Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-07-24
BY STUART p. WEST.

NEW YORK, July 24.-The financial
markets this week have got rid of
one cause of uneasiness only to face
early in the week was the apparent
dissatisfaction among the heads OF
the railway unions with the wage
increase granted by the Federal La
Dor Board. While the threat of ma
wide railway strike was never
taken very seriously. the mere posi-
bility of such an event, which would
have hardly fallen short of q ca
tastrophe. was sufficient to hold all
street operations in. check Thea
when all danger on this account was
apparently removed by the decision
of all but one of the big brotherhoo1s
to accept the wage award, there arose
the Polish crisis TO overshadow fer
the moment. at least, all other con-
siderations. tF.-
Nearly all competent observers
agree that progress is being made
toward solving the credit problem.
which is the supreme factor in the
financial situation. as 1t has been
right along for eight months past.
Expansion of loans has been halted
by the drastic raising of federal dis
count rates. A slight reduction in
the general loan account has taken
llace. Where opinion differs is on the
question of the autumn crop moving.
men Will entail tn1S year larger
use of credit than ordinarily. because
of the very high staple prices and
because of the difficulty in getting
farm products to market. Will these
! extra demands falling upon the pres
ent strained situation produce I'M
pleasant results or will the measures
; that have been taken and will be
taken. to meet the emergency be ef-
fective in carrying the markets
through the critical period without
anything very serious happening?
Hopeful Feeling Among Bankers.
There is no doubt that in banking
circles there is a more hopeful feel
ing regarding the outcome of these
uncertainties than there was two
frankly apprehensive still. But by far
the majority consider that the federal
reserve officials have the situation
well in hand. that they are steadily
tial loans and that with the ability
TO mobilize credit under the federal
reserve system, using the surplus of
the stronger districts to meet any
possible deficiency at points Of. weak
ness. We shall get through the au
| tumn all right.
| something depends upon how much
gold We can secure during the next
Few months abroad. The fact that
american bankers have outbid India
I e'iAS "Cch . oncTlnES OF gold in the
London market is Significant mi
even IL America were to secure All
that came b weekly from South
Africa it would mean an importation
| OF probably not more than SIS 600 00O
during August and September The
hope is that the foreign banks in the
course of settling up the remaindey
OF the Anglo-French loan will be BILE
to scrape together enough gold Ia
make the movement to this country
reach as respectable total as IL did
last March. when $4,000, 900 wa.
| shipped across the water. A sum as
large as this added to our gold re-
serve would of itself go quite a way
toward meeting the crop REQUIRE
ments. The alternative. in case the
present loan contraction plus gold i'm.
ports is not sufficient. is to put forth
another large issue of paper money
1t would be an expedient which We
would rather not take. but which VIZ
could perfectly well afford to take
with reserve ratio of gold to all liza
bilities. including circulating notes
considerably above 40 per cent.
Must Meet Harvest Demands.
Some critics more hopeful than the
rest take the view that the bulk OF
1.-THE harvest demands for credit will
have been met by the latter half OF
October and that then funds available