The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-09-20


 produce high quality goods cneapIy. l Even export demand for our iron and steel is falling off. though Eutope's needs are enormous.
 Reports from fo~ign markets are of ] mixed character. Argentine pesos declined last week to SS31, the lowest l figure ever touched, and our trade with south America is likely to diminish l until our markets for wool hides and | other of her products improve In 1 China terrible famine and yellow | fever have followed crop failures, If l fecting 30,o0o,oo0 people Uncomforta- Die business and political conditions are | reported in India.
 GENERAL TURN FOR BETTER
 Viewing the world as a whole. how ever, the turn for the better seems as defnite as it is in the United States. ne Japanese government is eXtending aid to industry and the raw silk market has advanced sharply. The British are looking more enthusiastically for a peace ful settlement of their coal dispute. Premier Giolitti has called a conference of Italian employers and workers and seems determined to stop the further spread of anarchy. Canada's latest crop estimate shows continued enlarge ment of indicated yields.
 ' The domestic news of the week has not been particularly important, but the accumulation of items tending to send the barometer upward has been steady. Bank clearings reported to Bradstreets for the week were S.6 per cent below last year for the country as a whole, but 1.5 per cent above the 1919 figure outside of New York. Credit men report significant improvement in collections. Though. the steel market is quiet pending price adjustments there is marked revival in the structural
 ess, good omen for sbuild- ing. Shoe orders are increasing Even in furs a so-called 'luxury' trade, there is more optimism, and though the usual fall auctions were abandoned a fort night ago, a $500, 900 lot soon will be sold in Seattle under sealed bids The railroads in August handled a 1 greater volume of traffic than ever be- fore in that month and later reports in- dicate that the improvement is con- tinuing. Passenger traffic, however, especially in Pullmans apparently is decreasing, natural result of the fact that cities are now financially 20 per cent further apart .than they were a month ago, and twice as far as in 1916- River traffic this year is breaking all records and may Be expected to, continue heavy even after the transportation con- gestion is passed.
 MOTOR AND TIRE TRADE Motor and tire manufacturers gener- ally express their belief in improved business by the end of the year and a survey of Ohio employment bureaus during the first week of this month dis closed that industrial centers are all ready seeking many more workers than l during the summer, though demand ,is (pnt f No foxy I. i. 1 developments are reported from the | crops, but pessimism is acute in the 1 live stock industry. The number of an- 1 finals has been decreased by 10 to Is per cent partly by premature market 1 ing, and replacement of stocks is seri- ously hampered by the fictitious credit shortage.
 i The tone of the money market is un- deniably better. On Septembe Der IS bil- lion dollars were shifted without dis turbing credit in the least or creating any additional stringency. They in- cluded tax payments, interest payments on Liberty bonds, retirement of one issue of treasury certificates and sub scriptions to another.
 Although the federal reserve board has refused to give special financial aid to help cotton growers hold their crops and has advised them to depend On tuciI lOCdl pnhhii6 AdSAAiIiCos pAiNdtC advices indicate that many southern bankers will be willing and able to | lend up to Is or 20 cents pound on the crop, which is sufficient to finance a holding movement of very large pro- portions. Weather reports are better. but boil weevil damage seems to be in- creasing.
 PRICE REDUCTIONS Tn the apparel markets optimism is more general and better founded. The precedent set by the American Woolen Company in reducing prices has been followed more generally than was ex- pected. Among reports of cut from all parts of the country is a circular from Cleveland jobber announcing reduc- tions of IS to 40 per cent, of which one paragraph reads;
 With a few exceptions manufactur- CTS are well up with their present or ders and new business can only be booked at lower prices. With this in- | formation before us, we believe it will | be genuine benefit to the whole trade to hurry these reductions along, per-