Evening star., 1922-12-30
~ j. c. ROYLE.

bling Of virtually every great industry
in the United States. Business. which
ror a time rested on the scaffoldinS
and false work of abnormal and sub
normal conditions. again is on a
sound, solid and permanent founda-
tion.
No boom is III prospect. There
are no indications Of frenzied price
movements. Competition will be
Keen and profit margins will not be
great. But there is every indication
from present conditions that business
activity will continue to increase and
Tho level of industrial and COM
ynercial prosperity will continue to
rise at least for the next SIX months.
New standards of comparison have
been adopted. Merchants. manufac-
ture-s, farmers aud business men In
every line have realized at last that
neither the pre-war days OF 1914.
The furried production of the war
period. the hectic activity and tre-
f.endous profits of the years imme-
'iiately after the arrffstice nor the
Gark outlook of the years Of depres-
sion and denation extending to the
beginning of this year. represent any
longer the normal level Of business.
Bustness Hovers at New Normal Marx
This country, right now. is ex-
oeiencing a greater prosperity than its
Jtizna generally realize. The pen-
siulun Of business is lowering at or
,.aar that new normal mark which
This years progress has established.
That pendulum is never still. Careful
examination of conditions In every
section of the country indicates that
The upward swing OF prices and pro-
= lat tod &c
momentum bids fair to carry It on
for another six months at least and
perhaps longer. Any swing back
probably will be at the same steady
= race as the advance and Will be
confined within the same well reSu-
lated limits.
Factors in Improvement.
Taree great factors havo marked
the difference between tae depression
oc 1921 and the prosperity of 1922.
'rhey are volume of production and
sales. increase in the buying pow
OF the nation and management. When
me year opened scarcely an industry
III the country was operating on a
normal capacity basis. Many plants
we're closed entirely. Many concerns
had written of or absorbed ~ high, ,s !,
priced inventories, bu, others still had
goods which they could not move,
clogging their advance.
Demand however. began to improve
>uaterialiy In the second quarter OF
7Ae year. Merchants either wrote Off
their losses or averaged out their high
priced inventories with the movement
oe goods obtained at cheaper prices.
I;uying was conserved but II was
steady, and demand increased proper
tionateiy.
industries Near Capacity.
As consequence, at the eoa OF
tho year, the great basic industries OF
no country are operating close to ca
i.acity and the greater number have
u-ders on their books which VIII keep
.eEl busy at an und!mfnished rate
Tor months TO come.
The steel industry, one of the SureSt
Educators of Industrial activity. just
as wheat is the agricultural index,
las advanced production from the e1-
t-eneiy low point at the opening OF
20 wear to we'll above SO per cent os
.apacity for the whole industry. In
dividual units have attained even
higher rates of output an@ for some
months have been turning out prod
,,cts at or above 100 per cent OF nor
mai.
unemployment Has Disappeared.
Unemployment was pressing prob
fem when 1922 opened. States, munich
palities and social and charitable organi-
cations were asked to cooperate Win
the federal government in meeting 1t.
Today unemployment practically has
disappeared There Is a Job for every
.aan who wants one and score OF en-
pioyers to beg him to take 1t. So great
t,as been the demand for labor, both
s,ttlled and unskilled, that industries $
are still raiding each other for men and
scores of enterprises are hampered In
rhe,r progress by inability to obtain the
workers they need.
Wage advances were an inevitable
n -
United States Steel Company set the
pace for the industrial world by an ad-
vance averaging 10 per cent. This ex-
ample was followed in hundreds OF
other Industries. In the building
1-ades, skilled artisans have been able
almost to name their own terms. Pay
rolls jumped forward in steps Of mil
lions monthly and buying power was
thus increased far beyond any eEpec-
tations that existed at the opening Of
the year.
Buying Power Increased.
This increase in the volume Of money
svailable for individual purchases was
not confined to wage earners. Incomes
~ investment holders were increased
rot only by the general betterTnent in
business conditions, but also by the
return to dividend basis OF COM
I'd dividend distributions, and by in
creased payments by others which
had been swept forward on the crest
.f the business tide.
The farmers also have attained
far higher standard of buying power
han was expected when the year
opened Prices of agricultural prod
1,cts did not keep pace with advances
in other lines. and the situation OF
-he farmer was further weakened By
1ack of transportation facilities at a
inc when they were needed most.
But the farmer in nearly every in
s,ance got himself out Of debt. He
made his crops cheaper than he had
-or years and was left with a sur
plus which he was able to devote to
:esstties and luxuries. In addition,
.lis credit situation has immeasurably
improved, and there still remains UNI
:.old over two billion dollars worth Of
farm products The proceeds from
these products eventually will find
heir way across the counter. In the
south the rapid and continued ad-
vance In the price Of cotton has put
he growers in a more satisfactory
position than they have occupied for
years.
Margins Of Profit Small.
Prices for finished products ad-
,aaced generally throughout the
year, but they did not move upward
proportionately with the increase in
wages. raw materials and costs Of
reduction. Producers hesitated to
make further advances for fear OF
-terminS the tide of buying and
iorcing renewal OF the s9-caled
buyers strike" which had oeen
uugaboo in 1921.
As a consequence. margins Of profit
were small. Manufacturers, whole
sSlerS and retailers met this situa-
on successfully by Increased eff
riency In manufacturing and sales