The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-04-04
BUSINESS SURVEY
MADE OF COUNTRY
Business Men, Bankers and
Farmers Reply to SO
Questions
DEPOSIT COMPANY
LAUNCHES INQUIRY

Except in New England-Cost of Liv-
ing LOwer-Wagc Cut Generai-Crime
in Vermont Lessons.
BALTIMORE, Md, April david
f. Houston, former secretary of the treas
ury, in analyzing a countrywide survey
of industrial. financial, agricultural and
other economic conditions, declares that
1.-THE big national question is taxation,
with peace settlement and international
trade next"
The survey, made in all of the geographi- |
cal divisions of the United States by field
agents of the Fidelity and Deposit COM
pany of this city, consisted of answers to
SO questions by farmers, bankers, manu- |
facturers and public officials. An inter
esting feature of the statistics Is that In
every section, except New England and
the Rocky mountain states, building oper-
ations show marked increase. General
TRANSPORTATION conditions in every state
were reported good" and raw materials
plentiful. Savings accounts, the survey
showed, increased in 10 states.
Crime in Vermont Siumps.
Police officials of - states said there
/! had been a noticeable increase in crime
over last September. but a decrease was
reported in Massachusetts, Maine, New
| Hampshire. Vermont, Rhode Island, Con
necticut, New York, New Jersey, Penn
sylvania, Delaware, Maryland. District
of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia,
| North Carolina. South Carolina Georgia,
| Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama,
and Mississippi.
| II o,-or,- etafo rho consensus of opinion
was that the farmers have not disposed OF
all their last seasons crops. Low prices
and shortage of money and labor are said
/ to have caused a reduction in acreage In
all states except Illinois, iowa hanSas,
| Missouri Nebraska and the Pacific Coast
| states. The crop outlook for 1871, how
ever, in every case. was reported fair or
good.
The survc, ,r3 ates that the business
/ world is stjl. .,aiIg its way. but with
! increasing c,aHdn."e and with the con-
viction that tive worst has passed said
! former Secretary louston. The country
| has successfully borne the strain caused
| by a most notable drop in prices, partlc-
ularly of a vast . ume of raw materials.
and has wcatL.e 4 a trying period Of
The d..s.-d r finished products has
not devci, l.G ~ snc point where our fac
tories feel i.+t--"d in taking the requi-
| site quantitE - our surplus raw materials
! TO l0rnlSN tic necessary ItAitL W AtAtAA
producers but there are some indications
of a change in this direction.
Cost of Living Lowers. -. -.....
THIS survey does point 10 certain IA
vorable' domestic conditions. The cost OF
living has appreciably diminished. Build
ing operations in number of districts
! tend TO increase. There have recently
been no strikes of consequence. Greater
productivity of labor, per man, Is re
/ ported from all districts. Raw materials
are plentiful and physical transportation
conditions are good. There have been no
business failures of moment. The crop
outlook is satisfactory, and the banking
situation has improved.
The country is better off today than it
was three months ago and manufacturers
in growing numbers are planning definite
production schedules. Information from
other quarters than this survey indicates
n that the automobile industry and some tex
tile lines are picking up now. But the
public is still restricting its buying and
Il probably will continue to purchase eau
tiously until retail price reductions be-
come more nearly equal to the reduction
in manufacturers and wholesalers prices.
1.-THE maintenance by retailers of a rela-
lively high price level has been perhaps
the chief stumbling block to quickened
Industrial activity. The great cut in pro-
\ ducers' and wholesalers prices last sum
/ mer and fall was not followed by proper
sumers 1t is apparent that we arc ap-
| preaching the point where many manufac-
turers can get materials at prices they
can afford to pay and with lower wages
and more efficient labor, they can furnish
goods at a cost within the consumer 5
reach.
Wage Reduction Is General.
IAN appreciable reduction in wages is
noted in every section and in virtually
every kind of industry. The fact that
savings accounts have increased in the
industrial sections. however, would seem
to Indicate that in such districts wage
and salary reductions have not been as
great as the reductions in the prices of
commodities. and that therefore, fortu-
nately. the decrease in wages has not
necessitated a lowering of the standard OF
living.
"The credit situation is improved. In
terest rates range from six to eight per
cent for the country as a whole, but bank
ing funds are reported available by every
section except the south and Rocky noun
tain regions
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