Show SOLUTION FOR PRESENT industrial SITUATION GIVEN new york city special earl C sl sims president of the J C penny co put the situation of the present industrial situation directly up to retail merchants in a sta statement made here today in which he said if reial merchants merchante throughout the country would forget what they paid tor for merchandise now on hand would it to the public on the basis of fair profit on the replacement cost of the same merchandise in market and then would get back of the new prices with an aggressive advertising and selling campaign they would furnish fur nishan an impetus to returning prosperity which would immediately be felt an all over the country some of the trouble with general business Is found in the fact that manufacturers are faced with a lack of orders for the future merchants who refuse to liquidate present stocks of merchandise by tall fail ing to look the price arloe situation squarely in the face are in no position to place orders for new merchandise in the J C penny co we have attempted to parallel the downward curve in wholesale prices with corresponding downward movement in retail prices ever since the present trend set in nearly a year ago all merchandise on hand in our stores it at the close of 1930 Is being re priced on the basis ol of ra replacement costs by following this policy we expect to be able abla to keep our volume of sales by items of merchandise at a point commensurate with the early months of last la st year and to maintain them on an a profitable basis the first two months of 1930 were periods in which unusual gains were made |