Perth Amboy evening news., 1919-09-15
SH4s
MEETING THE DEMAND

"You stop Europe from carrying away our leather ana
we'll be able to charge you less for shoes than we do now'' is
the way James E.. Coward, the noted shoe merchants OF ne"
York, sums up an interview in the high cost OF footwear pup
lished recently in a New York paper. 1t simply gets BACK TO Inc
old ouestion of production once more. Just as soon as Europe
is able to do her part in producing the leather she neeuS VI
making her own shoes just so soon will European buyers
cease to crowd our markets bidding up the price of everything
and forcing us to pay SO much more in order to compete
OF course, there is another way to meet the situation
which is for America to produce a whole lot more ieaeher nan
she ever did before in order to meet the abnormal huropeah
demand and supply the American market at the same time. AS
we have frequently remarked, until Europe has recov-
cred from the awful destruction Of five years OF war ana Is aDie
to stand on her own feet America has got to supply her wants
along every line. To be called upon to furnish Europe WIN
what she needs when we are hardly producing enough LOT
ourselves makes the necessities OF lie exceedingly sodr0 LII
consequently high in price.
The m1ickest way for us to bring down prices is to swal-
low whatever ~hardships the war has brought upon us-ano we
all have suffered, although some more than others-and
buckle right down to hard work, producing the necesslues as
they have never been produced before. Only In that way can
the supply be made equal to the demand at the present time
and until the supply does equal the demand the prices III
bound to be high.
But.. to return to the interview with Mr.. Coward:
LET me start with an illustration" he said. MOT long
ago a quantity of sole leather was offered to us at % cents a
pound. l told the buyer at the factory to take it all. He tried
to do so, but found that a French buyer had come along and
bought the leather at $115 cents a pound. This is a sample
of what is / happening every day. Why can't the Government
stop this supplying of Europe with our hides and making US
pay for it?
1.-THE condition produced by foreigners bidding against
each other for our sole and upper leather Is principally respon-
sible for the present cost of footwear in this country. Upper
feathers have risen almost beyond the reach OF American man
ufacturers who would rather shut up shop than cheaper quail
ity.
"Iabor is one of the factors, yes,' Mr.. Coward went
ON. "Costing from eighteen to twenty two cents an hour four
or five years ago, it now costs from sixty-fve to seventy five.
But the main factor is that American leather that ought to be
available to American manufacturers is going abroad and II we
get any of it we have to pay prices that are fxe by foreign COM
petition.
1.-THE result is that we, who would prefer to sell shoes to
the public at SIS or Sc a pair, as we used to do, have to charge
S15 or $40, and are not making q cent more profit than we dld
at the low price.
II favor an embargo, or at least a heavy export duty, on
all leathe.n Mr.. Coward said. 'In view of the prevailing I'M
certainty and cost of replacement, don't know that l blame
the members of the leather trade for putting leather away and
holding it for whatever price they can get. But do say this:
You stop Europe from carrying away our leather and we'll be
able to charge you less for shoes than we do now"
1t all goes to show that we cannot pass through a world
war and then return to normal conditions at once. Prices were
enormous Immediately following the Civil War. They were
not nearly as high as they are today, but neither was the Civil
war as far-reaching as was the war that has just closed.
The war is not over yet by any means as far as theecono-
mic consideration is concerned. But this is the hardest part
to understand. AS long as men are fighting people can endure
most anything, but it is after the fighting has ceased and the
long, tedious period of reconstruction sets in that the strain
comes on the average citizen. 1t is then that patience becomes
O virtue and sound reasoning and forebearance must be exer-
cised.
Mr.. Coward is right, the great demand of Europe is seri-
ously affecting our markets. Europe must be supplied, but she
is not yet in a position to supply herself, with the result that
she comes here for her necessities. But as there is not enough
to go around the person who pays the highest price gets the
goods. An embargo such as Mr.. Coward suggests, might help
but not until production equals the demand will there be per-
manent relief.
Na. IA AJ71 NHryc7 DE- TTDuET n