The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-15
By HOLLAND

it pc true as some of the experts re- port that the prices of many products have now reached rock bottom, then there should be an end of the policy which has been so long followed by buying only those things of which the need is imperative. They speak of the policy which has prevailed this spring as hand to mouth" policy. That means of course that no one IS buying any more than is imme- diately necessary. Price reductions have been made so rapidly and Tn many instances have been so drastic that the impression has prevailed that lower prices are still to come. The public will discover speedily that
 in many cases the bottom prices have been reached Then the beginning of large purchasing will be observed.
 Happily for the wheat farmers tine prices received for wheat are better than was expected. Wheat con- mands relatively speaking better price than corn on oats and consid erably better than cotton. One Of the explanations which is given for the higher price which wheat com- mands compared with other agricul tural products is that from Russia very little wheat if any will be ex- ported. Formerly Russia's contribu- tion to the worlds harvest of wheat was an important factor. Now unless Russia finds some way to get into the world market. little if any wheat will come from there. In fact. no ona can tell how much wheat the Rus sian peasants are cultivating this year.
 What Is the Matter With Our Tradef
 There begins to be good under standing of the reason why our in- ternational trade especially our eN- ports met with so great and sudden falling off in the 12 months which ended on June 30. It was a falling off more apparent than real The trade continued but the money which that trade represented was far less than the amount of money received in that trade year ago and in fact for three or four years
 We are accustomed to measuring our international trade in terms of dollars rather than quantity. If this fact be borne in mind, then there Will be good understanding of the chief features of our international trade. The reports from the department of commerce show that in the past F months the falling off in our trade so far as quantity is concerned was not very large. But in the early part of the previous fiscal year there be- gan the era of price cutting. It was first observed in April. It acquired momentum and later in the year be- fore the winter frost came had reached the bottom of It's depression except in steel.
 This was true not only of the United States, but of the world and it is stated on high authority that this fall in world prices was the chief factor in the amazing and anxiety causing a drop in our international trade If we take the month of May of this year comparing our trade m that month with that of May, 1920. an excellent illustration of this changed situation can be obtained,
 Drop of Two Hundred Millions
 In May of this year we imported commodities of the money value of d trifle over $200,000. 900. But in May of last year the money value of hhe imports was $430.000, 900. Here then lin a single month is falling off or more than s200,000,0o0. So also on the other hand the money value Of our exports in May was $330,000,Ooo an" this was nearly s400,0O0,000 less than the money value Of our eApores in May. 1921. Statistics of this kino if superficially read would indicate an enormous falling off in our inter- national trade in May, 1921 as cin'- pared with May, 1920. But 1t was falling off only in dollars It re- fleets the reduction in prices TOT al : most all commodities which began ! little over a year ago. The Wash ington authorities do not report n detail the quantity of goods exported and imported but the reasons are ex- cellent for assuming that the quan- tity was well maintained. There was in the amount or money received. but not much reduction m the amount of goods imported and exported.
 codities in May of this year greater in amount than in May of last year. That is true of silk. This commodity was bought by American silk mann- lecturers in greatly increases amounts as compared with like pur- chases in May of last year. In fact, the increase was about 75 per cent. i On the other hand. there was fau- ing off in price and as it is customary | to measure our trade in terms of dollars rather than in quantities, It l would seem as though our interna-
 tional trade in raw silk naa oe, creased. But in quantities |. nao really increased by 75 per cent uo- | ing back of these figures 1t is req sonable to infer that the silk indus | try of the United States, when Wa $
 one of the first to be hard nit' Is
 rapidly recovering.
 In the Matter of Wool
 The wooden industry of the United
 States and the wool producers of this country were easily affected by the tall in prices. Yet. there was an it,, crease in the purchasing of wool produced in other countries and lr'-
 ported by the United States of nearly 15 per cent in May of this year, as compared with May of last. But tners had been a decrease of considerable