The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-09-19
TRADE
BO0|V|S, SAYS
LEADER
Both Domestic and Foreign
Markets Strong and Future
Bright, Says Rupprecht.
BY w. s. COUSINS.
Copyright. 1923, by Cosmopolitan
News Service.)

News Service)
NEW YORK, Sept. 19.-If every
department of American business
and industry were as promising as
the. textile industry looks to Fred
erick K. Rupprecht. chairman of
the Consolidated Textile Corpora.
ton and president of Converse &
Company, textile distributors, there
would be no room for gloom and
pessimism in banking and business
circles.
Both the domestic and export
business of the textile trade are
enjoying an active season." said
Rupprecht today, land 1 see little
likelihood of a curtailment of this
activity for many months to come.
If you had talked with me about
three months ago, would have
been unable to give you such a
favorable report of the textile in
dustry, nor would I have dared
to prOphesy so confidently about
the immediate future. In line with
the general slump in domestic
trade, which was not confined to
a small number Of important in
dustries, the cotton trade suffered
mild depression in the second
quarter of this year, and for a time
the outlook was anything but prom
Using"
Rupprecht attributed a good
part of the depression In this Sec
ond quarter ito uncertainty as to
developments in prices OF raw cot.
Yt0o 20 0f1
Feared Lower Prices.
$50 long as jobbers and retailers
entertained the idea that prices
might go lower" he said, they
naturally held aloof from the mar
ket, and it was difficult to keep
things moving from the mills to
the points OF consumption. When
they came to the conclusion that
prices would go no lower they came
into the market and bought freely
of all lines, particularly the better
grade OF prints and mercerized
goods.
THE preference of the American
consumers is always for the high
est grade of commodities 1t is pos
sible for US to produce. They have
long ago discarded the plain and
coarser grades of cotton cloth, and
cultivated a liking for the finest
production that the industry can
provide. In this they are exhibit
ing the same tastes and tendencies
rooms, automobiles, radio and other
evidences of progress. The world
will never go back to the old stand
ards Of living, and progressive bust
ness must keep in line with the de-
n1ands of the times"
Maintain Buying Power.
Rupprecht believes there will be
no appreciate decline in the buy
ing power of the American people
for long time and 1t is on this
theory that he bases hist confidence
in the continuance Of prosperity for
the country as whole.
There Is no likelihood Of lower
buying power" he said. "either be-
cause of unemployment = or lower
wage scales in industry. Working
men earning good wages. are good
spenders and prosperity for them
means prosperity for the tradesmen
who cater to their neds. Buying
power is no longer represented by
a limited number of well to do. but
a great number Of ample wage
earners.
'Our August export business was
three times as large as our July
record, the prospects are our bust
ness this year in outside markets
will be double that of last year.
The principal markets for manu-
manufactured cotton goods are Cuba
Argentina, China, Japan and the
Levant. England, France and Ger
mny supply most of their own re-
quirements from their mills and
splindles, though the raw material
is largely imported from Ameria."
Foreigners In Market.
The foreign buyer, according to
Rupprecht, also "sensed the bot
TOM Of the price movement. and
quickly rushed into the market
when he realized that prices were
more apt to advance than to recede.
One of the important develop
ments of the postwar period, in
the textile industry, has been the
gradual replacing of foreign manu-
facturers of high grade and fancy
print cloths, by American mills.
Rupprecht pointed out that Amer
lean manufacturers had demon
strated they could produce su-
perior article and place it on the
market as cheaply, or even at lower
prices, than their foreign competi-
tors.