H. H. Treatment

During his four years in the White House the U. S.'s greatest ex-Secretary of Commerce, Herbert Hoover, used to announce at regular intervals that business was getting better. Not yet quite so famous are the announcements of another H. H., Secretary of Commerce Harry Hopkins, business-appeaser emeritus. Mr. Hopkins last week issued another H. H. announcement to spread a little recovery cheer, noting an end-of-May "pickup in activity": increases in auto sales and in post-strike coal activity.

But not much comfort for H. H. was the failure of both industries to get back to where they were in March.

Coal: From 2,000,000 tons a week early in May production rose to 6,000,000 'cons at the end of the month, but coal freight shipments recovered to only 84% of the March level. After a few days of stocking up by utilities and other strike-hit consumers the after-strike boomlet fell off. Meanwhile, anthracite production slumped back into its customary stagnation.

Auto Sales: Only 30% ahead of 1938's subnormal level, auto sales clearly justified no production revival to the not so high 1939 peak. General Motors' Alfred P. Sloan Jr., long bullish, complained last week that the spring recovery had fizzled: G. M.'s May sales fell 3,559 from April, the industry sold about 10,000 units more than in April, but not so many as in March.

Government Securities: To check the rise in Government securities in March, April, May, the U. S. Treasury had various Government trust funds sell $90,000,000 of their Governments, but investors with nothing better to do in the last two weeks bid Government securities up to new highs (over 114), thereby reducing interest rates to metaphysical fractions. So New York's great National City Bank complained for all U. S. banks (who now have 60% of their funds invested in Governments): "Treasury bills [are] selling at the virtually non-existent yield of 0.004%, and all maturities of Treasury notes through June 1941 [are] quoted on a no-yield basis."

Stocks: Stocks turned weak without a new high for the rails which would have "confirmed" the industrials' last peak (TIME, June 5). The market, unresponsive to Hopkins' optimism and the steel rate, last week lost nearly a third of its gain from 1939's April low.

Commodities: The commodity price index fell again to 75.6, a new 1939 low. Leading the commodity retreat was wheat, reacting over 3-c- a bushel from the fading of spring's normal crop scare news. The wheat crop will be short, but 1938's prodigious carryover (153,537,000 bushels, which will reach an estimated 275,000,000 bushels in a month) is hanging over the wheat pit, giving farmers a double loss through a low price on a small crop.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.