Norwich bulletin., 1919-12-27

The monthly review of business England district is given by F'reder-
 ic H. Curtiss, chairman and federal reserve agent of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston as follows:
 With no important curtailment of
 production on account of the coal
 strike, for the reason that reserve
 supplies. had not been seriously. in
 vaded before the settlement of the
 difficulty, and through the installation
 of fuel oil systems in many large
 plants, the year closes with New En-
 gland industries stimulated by post
 war conditions to degree of peace-
 time activity unparalleled in the econ
 omic history of this section; wages
 advanced to rates hitherto undreamt of and commodity prices at cores bonding levels; and labor at the mo-
 ment quiescent. While there has been no doubt, considerable saving from earnings as evidenced by large az gregate deposits in savings institu- ltions and investments in government Obligations, nevertheless no one may observe without feeling of appre- hension the manner in which the en- hanced purchasing power of the wage earners is being dissipated by ira tional personal expenditures, eSpec- ially when it is beginning to be cou- pied with requests for credit at re- tail stores by many who have never before known the meaning of a charge account. The readjustment of redis- count rates by the federal reserve I banks was undertaken with a view to modifying the situation of which these conditions are reflex, but this will not furnish the complete remedy. In- l deed, not until some powerful influ- ence is brought to bear upon the ma chinery of production to establish a i more normal relationship between the 1 quantity of necessities and of fuxur- 1 ies respectively offered for consump- tion, will it be possible to accumu- ! late the wealth necessary to pay the l cost of the war as represented by the enormous debts of the nations, and to 1 bring about return to normally healthy social conditions. It is un- l likely, however. that any reduction in 1 the cost of living will be forced upon ] the consumer by the voluntary benev-
 olence of the makers of goods; it Is i certain that it will not come about | through legislation any more than it
 was vouchsafed the people of Rome in 1 301 A. D. by the Edict of Diocietian: :: and if it comes otherwise, than bv a
 collapse of the existing economic Istructure such as would bring, not re- | duced prices only. but reduced earn ings and wide-s spread distress, 1t can come only through individual sacri fees, foresight and initiative, mani i Tested by restricted expenditure and
 conservation of savings beyond any thing yet apparent.
 | Money.
 The money market for the month 0, December has shown the usual sea.
 sonal increased demand for money being accentuated by continued gov ernment financing, increasing costs O
 labor and raw material, and continued
 business activity. Commercial rate
 have been increasingly firm, per cent
 being the ruling rate for all maturi
 ties, shading of that rate being tn, exception. The payment to the Bos
 ton & Maine railroad about<$3O,Oe ,Oo ] by the United States Railroad Admin . istration on December 1 somewha
 eased the local money market for , few days, but with the withdrawal o ; government funds in depository bank soon took up the slack. The banks i, , this district have for the most par
 during the month confined their com y mitments to their own customer. Three issues of certificates of indebt t edness have been offered by the treas ' ury department, and as these wer :, largely paid by credit or by exchang f of other certificates there has not bee ; any marked effect from this financins The payment of federal taxes on De : cember 15 in this district amounte to approximately s95, ,0O0 900 ct tn
 date of this letter and was partly an r ticipated by treasury certificates, bu l these payments, together with govern v ment withdrawals, have caused mem