San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-01-03
FROZEN CREDITS
A THING Of THE
PAST IN THE j. s.
Farmers Have Cash to Carry
Them Without
Harvest.
NO DENT In SAVINGS
Heavy Christmas Buying
Has Not Weakened Bank
Deposits.
NO DENT IN SAVINGS
BY J. c. ROYLE.
Copyright, 1898.

New York, Jan. 3.-Whatever the
readings of the thermometers may show,
frozen credits are thing of the past
IN practically every section of the
United States this year.
For the first time in years farmers
have enough ready cash on hand to car
~ them through until they market their
products in 1923. AS they do not have
TO borrow, their credit is thoroughly re-
stored and they are able to do SO on adj
yantageous terms.
The extent of this widespread credit
improvement is indicated by telegraphlc
dispatches received within the last IL
hours. Bank officials in the South
west reported normal credit conditions
with an increase of deposits in both
country and city institutions.
No Dent in Savings.
Reliable reports from Chicago showed
plainly that the bulge in the Christmas
stocking Of the middle-west which i'll
Chicago alone represented buying i'll ex-
cess of 100000, 100 had left no dent III
the savings bank accounts. Twenty of
the larger state banks in Chicago re-
ported today that on December ~ their
savings accounts were per cent i'll
excess of the total on September 10.
National banks in the middle-west also
reported large increases in deposits.
Deposits in the state banks in Min
nesota gained $27, 554.5l3 in 1922, ris-
ing to total of S43T ,6l2,S91 and the
steady improvement in conditions re-
corded in that section during the last
seven months is counted on to continue,
especially among the farmers, and live
stock men.
New Orleans financiers report that
the banks of that section have practical
ly wiped out their frozen loans.
Banks Reduce Indebtedness.
Country bankse have reduced their i'll
debtcdnesses per cent in the last year
and bankers have no hesitancy in pre-
dieting that the volume of trade of thee
South will be 10 10 20 per cent greater
this year than in 1922.
In Pennsylvania Christmas savings
clubs accounted for the saving of $2l,-
D02.O00 in 1922 with Ii per cent in
vS--Sse in the number of savers. Regu-
lar savings deposits in Philadelphia
banks decreased rapidly since NOvem-
Der, but this was accounted for by the
fat that the savings deposits paid only
$50 per cent whereas government bonds
yielded 4 IA or better and large sums
were Withdrawn for these latter in
vestments, deposits in Houston, Texas,
gained over $1,000,000 from Septem-
Der Is to the end of the year and ex-
ceeded $100,900,OO0 for the first time.
With these conditions in view, mer-
chants are buying heavily for the com
ing spring season. The advance guard
of purchasing agents has already reach
cd this market. Silks are in excellent
demand in tliis market.
Possibility of another coal strike APP
pears If the operators and miners of the
bituminous fields are unable to get to-
gether has resulted in the placing of fair
sized orders for British coal for import
here and some vessels in the Atlantic
trade already have been booked to carry
coal cargoes to American ports.
The marked increase In agricultural
prosperity in the latter part of 1923
was measured to some extent by the in
creases in sales of mail order houses.
Montgomery Ward sales rose from $780,
95G,0{9 in 1921 to Sg2 474, 1S2 in 1922
gain of u per cent.
Farmers of the South found comfort
today in the declaration of DIR. Reese
Hutchinson. managing director of the
Boil Weevil Control Bureau Of the
American Cotton Association, that the
newly discovered "mOuntain or white
arsenic in Utah" would materially
lessen shortage of calcium arsenate with
which to fight the pest.