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Show Economic Highlights Happenings That Affect the D nner Pails, Dividend Checks and Tax Bills of Every Individual. Nation.il and Internaunriil Problems Inseparable Insep-arable liom local Welfare. With politics temporarily out r.i th? headlines, and with the convening con-vening cf the next Co: mess m ro than a month away, business news is again getting the biggest "play' ;o fax as domi.stic questions are concerned And aside from the lahar trouble which is a big fly In the ointment the revs Is good. For a number of wieks new, principal prin-cipal business d( vel pment has been the unparalleled distribution cf fin-an-'lal Ian-ess by corporations laree and small. Wa;c rales have been i.aisfo in seme cases to the highest levels on record. Bonuses hive been announced. Extra dividend haie ben declared. An-i a number rf co! ratitns whose stockh' Id is have eone dlvidondless frr years are welcoming the rf riev al of r 'filler 'fil-ler payments. Each ('ay sees pew cf this kind, aid more Is txp cled fcr the next few weeks. The acid test fn business rcov-ry. rcov-ry. however, i not, dividend; and wages artificial sMmulants. suet.; as (he surplus lax are greatlv re-sp re-sp nsible for thee recent boo Is-but Is-but lies in th - answer ta the question: ques-tion: What Is Industry's eaniln : record? In a recent Is-lie, Bn lines'.! Week supplies the answer. This magazine has taken rarn- Incs rooords for tl'.e lirt nliih months of 1!K)U and ci.'mparcd them with the same period last ear-whieh, ear-whieh, it should be remembered was: in llsell a good p riod 111 the light of the expi i iinee (I 1!).')2. VXH u:l l!):;i On Ibis basis, nil e lead-In': lead-In': aircialt mai;eis made pro'lis of S2 K.'ia.noO as ngaliist. $rini,(HI0 -a :. in ' f V'a ) t ' cut Th. ee a,ip u -fl n-antifnelun (irned SI .tlafi.ntK) (is against $1 .filS.nnn - up 77 per e: '. A 1 1 1 p"bi'e 1 ( lits ! ( a 7'1 per cenU-$227,070.0110 as compared j '. ''li ::! 1 H'! tl "0. Ch m'c -k sir A led a 41 per cent earning impvove-' impvove-' in r.l. r .1 railway equipment 42 , . r.i n1 - $!5..")!i7.om as against "? 777 Of'O T "'r'e :i in" elia'i.l slug ..." - - tine ' r . " d "7 iv cut im-v im-v - I -I' ! y ' :i ii'.aeh'tv'i V .. .... ... ,. X'Y "I O'pp- I , I a t al.e- -1 21 p-- cen1. end j ' ' , -gs lil'l-e 111-.:, fttll OOfl.- -n f - ;' c 1-; i f'.le"! and !' i a III f 210 per c nl ,.145.000 lie ilir I r'?.- 010. ' I '.--' -h "' 1"! S- I lal fi'l'l Vil'l Ih" .'T'lllesl. lll'ifg-I lll'ifg-I ! ()' hi lli'inient b ill" foil" 1"'. enl -!l(i-r (Hid cr ilfeeHoliery ln-dl"'.!'ir' ln-dl"'.!'ir' air1 111" 'avesl '10'! nel' cent alrerafl. and railway equipment. equip-ment. There were no lossen. Two classifications shipping and miscellaneous mis-cellaneous services supplanted deficits def-icits with profits. Today industrial earnings for 331 crmpanies were $978,274,000 asi against $612,269,000 in the same period last year a jump of 60 per cent. In service industries there was also al-so betterment, though in no case did it reach extraordinary percentages. percent-ages. One hundred forty-four Class 1 railroads earned $42,000,000 where they had sustained a deficit oi Sfi6.300.000 in three-quarters of 1935. Fifteen traction companies earned $10,031,000 as against $7,-585.000 $7,-585.000 a gain cf 32 per cent. Thirty-one power and light utilities utili-ties went ahead 8 percent $147,-944.000 $147,-944.000 as compared with $136,441,-000. $136,441,-000. Grand total for all the businesses 571 in number shewed earnings of $1,178,249,000 in the first nine months cf this year as against $G89,995.000 in the same period a year ago. Grand total percentage betterment was thus 71 per cent. As Business Week also points out. "Cons isterey has been the jewel of recovery" that is, it is highly significant sig-nificant that all major industries havn improved, none have lost ground. In previous periods since recovery started, the picture was always mixed witn at least a few industries showing declines to offset the increases hi cutpur. and earnings earn-ings of other industries. As we come to the end of 1936. it is undeniable unde-niable that every branch of American Amer-ican industry has made great ct: ides. Vitally important was the Su-rveme Su-rveme Court's decision on the New York unemployment insurance law case becau:e cf its bearing cn the simlar laws of 16 other states, end cr1 the Federal social security program. Main legal point brought forward by attorneys opprsing the law was that it taxes employers to benefit employes, that it therefore was in violation cf the basic law of the la!-d. Defenders of the law-said law-said that it was industry's duty to p (vide for workers it might have to drcharee. that there was no constitutional barrier in the way. The Supremef Court said the last word in, a highly unusual decision. decis-ion. The lower court was divided four t- fcur on the question, and v.h-n that, happens the judgment of the lower court is autcmaUcall:, rnfirmed. and no decision is read. The New Yo'k law has therefore passed the ultimate test and is se-cure se-cure as the lower court decision approved it. Absent Ju tice was Mr Stone, kept from the benrh bv illness. Justice Stcne has fav. red unemployment unem-ployment insurance laws in th? past. It is therefore generally believed be-lieved that Justice Rcb'rts Joined the "liberal" branch of the court consisting cf Justices Brandeis. Ftunc, Cardozo and Chief Justice Hnch'? thus putting the "conservative" "conserv-ative" vir5 Justices Van Devan-tcr. Devan-tcr. McReync'.ds. But'.er and Pierce in the minority so far as UiLs case was concerned. |