Salt Lake Telegram | 1931-08-15 | Page 10 | Business Failures Are on Decrease, Report Reveals

1 Business Failures Are on 01 I Decease Decrease Report Reveals B 3 H M B tP 1 2 I i 2363 Th- Th Thc c A i. i f IJ 1 By ALLARD SMITH t Vice ice President the Union Trust TrulL Co Cleveland O. O o many people arc accepting SO S 1 the present depression with BEGINNING TO SHOW SOME J an air nIl of helpless resignation I S OF LIFE J that It Is rather startling to t find that improvement is actually so-n so goin i on in not n a f few fe y directions For example a fair tal number of or car cor cr have reported increased earnings for br the first half of or 1931 many more are arc continuing to pay their dividends and there is a a st steady decline In ill the a number of or business failures This does docs 2 SS n not not l pr prove Ye that thc the depression is over but that that a growing number of firms are arc adapting to adverse conditions Aggressive Aggressive sive businesses are overhauling their and o operations discarding all ali al that i rescue is wasteful Efficiency and old old fashioned economies are coming to the thc i To cite cie one case casc in point Sales of or a certain large merchandising house declined more than 10 per cent in iii the thc first half hal of or 1931 but earn earn- ear Ings gained 23 21 per cent This pr result flowed owed from rigid economies affect affect- ing tog cr c every department consolidation of or warehouses closer check on Inventories in inventories In- In and anti other measures or Of course couse all al companies have not be been n able to t accomplish such results Tho The majority arc are still sti finding pro profits clu elusive ive and dividends difficult to maintain In the first half hal of or 1931 combined earnings of or dropped 45 per cent below the same period of 1930 But for the second of the 30 cent of or quarter year car per r companies reporting reportIng report- report Ing profits proU show a gain over o er the thc second quarter of 1930 At the same time tie out of corporations 0 of which a check recent recently was wa made it It was found that 5 3 are paying dividends unchanged from their former rate rt- rt 37 have omitted dividends 34 31 have decreased them and arid 11 1 companies increased their dividends Another factor indicative of or some improvement in underlying conditions condi condl LIons tons is found in ill the record of business failures for the first seven months of the year compiled by R R. G. G Dun t Co Each month this thi year ear has ha shown an improvement ement over the previous month in the num num- ber of commercial failures In July there were only 1983 commercial insolvencies in the thc United States Slates compared with wih 2028 In 11 July 1930 and with wih hi i January 1931 1931