The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-17
Lenine,s s Death Would Help Business, EUen Run1or Does
 Some Good; Week Is Strong

part in reducing prices to 4ftraet buv- ing continues to be debated nave been told of instances where articles costing the retailer less than SEQ had been marked up to s50s When fhsy- proved unstable they were reduced to s3S and advertised as "sacrifices.'' though they yielded gros urofH of 100 per cent. Many stort Sear s 11- questionably are still atteaHi4f4 with damaging results to their 5l- 4na to general business, to make the public pay high prices based on last years cost of production.
 Where retailers have cut prices. how ever their sales have reduced stocks to the point where replacement is advisa- ble, and more buyers are in New York than for many months past Tn fact, one of the most encouraging things a oh- served last week was the depression of the business editor of New York news paper because the list of buyers arriv- cd" which he published daily was taking up too much of his limited space. The cotton goods market especially has shown so much improvement that it radiates encouragement all over the city's business district.
 Bank clearings, reflecting lower prices, still are below last years, the decrease last week as reported to Bradstreet's being 19.6 per cent. Fail ures were 521, against 422 the previous week, 12S last year, and 137.29S and 335 in previous years.
 EUROPE SUFFERS
 If the news cabled from abroad is ac- curately descriptive of conditions gen orally, Europe must be in a bad way, but it is probably safe to assume that there, as here, good news is no news but bad news is good news" and that ;,- worth the cost of telegraph tolls.
 It is reported that the Austrian gov ernment has announced that 1t is at the end of it's resources and that it will sur render the country to the allied repara- tions commission January 15 As Aus tria is now very small country. the international effect perhaps will not be as bad as it seems, which the action is likely to bring about considerable inn provement in the country's internal condition. Streaming headlines also announce that there are millions un- employed in France;" that there is much turbulance among the idle workers in England" and that a six hour day throughout Italy is being urged by the Turin chamber of com merce to bring production within the limits of the demand.
 The statement of the Imperial Bank or Germany, issued December 31, shows that the outstanding circulatio is the highest on record, being 342,476, 900 marks, as against 1.S9O.S93, 900 marks July 25, 1914, just before the outbreak of the war This is real imitation. for against this enormous issue of paper money there is held only 1.091. .636, 900 marks in gold. Those Americans who are buying German paper marks and securities as speculation may well ponder these figures, for they seem to indicate the early demonetization of the paper mark. Most of the industrial unrest in Europe is in fact probably due to the fraud upon the wage earners that Is made possible by the use of a constantly depreciating paper cur rency.
 SOME ROSY SPOTS
 There are. however, some bright spots or the other side of the Atlantic The Bank of England's reserve ratio jumped sensationally last week from S83 to 1920 per cent The London stock ex- change is cheerful. France is now
 glutted" with coal as a result of the excellent German deliveries, and export prices are falling. British exports are increasing. while imports are declininf. As result of the low exchange rates and cheap labor, German manufactur- CTS have obtained an order for S8 loco motives, 500 freight cars, 25.000 tons of steel rails and 1000 tons of steel beams forJava. The locomotives were, of two types. The German bids were $25, 900 and $22000 each against the lowest American bids of $63,000 and $60,500 respectively.
 This shows that after all. work will not long be wanting for those who are willing to work industriously and req sonably, and it is because the very ne- cessities of the situation are compelling men to labor earnestly that the outlook seems more suspicious than at any time since the armistice.