The Washington herald., 1921-10-03
SOUTHERN STATES
ENJOYING FAIRLY
GOOD FALL TRADE
improvement Is Noted in
Various Lines Of
Trade. 1
COTTON THE LEADER
This Commodity Has Poured
$60O,0O0,000. Unexpected
Wealth Into Treasury.
(roreirn Corrsspondsncs Of The washington
and the New York Evening Post.)

(Foreign Correspondence Of The washington
and the New YORK Evening fost,)
NEW ORLEANS. Oct. 2.-The
South is enjoying a very profitable
fall business. The merchants In
New orleans-and the wholesalers
among them reflect the feeling OF
the country trade in the Gulf sec
tion-are busy filling orders now.
and the wholesalers are working
nights as a regular thing. They
have not done this before for years.
Only in a few instances have the
retailers reduced their forces. The
large department stores have a
full personnel.
The story of cotton. which has
poured something like $500. zoo, 900
Of new and unexpected wealth into
the South, is too we'll known to
Feed repetition here. 1t is men
toned only as an Illustration OF
the fact that, the world never
knows the whole story about any
thing, but is satisfied with some
spectacular development, which in
the last analysis is only a detail
and cotton is only a detail Of the
fortunate economic situation of the
South. Its price went to unexpect-
ed heights overnight, as it were,
and rolled up fortunes, but the
progress in the other staples, IL ac-
companied with less red light. has
been every bit as important. =.
Gain I'm Lumber Trade.
Take lumber, for instance. While
everybody has been saying what a
bad building year II was-and this
has been true-orders for lumber
have been gradually picking up,
and twice during the past month
e-and-a-half-year record for
business has been broken by the
mills of the Southern Pine Associa-
tion. Shipments of pine are now
about IA per cent above current
production and orders per cent
at owe production. 1t is true that
production is 19 per cent below
normal and shipments per cent
below normal production. But or
ders are 13 per cent above normal
production.
More important is the fact that
prices are beginning to stiffen.
They have risen in a number OF
kinds of lumber and may go up
generally in the spring, as the lum-
ber now In demand is principally
used for house construction, and
the railroads and big Industries,
which consume enormous quanti-
ties, have done practically no buy
ing. Many new mills have begun
operations, and those that were
already running are putting in
fuller time. In the most economic
ally operated mills a slight profit
is beginning TO show, partly be-
cause of management. and partly
because Of the increased efficiency
OF labor, which is generally admit
ted. Lumber means a great deal
more to Louisiana than cotton does.
1t is one of the big money crops"
of the South. ....- ~.
Farming Outlook Improves.
Rice has been gradually increas-
ing in price. because Of the big do
'mestic and foreign demand. Prac-
tically all of the old crop, pro-
duced with such disastrous results,
is out Of the way. Sugar is still
low, but the crop has been pro-
duced economically. and the indi-
cations are that it will be a
bumper. Reports from the country
are to the effect that farmers are
devoting more attention to cattle,
are forming marketing organiza-
tions for general crops, and are
thoroughly determined to diversity,
a determination to which they have
been helped by their Bankers.
The future depends, of course, on
whether farmers will continue to
operate on a safe and sane basis.
II 1t was left to them, a high price
might tempt them to risk every
thing on a single crop; but the
business interests have been SO
terribly shaken during the past
year, that they may be confidently
expected to keep the agriculture on
the diversification plan, and make
cotton the surplus.
Unemployment in the New Or
leans and Atlanta sections is on
the decrease, according to the De-
p6rtment of Labor. Ample labor In
available for the agricultural sec
tions. Prophesying a continued ad-
vance In business, with an increase
Of s25,ooo,000 in bank deposits, the
State bank examiner of Louisian ma
has issued statement for the fis-
cal year ended September 1, show
ing that the public has reduced IL,
indebtedness to the State banks OF
Louisiana by s22.17s,125, and that
the banks have reduced their in
debtedneess by s21,641.6so. Fur
thermore, he shows that the banks
have Increased their assets by ;3,-