Attempt to Raise Prices by Terrorism New York. Oct. 15.
The movement to withald cotton from the market, which has been making considerable headway for several weeks among the farmers and merchants of the South, assumed a nation-wide interest this week, through the stories of "night riders," who are demanding a cessation of ginning and, in some instances, the closing of stores until the price of cotton reaches 40 cents.
These "night riders" are bodies of men who have gone about the states in the eastern belt, burning gins and stores where the owners have ignored their demands. Such action as this never has nor never will help the cotton situation.
In a number of states the ernors have issued—proclamations threatening severe punishment on anyone convicted of this intimidation, but it does not seem to stop the trouble and fresh stories of new which has originated in the South! itself.
Evrore Huxery sur Pennies.
Seattle's Trade with the East In their foreign letter of October President Harding, of the Feder- 11 the Seattle Chamber of Comal Reserve Board, declares that merce report Germany is ready to take 2,000,000] bales of cotton if the South will extend suitable credit, and urges that advantage be taken of this opportunity to find a foreign market. It will doubtless be found when it comes to details, however, that European finances are in such condition at, the present time that {the South will be no more ready to extend the necessary credit than have been the exporters who, under {normal circumstances, would long ago have been shipping boatloads of cotton to Central Europe as in {days gone by.
As local observers see it, the. whole trouble with the cotton situation is that supply has overtaken and passed demand and that, in consequence of the inevitable Gov- Working of the law, prices must decline to a point where demand will be stimulated. The closing of many domestic mills and short time in others, indicates that this level has not yet been reached.—Reuter.
Government figures for the first eight months of 1920 show a decided increase in Seattle's trade with the Philippines and the Orient, but both exports and imports to Japan and China have fallen, due to unsettled conditions in Japan and unfavourable exchange and low purchasing power of China at present. Dr, Frank Rutter, who has just returned from Japan on a confidential mission for this Government, is understood to be taking back a report that Japan will not buy as formerly for at least 18 months, and financial trowtbles are ufficient to cut Japan's iniports to minimum, Advices from China, Australia, New-Zealand, Italy, South America, Belgium, Holland and France indicate acute lumber needs, and indications are that when the exchange situation improves northwestern lumber mills will be pressed to the limit with export orders. outrages appear in the press almost daily.
Wueat also Hit.
The scene was changed at midweek to Washington where both cotton and wheat interests, the latter now quite as thoroughly aroused as the cotton farmers, met conference with Federal Reserve officials in a further effort to secure Government assistance in their efforts to withald grain and cotton from the market for higher prices. Refusal by the Federal Reserve officers to extend such aid on the ground that they had no authority in law for such action, led to some very bitter criticism, which even extended to the President himself, and included demands for the removal from office of quite a number of prominent officials, as well as a threat to seek the passage of a law for the abolition of the Chicago Board of Trade, which was held largely responsible for the break in_wheat.
Meantime, under the inexorable law of supply and demand, grain and cotton prices have gone steadily lower, the latter reaching new low levels for the movement this week, and largely because of selling
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.