Evening star., 1921-06-20
MANY INDUSTRIES
TURNFOR BETTER
Others Beginning to Sag After
Having Wintered Other
Storms, Says Review.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

The business situation throughout
the country presents to government
eyes certain good and bad aspects.
The good consists of a turn for the
better in many lines which six months
ago was hardest hit, and the bad
arises out of the fact that certain
industries. which didn't feel the wave
of depression last winter now are
beginning to sag.
The situation is not now and never
has been uniform. No two industries
have been hit in exactly the same way
and at the same moment. This ex-
plains the almost continuous flow of
pessimistic talk whose undercurrent
has been sensedk here ever since last
December. The only danger in the
talk itself is that certain industries
which are on a sound basis. may be
Influenced to curtail their activities
simply because of fear that the
business depression makes promotion
and expansion inadvisable as matter
of principle.
Therefore officials here are inclined
to sound warning against the ac-
ceptance of pessimistic statements
for anything more than a reflection
of the particular industry or business
about which the pessimist happens to
Federal Reserve Board has insisted
in his recent speeches that if the
pessimist had done more talking last
october, when retrenchment was be-
ing urged by the government, he
would have been a valuable factor in
| the readjustment.
Many ON Upward Swing.
But much of the pessimism is be-
ginning to be circulated just at the
time when many industries are on the
upward swing and when their prog
ress will be made painfully slower by
| the continuous murmuring about bad
times ahead.
The clearest idea Of the business re-
adjustment which this country has
experienced since the war is given by
one man who uses the simile of a
marching column of troops to illus
trate the march of the industries
i themselves The column has been
! making right wheel turn. The
troops nearest the center move slow
ly and mark time. These are the in
dustries like the wooden and textile
businesses, which were hardest hit last
winter, and then marked time while
they adjusted their labor costs, ar
ranged their loans in bank, wrote of
! their losses and then slowly began
to move again. Most of the trades
v
uary are gradually coming back-not
rapidly. OF course. but with sufficient
progress to make the pessimist's pre-
diction of many years of bad times
entirely unwarranted. 1t has been a
matter of months and not years
OIL and Steel Hit.
Just now the oil and steel busi-
nesses are at the edge of the march
ing column. with long distance to
go to make the complete turn. Pre-
diction as to when the steel busi-
ness will have made the turn and
gotten back into line is a matter OF
personal opinion in Washington
There is, however, an inclination to
expect the steel industry to cut
wages soon and to cut also the price
of steel.
Steel was in a prosperous mood last
winter, when wool and silk and
leather were in distress There has
J been a decided turn for the better
in wool and textiles and leather
while steel is on the edge of the
marching column. The industrial
ccnters are beginning to feel the re-
adjustment pains which six months
ago were hardly felt: On the other
hand. the agricultural regions which
sent out IS. o. S." calls all last
winter now begin to see rays OF
sunshine ahead. Crops have been
planted at lower cost. Copious rains
in many sections of the country have
helped. The banks have tided over
their customers and this years earn
ings will be applied to pay off a