Evening journal., 1920-10-19
MANY GOODS in
JAPAN'S PORTS
Importers Either Refuse TO
Accept Delivery or Un-
able to Get Funds
LITTLE BENEFIT
FROM PRICE FALL

TOXIC Sept. i3 (By Mai).-while
1t is generally expected that Japan's
business which is still very much de-
pressed will revive considerably with
he beginning OF next year IL seems
NAT i viii be necessary to take far
more drastic steps to bring this
about
Following the great drop Of prices
which took place some months ago
and the great slump in the export
trade a congestion OF goods has oc-
CURED. This is seen very strikinely
u the large ports such as Yokohoma
and Kobe wnere warehouses are
crowded to the roofs with goods
ordered during the boom, when every
importer figured that merchandise he
ordered would increase materially in
value while in transit This had be-
come so common that merchants had
come TO look thereupon almost as a
fixed law OF trade.
Consequently, when the slump in
prices occurred thousands and thou
sands OF tons OF good ordered mainly
ior speculation arrived, the prices on
arrival b ng considerably lower than
Wnen they had been ordered THE
consequence was that In many cases
me coneignees refused 10 accent de-
nNery, while In others they We're I'M
sDie 10 secure The necessary funds
l.4ni ne panks, as money became
eAlrsme.y iight the moment the bot
ION dropped out OF the market
some ltle relief has been obtained
70 some cases by reshipmcnt OF re-
Gently imported goods 10 foreign
countrits and many a ton Of mer-
chandise made the trip back 10 Amer
ca after it had been landed on the
docks OF lokohoma or Kobe. The
warehouses remain crowded however.
ana the existing glut becomes daily
greater as the output Of Japanese
factories continues TO add thereto. no
onset this the leaders OF many indus
iries have restrained their production
py operating only part time or by
closing altogether. Thus the cotton
mills run only 60 per oent capacity.
The one step which seems obviously
necessary, namely, TO get rid OF the
siut by selling the accumulated goods
- '~"- iAAttos tNtu al a loss III ne
oessary, is the one step which the
business community will not take ana
IN this attitude IL Is upheld by the
Government, which has advanced
tremendous sums TO this and that in
dustry Tor the purpose OF keeping
up the utterly abnormal situation.
Wnile this may postpone the day OF
reckoning. 10 will, OF course. be i'm
possible. for the Government 10 ad-
vance funds forever. and the only
real effect will be to make IL take
Just so much longer for business 10
set back TO sound bass. In the
meantime concern after concern is
going under, some OF them large ones
As a direct consequence OF the
stagnation In export and import nusl-
ness, shipping Is suffering. Durins
the war. when freight rates scared
Japan built hundreds OF tons OF shi
pins, but her great merchant Zee.
Is beginning TO become a white ele-
phont on her hands. Frelght rates
gone down 10 rock bottom and
charters with them. An ever-ln-
creasng number OF vessels are being
laid up.
All these conditions have not failed
to have their effect on the labor
market. as many workers have been
NlntAdl t-N hitlkCDltIs lUtluulng MANY
seamen, while others work only part
tine. In the same way the middle
class Is being seriously affected, as
many or the largest corporations are
uischargng employees mainly in cleri-
cal pos tions, by the hundreds.
The losses caused bv the slump
haye been very largely book" losses
AZ Japan still has her goods her
factories and her ships, as well al
the great asset consisting In her In.
dustrlous and, compared to America
and Europe. virtually sirike-free
population. She must however. train
his laboring population TO become
FAR more effective III she Is 10 keer
up successfully In the world compe-
t'ti0n
Furthermore. she must improve the
quality OF her goods. abandon shady
business methods and extend oonsi-
derable credits on her sales, such as
other countries do. but which she has
heretofore declined TO do