Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980, 1920-09-14

pruneS mas Deen materially aIIeCL-
ed and also the fact that enorm-
Gus profits were figured on prices
made on Oregon prunes there
still remaining some two weeks
ago in eastern markets somewhere
between four and five million
pounds of unsold Oregon prunes
out of last years crop. There has
been some movement in these
prunes, however, since that date
and the quantity is being gradual
ly reduced and will be probably
cleaned up before the new crop
arrives. In the meantime the
price of sugar has broken and this
should have favorable influence
upon sales this season.
Canned Goods Situation
lowing to the extremely heavy
costs of all the commodities which
enter into the production of can
ned fruits there has been cur
tailment nthe part of canneries.
of their anticipated pack of can
ned goods. This has also been true
Of the house wife who has been
unwilling to pay the extreme high
price asked for fresh fruits and
the high price asked for sugar,
with the result that home canning
has been very much diminished
in the past season. This, of course,
will have the effect of diverti1g
part of the normal consumption
of canned goods into dried fruits,
but will not take place until the
supplies of canned goods begin %
get low which will probably be
after the first of the year.
Oregon Crops and Sales
IA careful investigation anl
summary of sales made, up TO the
time Of opening prices Of the Ore
gon Growers Cooperative associa-
tion indicated that there has been
not to exceed between four and
five percent of the expected fifty
to sixty million pounds of prunes
in oregon for this years crop SOLD.
Prospects for the Oregon crop are
estimated lower than at our last
writing on August at Whlch tllne
the packers have been estimating
as high as eighty million pouhas'
These estimates now have been gen
erally reduced to anywhere from
forty five to sixty million pounds
for Oregon and Clarke county
wash. Since the rain started fe"
days ago there has arisen rear
on the part of the growers that
the rain would be followed by Sc
we're cracking and brown rot OF
the prunes. That this is likely TO
be the case unless the weather
changes soon is shown by the ract
that in a number of orchards
cracking has already begun ana
while the damage so far is not
heavy it will increase as tne
prunes approach maturity. II
does not take much brown rot or
cracking to reduce the crop cor
siderably as it was shown last sea-
son.
Financial Conditions
"The KEY to the whole present
situation lies in the condition ei
finances in the east. For two
months past there has been prac-
tically no buying done except from
hand to mouth by the wholesalers
in the larger centers and by most
Of the wholesalers in the smaller
districts. This has been due to the
fact that wholesalers have peea
cut severely on their credit anu
would not be able to pay for gooos
IN arrival If they did not adopt
this attitude. Regardless OF pros
pective profits wholesalers are
this attitude every
where in order to be able to oper-
ate their business within their me
of credit allowed them by tn
banks. Many wholesalers are trs
ING 70 operate and buy supplies 70
cover the whole coming year
operations on 40 per cent OF then
normal credit at the banks.
will be readily seen that uiuel
thasa circumstances prospects 1or
selling any kind of goods are very
moor throughout the whole unl.eu
states and Canada where there
have not been more than nan
dozen buyers who have been IN
terested in the prune quotatlo,s
and these have not been active
,,o,, on exa xaggerated exam