Show BUSINESS IN THE NEWS By DAWSON SPURRIER Copyright McClure Newspaper Syndicate By DA Am Americans ricans like the thc warm welcome of or warm homes A phenomenon of at the retail lumber lumber lum lurn- ber her business during this depression is the way home insulation material l sales keep up One of ot the largest producers of this material was listed last week as one of the 39 stock exchange concerns which are paying the same dividend in 1932 that they paid pad In 1929 1029 But that doesn't reflect how well dealers' dealers sales on other competing lines Jines have held up The best figures available indicate that close to a million occupied homes have been thus insulated during the thc past two years Dealers welcome this business a as manna from heaven They have now learned how to push such new prod prod- When general conditions show continued Improvement greatly In Increased increased in in- creased volume in this field is antic antici S Officials of or many cities having municipal municipal municipal mu mu- lighting plants are arc publicly advocating improved street lighting Retailers and public alike will wUl welcome wel wel- come this and find it mutually profit profit- able S S S Traffic counts by lighting engineers show that shopping crowds on well lighted streets will stay down the afternoon during winter months As long as they stay down they are arc prospects and can be sold Women shoppers particularly avoid poorly lighted side streets and stores so located suffer because of the shortened shortened short short- ened business day S S Real estate men In one city were confronted by an apparent public shift from one downtown shopping street to another To head it off property owners In Inthe inthe the threatened district were organized into an association They obtained the city's permission to lo install at private expense many beautiful street lamps with immense high powered lights attractively at at- at inched Much newspaper advertising heralded her her- aided the new lighting An airplane was hired to fly over the city after dark on the big night The lights were turned on the first time by a visible radio signal from the plane The rejuvenated street was crowded that night Nearly people caMe came downtown to see the lights turned on r l SPURRIER All shifting of shopping tendencies was stopped Real estate values and rentals were kept up The cost of the new lights was more than paid for out of maintained rentals the first year 5 S S SA A cooking expert says that her Idea of the emancipated housewife is one who has a bright light over the kitchen sink as well as the usual dim one Inthe Inthe in inthe the ceiling S 5 Bears today who cant can't see any busness busIness business busi bus ness conditions except the bad ones should visit any hundred manufacturing ing plants They should ask the plant managers when was the last time any serious money was expended for just simple plant maintenance work I The answers will show some real business volume that Is merely awaiting awaiting awaiting await await- ing some real salesmanship S S The recent announcement by Standard Standard Stand Stand- ard Oil company of ot New Jersey concerning concerning concerning con con- a n expenditure this winter for necessary maintenance and repair work should stimulate building ma material dealers and contractors to togo togo togo go out and make some aggressive calls on neighboring plants The trend has already started particularly particularly particularly par par- in some sections of ot the south and west toward taking care of ot long delayed and quite necessary maintenance main maintenance and repair work vork a. a 55 A recent investigation by a large midwestern chamber of commerce showed that some manufacturers who were willing to report estimated over of ot miscellaneous re repair repair repair re- re pair maintenance and rebuilding work already postponed too often And every concern reporting was capable of ot paying for the work right now if it it chose to do so 5 5 S SOne One tax which the public doesn't seem to pay pay pay-at at least in the big cities Is is the commodities tax on toiletries 1 In the larger cities particularly 1 where price cutting is general practice practice I tice Uce retailers have not raised prices sufficiently to make the public feel the tax Few manufacturers absorb it so the retailer pays 1 In the smaller towns prices seem J to be stabilized on the basis of former C cut prices plus tax tex Reports from the powerful national retail associations indicate a change c cot of ot heart toward the tho general sales tax I All AH wholesale and retail authorities Interviewed predict that it Jt will wUl pass I Ithe the next congress Its extent will wUl de depend depend depend de- de deJ deI J I pend upon how far congress has haste to go goto goto goto to balance the budget I 1 |