The Washington herald., 1921-10-24
COLLAPSE OF MARK.
WORRIES BUSINESS.
MORE THAN STRIKE.
Railroad Crisis Thought
to Be on Road to
Settlement.
WOULD FIGHT 1T OUT
Financiers Oppose Compro-
mise for Sake of
Peace.
WOULD FIGHT 1T OUT
Special to The Washington Herald

BOSTON, Oct. ZS.-Ine future
has attracted MORE attention than
the present this week. The rail-
road strike and the German print
ing press are now the leading
themes of conversation. The man
in the street (and the man on the
farm, tool has begun to fear that
he Is In the path of record break
ing developments.
Yet while it is believed that
nationwide railroad strike would
be disastrous, the fear is frequent
ly expressed, both by leaders OF
finance and industry ana by those
who have little familiarity with
such affairs. that there will be no
strike. On all sides there seems to
be an alacrity to accept the gage
thrown down by the railroad en-
ployes as the quickest and most
effective means of restoring order
to the dislocated industrial situa-
ton in this country. In other
words, it is felt that the cure would
be worth the medicine. .....
No Compromise Wanted.
This, of course. Is the extreme
view, and 1t is held by persons who
believe that there will be no guar-
antee of industrial peace until or
gained labor actually finds itself
beneath the wheels of the Jugger-
naut.
Most persons, however, have no
wish to see a strike. Still. very
few seem to have any desire for a
compromise. Lamentable as 1t
would be, the ordinary man would
prefer the strike to a compromise.
As a matter of fact, very few look
for either compromise or Il
strike. The latter. it is believed,
would be a failure from the start,
and 1t Is hoped that the railroad
operatives will be convinced of the
fact before the time actually ar
rives for them to walk out.
Failure is predicated on many
grounds. In the first place. not an
atom of public sympathy has been
evoked. There is no present indi-
cation that other branches of or
ganized labor will effectively CO.
operate. Winter is coming on and
the masses have been backward in
laying in their coal. Merchants
stocked with the necessaries Of
nav III 10
already hampered by inadequate
railroad facilities, and no one
wants to see it more so. Iron and
steel are the barometer of trade
and the general public is aware
that the barometer is at low
point, chiefly because the railroads
are too poor to spend money on
the product of the steel mills.
Carriers Have Advantage.
Furthermore. the country is
teeming with unemployment-in-
deed, thousands of railroad men
alone were laid of months ago.
1t is shrewdly suspected that the
railroads will be able, without too
much difficulty. to replenish their
operating forces in the event OF Il
strike. And it is reasonably GER
tain that they will have the pro-
lection of the national and Stat
governments. Here in New Eng
land there is not the least fear
that We shall be starved or frozen
or otherwise materially distressed.
Frankly, the German mark Is
regarded as a greater source OF
worry than the attitude of the
American railroad operatives. Ger
many may not be on her last legs
financially, but il not appearances
are deceptive. Some bankers here
entertain the suspicion that she is
deliberately putting herself into
bankruptcy as a strategic measure.
Will she, as one banker this week
thought might be the case, offer
her creditors 20 cents on the dol
lar, or, say, cents on the gold
mark?
German Situation a Menace.
That would be an interesting
proposition. and one rather diff
cult to escape in the near future.
On the whole, those of our bankers
who have studied German condi-
tions with care find it hard not to
believe that Germany is very close
to complete bankruptcy and repu-
diation. Without knowing just
what this would mean to US, the
man in the street knows that 1t
would mean something serious in
the long run.
Local trade conditions call for
no particular comment, beyond the
fact that the men on the road for
the shoe manufacturers have not.
1t is said, been having much luck.
Everything considered, this sec
ton is disposed to be on its guard
against the future. Speaking gem
orally, we have so enlarged our
industrial plant as a result of war
prosperity that 1t is taken for
granted that we shall not be able
to employ the whole of IL in any