The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-05-24
Daily Wall Street Gossip
BY HOLLAND.

vide his family with food although he
 may have no surplus for the market,
 In other words, the farmer can if it be
 essential, get along without hiring la
 | or, but the workingmen of the United
 States cannot for any length of time
 maintain life and feed their families
 unless the farmers are producing com
 n3odities in sufficient amounts to sup
 ply the market with food.
 It was this situation, the bankers
 say, which Governor Harding had in
 mind when he told the assembled bank
 CTS that every effort should be made
 to speed up necessary products, espe-
 cially those which come from the
 farms. Several causes have operated
 to give alarm to the farmers this year
 in addition to the straining of the
 credit One has been the very unfa-
 vorable climate. Planting operations
 have been long delayed and in some cases it may be necessary, unless there
 be speedy change in the weather, to
 anandon planting. Then, too, the num-
 Der of acres devoted to farming, espe- cially wheat, has been reduced. Labor, although the wages offered are very high, nevertheless is reluctant, and in some places not to be found, and the farm hands who are secured do not work as efficiently as they formerly Q1Q. lue rallrOad congestion also en- barrasses the farmer and so does the straining of credit which makes it far less easy for farmers to secure bank ing accommo odations than they were able to do last year or al any time since the European war began.
 Governo- Hadring might have told the bankers. although it would have
 been unnecessary to do that that all ready the farmers of the United states are comtempla ting, a national organi- zation. well perfected, which may be nble through its strength and numbers |, not only to secure favorable legisla- . ton. but also to teach a lesson to what | is sometimes called recalcitrant labor. The farmers vote as a whole, if it acts with common purpose. is much greater than the labor vote, and the farmers may hereafter call upon a united vote. THE DAY OF DEPLETION
 Sometimes it is said that deflation has of a sudden begun and that its op- era tions are vsibly demonstrated l through the general reduction of prices I for commodities. But deflation really | began in November of last year. It was first felt in the securities market. The proverbal comment that Wall street meaning thereby the securities market is the first to discount the fu- l ture, was shown to be accurate in NO l vember of last year. when there began l the movement in the stock exchanges which has been continued and which is represented by the depreciation in the market quotations for securities The | proverbial comment that Wall street 1 meaning thereby the securities market | is the first to discern the ~futnr was l shown to be accurate in November of l lest year. when there began the move l rlent in the stock exchanges which has been continued and which is represent | ed by the depreciation in the market | quotations for securities. The bankers
 say this is nothing but deflation Four l or five months later the public began ] to show it's hand, declining to buy com nodities at high prices, and the banks put pressure upon the situation by in- | sisting that the heavy loans which they 1 have made to merchants, and which | have been made over and over again constituting what Governor Harding 1 ca lied frozen credit. be liquidated. This is now in progress and it is deflatior i which must be continued until normal
 times return. At present, however. ir i view of the agricultural conditions | there seems little Likelihood of any considerable reductRn in the market
 price for food for at least another year