The evening herald. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1906-1942, 1920-09-22

cent In the last ~ months and yet
nowhere IL there reported increase In
productivity per man. am not cx-
pecting that the cost OF labor will fall
off even in the worst OF times to its
prc-war stage. for I believe that the
real differcntial between directing
labor and manual labor will never
again bc a. great a. Il has been.
80 far a. the distribution OF labor
Ia concerned, the situation nationally
appears to be well equaliied. A
shortage Of labor is found only In the
middle and south Atlantic states and
this IL largely Of unskilled workers.
In the rest OF the country the demand
and supply appear balanced. Only
In some sections OF the middle At
lantic states is any unemployment
reported and this is in certain Of the
skilled trades. chiefly the building
and shipbuiiding trades.
An important disclosure Of the
survey is the seriousness OF the hous-
ing situation. In many Of the larger
Industrial centers where the shortage
has been most acute. the investisa-
tion has disclosed building operations
to be decreasing instead Of inceas-
ing.
"The call for buildings comes loud
est from the most essential places Of
manufacture. rather than from the
retail centers. and 10 for low-priced
dwellings. Building construction ID
increasing In New England. but he
bulk OF the construction 10 Of tae-
tories. warehouses and stores. New
York. Pennsylvania and most Of the
other great Industrial states OF the
east and middle west show . falling
off in building operations. There Il
improvement In the housing situation
In suothern and Pacific coast indust-
rial eenters. with special emphasis |
on tho erection Of workmen's homes. !
in no section Of the country did
the investigators find sentiment In
favor Of government ownership Of
the railroads: and everywhere better
transportation conditions are rc-
ported.
Agriculture 10 generally recognis-
cd - the backbone Of the country.
and the farming situation 10 excel
lent: from no section has an unfavor- J!
able report been received. Our far
mers appear everywhere to b in too
happy = mood to permit at this time
the cynicism. the farmer 10 always
grumbling.' They are we'll supplied
with funds from the sale OF this
years crops. but they are wise in that
they know that more favorable mar
ketinE conditions can be created.
''The recent drop In grain prices
ID reported to have had no effect ex-
cept in the Rocky mountain states.
Farmers OF Illinois. Indiana, Mieai-
gan. Wisconsin and other central
.iatss are withholding grain.
"In the financial field. money Ii
tight. That may mean several
things: first. that the people want
money badly to put into producing
second. that the banks At
tempt 10 get whatever the traffic will
bear. shearing close to the skin;
third. that there 10 an inadequate
supply Of money: or fourth. that
those who have money lack confi-
dence.
There are other reasons. NO doubt,
and among them that a. the dollar
now buys less than heretofore. people
with money wish to charge more for
The service that money gives. No +,
,ne can accurately say which Of these I
,auses is the most important factor, 1
but probably all contribute TO the ,
present situation.
THE telegraphic reports from
very section Of the country state
nat the Udaihs are "cii fouueu up' :
although money is available In the
,sst and central districts at from 8 ,
o s per cent interest. The south
vest, Rocky mountain and Pacific
tates report the highest interest
'ates. averaging from 8 to 10 per
'ent, and in the mountain district hs
Ugh as IL per cent.
There is great encouragement,
Iowever, to be drawn from the fact =
hat in only one Of the nine geo. I
'raphical divisions. the Rocky noun Q
ain. has there been a decrease in I
'ank deposits during the last ak b
months. While the general increase I
Includes corporation deposits. indi- n
"a o1 x,Nu