The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-12-25

PROSPECTS
FOR FUTURE
Christmas Message Sayz
Danger Of Credit Col
lapse Has Passed.
BIZ DAVID LAWRENCE.
(Special to The Argus. =

BIZ DAVID LAWRENCE.
y Especial to The Argus.)
Washington. D. c., Dec. 24.-The
worst is over. A turn for the bet
IL in the business situation OF the
country has come. Government Of
Deials generally are glad to be able
b send q Christmas message to
he American people that all dan
ter Of collapse in the credit situ-
Alton has passed and that from now
n. . steady return to normal con-
liuons may be expected.
Every bit Of evidence gathered
here confirms the view OF officials
that with the exception Of indiv!d-
nj cases where bad management
os imprudent financing has caused
some concerns to hang by an eye
hsh the entire business outlook IN
hyorable.
The process Of readjustment is
not over. Perhaps some Of the
most painful changes will come
vhsn the price of labor Is gradually
truaght down but in the business
world itself the bottom has been
reached and the future is by no
means as dark as 1t was q month
40. Letters received from bank
officials in various parts Of the
country indicate that the turn
emo In the last six or seven days
nd that the Improvement II sub
stsntial and sound.
The reports received on Christ
ms buying indicate that the strike
Which the consumer started sew
WN weeks ago against the pur-
skase Of anything except absolute
necessities was broken by the
Christmas spirit and that most rc.
h,lsrs will have cleared theiI
l>slves pretty well BY the end ol
~ year.
Reduotlea DangsrsuS. -,
Of course the danger In reducing
~ cost Of labor ID always the
Ruspect Of q strike But in many
Ases the employers would welcome
y chance to be rid of an overhead
ut on labor altogether for . few
vseks, 50 the wise laboring maj
nasaltng with the housewife ant
ncticing q decline in the prices oI
lood and clothing will. it is BE-
fsvsd here, be ready to accept q
kvR weekly wage rather than in.
1T On a higher one and run ths
nek Of not getting anything at al
! turing the winter months. But ar
Sl91pt change in labor prices ID
IT expected. Certain classes oi
Nor which have been paid at wal
vices will have to come down.
Laler Wnl Fight
All this may be stubbornly
night BY the labor organization
It the alternative may be NO WORK
Z al Already requests to accept
: cut has worked out successfully
\ several lines Of business and
vlile everybody wants the other
Now to come down and nobody
va1 to bear the brunt Of the re-
9s6on himself or herself, some
Menction In labor costs Is newt
~ The business man who wise
made his prices on . basis ol
= average cost for a period oi
Mmal years Is the lucky indfvid-
~ nowadays. Yet few of them
.efe able TO do so unless they sac
uuesd profit altogether during wal
as and the number who did that
very small. Perhaps the most
eimistic in Washington are those
70 ~ in the falling prices OF
liding materials the answer to
= labor question. High rent, II
bean contended, has been the
auoone OF every demand for in
deases in wages.
Housing Shortage.
To shortage in houses has been
eon-wide. Some building ma
e are back to pre-war prices,
- - building on a general scale
~ not Be resumed until labor
80 down, too. for anyone want
70 build a house and sell i:
IVA years hence for at some
~ near the original cost will
ud 1t war prices Of labor. II
!ofcnasing power Of the dol
souid gradually increase the
Ee workman will not be JUS
y ~ asking for the retention OF
4 vaSes but the trouble will be
kss sthe average man accept
me OF reasoning until the dol
eaally does buy - much as
70 The trouble about the
Scment Of economic condi-
II S1Sn = mat things do not move
TINY and naturally reductions
cost will be resisted. In
mat . fall in labor prices
70 come, the painfulness OF
onic situation II mot over
~ ~ Unemployment 90 extern
Il. - resumption Of large bus.-
spfadons after the first Of
6s VII tend toward the relief
n ~ =. Who are getting no wages
~ Who believe in the prac-
4: sS 4. .iiceophy that some kind of
= esttsr than none.
~ fact II that the financial
I'll ssleh makes possible the
-. OF manufacturing op-
~ aa passed through its
~ tAat while buying vtiI
Easive. the return to nor
y ~ = last begun on . hasis
~ N1oved TIE wrinkles q
ne faces oe government
~ made them feel that
has successfully wssth-
s,