Connecticut western news., 1922-05-25
BUSINESS MEN
 SHOULD CHEER UP" So Says Roger Babson in His Weekly News
 Letter ,#

| beiHB IenpeFamenJal! They cannot
 beat the average business man who is up today and down tomorrow. With in period of sixty days he will be a pessimist, an optimist, and back again to pessimist, when all the time nature is slowly but surely fol- lowing its natural course" said Rog- CT w. Babson in his weekly inter- view on business conditions.
 "A year ago business men were very pessimistic; then came a tenn porary upturn in business and follow ing the lead of certain Federal off, cials and prosperity boomers, they became optimistic. Since, however, these prosperity forecasts have not matured, they are again down in the dumps. How long will it take us to learn that Presidents don't make business but rather business makes Presidents. 1t is true that condi- tions are dull at the present time partly on account of the late wet spring, partly due to the floods of the. south, partly due to the strikes in New England and New York State, and partly due to the upset
 
 ever, business is looked upon from a long range it will be seen thuu it is passing thru only a natural read justment which. takes always con- siderable time. I stated over two years ago that no permanent im- provement could be expected before August 1922, and still feel that way Even after the corner turns in the summer or fall of this year, it will be slow altho a steady climb up- ward.
 "0n the other hand, as all indus tries were not hit at, tho same time, they will tend to come back at differ ent times. The industry that was first hit will be the first to come back. This was the silk industry and a change for the better is already in evidence. The industry which was most suppressed during the war will slfow the greatest recovery during lhc next few years; indeed, it is al- ready recovering. have in mind the building industry. There is mark ct increase in the demand for all building materials, nosab,|' lumher,
 
 tae/ building boom. The sales of hardware and paints have increased If labor does not become too hungry fos increased wages, this spu:t in new building may develop into a reai boom.
 Another industry which should quickly show better employment is the automobile industry, especially the makers of the more expensive cars. These makers were the first to be hit and these should be the first to come back. Following booms in the stock market the makers of expen- sive cars and other semi-luxuries al- ways experience good business. For the first time in two years and half, rubber factories at Akron are adver- Using for help. This same improve ment in the employment situation is noticeable also in certain steel cen- ters such as Youngstown, Ohio, and hardware centers such as Ansonia, Conn.,, where a wage increase of 159o goes into effect May 16th.
 Commodity prices are likewise adjusting themselves naturally. Those products which were first to decline, such as cotton, sugar and lumber are showing hardening tendency, while other products, such as furs, that were bought by the masses during the war in great quantities, are showing continued declines.
 At the recent fur auctions, Silver Fur Fox was. 259o lower than in Marten N09o lower, and other furs are falling i'm proportion. Better still, the cost of living as a whole is still on the decline. A man can purchase for 75 cents today what cost him a dollar a year ago. Retail sales are holding up very well, the mail order houses are showing in- creases, western shoe manufacturers are busy, and furniture factories are working on a liberal schedule. Even coal production is holding up fairly well. .
 "All of this means that there is no reason why the banker, manufac- turer, or merchant should be a pessir mist or an optimist today. Neither the prosperity boomers nor the call amity howlers should be followed. Business has not yet turned the cor ner, but it is naturally and steadily the corner. No nation could go thru the great industrial development which this country ex- perienqed during the war without a reaction. This reaction we are passing thru today. We have already reached the end of the de- cline in the security markets. These markets are we'll on their way up- ward. Within a few months, con- cluded MT. Babson i've should reach the end of the decline in general business. Honesty, thrift, industry, and the spirit of service will hasten the day"
 The trend of general conditions as reflected in the index of the Babson-