New Britain herald., 1922-04-15
STRIKES NOT ALWAYS HARMFUL TO
 INDUSTRY, ROGER BABSON WRITES

Wellesley Hills. s2, Mass April 15, Are coal strikes, textile strikes, clothing strikes, responsible for the falling off in business during the last few weeks?"
 Babson Answers
 Answering this question and the general question of whether recent in- dustrlal unrest will postpone pros perity by full year. Roger w. Bab- son, statistician. outlines the situation as follows;
 Business men should not get faint hearted because of these strikes Strikes are not always an economic loss, If the country were today us- Ing coal as fast as it could be mined and tho coal strike resulted in shut ting down factories. such a strike would be an economic loss Strikes however which occur during periods or depression are usually not econo- mic losses, It is not an economic loss to have this coal strike continue un- til tho great surplus stocks of coal arc used up. It Is not an economic loss to have the textile strike con- tlnue so long as the supply of manu- faetured goods exceeds the demand We are simply using our surplus stock and the unemployment is coming all at once in punches instead of being distributed over a long period.
 Draws Comparison
 "A strike today in most industries is good deal like damming a stream of water. The water is not destroyed, but it is simply being held back. The water could be damned for a month or three months; but when the dam finally is opened, the water will flow down stream and do it's work. The situation in the basic industries to- day might be compared with that stream of water. The strikes are having the effect of damming up the flow of business; of retarding the flow of the stream, but they are not de- stroying the markets. Until these re- serve piles of coal, cotton and woolen goods. and mems clothing are used up, there is little economic loss.
 Weather Conditions
 "A factor that has retarded busi- ness this spring is the condition of the weather. Reports from all sec tiops of the country show that the weather the last few weeks has been very unusual. To a certain extent ir- regular weather conditions are also damming the stream. You may delay the purchase of that new summer suit, but you will get 1t just the same. The weather Is a great factor in de- tormining when women make their purchases but does not ultimately prevent sales. The weather this spring has been unsatisfactory from the textile point of view. Probably no one thing would aid so much to- New England as about two weeks of good warm weather.
 Effect or Late Easter
 Another factor bearing upon this same situation is the lateness of Eas-- ter this year. Easter comes the 16th of April, which is very late. Easter or the week before Easter, is the opening of a number of lines of in- dustry and the lateness of Easter has delayed such business. Hence, the cotton industry is quiet, the sales of raw wool have fallen off. Leather, household furnishings, iewelry and a. number of those industries which are closely connected with the person and the home, are exceptionally quiet this spring and more so than around the first of January
 Crop Situation
 Yet, there is more activity today in steel, iron. copper and the metals as a class than there has been for some months. The lumber market is in a stronger position than it was year ago, especially the better grades of lumber. Hardware and other build ing materials are in greSter demand. It appears that the railroads are com- ing in again into the market, The railroads are the greatest purchasers