Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1920-08-12
IS. D. CONDITIONS ii AS
THEY APPEAR TO BIG
CITY CORRESP PONDENT


THEY APPEAR TO BIG
CITY CORRESP PONDENT
A Chicago Tribune correspondent
III South Dakota sends in the follow
ing notes of his travels:
Aberdeen s. D. Aug. 6.-As one
taxis through the grain belt he Is
impressed with the abatement Of the
silk shirt craze, the silk shirt being
to the swivel chair economist the
symbol Of the much famed "orgy Of
extravaganza"
The silk shirt market out in the
rural sections has reached a point
of saturation ItSmarks great let
down, too, in thescall for other sorts
OF luxuries. the demand for which a
few months agosWas making the pre-
duction5 experts shlldder at the in
roads4it made upon the output Of es-
sential goods.
Scores OF smaller, town merchants
during this trip have attested that
while no diminishment has been not
ed in the bulk of purchasing done by
the farmer, business is brisk for
this period of year, the demand is
for practical goods.
''Practical Goods" Cost More.
These in turn have gone up in
price, owing to the call. In some
shops, for instance ordinary cotton
shirts have been marked $3.50. On
garments the farmer customer laid
off buying as muchsias possible early
this year-about the time the big
cities were taking UP the overall fad
but for the last three months while
prices have dropped he has been do
ing much absorbing
Wherever the pilgrim goes in his
roadster, he hears farmers loudly
complaining against the woolen man.
Ifacturers back east.
What the farmer finds it difficult
to understand, and in this he has
much company, Is. why with the bot
tom dropped out Of the raw wool
market, the textile markers in New
England are still shooting "shoddy''
into the trade. Scores on this trip
have spoken Of .spnre woolen" suits
which have gone to pieces in a sur
prisingly small time, because too
little virgin woolahas been used.
Sheep Raisers Puzzled.
Where there Is sheep raising the
talk is all the more emphatic. A
farmer drove up to wool buyer
here yesterday withsa load Of feeces
| to sell. $50 ssss23i
Market busted buying nothing. y
said the dealer and ;the raiser had to
haul his product back to the ranch.
What the farmer cannot get through
his head is why high prices and
shOddy#goods should travel with a
cola psed market for wool.
AS one gossips with them they talk
| a blue streak about wool and also
about sugar. But they don't seem to
be interested in the league Of ma
tions. s.3s55y .z
L Out In the tall Uncut" sugar and
wool are going to sbe stronger factors
next November thah the league.
$5 asDay I1Btandard
Through this region there is no
farm labor scafcttt Around Aber-
deem the farM0 j1k kvessby a. sort. Of
common consent. .fixedmo so cents
] an hour for labor, as against 70 and
| 80 cents in. Kansas. A. daily wage
of IS seems to be the usual mark, 81
| or So below the pay in some other
places. In some cities, such as Brook
Jugs, employment Offices had to be
opened to get jobs:.for men instead
OF men for jobs. The farmer here
seems to be reaching the point thru
the use of more and better machin-
cry, where he is less and less, de-
pendent upon migratory labor during
/ the harvest rush. -,
i. ! A to !, the. crops, the section Of
which Aberdeen is both gateway and
outlet looks for the fattest yield in
years, harvesting Is starting up in
earnest, and in some places they are
lthreshfng.
Some experts say the, possible
damage from black rust has been
exaggerated. The corn Is coming
taleng strong, rather short in stature,
but with ears like a Missouri Jack
ass. To the west the hay crop is
reported to be bearcat, which will
help a lot in cattle raising.
| But in the eastern section the con.
timed rainfall has cut down acreage
and prospects from Brookings to
Reddeld by way Of Des Moines and
Huron, a distance of ninety miles
and the tourist passes much land
still under water 1t is, raising wild
ducks, but no grain.