The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-05-15
COTTON TRADE
: BETWEEN FIRES
New Crop Still Under Serious Handicap While Eff
fects of Restricted Credit and Tight Money Induce
Reactionary Feeling-Spots Continue Inactive.

| that conditions will have to improve
very soon to avoid another short one
| The early appearance of the boil wee.
| vii, being noted officially in several
| counties in Southern Georgia and .pri'
vately in louisiana and Mississippi
drew attention to the likelihood of the
pest being an important factor this
| year because of the mild winter and the
Elateness of the crop.
Spots Still Stagnant.
Another feature giving encourage
ment to the bull side in the face OF
stagnation of spot demand and the wave
! of reactionary feeling was the tendency
| to reduce acreage expectations. Many
| sections reported plans to abandon eff
| forts to raise cotton because Of lateness,
scarcity of seed and fear of the wee
| VIII, to say nothing of the high prices
of grain and feedstuffs. Considerable
| replanting will be necessary as result
| of floods and untoward conditions of
nature, while seed scarcity Is serious.
At best chances favor an official guess
| on acreage about the same as last sea =
son.
Professionals made all possible use
of the effects Of tight money and the
reactionary tendency in business, but
failed to Go much with it. Gables from
Liverpool told of it being the case over
there, while in this country 1t was MAX
ing progress, although to what extent it
extended beyond speculative quarters
was debatable. The granting of a wage
increase by New England spinners hard
ly supported the idea that the mills are
afraid of the future.
Liverpool sent advices of trade condi-
tons being unsatisfactory, although
traders in that direction seemed ready
enough to pay attention to the poor crop
accounts from this side. Having a big
stock of raw material, they are in po-
sition to bide their time, but it is still
significant that some of the most bull
ish opinions as to prices for the new
crop emanate from that direction. 1t
is also said that they are absorbing
contracts against their fall needs of
spots.
In this country the big feature has
been the disposition to shade prices
of goods by the distributors, due per-
haps to tight money and to realization
of a changed attitude among the con-
sumers. There have been reports of
orders being cancelled, but the more i'm
portant feature is probably that new
buying is being restricted, Some re-
ports even had it that certain of the
mills might go on short time, but these
did not get Verification, although such
was the case with some of the silk and
wooden mills, in which textiles there
has been more initiation even than in
dents of conditions that after a time
the reduced prices for finished goods
would probably have more bullish eff
feet, as they will likely stimulate buy
ing Cor actual consumption and there
by create larger use of raw material
The same view assumes that there is an
actual and serious shortage in the sup
ply of cotton goods in last hands and
that values have not been inflated near
~ so much as in what are regarded
mere as luXuries than necessities, the
biggest cuts so far having been in silks
and woolens.
The course of prices during the next
few weeks will be determined largely
by the weather, with small chance of
much easiness until after the condition
report is out A spell of ideal waether
might prevent an advance of conse-
quence but sentiment seems to favor
sustained values, and revival of demand
for the low grades might easily stimu-
late an upturn.