The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-09-12

ahead. It Is observed that buyers are willing to take anything they can get. Many sale are being made for deliv- cries in mid winter. ana some for deliv- cries as late as June of next year.
 Possibly no single feature associat- ed with the automobile industry so strikingly demonstrates tho magnitude which now characterizes this persist ,ent, almost nationwide, demand for autos, coupled with the fact that no longer is there any need for sending statesmen out upon the road.
 THE STORY OF AUGUST
 In the last year of the spring months the government authorities at Wash
 ington ventured to predict that the aggregate number of bushels of wheat which would be harvested this year would be Tn excess of billion and would make a new record. Some esti- mates put the amount as high as billion and a quarter bushels. But the
 government authorities were always careful to speak of the contingency of unfavorable weather. This is no longer a cOntengNcy, but fact, in some parts of the country. The climate has
 been adominable in several sections so far as the harvests are concerned since late in July and throughout the month of August In midsummer all wheat harvest in the wheat belts of the northwest which lie east of the Mis- souri river, whereas on the other hand the wheat harvest west of the Mis- souri river was regarded as likely to be partial failure. ct least.
 But the bad weather is no longer bounded by the Missouri river. For that reason the area in which the crops are either very poor or of no more than fair quality have been extended farther eastward. Throughout the northwest the wheat harvest on the whole is likely to be very unsatisfactory. That condition is also true of other small grain crops.
 WHAT CORN IS DOING
 On the other hand, the weather seems to have favored the growth of Indian corr. Reports from Washington this morning contained an estimate of con- siderably in excess of two billion. eight hundred million bushels of corn. While this is not to be a record, it Is to be on the other hand a fairly sat- isfactory harvest of Indian corn. And farmers and transportation companies and those who expect to feed stock in the winter. So ali the humble hay crop is likely to keep pace with corn. the indications being that perhaps record harvest of hay will be secured and at present prices the money value of it ought to fall not much below the money value of the new cotton.
 THEY ARE BUYING LUXURIES Although many have been the meni- tions to the people to refrain as far as possible from the purchase of luxuries at this time in order that the spirit of thrift and economy may prevail never theless the reports which have reached New York this morning from many parts of the country tell of the buying | of luxuries upon 2 scale which seems almost reckless and improvident. That | is especially true of many parts of the west and the disposition is a further proof of the possession of money in I large amounts by the farmers. For instance. one of the reports which came | from the far west states that retail jewellers are making larges sales even of expensive articles than they have ever known. The Oriental rug dealers report that their sales for this summer | have never been exceeded. That Is true also of silks. The public is buy
 ing talking machines. and musical in, struments in large amounts. It is noticeable that purchasers are not de-
 tered by high prices. So also there i geems to be considerable buying upon | the installment plan. Referring to this disposition to extravaganza and very heavy purchase of articles of luxury
 one of the leading bankers of the far west in writing to friends in this city says that buying of this character can not substantially benefit any class of trade. Instead 1t is proof if improvid- l ence and that Is one of the factors that will cause the price of necessaries to remain at 2 very high figure. For among other thAngs that must be done to cheek advance in prices and even reduce the cost of living is to make the American people understand sthat the world outside of the United States must have commodities and that any untustifiab ble home consumption of | goods that are in worldwide demand can have no other effect than to keep prices up and defer return to a reasonable level.