Exhibitors Herald World (Oct-Dec 1929)

74 EXHIBITORS HERALD-WORLD December 21, 1929 THE BUSINESS OUTLOOK Leaders in the nation s commerce comment on the old year as they salute the new ROGER BABSON has said (in substance, at least) , "One of the greatest influences on American business is the character of the American business man." The truth of that has never been more clearly brought out than during the last few weeks following the crash of stocks. Business recession may very well come, and has often come, without any spectacular impetus such as the sudden depletion in stock values of this fall. But even though business at its roots may be enjoying perfect health, precipitous decline in stock values (like the merest gesture of a poker player) may very well have psychology effects which set up conditions equivalent to a fundamental sickening of business. It was this which was feared more than any other factor during the weeks immediately following the crash. There is nothing new in these observations, but they do supply a fitting preface to the views of business leaders expressed here. Stocks may have crashed, but neither fundamental business nor the character of the American business man followed them in their dramatic (and to some, tragic) descent. "The termination of distress liquidation in the stock market has been accompanied by a better feeling generally on the part of the public towards business," declare observors for the National City Company (New York) in that institution's public letter for December. They consider the situation in most of the leading classes of American business and find that the latest figures show, not the absence of recession, but the presence of growth. In the building industries, which reflect a poi'tion of the expansion activities, total contract awards for November were about $316,000,000. It is indicated that the total for the year will be approximately $5,680,000,000. That would mean a falling off from the 1928 figure of no more than 14 per cent, which must be a decrease considerably less than many persons have believed it would be. The F. W. Dodge Corporation, leading statistical organization of the building industry, predicts that the 1930 total will show an increase. The views of others are in the same vein. Alexander Forward, managing director of the American Gas Association, gives typical reasons for this prediction in a statement to Heating & Ventilating for November: "In our opinion, recent events on the stock market will result in lower cost of money, thereby making possible greater building activity heretofore deferred because of high cost of financing. Business conditions are unquestionably fundamentally sound." This attitude is expressed in similar terms in the same publication by V. F. Dewey of the Detroit Steel Products Company, who declares, "Fundamental business conditions are excellent. I believe the outlook for future business is improved by the recent stock market stabilization. Credit will be diverted into business that will be of permanent value." The Carrier Engineering Corporation therein states, "We are expanding to meet the healthy growth of national and international commerce" which it confidently expects, while Congoleum-Nairn, Inc., like many others, reports in the same issue of Heating & Ventilating that both volume and profits for each quarter have exceeded those of the corresponding quarters of 1928. George McNeir, chairman of the board of directors of the Mohawk Carpet Mills, declared in a recent interview that his company has had an unusually successful year and that he anticipates that 1930 will prove a banner year in both production and sales. Figures of the Mohawk company show that gross shipments have exceeded 25 million during 1929, while new orders are 60 per cent above those of last year. A million dollars has been appropriated for plant expansion. A large increase in 1929 business over that of 1928 is also reported by Gerard Swope, president of General Electric. A new record of sales was established this year, the increase being 34 per cent over the 1928 total. Practically all of the commodities represented in these surveys and views are those used by all social classes. But perhaps few figures show the breadth of a general business condition more forcefully and accurately than those of the nation's department stores. There the nation buys a huge share of the things it both needs and merely desires. When there is little money, it buys only what it needs, and sales fall. That substantial prosperity which may be enjoyed by the millions is immediately indicated in the sales of these stores, where a large part of the stock is made up of those little luxuries which those affected most by passing business conditions are in the habit of buying when they can. According to the National City Company survey, of 157 stores reporting, 82 reported sales increases over 1928, and 22 reported sales totals unchanged. In only the East Central district were the increases balanced by the decreases. And in the Middle West, increases outnumbered decreases by 13 to 2. Such, then, is the nation's attitude toward its business, now and to come in the approaching year. There is confidence born of a confident nature, and that in itself is highly important. But there is also assurance based on the physical facts of actual conditions. Perhaps after all, it is merely the latter which gives the American business man his stability, his optimism — his character. A Mosque for Films (Continued from page bi) tectural art, as applied to the mosque. It was designed by Dick Dickson, Denver. M. S. Fallis, Denver, was the architect. The one-story exterior is wrought in simple lines, broken by a Moslem arch at the facade and over the entrance doors, a dome rising above the middle of the theatre front, and to the right of it, a minaret. The effect is one of unbalance, which was highly desirable because of the rigid symmetry and simplicity of the general design. The front exterior is done in stucco. The building is of brick and concrete construction. On either side of the lobby is a shop. Passage from the lobby is into a foyer formed by a corridor curving around the rear of the auditorium. The walls are done in rough-finished plaster, with the expanse broken by arched window niches and arched doorways. The floor is carpeted. Lighting is by both ceiling and bracket fixtures of harmonious design. A few metal tables and floor lamps form the furnishings. The auditorium has only one floor and relies principally on its shape and on cove lighting effects for beauty. This chamber is vaulted, with a polygon painted centrally on the ceiling, from the center of which is suspended a large chandelier. Two rows of coves, one above the other where the ceiling begins to converge upward toward the middle, run the length of the auditorium from each side of the proscenium arch. The latter is of the Moslem variety employed throughout the house. On each side of it, at the location of the organ lofts, Moslem bays project out, with niches shedding light from concealed sources. The ceiling is decoratively in two sections. The uppermost part is done in old ivory with an overblend of rose, which forms a combination which can be deepened or lightened by the use of the different cove series. The lower part is blended with three shades of blue over ivory. Beginning a deep blue at the cove, the color shades out to a cream at the central portion of the ceiling. The walls are treated acoustically with Acousti-Celotex, the plaster being applied over this and then decorated. Sound pictures form the policy. George Frantz is resident manager. HANOVER, KAN. — The New Rex Theatre has opened under the management of Austin Childs. MONROE, LA. — The Grand Theatre, costing $25,000, has opened under the management of Harry Barnes. Plans to install sound equipment.