Lumber consumption in June, including National Defense requirements, is estimated by the National Lumber Manufacturers Association (in a seasonal comparison) at 2,788 million feet compared with preliminary estimate for May of 2,794 million feet and of April of 2,667 million. Second quarter total is thus estimated at 8,249 million feet, about 14 percent above second quarter of 1940. June estimate is slightly below May and 5 percent above April.

Direct purchases by Quartermaster Corps since September 1940 to May 1941 have totaled 1,229 million feet. Similar quantities have been purchased by private contractors.

Including civilian housing, it is expected that lumber requirements attributable directly to national defense will have reached a volume between 8 and 9 billion feet within the next two years.

may be expected to continue until winter weather retards woods operations.

Favorable market has brought many small mills of "portable" type into operation. Statistics on output unavailable but believed to equal 10-15 percent of total annual production or about 2 to 3 billion feet.

Shipments and Orders

Weekly May shipments averaged 2 percent above April. Total April shipments 5 percent above March; 14 percent above year ago. Total shipments through May 26 were 17 percent above 1940. Shipments practically equal to production during April and May. Total shipments through May 26 were 8 percent above production.

Average weekly May orders 6 percent above

demands although shortages in certain items occur temporarily.

Retail Trade

April retail lumber sales gained substantially over March in practically all regions

survey 1,130 yards, National Retail Lumber Dealers Association. Largest gains in New England, West North Central, Middle Atlantic, East North Central, and East South Central regions. Smallest gain West South Central region. Average increase 19 percent.

Stocks end of April totaled 7,054 million feet; 1 percent above March. Small gains in all regions except South Atlantic.

Mills report retail buying unseasonally slow but gaining strength. Retail yards apparently reluctant to stock beyond immediate requirements. Trend residential building most significant guide to retail purchases.

Reports 1,200 retail lumber and building material dealers to Bureau of Census show value April sales 24 percent above March; 20 percent above year ago.

Prices

Lumber prices showed increasing strength during May. Average wholesale prices index 117.4 week ending May 24; April monthly average price Southern hardwoods f.o.b. mill No. 2 command better $36.38; March $35.98; February $35.48.

Softwood prices firm with declines in certain items offset by some increases. Average April Southern pine price all grades and dimensions f.o.b. mill $35.82; $34.71 March; $35.52 February.

Quotations for defense construction projects have in many instances been substantially below market prices. Purchases by Quartermaster Corps of No. 2 common Southern yellow pine boards as low as $21 per M.

Price competition strongly developing in major lumber producing regions, particularly West Coast and Southern pine due influx of thousands of "portable" mills. Statistics on output portable mills not available but believed to equal 10 to 15 percent total annual lumber production or approximately 3 billion feet.

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In accordance with the airections of the United States Appellate Courts that exemptions from humanitarian legislation should be strictly construed, the Wage and Hour Division of the U. S. Department of Labor will not regard any establishment exempt as a retail one unless at least 75 percent of its sales are retail.

Where wholesale, commercial and industrial sales, nonretail in character, total more than 25 percent, the 40-hour week and the 30-cents-an-hour minimum wage will apply.

At the same time, the Division will broaden its concept of a "retail sale." As a result, some sales to industrial or commercial purchasers may be included as retail in determining the status of an establishment under the Wage and Hour Law.

These sales must be of articles commonly sold both to business and private purchasers and must be in a quantity or at a price similar to sales to private purchasers.

This policy has been announced by Gen. Philip B. Fleming, Administrator of the Division, in making public a revision of the Division's Interpretative Bulletin No. 6.

This is the interpretation on the scope and applicability of the section in the Wage and Hour law which rule that the floor for wages and the ceiling for hours shall not apply "to any employee engaged in any retail or service establishment the greater part of whose selling or servicing is in intrastate commerce."

The Bulletin continues the Division's position that service establishments must be

similar to retail establishments to be exempt.

Effective July 1

This policy will go into effect July 1. The Bulletin states, "For purposes of enforcement, the computation of the dollar volume of retail and nonretail selling will be based upon the semiannual record of sales of the establishment. The analysis of sales from January 1 to June 30 and July 1 to December 31 will be used to determine whether during each 6-month period a substantial portion of the selling of the establishment was nonretail."

Some 6,242,000 wage earners are employed in the distribution and selling of goods and services, according to most recent figures compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (March 1941). Those engaged in retail or service establishments and those engaged in a "local retail capacity" in any type of establishment are exempt from the Wage and Hour law.

The 30-cent minimum wage and 40-hour week apply to the others if they are engaged in interstate commerce or in the production of goods for interstate commerce.

The N.R.A. Wholesale Code called for a 40-hour week except for outside service men who were to work 48 hours before a time and one-third penalty rate began. Maximum hours for retail employees under N.R.A. were 40, 44 or 48, depending on the number of hours the store was open to the public.

Due to the retail exemption in the Federal Wage and Hour law, the wage and hour regulation of retail store employees has been left to state action.

New Interpretation

"From the first," General Fleming said, "the Division has taken the position that a 'substantial' amount of nonretail selling would nullify the retail exemption for any establishment. Shortly after I became Administrator we interpreted 'substantial' in this respect as more than 50 percent. Subsequently the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (St. Louis) handed down an

opinion that the Wage and Hour law, as an humanitarian law, is entitled to a liberal construction and that exemptions from it are subject to strict construction. The First Circuit Court (Boston) said the same thing.

"Many wholesalers complained about the competitive wholesale service that retailers not under the 40-hour week were able to provide. So we are now regarding 'substantial' nonretail selling as more than 25 percent. We will not regard establishments with more than 25 percent nonretail sales as exempt from the 40-hour week and the 30-cent minimum wage. "At the same time we are acknowledging the retail character of many sales to industrial commercial firms which always always have been considered retail in the trades. I believe this will do much to make our enforcement policy more acceptable to firms engaged in distributing goods."

The typical department store will continue to be exempt. Although many conduct wholesaling operations these sales seldom approach 25 percent of total sales volume.

The revised bulletin reaffirms the Administrator's interpretation of "establishment" "each physically separated place of business must be considered a separate establishment."

The Wage and Hour law, therefore, does not apply to chain store retail and service establishments even though the chain spreads into several states. The law does apply, "to warehouses,

however, the bulletin adds, central executive offices, manufacturing or processing plants, or their nonretail selling units which distribute to or serve stores."

The bulletin states, "Unless an establishment is clearly a retail or service establishment for the purposes of ... (the exemption), an assumption that the exemption applies involves considerable risk of violation."

The new interpretation of retail sales and the requirement that they total at least 75 percent of the volume are of especial importance in determining the status of establishments selling coal, lumber, glass, paint, tools, electrical equipment, automobiles, tires, stationery and office supplies, feed stores and photographers' shops.

Bristle Supply to Be Investigated

In order to insure an ample supply of highgrade bristle brushes for painting the vessels of our rapidly expanding Navy, merchant marine, and all manner of national-defense equipment, the Department of Commerce has undertaken a formal survey of stocks of bristles in the hands of dealers and the volume of consumption in the brush-manufacturing industry.

The survey, first of its kind, was undertaken at the request of the Office of Production Management, following a series of conferences with bristle dealers, brush manufacturers, and representatives of interested Government agencies.

Our present requirements of bristles are supplied from Manchuria and various sections of China, where hogs produce a crop of bristles intended by nature to give protection from the cold. Hogs raised in the United States do not produce high grade bristles.

Plastics Shortage Indicated

Despite a high level of production in May, supplies of synthetic organic chemicals from which plastics products are made have reached an acute stage.

Basic reasons for the shortage are the deficiencies in raw materials from which the chemicals are derived, and the increased demand placed on supplies for national-defense and civilian-plant needs.

May production of many synthetic organic chemicals was also handicapped by strikes. For most lines, new business exceeded production and shipments, with a consequent growing backlog of unfilled orders. In general, plant inventories are practically exhausted.

A general trend toward increased use of plastics, both for civilian and for defense use, in order to liberate needed metals for defense purposes was evidenced in April, when 41 reporting companies listed gross sales of mold

Consumption of confectionery by the armed forces of the United States is expected to influence the trade favorably during the current year and probably result in an all-time high in sales, according to a survey entitled "Confectionery Sales and Distribution, 1940," recently released by the Department of Commerce.

Manufacturers' sales of confectionery and competitive chocolate products were valued at approximately $336,000,000 during 1940, with per capita consumption at an all-time high of 16.9 pounds.

Penny goods, a type of confectionery usually sold in small quantities to children, vied in popularity with the higher priced goods during the year.

How Weight and Measure Shortages May Develop

Chiselers and gyp artists are not the only causes of short and scant measure, a representative of the National Bureau of Standards declared at the meeting of the National Conference on Weights and Measures recently held in Washington. During pit inspections, inspectors have encountered rats, mice, cats, snakes, toads, scorpions, black-widow spiders, poultry, and in one case a skunk.

Of these, the most frequently found animals that cause erratic scale performance are rats and mice. They frequently run up and down the levers of a scale; and in weightbeam extension levers of the pipe-lever type, they frequently crawl inside the pipes and run from one end to the other, causing erratic performance.

Inventive Genius to Be Rewarded

The National Inventors Council has received 2,000 inventions from the Revere Award