Evening star., 1919-03-09

Board have failed to agree upon the
methods to be followed, and the whole
American economic situation as n con-
sequence has suffered tragically.
"A second important element in the
situation, also attributable to govern
mental slowness, arises from the fact
that during the desperate rush for
high production attendant on the
progress of the war hundreds of fac
tories throughout the country were
material and machinery. At the time
of the armistice and suspended pro-
duction these factories, some of them
quite filled with partly manufactured
government war goods, We're con-
fronted by puzzling situation They
could remove the material and ma
chinery to make room for that need
ed in the course of peace time pro-
duction only after all the government
property had been carefully invento-
ried by government appraisers and re-
moved by other government agencies.
Through this fact many plants still
are held up absolutely, getting for the
time thus lost no compensa ton what
soever and unable to employ work
ers who. otherwise, would be happily
busy in the new peace-time pro-
duction.
still another disturbing element is
the fact that many great Anne rican
plants were fully engaged, at the time
of the signing of the armistice, in the
manufacture of war goods for the
governments of allied nations. One
of the largest motor manufacturing
concerns in the United States recently
was asked how soon it could put it's
plant back on peace basis so as to
take care OF the four or five thousand
employees whom it absorbed before the
war. Its very reasonable answer was
that it could tell only when it learn
ed just when ii would be paid the
million and half dollars tied up in
motors half completed for the French
government Like many other enter
prises. this plant finds not only it's
mally line credit affected by this sit
uation,
>: Il.
These are what may be called the
governmental obstacles to a quick re-
sumption of normal conditions in
American manufacturing, and there
fore in employment Psychological
obstacles also exist but they are
more obscure and far more difficult
to define and deal with. Much capital
is still tied up and even the Ameri :
can business man whose capital is
free naturally hesitates to proceed
The cost of raw material, of wages
OF machinery. ali remain unset tiled
and high, and it is not surprising that
business men should walt for them
to drop to normal
For instance, In the building trades
paralysis exists because builders can
not tell whether buildings erected at
today's costs in future will rent or sell
for enough to yield a profit. Textile
manufacturers get no orders from the
Jobbers because retailers fear a drop
ia prices and inability to sell at a
Tair profit goods purchased at the pres-
ent day high prices In this manner
certain industries are severely ham
pered, those providing luxuries being
less affected than those providing
neeesaries. which, of itself. is bad
perhaps, all these things being
true, IT Is inevitable that the situa-
ton should be complicated further
by clashes over wages Workers,
either because forced to 1t by the con-
tinued high cost of living, or because
during the war they became accus-
toned to living on better scale than
ever they had Known before, are hold
ing out, perhaps striking, for higher
wages than employers feel that they
can pays and coincldent with this Is a