Evening star., 1923-01-08
YEAR OF EXTENSIVE
BUYING PREDICTED
Manufacturers See GFeater
Demand for Goods and
tds -etr j
Higher Price Trend.
BY j. G. RoYLE.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
| NEW YORK. January s.-The buga-
boo of cancellations, which has been
| making faces at manufacturers
wholesalers and jobbers for the last
two years, has been chased away in
nearly every line of industry by the
present trend of buying.
Buyers who fiocked into this mar,
ket today well in advance OF the
usual time, indicated plainly conn.
dence that the prevailing trend Of
prices is upward had taken firm hold
both of retailers and consumers.
Stocks of retailers are low through
out the country and many of the pur.
chases at manufacturing and jobbing
centers are for immediate delivery
but sufficient confidence in the buying
trend of the public has been gained
to stimulate orders also for deliveries
well past the spring months. The or
ders in general have not been excep-
tionally large in quantity. but manu-
facturers are not alarmed over this
development. They have come to
know that they can depend on re-
orders.
South Buying Heavily.
Merchants all over the country have
laid out their plans TO include more
buying trips In the south. for eH-
ample, merchants, instead of making
two annual trips to the wholesale
centers of the east and north, Will
make four or five this year. Clothing
and house furnishings have been the
leaders in early demand for spring
so far.
Advancing prices for raw materials
are a sustaining factor in the trend
of finished products. It seems asJ
sured that woolen goods will advance;
upward can only be determined when
the main factor in the trade. the
American Woolen Company, an
nounces it's heavyweight prices. Some
independents in scattered instances,
have already named advances rang
ing up to Is per cent for certain
products.
Government experts and individual
dealers anu producers agree that the
shortage of cotton is such that prices
Will continue to rise despite the dis
couraging European situation. As
consequence cotton goods arS ex-
tremely firm.
Automobile Orders Booked:
Orders booked at the New York
automobile show today indicated
clearly that plans of manufacturers
TO surpass this year the record prod
uction of 2,527,000 cars and trucks are
fully justified Reductions in prices
already announced, and expected
shortly, can only be explained on the
theory that quantity production is
profits. Prices of parts and acces
sories, however, are exhibiting eA-
treme frmness.
Recent statements in these columns
as to the condition of the street rail
ways of the United States were fully
borne out today by the report Of
President c. D. Emmons of the Amer
ican Electric Railway Association.
who declared that there has been q
steady increase in the number of pas
sengers carried since May last, and
that more than $1,000, 100000 pas
sengers paid fares in 1922. Although
net operating revenues decreased IA
per cent, due to fare reductions from
an average of 7.49 to 7.33 per cent.
this was more than counterbalanced
by a decrease of SO per cent in op-
Grating expenses.
ConI Strike Less MenacinE.
One of the most encouraging fac
tors in the business situation today
was the announcement by officials OF
the United Mine Workers that they
did not expect strike on April /.
when the present agreement expires.
Operators and miners, however, are
still far apart on some of the ques
tionS at issue.
The demand and consumption ot
silk is keeping pace. step for step.
with the heavy imports now reach
ing this market One shipment from
Seattle valued at more than $500
600 is expected to reach this city
Tuesday morning.
The Improvement in the oil situa-
tion has been followed by additional
operations, chief among which is IN
auguration of work on the trunk
pipe line from the Teapot Dome field
in Wyoming to Freeman, Mo-, by the
Sinclair Pipe Line Company.