The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1920-09-10
MERCHANTS TO CLOSE
HALF DAY FOR FAIR
Hear Talks on Business Con-
ditions-No Crash, Pre-
diets Durham.

Members of the Chattanooga Retail
Merchants association decided at their
first fall meeting held Thursday night
at the Park hotel to close their places
Of business ONE half day Tuesday, Oct.
s, during fair week. They also ex-
tend an invitation and ask the CO.
operation of merchants In the city VINO
are not members Of the association TO
close at this time. A motion to this ef-
feet was introduced by T. H. Mcclure
and carried following talk from MAJ.
Jack Ryan from the fair association.
Another matter Of important business
presented to the members was In the
form of a talk from ID. d. Loveman in
which he urged the local association
to start a campaign for members for
the National Dry Goods Merchants as
ISOLATION which has recently extended
its membership to include all merchants
that can be legitimately classed as re-
tail merchants. A committee was APP
pointed by President Loftin to look after
this feature of work and called to meet
next Tuesday afternoon at at the
chamber of commerce building. Mr..
Loveman also extended an invitation 10
the entire membership to be guests OF
the D. B Loveman store at lunch some
time in the near future to talk the mat
ter over.
Durham and Sporbors Speak.
Taylor Durham, Of the Chattanooga
Savings bank, and w. H. Sporborg
merchandise manager OF D. B. Loveman
company, were the chief speakers OF the
occasion. Mr.. Durham delivered talk
on present financial conditions relative
to the business man. He pointed out
that the banker had commodity to
sell the same as the merchant, and that
Is credit. He also said that there was
a general misconception in the public
mind that the banker deals In money
matters only. when the fact was that
just about per cent. OF the banking
business is in real money, but that the
bulk of It Is in credit
The speaker compared business CON
ditions to nature-to the rising and the
setting Of the sun, and to life itself.
For, he declared, It Ia nothing more
than eternal life. That business oper-
atea in cycles and that the changing
periods have come almost just as reg
ular as clockwork every ten years. when
the dark days or business depression Is
felt. The last panic was in 1914, but
Mr.. Durham said that It wasn't felt
much in this country because the Euro
pean war broke out and changed con-
ditions.
"The question that everyone is nat
urally Interested in" said Mr.. Durham
sis when there will be. another depres-
sion" In answer to this he quoted the
words Of a Frenchman some years ago
when he declared at that time that the
sure signs OF a panic was when there
was wonderful prosperity among the
people Increasing desire for luxury. un-
rest among the laboring class OF people,
and strikes. all Of which Mr.. Durham
declared, were applicable to the present
conditions. According to this. he said,
this country has been approaching a
crisis.
Durham, Thinks Crash Averted.
But owing to the federal reserve
bank system the country will go through
this period without crash. he said.
But we are going to have readjust-
ment period, in fact we are having that
now"
Mr.. sporborg made an instructive talk
on general business conditions. He
spoke Of some of the conditions he
had noticed while on his last trip to
New York. se.
During the ev ming several musical
and reading selections were given by
Misses Ruby aNd Ionic Norton. Sec
rotary Hal r. Witlse made q report OF
the directors meeting for the summer
months.