Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-01-18
Trade Trend and Outlook
Cham Store Executive Sees End of Business Depres-
sion in Revival of Purchases by the Public
and Retail Merchants.

President Of F. W. Woolworth Co., as told
to J. v. Fitz Gerald.
Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, January 17.-Inven-
tories were so reduced by the heavy
volume of Christmas buying that re-
tailers will soon be in the market for
fresh goods to put on their shelves and
counters. Once they begin to make the
purchases they will need to carry on
their business we will see an upturn
that will surely, in the long run, take
us out of the period of depression.
The stocks on hand of the average
merchant have been low for some
months now. Hand-to-mouth buying
by retailers has been the rule rather
than the exception. Few shelves were
overstocked when the holiday trade be-
gan and they were pretty well cleaned
out by the first of the year.
Doubt and uncertainty as to the fu-
ture, as well as the prospect of buying
more advantageously in falling mar
ket. prompted many merchants to go
light on their purchases of stocks. Now
they find themselves stocked lower than
ever and facing the probability that
prices, instead of dropping more, will
gradually go up.
Curtailment of Purchases.
Certainly it doesn't seem as if the
prices the manufacturer is getting for
his goods can drop much lower and
permit him to carry on. If they should
labor might have to be liquidated to
allow the manufacturer to keep going
No one wants to see wage cuts come to
pass. Such a happening would be a
serious assault on our high standards
of living.
The old law of supply and demand,
on which no one has yet found a way
to get around, should take care of the
situation. Thousands of families in
the United States, who have in no way
been affected by the depression of the
past year, have, nevertheless, curtailed
purchases of wearing apparel, house
hold equipment and even certain of
the necessities.
This lessened demand AS soon as
purchases fell off there was a halt in
production. Now the goods that were
made up and on hand have been greatly
depleted. Likewise clothes, household
equipment and the like have been wear
ing out. Soon there will be a constant
ly growing demand for manufactured
articles. Once this demand comes in
earnest, supply will have to catch up
with it.
Because of this condition, it doesn't
seem reasonable that prices will go
NcIy muCH lOWeE. III IdCI, WlCn the m
creased demand that seems destined to
prevail in the near future. there is likely
to come gradual price raise
While depression has gripped the
country for something more than a
year 1t must he remembered that vast
majority of people suffered no loss of
income through the lowering of wages.
Although they have been reluctant to
buy, their purchasing power has in no
way been reduced. Soon they will have
to satisfy actual needs through buying
from the retailer.
improvement Noted.
He in turn will have to purchase from
the wholesaler who will send increased
orders to the manufacturer. That means
mills now closed, or operating on part
time, will return to a normal basis. I'm
provernent is already noted in the tex
tile industry, which is taken by qualified
observers as an almost certain indica-
ton that better times are ahead.
We have suffered little diminution in
real wealth. We have suffered largely
through fear and hesitancy. This lack
of confidence in the future has been
largely responsible for holding back a
return to normal conditions Now there
are abundant signs of returned courage
in industry, which are in themselves in
dications that improvement Is at hand.
Many observers are optimistic over