The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1922-01-04

| dation during which the boom OF
/ 1919, punCtured In 1920, was pretty
| thoroughly deflated. Commodity
| prices as whole. continuing the re-
action Of 1920. though at slower
pace, were reduced to the lowest
| level since 1916, or half the distance
| from he 1920 peak, while retail
prices fell about one-fourth. on the
/ average. CrOps, except corn, we're
short, and farmers returns the
poorest since 1914. Industrial out
puts were reduced. and values OF
sales were cut not merely TO the
| bone but to the very vitals of busi-
ness. Some classes OF securities,
railway stocks for instance. reached
/ the lowest average points In almost
n generation. Foreign trade values
| dissolved like the mist before the
| sun. giving rise TO queries as to what
had really become Of international
trade. The rallies shown were gem
orally slow In most cases, and some
OF the gains were not entirely held
Few lines OF business had as good a
| year ak they did in 1920. Itself "A
! year OF strain, and tile residuary
! lcgatee OF the silk-shi extrava-
/ gances OF the first year OF peace In
ventorles, badly slashed In the last
months OF 1920. were even moro
greatly reduced IN 1921. II was n
| year with an Unprecedented num-
| ber OF failures, and with Liabilities
| Of failed concerns towering above
anything previously known.
And yet, like the individual who
was described as being not wholly
bad, II developed redeeming traits
and features as the year advanced,
the lines first to feel the depression
| leading In the work OF rccuperation
and repair. The genesis of improve
| ment In some lines, In fact. was dis
| cernible almost at the outset OF the
/ year, whereas others waited until
tho summer was well advanced be-
| fore showing the first signs OF rally
| ing. with the progress OF the year.
favorable features asserted them
selves in increasing number, the III
nancial markets improved, money
released from trade. where some OF
IT had lain long In the form OF
frozen credits. sought investment in
fixed interest-paying securities. for
| eign exchange rose, wheat exports
broke all records in volume as did
| building construction I'm value, and
the close of the year certainly found
things better in many lines than at
the beginning. Stlll. the lesson was
again brought home more closely.
apparently, than ever to the people
| VI lnt lHlhtu as luuttu To
| the people OF the rest OF the world.
that while there may be vital neces-
sity for war. there Is little profit In
| II. The last weeks OF the year were
| gilded by the apparent agreement of
| the nations to try to find way out
OF the morass OF armament, with oil
that this Implies in the~way OF re-
duclng expenditure for war ~and
warlike materials. to the end that
crushing taxes may be reduced.
At least three big features stand
out I'm a review of the past twelve
month. One, the progress. not per-
haps complete in all cases. made in
deflation Of costs of many kinds,
without which no real Improvement
was or In possible; another. the per-
ceptlble Improvement in the inter-
nationa; political and financial sit
uation, which, however. leaves much
still to be desired and done, espe-
cially in central Europe third, this
despite all criticism to the con-
trary the demonstrated high, indeed
superlative. Importance to the coun-
try CT the Federal Reserve Banking
system. This proved in 1920 and
1921, as In 1914 and 1915, the real
sheet anchor OF American business,
those who doubted and the few who
: still doubt having before them the
recognized fact that what was the
biggest, IL not the most acute. crisis
in the history OF America was there
by prevented from running the tradl-
tlonal American course and culmi-
natlrg in commercial disaster great
er than was ever before experienced
The events of the year the many
counter currents experienced, the
|, hopeful advances made by some
lines, and the apparently continuous
retreats shown by others, probably
, find best illustrations In the mill
tary simile of an army which has
been, perhaps, defeated but not
routed. and which, reinforced. re-
turns to the-battle. irregularly per-
haps, but with steadfast purpose to
achieve Its original aim. The year,
In fact. was full OF instances OF
fairly confident advances being
made by some divisions OF the bust
ness army while others continued
to retreat. The middle OF the year.
as not infrequently In past years OF
stress, however. saw a crystallizing
OF sentiment on the cheerful side
and from thence onward to the close
feeling was better, more sober. no
doubt, but none the less steadfast
because OF this. This feeling, per-
haps, found best expression i'm a
! phrase contained in Bradstreet's
J State of Trade report early In Sep
tember. which attracted n good deal
of attention and mas since gone
around the country. business is
better, not a great deal perhaps. but
still II ~ better"
In a year filled with big events OF
J good and bad import. only few
sinking examples may be cited one
notable feature was that about the
first OF the business divisions to
rally were those which figured most
prominently In the eKtravagances OF
1919 and were first TO feel the un-
favorable influences OF 1920. We
refer, OF course. 10 the textile and
kindred Industries. genarally spoken
OF as the apparel trades. Most OF
these went through their worst ex-
perience in the last months OF 1880.
when shutdowns followed tho buy
ers' strike OF that year, Many OF
the so-oalled barometer industries
notably iron, steel, coal lumber and
transportation. did not show much.
II any, improvement until the late
summer. but these had been among
the last to recognize the facts in