STATE OF BUSINESS: Milestone

The U.S. has passed a historic wage milestone. In September, for the first time, said Labor Secretary James P. Mitchell last week, the average pay of American factory workers climbed above $2 an hour for a total of $81 a week. Furthermore, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in mid-September nonfarm employment (52.1 million) was at an alltime high. There was no sign that the boom was letting up in 1956's final quarter—or that it would do anything but climb higher in 1957.

With that in mind, Treasury Under Secretary W. Randolph Burgess took the occasion to answer those businessmen who grumble about the current credit squeeze. Said Burgess: "If everybody could borrow as much money as he wants when the economy is already working close to capacity, the net result would be a scramble for scarce materials and scarce labor, and prices would go up." Burgess promised that there will be no general easing of credit.

But the Administration was already easing in some. spots where the squeeze was too tight. The Veterans Administration announced a series of special steps designed to ease the pinch on builders and buyers. From now on, the VA will grant direct loans to home buyers in small-town and rural areas where ordinary VA-guaranteed loans are unavailable on small down payments, will also make loans to veterans planning to buy homes on farm sites.

As for manufacturers, General Electric President Ralph J. Cordiner noted last week that G.E. sales for 1956's first half had reached a whopping $1.9 billion and a level 18% higher than 1955. "You hear a lot about tight credit." he said, "but we haven't noticed it in our business." He predicted that demand for electrical goods would double in the next eight years, quadruple within 16 years. And to prepare for the new markets, said Cordiner, G.E. had decided to spend another $315 million on new plants and equipment over the next three years, would shell out a total of $500 million by 1960.