, 1920-09-23

per man.. 1 am not expecting that the
cost of labor will fall off even in the
worst of times TO its pre-war stage. for
l believe that the real differential be-
tween directing labor and manual Ia
Dor will never again be as great as it
has been.
80 far as the distribution of labor
is concerned, the situation nationally
appears TO be well equalized. A short
age of labor is found only in the Middle
Atlantic and South atlantic states and
this is largely of unskilled workers.
In the rest of the country the demand
IL supply appear balanced. Only
in some sections of the Middle Atlantic
states is any unemployment reported
and this is in certain of the skilled
trades, chiefly the building and ship
building trades.
y important disclosure of the sur
vey is the seriousness of the housing
situation. In many of the large indus
trial centers where the shortage has
been most acute the investigation has
hIN'iVStb buli'iihS oDti W pt bt-
creasing instead of increasing.
The call for buildings comes loud
est from the most essential places of
manufacture rather than from the re-
tail centers and is for low priced dwell
ings. Building construction is increas-
ing in New England, but the bulk of the
construction is of factories, warehouses
and stores. New York, Pennsylvania
and most of the other great industrial
states of the East and Middle West
show a falling off in building opera
tons. There is improvement in the
Pacific Coast Industrial centers with
special emphasis ON the erection Of
workmen's homes.
"In no section of the country did the
investigators find sentiment in favor
! of government ownership of the rail
roads; and everywhere better transpor-
tation conditions are reported.
Agriculture generally is recognized
as the backbone of the country. and
the farming situation is excellent
from no section has an u~nfavorable re-
bcA ptth oul Up
pear everywhere to he in too happy n
mood to permit the cynicism. The far
mer is always ~grumbling.' They are"
well supplied with funds from the sale
of this years crop, but they are wise
in hat they know that more favorable
marketing conditions can be created.
The recent drop in grain prices is
reported to have had no effect except
in the Rocky Mountain states. Farm
ers of Illinois, Indiana. Michigan, Wis
consin and other Central states are
Withholding grain.
'In the financial field. money is tight.
That may mean several things; First,
that the people want MONEY badly to
put into producing activities; second,
that the banks attempt to get what
ever the traffic will bear. shearing close
TO the skin third, that there is an ade-
quate supply of money, or fourth, that
those who have money lack conf
dence. There are other reasons, no
doubt, and among them that the dollar
now buys less Than heretofore, people
vain Aibiits WISH W ma 81 " "
the service than money gives. No one
can accurately say which of these
causes is the most important factor,
but probably all contribute to tile
present situation.
The telegraphic reports from every
section of the country state that the
banks are well loaned up. although
money is available in the East and Cen
trail districts at from six to eight per
cent interest. The Southwest, Rocky
Mountain and Pacific states report the
highest interest rates, averaging from
8 to 10 per cent, and in the mountain
district as high as II per cent.
There is great encouragement how
ever to be drawn from the fact that in
only one of the nine geographical divi-
sions, the Rocky Mountain, has there
been a decrease in bank deposits dur
ing the last six months. While the
general increase includes corporation
deposits. individual savings accounts
show more marked improvement every
where. This seems to show clearly
that the orgy of spending and extrav-
agance is over
"Discounting of bills by industrial
concerns is universally reported. EN-