The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-10-19

/ that 1921 will be a better year than 1920
| for them. But it all depends upon f.
nance and credit. Makers of automobiles
| do not go around shouting it from the
| house tops, but they are passing through
the severest test the industry has ever
had The whole trouble may be traced
to the action of the federal reserve board
in restricting credit on ''non-essentiaf
/ products and leaving 1t to the bankers
| everywhere to determine what were
| .1non-essentials' or "luxuries." The man.
! nfarturers and dealers have contended
/ that an automobile is 10 longer a luxury,
/ Int n necessity but when the federal re-
/ serve districts of Kansas City and Dallas
refused to handle commercial paper based
ON automobile transactions the business
began to suffer in those sections and else
I where and the restriction was even prac-
ticed by banks in this vicinity, winch
/ had previously been most liberal IN their
i loans.
i of credits were bound to hurt the auto
i mobile business more than most otner
lines because of the peculiar way IN when
: Il is financed. The dealer must pay a
) denosit when he orders his cars and
must nav the rest of the bill when ne
taxes each machine from the freight
cars Yet he has not always sold the
- machines for cash and must take his pay
ment in installments from the purchaser.
When he went to the bank, therefore,
i nancially. and that it was sure payment,
| the bankers who agreed with HIM as 70
4 the soundness Of the transaction, polltg5gg
z ont that the purchaser OF the car woulu
t soon come along to borrow the money
! ,vharawith to pay the dealer SO Dor
rowing money for automobiles was re-
+ dnced to a minimum and as a conse
r mence the manufacturers found the deal
e ers reluctant to buy. Similarly, useI
: oars have been aceumuatlng IN vasan'
have
| Ter harpain than new cars whrch aisf
}, has retarded purchases OF new macIlnes
d Meanwhile the automobile concerns
: have taken advantage OF their SITUATION
d to reduce their labor oVeFhedui ~, ii y
l. have laid off thousands OF men. The hg
,Ires are not available. But often mel
= AFRO oiven two weeks vacation and wheT
thev come back are told they canno
have the same jobs, but others that pay
less. One concern had been employing :
men to perform certain operation ina
was finished daily at p. NJ. 1T reduced
the number of men to IS and IS gettlni
| fine work done by l:30 p. m: Ecoh0hllc
of this sort are being pracuced ooth
| the factories and on the clerical SIDE
The automobile companies have been Il
The habit of hiring practically anybod!
| they could get. As a result they nave &C
ouired inefficient or unskllled help. On
| conspicuous factory cut down the mum
, Der of its workers by TO per cent am
| the production promptly JdLipcu AA0'A
90 to 100 cars per day.
| II isn't being generally admitted, bu
f, the manufacturers of automobiles are &C
tuallv reducing their labor cost elthe
bv eliminating mefiiciency, or hiring
smaller number of men. Not much pes
simism is heard The manufacturers sa
they are assured of the money to hnanc
their winters manufacturing program. Il
; only one case is there any rumor OF
receivership and the banks are said to b
. ready to prevent that company from &c
. inc under The solution seems to b
Z found in reducing the cost of labor o
getting more production out OF the sam
: humber of workers. One. concern toun
- that $1,000 men were not turning out a
" many cars as 10000 men did before tn
war. 1t wasn't entirely due to laxlt
ne or idleness. but to the creeping IN OF III
IN skilled workers who retard the car mar
n. ing process. One man can slow up fftN
es The era ahead of the automobile au
rs mess is one of greater economy ana e
n, fciencv. IF the cost of living can be r
pc duced and prices Of necessary commod
u ties continue to decline, the cut IN labo
prices will not be felt. So far as Detro
- is concerned, its economic readJustmen
n seems to be, relatively speaking, Wlthou
III much pain. 1t could be worse. IN
II workngmeu have an idea that chang
II of administration will restore their To-
III mer wage status and bring more lob'
II Rut nersons outside Of politics are nc
III Drnachiuo that doctrine.