Evening star., 1923-12-19
MANY WEAK SPOTS
IN RETAIL TRADE
Sections Depending on Cold
Winter Are Depressed.
Shoe Sales Poor.
BY j. c. ROYLE.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, December l9.-The
open weather of the early winter
season has had a strongly depressing
effect on retail trade in various lines
in nearly all sections and merchants
regard it as remarkable that depart
ment store sales in November gained
51a per cent over last year through
out the country as a whole.
They declare that it speaks vol
umes for the stability of conditions
and business prosperity that the ef-
feet has not been even greater.
Seasonal goods are moving slowly
and in some instances stores have
already inaugurated clearance sales
in order to clear their shelves before
the inventory period. Shoes and
clothing have suffered to an especial
degree.
AS result of the backward season
for rubber footwear, the Boston Rub
ber Shoe Company has decided to
close it's plants at Maiden and Mel
December, %, and will resume after
that period on four day y-a-week
basis. This will affect 1850 work
men. Officials of the company say
this action was the result of un-
favorable weather and no other
cause.
Want Snow in Northwest.
In the northwestern states retailers
are dismayed. at the continued open
weather They declare that a real
snow fall in the next few days would
mean a difference of hundreds of
thousands of dollars in their receipts.
Merchants declare that the effect of
this unseasonal weather is largely
psychological and therefore has a
strong effect on other lines than sea
sonal goods. Some of the retailers
and jobbers of the northwest have
Cancelled orders placed with eastern
manufacturers for heavywei ght cloth
ing.
Weather has had a lesser effect in
the south, where the Atlanta district
sales of 14.5 per cent over those Of
last year. The trend in California,
Arizona, Utah and Nevada, where the
seasonal change is not so abrupt as
III states farther north, showed a
similar reaction. the gains there be-
ing 10 per cent. However. none of
the twelve federal reserve districts
showed decrease in sales below last
year for the month, whereas in the
previous month the Kansas City dis
trict showed a decline.
Depression in Textiles.
The large industrial areas all
experienced average trade and the fact
that the Pennsylvania Steel companies
Will have their Se'mi-monthly pay DAY
this week is calculated to stimulate the
pre-Chrstmas buying there. In spite
Of the unfavorable textile situation in
New England. the department store
sales there have shown steady improve
tnent for the past three months.
A period of stagnation seems to have
come over the Fall River district so far
as the cotton goods market is concerned
The cotton mills division of the Ameri-
can Printing Company will close eleven
plants Saturday for an indefinite period
throwing from $500 to 1000 employees
out of work.
Some idea of the contraction in the
goods market may be gathered from
the fact that last weeks sales in
Fall River aggre egated about 10000
pieces. Some weeks last summer the
sales volume reached over 100000
pieces. Soaring cotton prices recently
has created a replacement cost for
goods far above present quotations.
Mills Sell Raw Cotton.
AS a result of the slackness in
trading. some mills have deemed il
expedient to take a profit on their
raw cotton rather than to manufac-
ture it into goods and buy more at
present levels. One of the largest
mills at New Bedford is declared to
have been disposing of a large guam
tity of cotton purchased we'll below
present levels. This concern has
been running but a small percentage
of its spindles lately, and the infer
once here is that II does not antici-
pate immediate revival in demand for
coarse goods, yarns and tire fabrics,
in which 1t specializes.