The necessity for, and possibility of, large-scale governmental planning is becoming self-evident, even though economic theoreticians remain unconvinced. Gradually even more sophisticated observers are recognizing that the blunders made by an experienced bureaucracy are certainly not worse than those made in ordinary private business. "This is important for two reasons. "(a) Under such conditions the necessity for state planning and state direction of production, transport and consumption would present no serious difficulty to any government involved in a future war. "(b) If the maldistribution of raw materials is to be remedied in peace-time and for peaceful purposes, governments will have to plunge deeply into economic activities. A tentative dip will no longer do. They will be able to do this wholeheartedly and with fair prospect of success because they are accumulating such a stock of varied experience and building up an adequate technique for an apparatus applying it. War and armaments are in this respect not only the great taskmasters, but also the successful teachers of mankind. But in the pleasure of this discovery do not let us forget that they are nasty and dangerous teachers." (See Page 385.) REPORTS ISSUED BY FEDERAL POWER COMMISSION Reports have Since the last issue of DOMESTIC COMMERCE, the Federal Power Commission has issued reports showing electric rates as of January 1, 1939, in the States of CALIFORNIA, GEORGIA, IOWA, MICHIGAN, MISSOURI, NEW YORK, OHIO, TEXAS, WEST VIRGINIA and WISCONSIN. now been issued for 47 states. These reports are available from the Federal Power Commission Washington, D. C., for the price of 10 cents each. NATIONAL ELECTRIC RATE BOOK IS FORTHCOMING PUBLICATION OF THE FEDERAL POWER COMMISSION The Federal Power Commission announced on June 25, 1939, that it will begin publication shortly of the National Electric Rate Book showing residential, commercial and industrial electric rate schedules of all publicly and privately owned electric utilities in all communities of 1,000 population or more in the United States. The Rate Book will present, in standardized form and by States, some 15,000 rate schedules under which electric service is sold in more than 10,000 communities in every State in the Union. Advance orders are now being accepted for the National Electric Rate Book, covering the 48 States, or for State Separates. For full details concerning the National Electric Rate Book, write to the Federal Power Commission, Washington, D. C. REPORT ON THE SECOND TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA The United States Tariff Commission just issued a volume which constitutes an introduction to and summary of the series of volumes previously issued containing digests of trade data with respect to products on which concessions were granted by the United States in the new trade agreement between the United States and Canada. The complete report in four volumes is now available to the public. FPC ISSUES SECOND VOLUME OF REPORT ON FINANCIAL STATISTICS OF ELECTRIC UTILITIES The Federal Power Commission has issued the second volume of the two volume report entitled "Statistics of Electric Utilities in the United States Year Ended December 31, 1937 Classes A and B". The compilation contains information on all privately owned Class A and Class B electric utilities in the United States. Utilities in this classification may be generally defined as those receiving annual electric revenues of $250,000 or more. In 1937 there were 385 utilities having electric revenues of the order indicated. It is estimated that these companies comprise in excess of 90 percent of the electric utility industry in the United States on the basis of assets. The compilation in the second volume contains information in considerable detail on Electric Operating Revenues by classes of service, Electric Operating Expenses and Utility Plant by functional classification and Physical Quantities of electric plant and energy. These two volumes, which make readily available for the first time uniform and detailed statements of revenues, operating expenses and classification of utility plants, and related data, for each of the major elec.ric utility companies in the country, contain approximately 250 pages each, and are sold only by the Commission at $2 per set. LATE RELEASES OF THE BUREAU OF THE CENSUS Biennial Census of Manufactures: 1937 Dyeing and Finishing Cotton Fabric; Dyeing and Finishing Yarn (Cotton, Rayon, and Silk); Dyeing and Finishing Rayon and Silk Fabric. Census of Electric Light and Power Industry: 1937 - Sales of Electric Energy, All Establishments, By Geographic Divisions; Sales of Electric Energy, by Municipally-Owned Electric Utilities. Census of Electrical Industries: 1937 - Motorbus Operations. Financial Statistics of the State Government of Pennsylvania for 1937. EATING THE SURPLUS From an Address by Milo Perkins, President, Federal Surplus Commodities Corporation, Before the National Association of Retail Grocers, Kansas City, June 21, 1939. "Most of you, I take it, are familiar with the details of the Stamp Plan. This is the way it works: "1. Studies indicate that persons getting public assistance spend an average of about $1.00 a week per person for food. "2. On a voluntary basis, such persons may buy a minimum of $1.00's worth of orange stamps a week for each member of the family. These are good for any food at any grocery store. "13. Persons buying orange stamps receive half again as many blue stamps free. They receive these in place of the commodities they formerly got at food depots. These blue stamps also are good at any grocery store but only for foods found to be 'in surplus' by the Secretary of Agriculture. (Chiefly, dairy and poultry products, fruits and vegetables; meats could easily be handled by this method, however, if it became necessary to do so.) "4. Grocers paste the stamps, each worth twenty-five cents, on $5.00 cards and redeem them largely through their banks. The Government pays the banks for both colored stamps; the blue stamps are redeemed from the same funds that are now used to purchase surplus commodities directly. "5. Under the Stamp Plan, therefore, persons receiving public aid can get surplus foods at the corner grocery store. They will have seven and one-half cents to spend for each meal rather than the five cents a meal they are spending now. That will improve farm income as well as the public health. The idea is to eat the surplus that is, the part that can be consumed in this country. "That is the essence of it, although, of course, there are variations which give us the necessary flexibility to meet different local conditions. Any one who is interested in the matter can obtain official detailed releases from our Washington office." COST OF MATERIALS, FUEL AND CONTAINERS REPORTED BY CENSUS BUREAU IN 1937 Manufacturing establishments in the United States consumed $957,195,578 worth of fuel in 1937, an increase of 35.2 percent over the $708,110,963 in 1935, according to reports of the Census Bureau, Department of Commerce. In addition, electric energy costing $467,961,685 was purchased for industrial use. The fuel consumed by manufacturing establishments in 1937 consisted of 6,561,820 short tons of anthracite coal; 162,960,976 short tons of bituminous coal; 42,194,064 short tons of coke; 136,255,044 barrels of fuel oil; and 2,825,973,829 thousand cubic feet of natural and manufactured gas, the statistics show. The iron and steel products industry group had the largest fuel bill in 1937, amounting to $376,567,855. This industry group purchased 485,799 short tons of anthracite coal, 15,921,676 short tons of bituminous coal, 39, 352,934 short tons of coke, 32,971,006 barrels of fuel oil and 1,329,610,196 thousand cubic feet of natural and manufactured gas. In addition, electric energy costing $467,961,685 was consumed. The cost of materials and containers used by manufacturing establishments in the United States in 1937 totaled $33,572,003,480 compared with $24,889,193,784 in 1935, according to the Census Bureau. The food and kindred products industry group reported that its bill for materials and containers in 1937 was $7,745,492,068. The air, land, and water transportation equipment group reported the second largest figure. This group purchased materials and containers costing $4,046,245,139. Ranking third in the purchase of materials and containers in 1937 was the textiles and their products industry which reported $3,725,469,274 worth of these supplies. SELECTED BILLS INTRODUCED IN THE 1ST SESSION, 76TH CONGRESS AFFECTING COMMERCE AGRICULTURE: To provide for more expeditious payment of amounts due to farmers under DISTRIBUTION: To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act, as amended, with respect to the ECONOMIC RESEARCH: Authorizing the continuance of the prison industries reorganization The Bill (S. 2240) to provide for a national census of housing was reported (No. 647) LABOR: To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide a special procedure for Resolution providing for a House committee to investigate the National Labor Relations Resolution creating a select committee to investigate the Wage and Hour Division of the MINING: Resolution consenting to an interstate oil compact to conserve oil and gas, H. J. Res. 329 (Boren) ref to Comm on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, June 16. TARIFFS AND TRADE AGREEMENTS: To amend the Tariff Act of 1930, H. R. 6906 (Wallgren) TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION: Resolution providing for a House committee to in- FINANCE: To provide revenue, equalize taxation, and for other purposes, H. R. 6851 To enable the Secretary of Agriculture more effectively to assist in the voluntary ad- To amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act, S. 2635 (Bankhead) ref to Comm on Agriculture To amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act, H. R. 6929 (Jones of Texas) ref to Comm on BILLS APPROVED: H. R. 5756, an Act to amend section 509 of the Merchant Marine Act, H. R. 4218, an Act making appropriations for the Legislative Branch of the Government BASIC DATA SHEET ON "WINDOW DISPLAY" ISSUED BY BUSINESS INFORMATION SERVICE The Division of Business Review has added a new basic data sheet on "Window Display" to |