New-York tribune., 1920-09-17
Buyers Believe Business Can
Be Stimulated Only by Es~
tablishing Bottom Fig
ures; KnitG Meet

Further price reductions in certain
lines of merchandise for the apparel
trade will have to be made before buy
ing can be placed on a stabilized basis,
many factors in the trade believe, after
watching developments Of the last few
days. While reductions will help GER
tain lines, it is felt other lines would
not be benefited to any great extent.
Woolens, for instance, are stagnant
except in a few women's wear lines.
Many wooden mills will not open spring
lines, and consequently will not an
nounce prices as a result of the small
demand. Most of the threescore or more
wooden mills of the American Woolen
Company will probably remain closed
as orders in sight are said to be insult
fcient to warrant opening more than
one or two small mills.
Worsteds, however, are in better de-
mand, and the company's mills turn
ing out this textile will continue in op-
Grafton for several months, and per-
haps indefinitely, if business continues
as at present. In other textiles, how
ever, considerable uncertainty still ex-
lists.
Cotton mills are said to be reaching
the end of their orders, or have al
ready done so, except in the South
east, and unless price provisions are
annouoced, it is assumed that further
curtailment will ensue. A prominent
mill mas named revised prices on plaids
and cheviots for the jobbing trade,
and various lines of standard cham
erays which go to the cutting trade
TOR work shirts. The revised prices
represent a cut from the previous
prices of 80 to 33 1-3 per cent. Although
1T IS said that these reductions are not
JUSTIFIED by present conditions or cost
OF production, the mills say they were
prompted to name the revised prices to
create confidence and stabilize the mar
ket on their fabrics, and as the mills
already have large volume Of business
on their books, they say an advance
may be expected at any time. The
basis is called rock bottom.
Underwear and hosiery manufac-
turers are in quandary and spring
opening may be delayed several weeks
because of price uncertainties. Manu-
1acturers OF underwear who attended
the Utica conference yesterday were
hopeful OF making progress at dis
admitted that on the face of it the
situation remained virtually the same
as prevailed at the conference q month
ago.
-, Cotton goods have declined in price
the past few weeks, but buyers are not
satisfied that the bottom level has been
reached, and spinners on the other
hand point out that prices are lower
than they can remain during the fall. A
number of jobbers and retailers
are liquidating their merchandise at
marked depreciations. Some left over
stock is being offered by out of town
jobbers to retailers at lower price
than new goods can be bought at. This
will have considerable bearing on the
decisions made by the underwear man
ufacturers regarding opening dates.
The hosiery market is inactive. There
is not great excess of cotton hosiery,
but there is in the wholesale market
considerable silk hosiery some of which
is procurable at less than the ask
ing prices of few months ago. Man
ufacturers and distributors of hosiery
are optimistic, however, and prospects
are brighter because there are not
such large accumulations of unsold
merchandise on hand. The majority of
the underwear manufacturers began
early in the spring to curtail produc-
ton, which tended to make this mar
ket healthier than it otherwise
would be.