The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-03-18
BY i. G ROYLE.

New York, March 18.-The lucra-
tive and amusing pastime known
as ''the passing OF the third floor
buck" has ceased to flourish in the
/ business circles of the United
States. For years increasing costs
of raw material, added cost of pro-
; duction, high wages. high costs of
distribution and high freight rates
were carefully multiplied by three
and passed on to the consuming
public. But not in the year 1922.
The public is declining firmly to
have the buck passed to 1t, is tax
ing a. couple of half bitches in the
wooden string around its wallet and
is sitting tight, Retailers have
found that out, wholesalers and
jobbers know it, manufacturers
have proved it and the. producers
are gradually acknowledging it.
Therefore business is better in
the United States, but it is not the
! kind of better business which
means startling price advances or
wild and discriminate buying.
Rather it is the business resulting
from the cutting of costs and over
head AS a consequence the bus
mess world is turning its attention
toward producing goods at price
the public will pay rather than TO
producing a price at which the
public must buy
Business Must Sell.
The public in many instances
does not have to buy. but the bus
mess man has TO seil-that is, if
l. Is - in hvfs pr1RoG
therefore are being closely sCru-
tinized TO see that advances are
warranted by the final court of ap-
peals of supply and demand. 1t is
this knowing that the buck can no
/ longer be passed to the public that
gives promise of a strike in the
anthracite coal fields that may con-
tinue some months. Anthracite pro-
ducers have to sell coal. but the
public proved this winter that it
does not have to buy unless it con-
siders the price right. One big
producer in the midst of the cold
weather this winter had Is miles
of loaded coal cars on its hands for
which it had not customers.
The stubbornness of the textile
strike in New England is an equal
ly striking example Although
thousands of workmen are idle,
hundreds of thousands of spindles
are still and production has been
curtailed, the price OF cotton goods
has not advanced even an eighth
of cent a yard. Merchants say
the public will not buy at higher
prices. The clothing and WOODEN
goods manufacturers are worrying
over a similar puzzle. They are
trying to reconcile low priced goods
to high priced woods and many ex-
perts express confidence that prices
cannot be raised in the finished
products at least at present.
Recognition of these tendencies
on the part of the buying public by
both capital and labor, however.
are bound to lead to mutual adjust
ments which will place business on
! basis both stable and profitable.
Farmers Encouraged.
A strong expression of opinion
that shoe prices were out of line
has been followed by wage reduc-
lions in some of the manufacturing
centers. Farmers, encouraged by
better prices, are buying acreage
and charging their paintings for
this season. Steel payrolls are ex-
panding and the recent price in
creases are holding. This is taken
as a trustworthy evidence OF the
actual improvement of demand
Buying now is for more than i'm
mediate requirements.