New Britain herald., 1919-04-05
Henry CRus Weekly Letter
Especial to Ierald).

fuSlOn financial conditions nave SnOWn
 some improvem ent during the past
 week. The coming ot spring 1n-
 variably has stimulating effect upon
 business, and this may conduce to
 optimism; but such an influence is
 strictly limited, and the present un-
 dertone of confidence is based upon
 som ething more tangible than the
 mere shifting of seasons. The doings
 at Paris must be classed as one of
 the most important factors. True,
 surface news has not heen developed
 favorably, and vexatious delays are ec-
 curing with a persistency that in
 cites considerable irritation. Much
 of the informa ton given to the press,
 however, is apparently superficial,
 and dwells chiefly upon what is ab-
 normal and threatening often omit ting what is really assured. Public
 opinion the world over is becoming
 impatient at delay: and those in
 charge of negotiations are not blind
 to these protests, for both the peace
 treaty and the league of nations are
 probably nearer accomplishment than
 Is generally supposed. When some
 of the present hitches are removed
 agreenl ents will be reached more rap
 idly Of course, the a1l-}n portant ob-
 ject is peace: a peace confirmed by
 mutual acceptance of terms. This is more pressing than the league of na- tions. Then the unhappy peoples of Europe can return to work, partially forget their sorrows and hasten the return to normal conditions The sooner commerce and industry are alloWed to resume their natural chan nels, the better for the whole world. ha nn1I nlSh ST10 as well as the many other isms that are upsetting nation after nation. fofce may be necessary in some in stances to restore order: but the chief needs ot humanity are an increased production and 9, better distribution or 1ood. clothing. shelter and com munlcatlon. ali of which have been largely destroyed or deranged by war. From now on the Victory loan will loom larger and largor in national affairs There Is no doubt that the loan will be a success and will prove 8 good short term investm ent yield ing an attractive return to the buyer It should exert little if any effect upon | the money market, as nearly S5,00O,- oOO,000 of treasury certificates have 1 already been sold which can be turned in for the new bonds. To that ex- LClll lile ueW DOnU issue mas been largely discounted; but the more these ! bonds are taken by the public the 1 less will be the burden upon the banks. whose resources will then be { correspondingly free to take care of regular business requirements. It is 1 of the utmost i'm portance that these l bonds be as widely distributed as pos ! sible, not merely as q matter of pub ! lie policy, but also as a matter of i aiding the restoration of business to
 more normal conditions. The most significant feature of the money mar . [ ket was the prompt oversubscription l for the $500, ,o00 war finance cor 1 poration bonds. These were issued 1 on a per cent basis, and show what 1 might be expected if the forthcoming l Victory loan was also placed upon ! business terms. There is evidently 8 | large amount of capital awaiting in vestn1e ent, providing the terms are sat isfactory. It is to be hoped the ad- ninistration at Washington will dis regard political considerations, and make the rate upon the new loan sufficiently liberal to insure it's suc- cess. Other nations have met market conditions in such transactions, and similar policy should be followed for prudential reasons by the United States
 General trade Is fairly active, and the readjustn1ent to peace conditions
 goes steadily on. There are still many
 uncertainties to be faced, particularly adjustments in prices s.nd in the re-
 lations with labor Tire conflicting
 forces are very strong. The entire
 public is interested in a lower cost
 Of living, which can be accom- plished only by lower prices But lower prices
 cannot be accomplished under rising
 wages and shorter hours. Producers
 are frequently cutting prices at first
 hand. particularly in the textile and m etals ind ustries. Retailers how eTer are generally unwilling to make
 corresponding reductions. Some ef-
 fort has been made by the govern ment to bring about an adjustment by government price stabilizing, nota- bly In the case of steel products, which have already fallen 10 to fl per cent. Government efforts in reg ulating prices, however, proved a dis appointm ent. Director General Hines. of the railroad administration, refus- ing to accept the figures named by the industrial board Producers were naturally displeased at this failure to maintain values and secure more settled conditions. while consum CTS, on the other hand, were looking for ward to the purchase of necessary materials al more reasonable figures These conflicts of opinion must be expected for some time to come. They are likely to become more acute rather than less, and the uncertainty resulting will have to D } philosophical 1 ly accepted as a part of the readjust- ] nlent process. There remains 8, feel i ing of uneasiness regarding the un-
 reasonable demands of labor, which
 every intelligent person understands i will tend to increase the already ex- 1 cessively high cost of living that in