The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-12-02

no doubt natural has given rise ins some quarters to the belief that Ala bama Is in the midst of bad year and that there is a chance for a money stringency, but q number of the lead ing wholesale merchants of Montgom cry. who were seen by an Advertiser representative yesterday discounted this idea, declaring that the business year, while not SO good as last year, is fully as good as the average year.
 They do not see the slightest rea- son for fear or for apprehension of any sort The crop in Middle Alabama will not be as large as It was last year, but 1t Is to be remembered that last year was bumper" crop year The present crop undoubtedly gDi something of a backset by the Septem- Der storm, but it is expected to be as larger if not larger than an aver age crop year.
 Moreover, cotton Is selling at ten cents. The South is never going 10 suffer financially as long as cotton is at ten cents" prominent jobber put 1t. The South and Alabaml have had four fat years. The country aaer- chants and the small dealers have been fearful that 1t Is time for a break to come into that remarkable pros perity. This Is believed to be the foundation of the opinion that busi- ness conditoins in Middle Alabama are not as good as they ought to be. Some Over-Ruying.
 Another trouble. and one which bears directly upon the reported slow collections, Is the fact that the small
 merchant has "overbought" from the wholesaler and the farmer has ''cver- bought from the small merchant. There was so much money in the coun- try, a big crop of cotton had been raised and it sold for a big price, that 'overbuyiug' was natural thing to do under the circumstances.
 Following the record breaking year of twelve months ago there came the present year with a small set back to the crop and those who have over bought have become timid. But 1t is to be remembered that ten cents is more than an average price for cotton and that the cotton crop even in Ala bama will be as good as the average crop. If this year had followed poor years instead of rich years 1t would have been considered a fine year with it's ten cent figures for cotton.
 Without exception the Montgomery who 'esalers, who are men than whom there are no others who keep in close touch with crop and business condi- tions, say that there Is ahso- lutely no reason for timidity or ap- prehension. The crop may be smaller than last year, but the price Is good and there is plenty of money in the country.
 Nslam J. Grefl of Greil Brothers and Company, speaking of the situa- tl9n yteterday, said that with the ex- cepticD of the past ten days the trads of his company had been as good this fall as II has been during any year of tho past ten years. Some of the mer- chants, he said. who had complained most about the prospects for hard times had bought the largest bills of go1da.
 All the merchants spoke of a slow ness in collections. This slowness, in their opinion, did not come so much from a lack of money in the country and in the small towns as it did from the fear of the small merchants and the farmers to turn loose what they had, in the apprehension that some- how hard times were due to come.
 So far as the local wholesale mer- chants are concerned, they are not at all apprehensible of any future flnan- ciaI trouble. They are going right ahead buying high bills and stocking up with new goods. They understand the situation and they say that orders are coming in and collections are go- ing to improve as soon as the smaA merchant and the farmer are persua- ded something terrible financially is not about to happen.
 Some of them have given as much annoyance by lack of cars as by slow collections or timidity on the part of their country merchants. The car famine has handicapped them quite as much as any other one thing. If this could be obviated they believe that as soon as cold weather sets m the uninterrupted prosperity of the South will march on.