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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 26, 1920)
THE SUNDAY OREGONIAX, , PORTLAND, SEPTEMBER 2G, . 1920 HIGH PRICES HERE People Urged Not to Expect Too Much From Decline. SILKS AND COTTON DROP Sales of Apparel Xovr Going On Given as a Case of Reduced Goods Under Disguise. (Cnrtlnufd From First Page.) auction on articles, the cost of which Is largely dependent upon labor. Is possible without labor going down." That the manufacturers were pyra miding prices in a way which was their own undoing, was the statement of V. F. Llpman of Lipman, Wolfe & Co. Beginning last February, he said, department stores singly and iri co operation decided " to put a stop to buying at pyramided prices. They held off placing orders, he declared, until the manufacturers realized they meant business and were willing to go into the fall trade with holdover stocks only. When the manufacturers realized that the merchants were - pretty well stocked up and would stand out against unreasonable prices the prices -began to come down and some decline has resulted, he said. Silk, he pointed out, had dropped 20 per cent or more in the last three months, and drops in cotton goods, hosiery and underwear can be ex pected, he forecast. He warned, how ever, against the public expecting too big a reduction, declaring that labor is the biggest element by far in such articles. Ready-to-wear is cheaper this fall than last, he said, and will be still cheaper next fall, although lit tle further reduction this" fall could be expected. , Boycott Brings Price Down. A similar opinion of the situation was expressed by Will Roberts of Roberts Bros. When manufacturers realized the public had reached a point where it would not buy and the dealers were holding off, prices came down, and some reduction in silks, muslins and underwear may be' ex pected. Reduction in Portland will be but slight, in his opinion, however, as most of the stores here, he said. have never paid the top prices of the wholesale market, but have been sell ing goods purchased some months ago before the peak was reached. He forecast a small reduction la suits and shoes next spring. Regarding shoes, which have been the subject of frequent attacks as being exorbitantly high, J. G. Cald well, general manager of the Good year Shoe company and secretary treasurer of the Oregon Retail Shoe Dealers' association, can see no re duction at the present time, although he forcasts that shoes next spring will be from 1 to $1.50 lower, than now. " "The only reduction in the making of footwear," said Mr. Caldwell, "has been caused by the drop in prices of upper leather. Wages are just as high. Linings and all the little things, such as nails, eyelets, hooks and finishing -preparations, paper cartons, laces and freight rates ' are higher. Redaction Is Anticipated. "It takes from 3Vt to 1 feet of upper leather to make a pair of ladies' or men's shoes, and the reduction has been Xrom 25 to 50 cents each foot, or an average of 38 cents for each foot. One may expect a reduction In the price of shoes of from $1 to $1.50. This is for spring, however, as all the shoes for fall have been manufactured from higher-priced leather. Sole leather is held in a few hands which ! are strong ' enough to hold up the prices, and it is a question when a break will take place in the price of this commodity." As regards men's suits and over coats considerable divergence of opin ion is shown. The time of peak - prices for suits j passed in the opin ion of C. J. Mathls of Mcthis' men's wear, and a new price level may be expected. This level, in the opinion of Mr. Mathis, can never be what it -was before the war, however, and only a slight reduction will be pos sible without wages also - coming down. This, be. holds, is not' de sirable. S. Rosenblatt of S. Rosenblatt- Co. however, expressed doubt, that , prices would show 'ay recession, quality remaining the same. He pro duced letters from a big eastern man ufacturing firm to th effect that the firm was unable to fill all of Its orders and would have to cancel a considerable proportion of the Rosen blatt fall order. , Can, at Least, Lower. But there is consolation in the fact that at least ons thing in Portland is definitely lower, as a result of the recent price movements Ford cars, second-hand ones and Franklins. The reduction in the price of the two cars conforms to the announcements com ing, from the east, and a reduction in Becond-hand cars was verified by a number of the dealers yesterday. - "On the day that we beard of the announcement by Mr. Ford we lopped off the prices of second-hand cars In proportion," - said I Y. Billingsley, -manager 6f the Universal Car Ex : change, which handles all the second hand Ford cars received In deals by ,'. all the authorized Ford dealers of the ' city. . . , "Reducing the prices, on the av erage 20 per cent, meant a loss to the . firm of several thousand dollars, but we hope to make it up in Increased business. The price of the cars is v - now low enough to open up a wider ' .- field than ever for sales. . I believe the decline in price will stimulate the market so far as second-hand cars are concerned. Of course those with second-hand machines cannot expect to get the price which they expected before, but must cut in ac cordance with the new level." That the cutting of prices will not work harm to the industry here nor stagnate the. market was the belief of Lawrence Therkelsen, sales man ager of the Braly Auto company. Franklin agents. "The market for second-hand cars never ha-s fluctuated as much as the prices of new cars." he said. "The reduction' may make the market un certain for a time and, of course, makes, the dealers loath to accept old cars in trade. A reduction in the price of second-hand cars of. perhaps 10 per cent, will have to be expected, but the lowering of price should re sult in" a greater activity which will largely make up for such loss." No Shoe Decrease Seen. From the standpoint of the whole sale trade. O. H. Fithlan of the Flthlan-Barker Shoe company de clared he could see no possibility of a decrease in shoes, at least not for the next six months pr more. While hides are at the present time selling for- a price unusually low, lower., in fact than for some years, wages and material aside from leather which go into shoes are as high as ever. The shoes to be made for the next six months must be cut from high-priced leather, he said, as the cheap hides which have recently been bought will not be fit for shoe making for, that length of time. The fact that the shoe ' factories have been shut down prevents. likelihood of an oversupply, he said. The fall and winter will see a de cline in prices of furniture through out the industry in general, in the opinion of -F. S. Doernbecher of the Doernbecher Furniture company, al though at local factories. Mr. Doern becher said, he looks for no reduc tion, as the. furniture made by the local plants is already considerably lower than goods of the same quality which comes in here from middle western tnanufacturing points. While production coiUs are possibly hfeher herethan in ie middle west, the freight rate, more than offsets. Speaking from the standpoint of the industry as a whole, however, Mr. Doernbecher declared that study of the. situation, the supply and demand of furniture and production costs led him to look for a decline of prices as quoted by the manufacturers and wholesalers. LEAGUE 13 DECLARED D011TIIHG ISSUE Johnson and Shortridge Talk at Los Angeles. ADMINISTRATION IS HIT Franklin Cut Explained. The following statement explaining the position of the Franklin com pany in making the cut in price of its motor cars was received by the Braly Auto company, local ajr:Rts, from H. H. -Franklin, president of the company, yesterday by tele graph: "The way to readjust is to readjust. Lower prices have to come, and the way to get them is to inaugurate them at once. Reductions can come only from the top down. The manu facturer has to make the first move, and as a result the fabricator and producer of raw materials will fall in line. ' '-.'ecessarily the .Franklin company will take a temporary loss on ma terials on hand which were purchased at figures out of line with the new prices for the company's automobiles. We shall endeavor . to obtain readjust ments of existing contracts with ven dors to meet the new conditions and to place new contracts at figures be low what we have been paying. "At the present time our orders amount to about one month s pro duction. Business done by the com pany for the year ending August 31, 1920, amounted to $31,001,565.25. This exceeds the total during the yearly period ending August 31. 1919. by $14,561,934.92, and represents an in crease of 88 per cent. Foreign sales showed an increase of 156 per cent. Wages at the Franklin plant will not be affected ey the lowering of prices, but will remain at their present level. Our action also has In mind the re sponsibility of manufacturers to keep labor employed, and th only wav it can be done is to set prices on a basis that will relieve congestion in trade channels regardless of any temporary sacrifices or profits."- EXTRADITION JS., SOUGHT (Continued Fro-m First Pagq. sum ur to $1,000,000, whereupon the necklace and watch were delivered. . Soon it appeared that the New York houses of Tiffany thought the inquiry had been concerning Mrs. John D. Sprockets Sr. Learning within a few days that Mrs. Spreckels Sr. was in California, a further cable seems to have been sent suggesting that the London buyer be checked up. When a Tiffany representative went to Mrs. Spreckels' hotel to ask for some assurance, of payment Barrett was, called in, it appears, and he said the errand of the caller was insulting Lto Mrs. Spreckels Jr., and insisted that tne name or Mrs. spreckels Sr. had not been used in the purchase, and said Tiffany might sue for recovery in court, n so disposed. The correspondent's informant does not assume to sAtle the dispute as to the .means by which Mrs. Spreckels and the jewMry were finally parted but he says she laid the responsibil ity to Barrett, and that when she tried to recover the Jewelry or its money value he suggested that he go to Nice, where he would obtain fro his wife the money " to pay the bill. Mrs. Spreckels assenting, he started apparently for Nice, but really for Liverpool, where ha caught a ship for Ke lorK. . t . 'This was about a fortnight ago. Within that period Mr. Spreckels ap peared on the London scene, having returned. It is said, from a business trip to Norway. He insisted that she go home at once with him. The lat est Bevelopment came - yesterday In tne Danxruptcy. court, m wiUch a J-e ceiver was appointed for Barrett. It was intimated in that proceeding that Barrett had become estranged from bis wife, who is supposed to have-re malned in Nice. - VV. L. Tooze Jr. Goes to Marion. SALEM, Or., Sept. 25. (Special. )- Walter L. Tooie Jr. of McUtnville. who is employed in the' republican national headquarters at Chicago, to day accompanied a party of several thousand traveling salesmen to Ma rion, O., where they were the guests of Warren G. Harding, republican candidate ' for president. This infor mation was contained in a telegram received by Walter L. Tooze Pr. Senator Declares If Cox Wins Sov ereignty of Republic Will Be Endangered. T'-'V LOS ANGELES. Sept. 25. Ar;pals for support for, the republican party were made from the same platform here tonight by United States Sen ator Johnson of California and Sam uel at. Shortridge of San Francisco, republican nominee for United States senator from this state. '. "Tha ' American people 'are con vinced of the absolute necessity for a change in their .government," de clared Senator Johnson. Both of' the candidates aver that there is one dominant, overshadowing issue. "We always have with us well meaning ' timid people who - would rather avoid an issue than meet it. But despite these, or the evasive,- or cowardly, or the men who know poli tics only as a means fof cunning and duplicity,, or the timid opportunist. the campaign of 1920 presents the burning question of the, 'league ot nations. Upon this hinges the de termination of the people. If Cpx is successful the league of nations wins and we go into it. If Harding is elected, the league is dead, and we remain the sbvereign republic we have ever been. Rardinff Declared Against League. "I make very plain to you the atti tude of the republican party and the re-publican candidate upon this ques tion. I do this from the public rec ords, although the demonstration might be otherwise made. I would nol be here tonight if I were not clear R3 to' the situation presented in this campaign. - There has been no halfing, no hes itation on Mr. Harding's part.'i, de clared Senator Johnson. "He is against the league, and because of it Americans everywhere are for him. No friend of his, - no partisan of republicanism, no patriotic American. will distort his words or misrepresent his position. He stands four square for Americanism. "America stands -four squara for him." Shortridge Discusses Tariff. Mr. Shortridge discussed the tariff and the Japanese question in Cali fornia. . ' "We must wipe off the statute book the suicidal Underwood free trade law and replace it with a republican pro tective law," he said. - -- Turning to the JunnnARA ntiestfnn "Mr. Shortridge continued: We have a natural, moral arrtl in ternational law -right- to -determine who shall and who shall pot enter into and abide in this republic. We are, therefore, unalterably opposed to Asi atic immigration," including Japanese in California. We are determined to stop this immigration. Prudence dic tates that it be stopped by interna tional treaty, but if for any reason it s found impossible to stop this immi gration by treaty regulation, then we propose to stop it by a federal ex clusion law which congress has the constitutional right to enaot. . I em phatically say that the Japanese must not come. We do nt covet their land and we are unalterably determined that they shall not possess ours." Governor Inspects Timber. SALEM, Or., Sept. 25. (Special.) tiovernor uicott lert last night, for Seaside, where he today accompanied a committee of forestry .officials over the road from the latter city to Can non Beach." The jaunt was made with a view of surveying the forests along the highway and devising some means whereby this timber might be con served and made an asset to the scenic beauties of the state. Members of the committee recently appointed by Gov ernor Olcott to assist in framing rec ommendations for the preservation of these forests and a representati e of the Crown-Willamette Paper company. which, owns tne timber at issue, also made the trip from Seaside to Cannon Beach. Hoiel Home; Comforts , and the perfection of "service ; given by the best modern hotels are combined here. .,We' invjte you to test the quality of pur evening dinners or our business men's lunch. . V --"l -. Evening Dinner, -SI .50 i Noon Lunch --. 75c The ' Portland - Hotel - Richard W. Childs.. .; Manager C. D. SCHREITER, ' Assistant Manager WRIST WATCHES In Favored Designs , $20.00 and Up My display of ladies' wrist watches comprises - all - the latest shapes, fitted with the better, grade of movements, which are guaranteed for their timekeeping qualities. You are welcome to inspect my stock and compare prices. Convenient Terms Without - Extra Charge. Largest Diamond Dealer In Oregon. 334 WASHINGTON STREET, Opposite Owl , Drag Co. BIG DANCE TONIGHT Columbia Beach WeN ever Penalize Our Customers We never penalize our customers by making those who buy first pay for those who buy last. Our prices are the same all the year round; Our consistent upstairs policy of huge turn over and low margin of profit eliminates all need of "sales." That's why we never have to have them. You can be sure of one thing about a "sale." Somebody pays the piper. And why should that somebody be youPi Remember, when you pay $75 for a suit or overcoat that later only brings $45 at a "sale," you are paying the double profit that makes the "sale" possible. lV We never penalize our customers. jWe give everybody a square deal. Consequently, we still retain the increasing confidence . of the buying Public and 'so dominate the men's clothing busi nessman the northwest in eight years. Suits Overcoats Raincoats NO HIGHER THAN Alterations Free Fit GuaranteedSatisfaction or Your Money Back Raleigh Building, Portland, Ore., Sjxth and Washington SO Up-stairs Clothiers 7 - Buy xs.p-stairs cisid. save 10 oo GifJs That Last Diamonds to Keep or to Give THE man 'who buys a gem for himself, usually buys a diamond; when he buys for someone else, it. is certain to be a diamond! ' ' t Aronson".' diamonds .are standard in . quality, yet 'priced below normal. We share with our patrons our pre-eminent X- facilities for buying diamonds below importers'' prices. Diamonds from tens of dollars to thousands of dollars ARONSON'S Washington at Broadway LEARN AVIATION Complete Ground Instruction ' School of Mechanics Practical Flying Pilot's License Upon Graduation All courses taught by ... former government .instructors. Courses Free to Vocational Training Students Call or write for particulars. Classes in session at all times. - Dudrey Aircraft Co. 824 Morgan Bldg. Portland Oregon m . m Unexcelled Service PERSONAL attention, cou pled with an earnest desire to serve is the one policy in this organization which receives ' every consideration. Edward Uoiaiam And Son Fvneral Directors WO -TWENTY THIRD STREET. V ; I . Good Crowd Best Music