Evening star., 1923-05-15
ADVANCE IN SILK
PRICES IS HALTED
Yokohama Market Near
StandstiII-Higher Costs
Here Resisted.
BY J. C. ROYLE.

special Dispatch to The Star
NEW YORK, May 15.-The upward
movement of silk prices has halted
ana the raw product today Is 35 cents
pound below the high mark of this
year The fiuctuation of the raw cot
ton market is held largely responsible
Tor this by silk importers and ex-
perts. Silk, they insist, always fol-
lows the trend Of the cotton market
provided the cotton movements are
continued and do not represent mere
ly brief temporary fluctuations.
The immediate cause for the drop
In SILK quotations. according to E. z.
bache. a member of a prominent silk
importing and brokerage firm here, is
the dullness and lethargy of the
Yokohama market. Normally transac-
tions In Yokohama involve from 500
to 1900 bales daily. Since May l. less
than 500 bales have changed hands.
Silk Followed Cotton.
Japanese silk exporters in the ma
Jorlty OF cases, are also importers of
cotton. Silk followed cotton UP, each
| seeking new high levels. but when
cotton began to drop in price the
1
nave ready cash to take care OF
| their commitments bought previous
| time.
They were forced to throw ut least
part OF their silk holdings or the
| market to secure these funds, and this
move produced an immediate slacken-
| ing In demand from American silk
! consumers. AS a result prices have
continued to drop. and SO far the
4 nj % ~ IL,
served to stimulate the demand here.
Demand also has been affected in
this country by the irregularity in
! cotton. Makers of mixed cotton and
SILK goods. when the spread between
! the relative prices of silk and cotton
becomes too great. either curtail man
ufacture or use more cotton in their
products.
Price Advances Resisted.
Then, too, resistance to price ad-
vances for finished silk goods has
! been very strong. While some ad-
Justments upward have been put into
effect. many lines of silk goods are
| still selling at less than replacement
| costs with silk at top figures. In
spite OF this manufacturers have been
exercising extreme caution in nam
ing higher prices in order to avoid
precipitating a buyers strike. The
Knit goods branch still is showing
unprecedented activity, but the Amer
| lean silk industry as a whole is now
operating at less than 60 per cent of
| capacity.
Use of artificial silk has Increased
16S per cent in the last three years
In addition to these factors tending
to curtail demand estimates before
June Is indicate that the 1923 yield
will be substantially larger than
pect of a shortage.
Manufacturers also are watching
style changes closely before pressing
output. Only short time ago skein
dyed and piece dyed goods were In
extremely heavy demand. Today the
print goods are the heavy sellers and
| manufacturers fear that some equally
radical change may make its appear
| ance before the summer is over.
"SnOwballing'' Wages Discussed.
Snowballing of wages in building
trades-that is. rolling up increases
from one trade and one job to an
other-was the main topic of discus
sion In both labor and manufactur-
ing circles today. Many astute labor
leaders strongly oppose this tendency
| as likely to lead to a check of opera
| tions. Plumbers in New York have
| come to an agreement with employ
| ing plumbers providing for the dis
| ciplining of members Of eithar party
| who pay or receive more than the
| union scale for the next three years.
| The present scale Is $40 for an eight
| hour day. Some scattered demands
have been made for $14 day by
plasterers
| Members of the National Associa-
tion of Manufacturers pointed their
discussion today at what they termed
the falling off in individual efficiency
| of labor and the necessity for in
| creased efficiency, not only to meet
| present demands, but to prevent n
possible check to future industrial
| activity.