The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1920-11-25
WESTERN BUSINESS r
MEN LOOK FOR EARLY
TRADE RESUMPTION
Present Pinch Due Purely to Restric-
tion of Credit, Says Secretary.

Florence Daily Times.
"In Oklahoma, there are hundreds
of acres of cotton from which not one
boil has been picked" Walter ]. John
son secretary of the Chamber of Com
merce stated today, upon returning
from an extensive trip through the
north and west. He speaks of what
he saw himself while passing through
the western section of the cotton belt.
Planters out there told me- there's
no money in it; why pick it," he
said.
ALSO coming down the Carolinas,
1 saw many fields of cotton which evil
IDENTIFY had never had picker in
them. The cleanly picked field was
the exception in the Carolinas, Okla
homa and Texas, as l observed the
cotton plantations.
81 would judge that the 1920 cot
ton crop will not be picked before the
middle of December-possibly not by
then at the present rate. Everywhere
heard the complaint Of the very high
rates demanded by cotton pickers-
50 to $3.50 per hundred pounds
Mr.. Johnson made this trip espec-
tally into the oil fields of Kansas, Ok
lahoma and Texas to inspect some
properties of a petroleum company.
eve have been hearing a great deal
down here about cutting prices In
other places. Chicago, Washington,
Kansas City and cities of this size
have reduced prices-but l did not
see any very impressive cutting
This fact attracted my attention very
much. Prices have been trimmed,
but don't believe there has been the
wholesale tumble we have heard
about.
Really, was impressed most that
the cutting has been on raw pro-
ducts-particularly of the farm. The
Western grain planters are sitting on
their wheat and corn as tightly as
lcotton planters in Florence are stick
ing to their cotton. They paid 81 and
IS a day for common labor to harvest
their crop. They paid huge prices
for seed and for planting. And now
they are unitedly determined not to
accept less than SO for their wheat.
Both in Chicago and in Oklahoma
City / had the pleasure of hearing
some big industrial and financial men
including the governor Of Illinois,
speak, l recall particularly one New
York industrial and financial man
who said that the outlook is always
darkest just before the break of light.
He emphasized that he believed the
dark times CT the readjustment period
are nearly through and then he hopes
for prosperity and activity which
again will break all records.
81 talked to good bankers too who
seemed very optimistic over the out-
look for better times.
my impression, from observation
and conservation, is that the present
pinch is purely due to restriction OF
credit and it is not due to anything
fundamentally anything wrong in in
dustry and finances and commerce.
Admittedly our credits have been eX-
panded beyond all reason-men have
borrowed thousands where they were
not entitled to hundreds. 1t had to
be stopped. Literally millions of dol
liars worth of credit are being paid
up now. AS soon as these liabilities
are liquidated, and this process is
going ahead very rapidly, persons
with whom l talked, believed trade
will resume with renewed yigor and
activity.
1--WE have this reason to hope fol
q comparatively early resumption oi
trade with renewed activity-the de-
flation program is not supplying one
liota Of the demand for houses, manu-
factured goods, construction OF al
kinds, production Of raw materials
and the myriad Of other activities OF
our commerce and trade. The de-
mand for houses today is as great as
ever-in the west people are living
in outhouses, shacks. tents, and Other
, makeshift dwellings, so great is the
idemand. The market for lumber
brick, steel, labor, and all other build
ing materials, as one may see under
the circumstances, still stands
Mr.. Johnson covered nearly third
Of the states of the Union on this
trip. Nearly 5000 miles. and was ir
many of the important industrial and
Financial centers Of the North anc
West. He is more impressed thar
! ever that business is merely stabiliZ
ing itself, there is little reason tc
fear panic, and conditions soor