The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1921-05-26
EGYPT WEATHERS
COTTON CRISIS
Despite Many Big Failures, Bust.
ness Men Hope the
Worst Is Past.
GAINS FOR AMERICAN TRADE

low-Priced Automobiles Have EAsctes
| . conqvest-So Has American
| Chewing Gum-Patent Food
Products Also Popular.
!; Cairo.-Business men In Egypt, 60
pecially foreigners, pay very little at
tention to the political situation. They
admit, Of course, that. the unsettled
conditions Of q year ago, as well al
the general lack Of knowledge Of what
the future holds for Egypt, is q deter
rent to free commercial intercourse
The chief cause for business worry
at this writing is the decline in cot.
ton prices plus the general interna.
tional slump in trade. The two events
coming at the same time work more
than ordinary hardship to the business
life Of Egypt.
One business man remarked that
people In Egypt realized that the
trade Of the world was In bad state
that prices were falling the whole
world over, and that there was gen.
eral stagnation in buying. But, he
continued, "other countries have
usually more than one industry upon
which to exist. Here in Egypt we
must live or die at the within of King
Cotton. This whim is not left in our
power to control. We grow the cot
ton, and Lancashire and Manchester,
as well as your big tire fabric centers
at home, manipulate the buying price.
OF course, every one in Egypt with
grain Of common sense, realizes
that the law Of supply and demand
rules; but, depending as it does upon
one industry. the business life of the
community Is more or less left open
to unusual perils when that one in
dustry fails"
Bulk Of Business Life.
This business man was engaged in
the wholesale supply Of sundries and
novelties. His point Of view may be
accepted as that Of such traders in
general-those who buy in Europe,
America or Japan and import the
goods to Egypt for local consumption.
This work constitutes the bulk Of the
business life Of the community. It is
not the greatest in point Of wealth,
however, when one figures the i'm
mense amounts involved in the col
lecting, ginning and expectation of
raw cotton. Egypt's normal cotton
crop is handled by about a dozen
large British and Levantine firms,
with headquarters in Alexandria.
These latter have been the biggest
sufferers, but only from lack Of some
thing to do. They rarely invest their
money in cotton before the selling sea-
son opens, when the goods come from
the field.
AS the drop in cotton prices began
almost at the beginning Of this sea-
son, the big brokers were thus not
caught with a great amount of stock
on hand. The merchandise Dealers
on the contrary, continued their buy
ing right up to November and are
even now being loaded up with stock,
If paid for before shipment, or with
obligations if shipped against docu-
ments This is spelling ruin for some
Of the largest houses. Many serious
failures have occurred, and in Cairo
alone three department stores have
gone into bankruptcy. 1t is the gen.
eral opinion that the worst period has
passed. Those who have gone through
the crisis, either honorably or dishon-
orably, will. it is believed, live to see
another period Of fair business
weather.
1t is common talk here that in bust
ness morality Egypt does not compare
very favorably with any other big
colonial market. Apologists for the
country point to the large number Of
races engaged In commerce. Syrians
and Armenians, Jews from Spain, Rus
STA, Germany, Greece, Smyrna and
Palestine; Arabs, Greeks, British
Americans, French and Italians all &C.
to make up the commercial life of
the place. It is five-language coun-
try in business. First and most I'm
portant, Of course, is Arabic; then
come French, italian, Greek and Eng
lish.
Growth Of American Trade.
American trade with Egypt has
made wonderful progress, considering
the fact that before the war this mar
ket rarely knew American goods The
bulk of the shipments arriving from
home, however, in 1920 consisted of
coal from Newport News and -four
from the North. American automo.
biles have captured the market, but
no high-priced american cars are in