New Britain herald., 1918-11-23
Henry Cleus , Weekly Letter
Especial to The I1erald)

Especial to The I4eraId)
 New York, Nov. 23.~-The situation abroad is improving. In Germany pubic feeling is quieting down and those in control are endeavoring to
 if1alntaln order with apparent suc- cess Ihere is still the probability of serious disturbances following the re- turn Of large masses of soldiers who will have difficulty in finding needed employment. The great carcity of tood Is of itself sufficient to create a crisis, but the German people are es- sent1ally orderly in their habits and accustomed to submit to anything. so there is little fear of a repetition of
 the anarchy that exists in Russia. Tn
 the latter country there is a ray of
 nope in the assum ption of d dictator
 snip by Admiral Kolchak, who pos
 Sesses strong personality and may
 De able to check the reign of terror
 and restore some semblance of order
 in that distracted region. Austria
 seems relatively quiet and the threats
 of uprising in Holland and other
 countries are subsiding. After such
 an upheaval the world cannot be ex-
 pected to return to sanity mediate
 ly but there are signs that Bo1she-
 Vikism is on the wane and that more
 normal conditions are approaching
 What the world most needs is the in
 creased production Of necessities. It IS idle to expect political quiet or so-
 cal advancement until food and shel-
 ter are within reach of the millions of needy over in Europe. It is our duty
 as we'll as our interest to help the
 of
 can be no lasting peace while such
 bitter poverty remains
 Generalization of business has fair
 ly begun. As peace came earlier than expected, neither tho Government nor the country at large has any definite
 plans regulating this new movement such as Great Britain made months ago. As a result, we are slowly grop- ing along, and there is some danger
 of temporary dislo2ation in industry, which might have been prevented had eearlier foresight been exercised. Our
 government, however, will probably
 relax it's control over industry very
 gradually, and thus avert serious con-
 sequences. It has been the principal
 buyer of steel products, textiles. shoes,
 food copper, wool and many other
 articles. Some of it's contracts will
 be completed: others will be reduced,
 and in many instances long deferred
 domestic orders will be used to fill
 the gap. Priority orders, except for
 railroads, ships and the navy, have
 ben cancelled; likewise heavy orders
 for hell-steel and wire. Recently
 orders for 1,50O locomotives, 10000
 cars and 5000 tons of Tails for the
 American army in France were placed
 with home nro61cerc or6ors
 have been cancelled and it remains to
 be seen whether domestic orders will
 develop sufficiently to fill this void
 especially as the government is hold Ing back Crders for home railroads
 until steel prices reach a lower lev
 el. Very fortunately some relief will
 be found from the removal of war re-
 strictions upon building. which will in
 turn release many pigeonheled enter
 prises, givlng employment to labor
 which otherwise might be thrown into
 idleness.
 It is quite evident that the era of
 war, profits is ended. Some decline
 in certain ;omn ncdities may therefore, be "xpe2 ed. A few lines of cotton
 goods ane already lower, and there is q, general belief that commodities have reached their high point and SHOulu neTGtICef QSCl1nG 10 DtOTe nor nal levels, which if not too rapid would stimulate consumption and aid in preserving a more natural and substantial degree of prosperity than was the case during the war. Com modities. it is realized, are much in fated. and bankers are alive to this situation and seeking to prevent dan gerous speculation by careful dis crimination of credit. Tn one direc- tion, however, there Is little prospect of lower prices and that is in food MT. Hoover has already predicted high prices in this direction. We are blessed with an abundance of nearly all staple foods in this country. such as cereals. meats and vegeta bles; but large sections of Europe, devastated by war are on the verge of famine, and immense quantities must be shipped abroad to meet such needs. AS long as this condition of approach l to famine lasts, no great decline in the price of food is possible. The most serious effects of indus 1 trial demobilization may fall upon la i Dor: for thousands will be discharged l from the army and from government 1 work, now that the necessity for mu- milton making is ended. Thousands l more, who have been securing wages i beyond all expectation in regular in- 5 6uStripS also