Norwich bulletin., 1919-12-27
NEW ENGLAND BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY

Der banks to replenish their reserves at the reserve bank to even greater degree than in previous years. Saw ings bank loans for six months and I for a year are per eent.-brokers' call E loans per cent. to s per eent.-brok- l CTS call loans per cent. to per \ cent. affected by the New York call | rate, per cent. predominating-p | bankers acceptanees per cent, to | 5 Is per cent. for 90 days. with Is | per cent. to 1-4 per cent. differential | for shorter maturities. On Decem- | Der 12 the federal reserve bank raised [ it's rates on loans. it's Liberty bonds | and Victory notes, to 3-4 per cent, 1 bringing loans of that character on a l parity with commercial loans. While | with the approach of the new year | sentimentally money may be firmer on | the other hand the general banking | situation would appear to be fully as | comfortable as during the month of l November. I
 Labor.
 The general labor situation at the i present time throughout New Eng land is satisfactory; mills are running to capacity, labor is scarce and wages high, but with the latter, in many cases but recently increased, there ex- ists almost universally a condition of more widespread tranquility and ab- sence of strikes than has existed at any time before during the year. The shadow of another great textile strike, involving 10000 operatives in New Bedford and Fall River, and ulti- mately, no doubt, most of the remain der throughout New England, which loomed large the first week in Decem- Der because of the refusal of the man. ufacturers to grant a demand for 25 per cent. increase in wages, passed quickly. Some of the mill men felt the time was propitious for a tryout of the strength of their employees and were disposed accordingly to yield nothing; others could not turn aside the prospects of continued profits from production uncurtailed; the result was a compromise offer of 12 1-2 per cent increase, which was accepted Peace may therefore be confidently ex- pected to reign in this industry for at least the duration of the new contract six months.
 Retail Trade.
 The larger department houses for two months past report an apprecia- hle increase, not only in the money volume of business. but in the num- Der of actual sales transactions. Prices are in many instances still ascending, though on some commodities they ap- 1 pear to have remained fairly station i ary. The effect upon prices of women's ready-to- wear apparel of the great in- crease in wages received by the gar ment workers in New York city is mo- ticeable, there being more complaint i, of high prices in this line than for l mcrly. Women who have been in the habit of paying from s25 to $35 for a coat, suit, or dree;si, and who now find the same merchand'se SC marked at more than double these figures, show 8 per- 1 ceptible inclination to desist from pu.- chasing, preferring to make their own garments or have them made by prj
 vate dressmaker; such customers have accordingly diverted their pur- | chases to yard goods and findings buying silk, cotton and woolen dress goods and materials for making up in- to needed garments-and departments handling these classes of merchandise have experienced a wonderful increase in sales, while the garment depart ments have been sagging. If this ten dency continues, the high prices of ready made garments should. in time. drop automatically, for stores will not long keep stocks at prices which will not move them. In the textile cen- tres where the operatives were enjoy Ing the highest wages on record even befoer the recent increase, the busi- ness of the retail stores continues enormously stimulated; nevertheless lretailers and bankers express the belief that the peak of high prices for most commodities which enter Into living expenses has been reached. Wool and WooIen Goods.
 In the government wool sales this month the demand for fine grades continued and every pound of the Cape Wools offered was sold; eastern dealers have, furthermore, com menced to buy fine wools in the war west, which will not be shorn unti; the latter part of March at the ear Hest, the total purchases of unshorn western wool being estimated at be- tween two and three million pounds Prices are strong for yarns and tops ~hlch are difficult to secure, and the combers and spinners are quoting prices in many cases which are in- tended as insurance against possible
 contingencies. The cause of high raw material prices is largely, nc doubt, the restricted supply, for whicf the limited offerings of the British government are in part responsible but this factor despite the economic theory that the price of raw materia - regulates the price of the finished product, cannot be said to be excIu- sively responsible for the prevailins prices of the manufactured article since the amount of machinery anC labor available at the present time Tor production, as well as the abnor.
 nal demand for the most expensiv,
 goods are very important and direc
 clements in the situation. In fact tn,
 extreme high level of the fine woo
 market today, many think, may bt
 traced directly to the high wages. pait
 to mill operatives and the position (which they are thus in to buy cloth
 ing made of smooth feeling wools, An,
 manufacturers are for the most par
 accordingly sold for months ahead a
 high prices chiefly for an output o
 fine fabrics. wOolen and worsted spin
 dles being at their highest points o
 activity for the year. And yet, not
 withstanding this situation, som i hopeful indications of an incrcAs;n
 demand for wools of lower grades ar
 beginning to appear.
 Cotton and Cotton Goods.
 Manufacturers Of fine cotton fab
 rics seem to be more or less at SC
 with regard to the policy to be pur
 sued with respect to taking on ne1
 business at this time, and to diffe
 widely in their views as to what tn
 future ts likely to bring forth.
 Some have been courageous enoug
 to take orders for deliveries as fs into next year as August and Septen
 Der, others will not contract beyon
 six months. while the more conserve