Evening star., 1921-10-02
BY I. A. FLEMING.


- It is encouraging. in the midst of
consideration of unemployment prob
i .ems and exploitation of this unfavor-
able feature of the present situation.
that conditions. as diagnosed by such
an impartial judge as the Federal
! Reserve Board is and should be, are
said to be showing distinct improve
ment. The board goes even further
and talks Of distinct encouragement,
wholesale betterment." and Increased
ability of business to settle it's ac-
| counts"
| There have been many doubling
Thomases.' utterly unable to recon-
| cile enthusiastic reports CT improved
| condition with decreasing clearings.
| with the evident growth of unemploy-
ment and whose judgement refused to
enthuse because money was easier.
recognizing that money was in large
| supply and that therein was not the
| remedy for the trouble that en-
| compassed business, and who recog-
nize in the increasing railroad net
earnings obligations for the main
tenance of roadway and upkeep of
! equipment dtsregarded. with the
certainty Of an aftermath.
! But even this contingent must now
admit that while appearances may not
| be as satisfactory as they. would
! like. conditions are greatly i'm
proved and that the business of the
year to date has so far reduced old
| stocks that manufacturers are busy in
| restocking and inventories have been
| greatly reduced, if not worked off
| altogether. which will give increased
| employment and help on betterment
1t is up to the manufacturer. the
| jobber and the retailer to judge well
! as to the prospects and the capa-
\ bilities of the future that should they
| find a partial repetition of the 1920
| slump in business they may not be
caught with large stock of slow
| selling goods on hand.
| If business is to continue on the
| mend, as the reports indicate, there
! should soon be some very substan-
| tial evidences of it in the factories
| producing steel rails and cars with
| other equipment, and this will be re-
| flected by recovery in the shares of
| these manufacturing corporations
| which have as yet made small ad-
! vance. relatively speaking.
Business must consider the causes
that led to the silent strike of the
buyers of the country, and those who
attempt excess profits are liable to-
F.; day to feel the effects of such a pro-
/ test against large profits unless the
| tendency to again mark up prices is
! abandoned. and there is more real
relation between production and re-
! failing costs.
| The public. and this includes the
| farmer. has a we'll defined and un-
| shakable opinion that there is too
vast difference between the price
| received by the producer and that
paid by the consumer, which view of
| the situation, blaming no one. seems
to be well founded and to be reme-
| died only by little more humanity,
! a little less greediness and perhaps.
! a desire to lend something to the
| bringing about of better conditions.
! 1t may be too much to expect, yet,
| If we are to have genuine revival
| of trade. the slogan will have to be
| changed from large sales and great
profits" to large sales and small
| profits
| Congress moves slowly where busi-
| ness demands action.
| Senator Smoot has just introduced
a sales tax measure and his COM
| ments with especial reference to Eek
cess profits" are interesting. He urged
| the retroactive feature, abolishing
| excess taxes entirely for the calen-
dar year 1921, as the impost of such
excess would fall on relatively small
business concerns, as the great cor
porations would not have any ex-
cess profits.
This fact should be recognized, as
many of the large corporations have
been engaged very largely in the
last few months in reducing inven-
tories accumulated in 1920, inven-
tories of goods produced at much
higher prices than current at this
time.
Hope for Action and Betterment.
The business world. seeking GER
! tain expected relief and betterment
through congressional action can only
hope that the action may be speeded
and not delayed through the acts OF
minority ana that when enacted
the measures will bring the expected
betterment.
Moreover, it can only hope that i'm
provement may make progress with
| increased momentum, that unemploy-
ment may decrease and that measures
governmental, public and privat,
! working for rehabilitation may be
successful.
1t remains to be seen just how far
the cotton, grain, live stock and
go In the establishment of the pur-
chasing power of the nation.
Abroad. German credit is more
seriously strained than ever, if that
| is possible. and by reason thereof
French credit is little shaken, SC
that improvement must come largely
from within. Efforts are being mad.
also to further our foreign trade.
Symposium ON Reserve Rates.
There have been so many arraign-
ments of the Federal Reserve Board
for not reducing the discount rates Of
the various regional banks, so many
more for the action which, it is
charged. brought on the great era of
dedation, in advancing rates, that a
symposium of opinion on the question
Should Federal Reserve Bank Dis
count Rates Be Maintained Above
Current Market Rates?" is extremely