davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1922-07-02
Special rnoncto, Correspondence


PARTANBURG, S. c., June 30.-The
iamers of Spartanburg County, who
lee the State of South Carolina last
yer In The production of cotton, rails
'hl 10000 bales, and who for years
nae been keeping themselves poor be-
eaee OF the one-crop idea, are turn
ing to food crops and the raising of
pun bred livestock.
I'm sweet potato curing houses have
ossi recently constructed in the county
as"e dozen or more will be built
os!re fall: These will include several
ssUansrcial sva nsrcial houses of approximately
s exe thousand bushels each. The city
y. Spsrtanburg alone consumes forty
tsss'sao: ~. OF potatoes annually. While
~, az curing houses will only take care
;sa;oe j.. oe local consumption this year,
ce"u'ca1lons are that 1923 will find
..pa,rtanourg County farmers shipping
naiI1aas OF sweet potatoes to Northern
-. .e'sets' !' as is now being done by some
mont 'ieS III 'he 1ieo-
Spa oSSppaartanburg County heads the list in
' f.,I "a Cafolina in the production of
~. ' i.ish potatoes. The Piedmont has
c,on *avantage of keeping over this
o'her sections.
Ready for Boil Weevil
ce me boil weevil hit Spartanbure
cvSney ~, cotton farms last year. The
tv"ihg OF the vanguard of the pest
W. s."ed e attention to other crops, and
een,. cen mrs, thought of Spartan farmers
nots.o on sweet potatoes and Irish
+o,.hen "hen the boil weevil arrives in full
h. b; n,, winch probably will be in 1923.
me,s VIII hnd Spartanburg County far
NJ thoroughly intrenched.
nss.l IRE than 250 acres of commercial
Snsr.es S,.es have been planted recently in
Of 'Shnourg County, with the promise
rior,; neavy increase in the coming
e,n'ng season. With the ordinary
to psa ana the new orchards. from 100
mi, Nv carloads may be shipped out
hay. 'htsr. hs Home orchards by the score
time Deeh given attention for the first
in1 ~. a lew farmers are now market
Norbp bpeSSches by express to points in
ont carolina. A number are putting
4 nmefclal apple orchards.
OPERATE ago, July 2. through the CO.
tie bun bos, 81 the Chamber of Commerce,
.,oun,u "e demonstration agent and the
,stabji. agricultural agent, there was
sws.. sw.sneo . curb market. where, twice
,ee...1 H'mers might bring fruits and
~ CIT eggs, chickens, butter, etc.
u ,x.I"s mem for sale. The Chamber
lsll llwscrce w.scrce lent the Use Of its big
se.t "eTqnesday and Saturday Of each
.Ae civ ne market expanded so that
ss.rs.y recently provided permanent
sasem... This market has been a GOOD
OF the agricultural tempera-
New-York tribune., 1922-07-02
increasing Actipity Of Worsted Spindles
Indicates Better Times for Cloth Trndes
Revival Noted in Demand
for Hard Finished Fab.
RIGS. but Makers See Pro.
posed Tariff as Hindrance
Raw Material Big Problem
Cloth Men Say Price Ad.
vances Not Enough to
Warrant Clothing Boost

HOR nearly two months the
price of wooden and worsted
goods has been rising stead
lily. This price rise has caused no
little amount of apprehension in the
manufacturing and retail clothing
trades. The main point of fear is
that the higher cloth rises will ne
cessitate advances in clothing prices
and that consumers will once more
oalk and precipitate buyers strike
such as was seen in 1920 and 1921.
In some quarters the significance Of
the advances on cloth prices has been
exaggerated. Although all the ad.
vances have not been in proportion, it
is estimated that they range not more
than Is per cent from the low level
reached last winter. This is equal to
about one-sixth of the decline from
the peak of 1920.
The advance in actual money in TIE
price of cloth sufficient to make a suit
of clothes, based on good grade of
worsted selling at $3.50 a yard, would
be not more than Sl.25. With the
clothing manufacturer and retailer
working on percentages, however, this
amount would be increased to 50, or
slightly more. Manufacturers of cloth
therefore are at a Joss to understand
talk in clothing circles Of advances
ranging up to SIS suit when offered
to the ultimate conspmer
What has been back of the rise in
values in cloth? First of all, a sharp
rise in the price Of raw wool. One of
the top grades of domestic wool. fine
stanple Montana, which sold at 80 to
IS cents pound from June until Sep
tember Of last year, until a few ago
sold as high as $1.35 pound During
tht peak of early 1920 this grade of
wool sold as high rs s21o n pound
Back of the rise in raw wool prices
is the story of tariff legislation and
speculation. In the face of both Of
these factors the cloth manufactures
assert that they have been helpless.
rates on wool above those obtaining
previously, and the proposed rates in
the new tariff bill now under discus
sion in Congress increase even these
rates Disregarding the justice or in
justice of the present or proposed tariff
rates, it is apparent that they do exert
big influence on prices, when figures
show that we normally import approx
imately so per cent of the wool we
consume in this country
Another reason for the rise in cloth
prices lies in the fact that during the
long period Of liquidation extending
through most Of the year 1920 and
practically all Of 1921 the great re-
serves lying between the cloth mills
and ultimate consumers have been
fairly we'll absorbed.
Statistics compiled by the govern
ment show that for the greater portion
Of 1920 and for the first few months of
New-York tribune., 1922-07-02
Changes in Gen. Motors Staff

General Motors Corporation an
nounces that ]. G. Weiss has retired
from active dtties as general manage
Of the Hyatt bearings division on ac-
count Of health, but remains in tho
Hyatt Company in an advisory capac-
ity. H. J. Forsythe, formerly assistant
general manager Hyatt bearings divi-
sion, has been appointed general man.
eyer. B. G. Kocther, in addition to hie
duties as vice president in charge of
sales, becomes assistant general man.
aCer
New-York tribune., 1922-07-02

Stock Exchange firms is advising it's
customers to take periodical inven-
tory Of their security holdings. This
Is eminently sound advice. The facili-
ties of the Tribune investment serv-
ice are available to any Of its readers
who wish to have their lists reviewed
in the light of the most recent data
Certain ferry bonds which were once
gilt edged became feeble and emaciated
when tunnels and bridges were con-
structed to rob them Of their patron
age. Likewise, German city bonds
were once among the elite OF securi-
ties, and are now each day kicked fur
ther into the gutter by the receding
exchange value Of the mark.
All the way from cents to .24Ss Of a
cent (the low quotation established on
July l, 1929 brokers just beyond the
border of responsibility have assured
gullible individuals that the mark
could 60 no lower. When trading
was resumed in 1919 the first trades
were made at approximately cents.
Reference to believing in the rose
ate promises Of unscrupulous brokers
reminds US Of the fact that plausibility
is poor index to the worth of invest
ments. We are amazed at the fact that
every promoter has plausible story
to tell. In unending lines they trail
into the financial editors Office to as
sure him that Foamless Soap preferred
or Artificial Milk debenturea, or Shale
Oil common constitute perhaps not
conservative investments but speeula-
tive investments holding out every
prospect of making the buyer of ten
units more or less Independently
wealthy. Stock statesmen, often of in
ferior intelligence, frequently unwit-
tingly reveal the loopholes in their ar
gument, but the promoters themselv
are past masters in the art Of persua-
sion. The formula for testing their
sincerity, when they are financing going
concerns, is to ask for balance sheets
and income accounts prepared by Ger.
tifed public accountants. Usually
they will reply that certain factors
make it impracticable to reveal such
statements at present. That concludes
the interview, since no other data are
worth while, except, possibly, the cost
Of the financing to the corporation.
New-York tribune., 1922-07-02
The Consumer Ownership
Plan i'm Public Utilities
New York Telephone Stock Offering an
Example of Bankcrless Financing
TO Increase Good Will

ME New York Telephone Companys
cent preferred stock patrons much an exner
ent as many investors inclined
SUBSCRIPTIONS for the stock It Of
extensive has become the scheme financing public service
without the aid Of the middcman scheme not e
' eas II Is old enough to have acquired
py which better known small
poitan district Of New Of the other denxov
sections Of the East.
New-York tribune., 1922-07-02
Stockholders Gaining

The old public be damned" attitud.
of business toward the consumer is
rapidly disappearing from industries
outside the field of public utility. The
American Telephone and Telegraph
Company, the United States Steel Cor
poration, the Pennsylvania Railroad
and other Dlg corporations that the soap
box orator has in mind when bera.-
ing "capital' and big bus ness" take
pride IN throwing open their stock rec
ord books four times a year to disp!av
the increasing number Of persons who
own their stocks The smaller the
average of shares per stockholder the
more impressive is the showing.
Then, too, the big interests are sp!it-
ting up the unit OF stock ownership so
as TO permit the little interests to
come IN. No one can contend that the
object Of the Texas Company and the
Indiana, New Jersey and California
Standard Oil companies in reducing The
par value of their stocks from 500 20
S25 was TO make it easier for the big
OIL families to accumulate q few more
shares Of stock. The reason why Gen
eral Motors common, Electric Storage
battery, Cuban American Sugar and
other erstwhile rich mems stocks were
split up into ten parts is not exactly q
puzzle. There are still some com
panies which treat their earnings and
balance sheet as nobody's business. but
with the passing out of the interests in
control they will all fall in line
New-York tribune., 1922-07-02

The rather sharp upturn in the
activity Of wooden and worsted pro-
ducing machinery in this country in
May has led to much discussion con-
corning the future course of the in
dustry. The chart traces the curve
of activity Of wide looms and wor-
sted and woolen spindles for the last
two and half years as reported by
the government. The activity of the
New-York tribune., 1922-07-02
Investment Philosophy

Flux is so eternally factor in
finance that Heraclitus, the Greek
philosopher who formulated the sys-
tenn based on the idea that all is
change, ought to be made patron saint Of
the financial district. Since the future
is unknowable to a large degree, the in
vestor is foolhardy to buy securities
and put them away and forget them.
The bond department Of one Of the
New-York tribune., 1922-07-02

Francisco and other cities and town,
IN California, is given credit for herr
the FIRST large public utility company
10 carry out the customer ownershlp
idea on m extensive scale. There are
some interesting facts in the reports
recently made by eighty-four electric
companies 10 the National Electric
Light Association. These conrpanies
serve territories With an aCgregats
population OF 2S,75S.009 and have 8
$4,000 customers. An average Of LIS
2er cent OF tne population and per
cent Of tsc customers are stockholders
Of these companics IN AVERAGE a.
so per cent OF the Ttock bought by
consumers $ beng carried by the com
panics on the deferred payment plan.
This list of eighty four companies
docs not cover the whole field Of Gus
toner ownership activities, but it NAV
be taken as a fairly representative
group for statistical purposes. In
most cases the practice has been =
conine tie customers interest to that
OF limited partnership through the sale
- rrefcrred stock. thc companies rec
ognizing the injury that might De done
by selling 10 small invcstors any class
Of security that might in periods cf
stress suspend dividends. The eighty
four companies in question have sold
about 100000 shares Of stock in tine
eight years during which the consumer
ownership plan has been actively tol-
lowed ont. About half this total is
credited to the wear 1891
New-York tribune., 1922-07-02

'"e pfihcipal ann OF the customer
ownership scheme may be fully apprc-
Grated after observing what has hap
pened in the case Of the New York
Telephone Company. At present the
company has only one stockholder.
namely, the American Telephone and
Telegraph Company. When the ncw
preferred stock. for which subscrip-
tons have just closed, has been issued
tho company will have upwards OF
10000 stockholders. In other words,
10000 persons will have acquired a
substantial interest in seeing the New
York Telephone Company earn It's
dlvldends. Customer ownership thus
has significant object aside from the
mere acquisition of new capital.
: The practice Of selling stock to con-
sumers would be unduly expensive
to the public service companies if the
motive were nothing moro than 10 Sc
cure new caDital, for, IS a matter Of
tact, the net cost Of the stock selling
is IN many cases greatly in excess Of
the price that bankers would char.rc
tor performing thc service Thirty
five o. the cighty-four electric light
companies reporting their customer
ownership activities to the National
Electric Light Association have been
paying an average of $430 for every
share of stock issued under this plan.
The cost was as high as 50 a share in
ono INSTANCE
New-York tribune., 1922-07-02
!. 8 q /

narrow looms (thosc of less than
5O-inch reed space) is not charted,
but 1t would closely simulate that of
the wide looms shown here.
The effect of the recent demand
for woolens as distinguished from
worsteds is shown in the curves of
activity Of the worsted and woolen
spindles. Through 1920 and 1921
the worsted spindles maintained q
New-York tribune., 1922-07-02
ins GOOD WiIi''

The answer is that the sale of stocl.
BY producer Of service TO a consumer
cannot be viewed as a cold blooAcd dol
laTs-and-cents proposition, at least not
dlrectiy. The subject cannot be :rcat-
ed without considering that intanpiblc
thing which the company receives from
me consumers in addition
TO TO the Sl00 snare paid for the stock.
mat element is called good will" The
New ! ork Telephone Company has out
staGding two issues Of per cent bonds
cue in 1871 and 1949, respectively, that
arc selling on a 81 per cent basis. No
ore who has been following the course
OF the bond rlsrket and ;he reception
given to new issues OF high grade
bonds will doubt that this comnany
could easily have foated an issue Of
bonds at this time for at least onc-hal
OF one per cent lower than will be paid
1or the issuance Of the $25 1000 900 of
~ per cont preferred stock.
In this particular case the answer is
that the New York Telephone Company
IN selling 6h2 per cent stock at par
paying ! per cent commission to IFS
employees for the sale Of stock and in
addition incurrina a material expense
IN the handling of thousands of pur-
cHases on the installnlent plan-was
acquiring something more than new
capital. The company was acquiring
the good will Of 10000 persons who use
telephones.
The danger Of political interference
Is ever present in the management of
public service corporation The com
pany having q substantial number of
consumer stockholders possesses a
buffer against extreme and unreason-
ing regulation. No electric company
dcceives itself with the belief or hope
that consumer will leave his home
lights burning through the night sim
ply because he is also q stockholder and
therefore has an interest in SEEING the
company's gross sales increase. But
periods of excessive cost for labor and
materials will comc-one has just
r@ssed-and on such occasions it helps
materially if the consumer can be
made to realize, through his stockhold
ing interest. that rates and costs ought
TO move in the same direction.
Success OF the Plon
The Pacific Gas and Electric Com
panv which supplies the Citv of San
New-York tribune., 1922-07-02
Confident of Increasing
: U. S.--Argentine Trade
Americans Sound Note of Optimism at
Buenos Ayres c. of C.. Dinner:
New Loan Is Predicted
Special Foreign Financial Correspondence

BUENOS AYRES June a.
STRONG confidence immediate future ~ Au
trade with the Argentine characterized speeches
last night at the third annual banquet States Cham
There big gathering American business w
though time limit set for all speakers actual
nevertheless thoroughly discussed remarkable
Of opinion displayed to the
the of commercial depression immediate Improvement
New-York tribune., 1922-07-02

greater degree of activity than did
woolen spindles. A decline in the
activity of the worsted lpindles set
in last September and was un-
checked until May. The activity of
woolen spindles, however, has been
almost steadily upward, with but
few recessions since the low point of
activity was reached at the end of
1920.
New-York tribune., 1922-07-02
Along the Highways of Finance

TN the ordinary statistical manuals the
ship and golf upon finance is sedu
lously ignored. And yet Wall Street,
like Essex Street or any other thor
oughfare, is populated by human be-
ings who react to emotional stirs as
we'll as to the testimony of mathemati-
cal formula. 1t will be the purpose of
this feature, which will appear on the
economics feature page on occasional
Sundays, to reflect the atmosphere and
the humanness of the places where
money sprouts and multiplies. This at
tempt is prompted by the theory that
there is more to finance and business
than can be formulated in cold Arabic
digits.
Economists who forget the human
equation perennially go astray in their
prognostications. A learned student,
associated with great banking insti-
tuition, spoke confidently soon after
the armistice of the prospective de-
cline in commodity prices. His view
was based on sound logic but poor
psychology. He failed to make allow
ances for the behavior of crowds.
Result: prices, after wavering early in
1919 and reacting somewhat, climbed
substantially higher and did not attain
their peaks until the early months of
1920. Then the anticipated collapse
came. But those who translated the
advice of the economist into business
practice had an Improbable adventure.
In the relentless whirl of commerce it
is important to know when develop
ment will occur.
To check the alarming increase in
the number of those who assert they
are able Correctly to forecast commod-
ity and security prices there ought to
be a movement to put time limit on
'rcdictions. The Weather Bureau is
always right if you wait long enough
for flair and warmer" weather or
showers" as the case may be.
New-York tribune., 1922-07-02

the thoroughfare which Curb brokers
used to make a more or less free and
open public market in securities.
New-York tribune., 1922-07-02
The MANAGEMENT Factor

Balance sheets, in such cases, are
primarily useful for bridling the en-
thusiasm Of security peddlers.
Painstaking students Of the worth Of
New-York tribune., 1922-07-02
Individual Bank Figures

banks and trust
adnrn1D
New-York tribune., 1922-07-02
Conferences abroad

Time also has a reputation among
the human race of being a healer.
Toward the close of the war MANY
speculated how long it would take for
prejudice against Germany and Ger
mans to fade away in Allied countries.
Walter Rathenau was one of the first
Germans to win widespread respect
among the countries which were
enemies of Germany during the recent
war. DR.. Rathenau's standing was ap-
preciated while he lived, though his
pre-eminence among his countrymen
has been emphasized since an assassin
eliminated him from the small group
which had been most useful in seeking
to place reparations on workable
basis
Reparations and inter-Allied debts.
despite all the recent European meet
ings, remain to a large extent prob
lens yet to be tackled. Bernard NJ.
Baruch, who represented the United
States at the reparations discussions
at Versailles during negotiations,
thinks that the series of conferences,
though seemingly ending in failure,
are useful as fool killers.
Before going abroad some weeks
ago Mr.. Baruch, in conversation, ex-
adjustment Of the European economic
tangle would involve: A reparation
bill of $4,000 100000, in addition to
what has already been paid; a reason
able rate of interest on the unpaid
reparations; satisfaction of French
fears as to her national safety; a
stoppage of the presses printing new
currency, and taxation of the people,
who must realize that they can dis
charge their debts only by working,
and international lending only for pur-
poses of production. Mr.. Baruch was
of the opinion that the bankers can be
OF service at present only by specifying
the terms on which loans can be made.
He deplorcd loans designed merely to
postpone the day Of reckoning, when
productivity on large scale must be
used to liquidate indebtedness.
Although envisaging no easy soly
tion for the riddles of the Old World,
Mr.. Baruch is confident that the peo-
pies will finally "dig themselves out"
New-York tribune., 1922-07-02

Wallace r. Lee. the new president of
.,s chamber, was in the chair, and the
ruests included Ambassador Riddle.
consul General Robertson and Senor
Cuillermo Padilla, president of the Ar
rsrtne Chamber of Commerce. The
Chairman mentioned that since the
last banquet quite number who had
,hen been with them had given up the
sgh. against conditions which all had
found heart-breakng, but most of the
nioneers in American trade we're still
With them, carrying on and winning
out The ambassador said he was too
rev in the country to offer ain opinion
az 10 local conditions, but he was in a
uosition to say that the general out
look in the United States was better
,haa it had been for some time and
rave promise of improvement.
Development OF u. s. Trade
Consul General Robertson gave an
interesting review of the development
Of American trade with the Latin re-
nublics and disclosed by statistics the
error Of the idea that this trade had
only come into existence as the result
Of the World War. AS far back as 1913,
he said, the United States had trade
combining imports and exports, with
Ltin-America bigger than any other
country in the world This trade GER
tainly increased enormously during the
war. At the end of 1918 the United
States was furnishing about 10 per
cent of all the imports into the twenty
republics. The prophecy that this
trade would collapse on the termina-
ton of hostilities had been falslfied.
II was true that some of it's had been
lost, but the official statistics for the
year ended June 80, 1921, showed that
commerce with Latin-America was still
three times what it was in 1908 and
twice what it was in 1913.
The setback during 1921 came in an
abnormal year. when everybody had to
suffer and yet when they analyzed the
decline they found it was a decline in
values. while true trade statistics
should be in quantities. That the
United States still held her leading
1position in Latin America and went on
Strengthening and improving her COM
smerce could only result, he argued,
from the fact that customers were
ssatished with American goods and
methods. If our goods" Mr.. Robert
bon added, had not continued to sell
themselves on their merits, and if the
te:ms and conditions on which we sold
lhem had not been in the main salts
factory, the trade statistics of to-day
you'd tell very different story"
Felt Depression
Referring specifically to conditions
b Argentina, the Consul General said
hat 1921 was bad business year.
he republic had felt the shock of
For!d depression and the collapse in
Fices. besides experiencing a crisis in
be livestock industry. American trade
hd struggled against the imitation in
.e dollar which had gone over SO per
mt above par. Exchange was now
lser. The accumulation of unac-
.pted merchandise had all been
qu!dated, and the scare of exag-
Grated competition from Central Eu-
lpe had been exploded. In conclu-
on he said: "The worst is certainly
yer and we have every reason to look
the future with confidence
There is every probability of Argen-
be again being in the market pres
New-York tribune., 1922-07-02
Success of the PLon

The Pacific Gas and Electric Com
pany, which supplies the City of San