mary £ * . , tr @ > . 3 t we = @ MICHIGAN TRADESMAN CHANGING VALUES. Resources Greater Than ments. Written for the Tradesman. Business men are watching with much interest the almost unprecedented ad- vance in prices of most manufactured goods and many natural products. and there is much speculation as to the probability of continued advances, the wisdom of buying on present market and the ultimate effect such advances may have. As regards natural products the price is usually regulated by supply and de- mand, which is as it should be, but whether or not this is equally true of manufactured goods is a question which is agitating the business world as it never did before, but which will not be discussed here. 1 wish merely to ex- press an opinion concerning the present boom in prices and its probable contin- uance and effect. Upon the list of advancing natural products the most prominent items are beans and broom corn. More beans are grown in Michigan than any other state in the Union and the market naturally centers in the best shipping points with- in the State. The average price of beans at harvesting time is about 75 cents per bushel. This season, with a fair crop, they have advanced to more than $2 per bushel. The probabilities are that a greater acreage will be planted this year, and should the crop produce the average yield, normal prices will be the result. Broom corn is grown wholly in IlIli- nois, Kansas and California, with Chi- cago the great central market and dis- tributing point. The average price is about $75 perton. Last year the crop was light and a company of jobbers combined their interests and bought everything in sight and have advanced prices to more than $300 per ton. Here- after, when there is a short crop the growers will refuse to sell and endeavor Our Require- _ to make this enormous profit themselves. Wheat seems to be the only product that has not advanced in price, and what it will or will not do is wholly a matter of conjecture,as is proven by the diversity of opinions among men who really are good authorities. It is a safe guess, however, that the average price of wheat will be higher this year than it was last. Corn and oats are in good demand _ at advanced prices. Millers in Southern Indiana—one of the best of corn grow- ing sections—are buying corn in Chi- cago and Minneapolis from which they manufacture meal and feed. Under the present low freight rates it is a profit- able business. All manufactured products, with the possible exception of, flour, have made strong and continued advances and it seems the top is not yet reached. Se- lecting cotton goods from the long list of manufactured articles which have advanced, note the strength of the pres- ent market and the lack of supplies in the hands of the manufacturers, then with the present demand, is it likely that prices will soon decline? It can not be expected that there will be much change, if any, before September. Cot- ton goods are higher and in greater de- mand than they have been since 1893. One of the most puzzling questions a buyer has to contend with, in conditions like these, is when to buy. It is safe to say that every man finally uses his own judgment, be it right or wrong, but a careful observance of market changes has convinced most buyers that ‘from it is wisest to purchase on an advanc- ing market, and the wisdom of this course is borne out by the fact that it is also much easier to sell on an advancing | market than ona declining one. It is} true, too, that a better margin of profit | is to be obtained on an advancing mar- ket. Trade is always active during an_ advance and inactive during a decline. The time to do business is when it can de done, and usually the man who waits for an opportunity lets an opportunity pass. We now come to the effect of high prices, or rather, a boom in prices. It ig quite true that prices are like a kite, as it rises so must it fall, and it isa noticeable fact that whenever prices advance quickly they also fall quickly. After each period of unusual activity in the business world there comes a cor- responding season of dulness. About every ten years there occurs a business depression very closely approaching a panic. It usually requires about one year to bring about this condition of affairs and about five years to recover its effect. It would be supposed that these things would teach the Amer- ican business man caution, and it may in some cases, but as each cycle of ten years. passes it witnesses thousands of fortunes lost and but few regained. It seems that these changes are wrought by excessive competition. Doubtless ‘‘competition is the life of trade,’’ but in excess it is surely the death of trade. Is it not a fact that a new manufac- turing industry is no sooner started than capitalists from all parts of the coun- try rush intocompetition? Observe, for instance, the beet sugar and Portland cement industries of this State. At the present rate of increase in the number of factories being built, how long will it be before the business is unprofitable for all? Observe, again, the cotton mills be- ing erected in the South. Ina year or two cotton manufacturers will not be un- able to find a supply for the demand, as is now the case, but will be unable to find a demand for the supply. Then manufactured goods become a glut on the market, factories close, throwing help out of employment and the country is again in the throes of a business de- pression. This is not a prediction of such a calamity, but a statement that it does occur periodically. It would seem that the resources of this great and magnificent country of ours are greater than its requirements. L. F. Baker. ee ee Will Soon Export Lemons to Foreign Countries. California lemons this year will cut more of a figure in the markets of the United States than ever before. The crop is larger, considerably more than previous years, and it is claimed that the quality is much better. The pack- ing will receive more attention, and un- der many well-known brands will ap- pear fruit which will take its place against any foreign lemons received. We are likely to see much higher prices on California lemons, since the quantity of lemons afloat from foreign ports is not over one-half the usual amount at this season of the year, and at prices which have been maintained at the auc- tions in New Orleans, Baltimore, New York and Boston during the past month or six weeks, it leaves nothing to the grower and packer and offers no en- couragement for increased shipments. This is a very favorable point in the California situation and no doubt Cali- fornia will see a good demand for her best lemons. History is repeating itself in the lemon industry of the United States. Foreign prunes, foreign raisins, figs, etc., and almost all lines of foreign dried fruits were used exclusively in the United States until within recent years, but California has been able to produce an} y article equal, in fact better. The time |i is near at hand when we will be export- f 8 Take a Receipt for? Everything It may save you a thousand dol- lars, or a lawsuit, or a customer. We make City Package Re- ceipts to order; also keep plain ones in stock. Send for samples. BARLOW BROS , GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN. a5ese5e5e5e5ese5e525 ing lemons to foreign countries. These facts demand more than _ pass- ing attention. The lemon industry in the United States is but in its infancy. This year will launch it on a firm basis, and as the crop increases (which it certainly will,since the new orchards are beginning to bear in California) the supply of lemons for the United States will come from the Pacific Coast State, and not from foreign countries as_here- tofore. o TN = me ys) * a} Saray ROSSA SS SES ESET SESS The Sup Fruit Jar “el NOTICE THAT LEVER. THE ONLY PERFECTLY HERMETICALLY SEALED JAR Restricted Price Guaranteed eZ 3) A SEs5 The only jar on which a good percentage of profit can be made by both jobber and retailer. A jar in which canning can be tested, and which dealers can guarantee to customers against loss by breakage through imperfections in the glass. Easy to seal, easy to open, guaranteed, tested, uniform, strong, clean, simple. No danger of fruit spoiling, no danger of burn- |} mg hands in sealing, no prying to open, no grooves ‘=. togum, no metal to corrode or taint contents, no wire to stretch, no loss by breakage, no special rubbers or covers. WE HELP YOU TO ADVERTISE To facilitate sales we furnish printed matter and hangers (with our names omitted), electrotypes, sample cases and order books, or separate restricted price agreement to concerns who have salesmen out. The Sun Fruit Jar Co. 74 Wall Street New York City Agents, Hall & Hadden, Grand Rapids, Mich. | eareueRUSEREESS CSREES T SRS i Granite The best plastering 3S] eS SES SESS SESE Sas AS BEES material in the world. Fire proof, wind proof, at fi! ss = / Wy ‘| water proof. Is not injured by freezing. No Glue, no acid. Ready for immediate use by adding water. Office and works: West Ful ton and L.S. & M. 8. R. R. Gypsum Products Mfg Cu., Manufacturers and Dealers in Caicined Plaster, Land Plaster, Bug Compound, etc. 200 South Front Street. Office: Room 20, Powers’ Opera House Block. Grand Rapids, Mich. An enterprising agent wanted in every town. Send for circular with references. Flaked Foods Are the best and purest food products known. Mill and Warehouse: Our Flaked j Peas, Flaked Beans and Rice Flakes, put up in one-pound f cartons, produce the most nourishing, delicious and dainty dishes of any product sold in a grocery store. Costs no more than ordinary unflaked goods. j these goods, write us. { If your jobber does not sell eo oR SE § Lauhoff Bros. Flaking Mills, betroit, mich. BP OE GE scidialiis siibdid aaniaibiialaipaiiasidiisdipaaiuncalen