The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-10-23
COTTON SHOWS
SOME STRENGTH
Receivers Moderately After Touching New Lows.
British Labor Situation Big Factor Causing Hest
tancy-~Spots Display Signs of Resistance

surrender to an attitude of begging
help and exaggerating its financial
! feebseness
| The volume of business done In
4 spots during the week was not so
large as 1t had been in the South
west, while elsewhere the enlarge
meTit vas not extensive. due chiefly
to the attitude of the producers. FL
nanCial conditions were still largely
dominant and much of that which
l was sold was under duress as II
were, for il has been recognized that
the most effective method will be to
! relieve urgent obligations and then
get in position TO make a real fight
| fer better values. Talk Of getting
| outside help still persists to some
extent, but most folks are coming TO
the conclusion that the south Is by
no means ruined and that better
things are ahead.
Talk Acreage Cut Now.
Among the effective arguments
used by those who look ahead is that
continuation OF prices anything like
those now ruling will mean big re-
| duction in acreage next season. Az
| a meeting Of Texas bankers in Dallas
| on Thursday It was the sense OF
those present that they would with
hold financial aid from those who
| would not cut cotton acreage fully
| half in the spring. While such an
! amount might be regarded extreme
| especially at the time of planting II
can hardly be denied that such
| move is in tho right direction ana
viii more than likely help TO stlmu-
late negative strength. That the
al 81 1.-Two chic attention
is also probable.
One of the most potent aids TO the
bear side is that the mills have shown
little disposition as yet to enter the
market In tho United States cur
| tailment is still under way. although
chances are that this has reached
its crest, for less Is heard OF 1t ana
the advices from distributing circles
during the past few days have been
slightly better. Quotations for many
OF the leading staples have been fur
Their reduced, but with disappointing
response on the part of buyers. Ac-
cording to the views Of most OBJ
servers one of the chief troubles with
the whole situation Is the stubborn
attitude of the retailers as TO re-
auctions in prices to q level when
will stimulate revival Of demand from
lut ~ A" 49,
tended that II they will but adjust
themselves to the new conditions, as
have the producer, the manufacturer
and larger distributor, there will soon
be material progress toward revived
activity and a consequent bettermeE.
of return to the producer, who has
been so hard hit
Movement OF the crop is not nor
NAL, so attention to statistics Is I'M
tied. Weather has been excellent as
a rule for picking and saving the
crop. and reports indicate that pro-
gress has been satisfactory, though
ginning has been slow. In Texas
and, Oklahoma some liberal rains
were received, but damage was not
extensive. Frost date brings less con-
Germ than usual, although If killing
frost comes soon there will be low
ering of grades of considerable por-
ton of the crop. The grade so far
Is much above average, but there is
time for much of that which Is in
the fields to be so lowered as to
make it likely that a big part of IT
would not be saved on account of
low price.
According to Hester, movement
into sight for the week was $4,000
bales, compared with $4,000 last
year. the amount for the season to
date being 2,050,000. against 2,l71,O00.
Spinners are taking sparingly. only
1891 900 bales of American having
gone to them during the week, which
compared with $4,000 same week
year ago. To date they have taken
1.6S0,000 bales. compared with q
$4,000 n year ago. There are vis-
ible of American 3,124,000 bales, COM
pared with $4,000 a year ago, the
gain for the week having been 225,-
600 bales. whereas the gain for this
week last year was $4,000, a relative
increase of $4,000. About the only
thing encouraging to the bulls Is that
stocks in the hands of spinners in
all directions are small, which means
that the potentialities in favor of khat
side are great. once there is a return
TO something like normally and
start is made in providing raw ma
terial supplies.