Evening star., 1923-03-30
EASTER SHOPPING
! DELIGHTS DEALERS
Trade Best for Years-0nion
! Sales Slow - Potato
= Price Drop Feared.
BY j. G. ROYLE-

Special Dispatch to The Star
NEW YORK, March S0.-Not FOR
years have the retail merchants or
the United States had 50 satisfactory
a volume OF business as has marked
the Easter season this spring. In
most cases the crowds have rivaleo
the flood Of Christmas shoppers Which
swarmed into the stores last Decem-
ber. Reports from main merchanois-
ing centers Of the country today indi-
Gated that the volume of sales sur
passed that of 1922 by from 20 to 40
per cent.
No limo of goods was entirely neg
lected, although it was apparent that
the demand for mems clothing. and
especially top coats, was not OF the
same proportions as that for women S
wear. Price advances, which up to
this time have been exceedingly mod
crate. in comparison to raises In costs
of labor and materials, have not
served to check buying. New style
ideas have proved major buying
attraction. especially those based on
the Egyptian vogueS. which have
taken the feminine population by
storm.
Produce Not So Promising.
The Easter season, which normally
Is a period of prosperity for certain
lines of food products. has not been
so advantageous as usual for those
commodities. These products at this
time of year find their chief marketr
among the foreign born citizens, and
producers, having just become aware
Of this fact. in the last year or 50
have flooded many of the centers
where foreigners are located with an
excess of supplies.
Onions, for example. find their
briSkeSt demand among the Jewish
population at Passover. and this year,
with a big crop produced last year.
the markets are overSupplied. Sellers
are holding back for high prices and
buyers, seeing the volume of vege-
tables availa BILE, are refusing to buy.
In this city the onion center. at pier
II, North river, is blocked with prod
uce from the south, west and Ber-
muda.
Chickens High; Turkeys Low.
Poultry also is in extreme demand
In centerS where foreigner are con-
gregated, and chickens in eastern
centers have risen to As cents a
pound. considerable business In
live turkeys also has developed, but
these fowls may be had at from "a
to 81 cents, which is from 90 to 40
cents a pound below the prices which
obtained during the Christmas holi-
days
Restrictions against the entry into
many eastern cities of live goats have
been removed for Easter week be-
cause of the demand for young kids
regarded az an especial Easter deli
cacy among those Of Italian birth
The shipment of these kids, most of
which come from Georgia. has grown
into an extensive industry.
Potato.Prices May Drop.
Possibilities ~ lrnr t. e.
prices within the next month, which
will reach panic proportions. are fully
recognized in provision circles A
week ago potatoes advanced mater
tally all over the country, but the
food OF shipments which followed
speedily stified demand and caused a
nearly 5O,ooO,O0o bushels of potatoes
still in the hands of growers and
dealers from the 1922 crop. These
must be sold in the next six weeks
or sprouting will make them upavail-
able. The new crop potatoes already
are making their appearance from
Florida and Bermuda and bringing
from 10.00a14.00 a barrel
Conditions OF Stocks 4 Factor,
The stability of prices even at pres
ent levels for old crop tubers depends
entirely on the condition Of stocks
In the hands Of growers. In many
Instances 1t is reported the potatoes
were simply dumped into pits in the
fields last fall. Few If any of such
stocks will be available for market.
H. however, the major proportion of
potatoes on farms and in storage are
IN fair conditions a slump in prices
hardly can be avoided. The situa-
tton has been helped somewhat. how
ever, by the damage done the new
crops by freezes in the south and
southwest.