TRADE NOTES.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 16986, 8 November 1920, Page 10

TRADE NOTES.

DRAPERY PRICES DROPPING. (IHOII OTJK orrjf COMOSSrONDENT.) LONDON, September 23. There dttms to be an impression that a br.'ait in the hitfh prices of dry goods Baa commenced c-t iar.t. As cviiov.cc oi t nis an nnnounc-omcnt mr,\l« lw:t week by_ Mo-isr* Horxockses, Crt-ivdson and Co., the largest manufacturers oi lon-jjcloth. flannelette, ond sheeting-, thai they aio reducing tho prices of their ir.nniifacturi'.s 5 par ccnt. Thi» intiviogemcni of this-firm declare- that this is the beginning of iv yt'.ieral break of tho lii-jjh pries-. 5 .' which Imve m-irked 'he past year. "Onlv a coal strike or other grave labour troubles," «the.y said, "oeold send tip tho prices ajraiu. No less th-.i.n 2000 varieties of I'M.tteriiu nvo r.iT-cc S-v. I, and it oo=c-s not- apply only to tho sheetincr aud calico stuffs, but will, nrrl chould, uffcct tha boot trade and nui.tittinjc departments. Within the lant few iveefes there- ii.iai b-oen a collider able reduction in tha pri~-?e of raw cotton from America U1V; 1 Egypt. If '.lie :a,ll hn/.l be?u equivalent in tho pric.- of labour and factory coal tho advantage to tho consumer 'vrould haw been much creator." Mr Gordon Salfridjre, head oi tho groat retail stores in Oxford street, states that tho majority of the big retailers felt that tho break in tha priea of dry goods was bound to come. If not suddenly, thcro would bo a general tendency for liijjh prices to dimiiiiilu He estimated that th<» his'iost point was re ached about three months a;,"o, and from thenco nnv.a-rds has u general decline. In -other directions the view is that the iwstablo poliffcal (situation on the Continent has had a "dullinj?" cCect upon the demand from abroad for cotton gwds, and the homo market has had the beuciit. BRITAIN'S LOST TRADE. During a iwrnt period of 14 days 161 rteamerc «f various nationalities vrere knev/r. to ha.v-o bee-u chartered in the- London market to carry coals from the United Statce to Kurope riul South America. TaJting the tverajre carrying capacity of tho vessels at SCOO tor.a, these. ships represent more than 500,000 tone. Tlh> shipments or; to part? on sh.-s Conlin';n'. and in South America, all of v.-hich, v.hon. h.rjro British cirportp were maylo before the war, vrould havo relied on supplies from this country. The- critical coo.l situation in this vcuntry is considered 10 bo a factor i:i .>upportiu;j prices for cctil in ".he T'r.ii-xl St-itos. SOPVriTE'S close dotvn. The hu«?o factory of'the Sopv.-iiU _ Aviation rind lini'meet c.-ciiipctuy, J~. iiii i . at KinSjstoii-on-Thaia&s, 5r the d: oust nda of {H>rop.'aw>f it .turned cut. during the war, hz-s now closed. Tho company has drrid'.'i to so into voluntary liquidation throus-h lack of oa-pctal. Tho mc-tory covo-3 ?overal tc-ru j c£ land, and employed about ICf*' iiar.r.-.. Since the war it ha 3 been in tki* cssnufactut* of the well-known A.3A mo'.oi-cychw. The sudder. shmin hi the mot-or-~:r trad'.- !:a-i cr,r.s->d the- frra to coir.o to this decision. The closin™ down o; tho idctcry uufortucately throwi_ 1-iGO crr.- ; <ji:i pi woiic The oi tne t.rrn ure ct-tima-U'l at som-ethir.tr like £500.C00, but ;;s the liibilitka nre smal], it ii c:o)jc-ted that ai! the iiriu's c:-cd::or2 i.'ii'eceiva payment in fuii. * HOilli-GEOVv'N SUGAIi. The of Home-Grows Snjar ar<; icvitir.? furmera in Nottinghamshire and Lincolo-hire to resen-e land and prepare it this autumn for sugar beet fo.tho' Eelhs.nl factory in 1921. The price of--ert'd is -£•! ton of topped beet (tare- deducted), cfc'fverel it,, the A Isrgs acresfiro of be-ct wili aho 't>e crown ttpcr. "f liiellvatn <istate. £a?d o: the mo?t reliable type ha 3 bee-n bought from the leadin? •w>ed producing stations iu Fr?.7ic« p.r.d KcOlzr.d, 'and a preiiraim'ry s-.-.ppiy of liftir.-' machines of all impro-.-e'd type is beins serarc-d , f,— •jem-wstratien p:irp;«i«. I CARPET TRADZ. I TLo reasarka-alo spurt in the British carpet a-cigeaa trad© -which vus evident a iov

months ago .has not toon maintained. In July the shipments, jumped by 212,000 square yards over thosa of June, the xeapectivc nmrcs being 750,700 and 54C,500 square yards. Last month ti-iey dropped back to 5-57,000 f.Qiiaio yards, a fall of 2G3,100 square yards, bit the- total still slightly exceeded ths June ii«urc3. The shipments to New Zealand in July amounted to G5,600 square yards, and m August to 57,000, iv decrease oi 11,000 equuro vards. The purchases in August, hewer, BhoTTod a larger valuo tlraai in July, tho iig"ure3 oi tho latter month being £37,162, and those o£ August beiufj £37,482. ANGLO-PEBSIAN OIL COMPANY. A now towns/lip is being creat»!d on what lias £o far bocu a. barren waste at Slower), bstweon Swansea and Neath. Tlu> wfcol© ,-J a oo is (seething: vriib. activity. Uvs » duo to ill© enterprise of tho Anglo-Persian Oil Company, who hav© taken, over -100 acres ar.d aro expending between £G,000,000 and £7,000,(/00 on establishing great oi! refineries to deal witii tho regular cargoes .of crude oil brought over in their ov;n fleet from the Persian Gulf. Importation will befrin next i-*eb-:uarr. Dwellings for many hundreds of workers have been completed, and in addition shops, railway station, hospital, arri publio hal! are beincj erected. Store tanks arc ( >o:n"" completed at the docks, which v.-iil hold refined oil. Tho crude oil will bo pumped direct from the steamers through four-mile nipo tracks into the refineries at Skewen, and iix-r treatment the oil will bo re-pumped back by the simo moans to SwanseaPFJCE OP BEER,

Be.'ore the war the duty on beer was 73 2d per barrel of 263 pints;; now tho duty is 100s —an increase ot nearly >1 times the j.-je-war rat-;. The pre-war duty on spirits waa iis Od per gallon; now it is 72s 6d—an increase oi nearly five times the pre-war rate. Beer drinkers before tho war contributed between 13 and 11 million pounds a year to tho Exchequer; they now contribute at tho | rate of 120 millions. Spirit drinkeis contributed about 21 jnilKous before the war; row the rato is about 87 millions. _ Tho pir.t of beer, v.-liich in 191-1 could 1» boug-ht i'or i'd or 3d, costs to-day 7d or Sd. | DEARER &ETEOL. i Tho llotor Legislation C-ommittcc, represcr.lir.g all branc.-ie.-3 of the motor trad<! of the country, and upwards of 200,'/OD owj.cra )of road vchio e?, jn ' itnp-.-cscmar upon the Government tie «?tk>us j cfrect caused' to the community ty the recent incr-case- in petrol prices, rcfinniecd that ( ! the agreement between the Anglo-Persian. Com- i i rran y and the She!! Com cany 11; i"vi;xed, so ' ' that th© distribution cf utotcr Bpirit under ! th" agreement bo avaiia-blo through ap-or,ck-a ! : independent of tho two largo trusts, j ! that all statutory gas companies having . j an annual consumptiori r.i no", ;oss than ovOO ; | tons cf coil bs compelled to instal, within a I ' "imitod period, tho neretuur/ j-'.ant for th* ) moduli; on oi crude benzol© (if this wore do no j there would st one© bo availaDl© a. further > 20,0-30,000 trailers oi motor spirit annually;; ! I that the Government take such steps a.-, ! j win cn-urc- tliat the- c.tpu: of ix-tiiclo_ j ' avr.iiob:a tr the pub.:-; z~. a jf-3£or.a.'jlo price, nd is in no eenee rontroiled bv tbo Shell or 1 Anglo-American Oil Companies. 1