Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-04-02
TEXTILE INDUSTRY
MAY AID RECOVERY
Larger Seasonal Sales Held
Likely to Assist General
Business.
BY J. r. BRACKET.

ASSuC aIeQ FreSS BUSINESS EolCOfs
NEW YORK, April I'm the ss,-
00o, o00,000 Royal House of Textiles
there has been family trouble, as In
nearly all American industrial houses.
King Cotton's huge domain has pro-
duced too many Of the white puffs that
give him power.
Prince Wool has seen the coats
sheared from his Kingdom Of Sheep.
remain merely as wool fibers - not
coats and suits that bring cash
Queen Silk, always a sensible per-
son and never making a great many,
too. many pretty dresses, nonetheless
had not sold nearly as much of her
product as she'd like.
And Count Rayon, the pretender,
whose cloth comes from chemical watts,
needs more purchasers-if he Is to
usurp the textile throne.
Recovery In 1921.
But this royal family was the first
TO recover from industrial troubles
back in 1921 during another depres.
sion and now, 10 years later, It may
again be foreshadowtng general re-
covery.
In the first place there are fewer
goods to sell. Merchants sleeves are
not nearly SO full of the dead weight of
unsuitable merchandise that keeps the
merchants money tied up. Such stocks
OF cotton in February were 3l9, 1926. 900
yards-the figure representing 10 Der
cent OF the staple and course goods Of
the industry - the lowest In several
years. And untitled orders were $685..
100000, the highest since December.
1929. Meanwhile, sales of 326. SOL 900
yards were the highest since last Sep
tember-which Is per cent more than
the three-year average, and definitely
more than seasonal.
Cotton is the leader-even q Spec
tacular leader. But how much of the
gains represent a demand for goods
long held back by empty pocketbooks:
and by seasonal influences cannot be
known. Another six months should ten
the story.
People likewise demand more wool.
more clothes to replace their wardrobes.
Ten per cent more wool went into
manufacture in January than in De-
cember. Wool clothing prices are the
lowest since 1919. The number of looms
making the thread for your clothes has
gone up materially in the last few
months-but there still are q great
many looms not operating at all. Per-
haps In all the textiles, there'u be q
smaller production from now on-per-
prove that you should not make more
than you can SELL
Silk Industry.
Silk people, always on top of the sta
tistical figures, never have felt the de-
preston as has other industry. Where
steel ingot production found its lowest
level at 40 per cent below normal, silk
dropped just once to 20 per cent sub
normal. In January and February. inn
portant silk sales were 3 per cent over !
January and February, 1880, which is
Slightly more than seasonal.
Rayon manufactures were In higher
production than in 1880 the first three
months this year, but rayon, a new
conner in the textile family, is a rela-
lively poor indicator because it does not
have as stable a market as do the other
textiles.
But cotton, wool, silk and rayon
products are being made In increasing
amount these early. months of 1881
made In 3 greater percentage of IN.
crease than most other industries. II
they keep up, as they did 10 years ago.
they may lead the pack again-not to
nambuoyant prosperity, but to stability.
which, all business leaders agree, is now
most important.