The Evening Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1917-1920, 1918-11-29
NO PEACE PANIC, SAY
FINANCIAL EXPERTS
End of War to Bring Some
Industrial Friction, But
No Hard Times.
PRICES WILL DROP
Reimbursement of Labor to Be
Observation-Disclosures to
Show Liberality.
By United Press.

not bring panic.
Financial experts here are confident
of this.
Undoubtedly, prices of food, cloth
ing, and most other commodities will
drop, and there will be some friction
between labor and capital, due to sud
den increases in the available supply
of labor. But these conditions will
not lead to hard times or financial
panic, financiers say
Conditions Immediately following the
civil war are pointed to in corrobora-
tion of this belief
Although wholesale prices fell off
more than 80 per cent between jan
uary l and July l, 1865, there were
remarkably few business failures.
During the entire year 1865 there
were but 500 failures, as compared
with $500 in 1861.
The first decline in prices of COM
modities is expected to be shown in
wholesale markets. Most retail mer-
chants already have anticipated this
decline. and are keeping on hand
only the lightest possible stocks.
When prices begin to drop, buying ac
tivity will be resumed, and the in
creased buying will tend to stabilize
the markets.
Stocks Are Not Heavy.
Merchants who stocked up heavily
at wartime prices may find themselves
with stocks that must be sold in a de-
clining market, but the coming of
peace has been so long foreSeen that
few merchants have placed themselves
in this position. Even those of poor
judgment, who would have been will
ing to stock up heavily, have been pre-
vented from doing so in most cases by
Government regulation of manufac
turing. The merchant who wanted
heavy and complete stock of goods
found that it would be impossible to
lay it in until after the war, as fac
tories had been turned over to war
work, and manufacture of peacetime
commodities strictly restricted. These
restrictions will prove blessing to
many merchants now, or in the near
future.
There will be an enormous increase
in manufacturing of peace goods as
socn as factories can be turned back
to their old work, and the thousands
of war-work factories built during the
last two years can get started on con-
structive instead of destructive indus
try. There will be plenty of labor to
run the factories of the world when
the 50,0OOO00 men who have been car
rying on the business of war return to
the business of peace.
But there will be vastly increased
demand for the products of the fac
tories.
Buying Will Be Resumed.
A starving population does not fur
nish much business for factories.
Many millions of people have been
starving or near starvation during the
last there or four years. Whatever
arrangements are to be made by the
statesmen, it is certain that these peo-
pie will quit starving. They will in
sist upon it.
Generally speaking, everybody not
in the fighting forces has been econ
omizing. Clothing is pretty well worn
out, and much new furniture is need
ed. Buying that has been Curtailed
during the war will be resumed as
soon as wartime prices moderate a
little
Financiers agree that conflict be-
tween capital, following return of the
soldiers, would precipitate many I'M
fortunate conditions, and are urging
liberal attitude upon both employers
and employees in the matter of read
justment. Labor has gained much in
the United States since war began,
and unions are recognized in many
factories where they were not recog-
nized before the war This ground of
union advancement labor leaders are
sworn to hold. If employers try to
take advantage of the more plentifully
supplied labor market by repudiating
their new and perhaps enforced atti-
tude toward organized labor, wide
spread trouble is envitable, say those
who are anxious that the return to
peace be made quietly and without
upheavals.
Employers Will Be Liberal.
Some employers already have talk
ed publicly of the lower wages they
expect to enforce, and labor leaders
are alert for further signs of change.
Some. manufacturers are preparing
to continue their wartime liberalism
toward labor, and the expression, I'm
ionism is better than bclshevism" is
frequently heard in the councils of the
employers. Most of the large employ
ers seem to agree that the less stir
ring of the pot of industrial unrest is
done at this period the better for all
phases of production.
The more gradually war workers
are fed back into peaceful industry,
the better for commercial and eco
nomic conditions generally, all stu
dents of the problem of readjustment
admit Already the infilteration
process has begun. and there is no