Norwich bulletin., 1922-03-25
BUSINESS CONDITIONS THROUGHOUT coUNIR

find growing cheerfulness in agri- cultural sections due to advances in prices of farm commodities, and the general belief that higher prices have come to stay writes Archer Wall Dou- glas, chairman of the committee on i statistics and standards of the Cham i}ber of Commerce of the United States The better part of this more cheer ful frame of mind is the conscious ness that the business of farming has reached the turning of very long l lane and that the future holds for the 1 farmer the promise of a scientific and well administered business, equipped with the necessary plant, provided with needed funds, and with an abiding CO., operative spirit among it's members, such as hitherto has been foreign to i its experience.
 This improvement in feeling has not 1 yet taken the form of any notable 1 increase in the volume of buying. For 1 taught by experience, the farmer is waiting for the fruition of his hopes, in the form of sustained higher prices of his own commodities, and lower prices of the things he buys. before Eventuring very far out into the water. I 1 harvest has in prospect and if things 1 look we'll as spring opens up he is go- l ing to take a chance and do some pur- chasing on prospects Until then buy ing will be for needs. and largely on fprice, even thougr merchandise stock in i the hands of dealers be light and as sortments badly broken.
 l The latest official information is that wheat yields in Argentina and Australia are somewhat less than last iyear. These two countries and Cana da will probably furnish most of the wheat imported by Europe until our coming harvest is on, since our ex- portable surplus is nearing it's end.
 High prices for wheat seem likely to prevail for some time Recent pre- cipitation in the west and southwest has been of much benefit to the grow ing crop, though it may take some further time to reveal the damage done by previous dry weather accompanied by wintry gales.
 There is an insistent demand in agri cultural sections for lower freight rates on farm commodities. It is a demand l thoroughly conscious of the heavy i handicap that present freight tariffs are on the sale of agricultural pro- ducts, but that probably does not thoroughly realize that the railroads have troubles of their own.
 The railroads, like all other branches of business, are anxious for a vol ume of traffic that will keep down the present undue proportion Of ex- :! pense account. They feel, however that such reduction in freight rates as is called for should be accompanied by 8 corresponding reduction in then expense account, and this they art striving to bring about with the handi-
 cap of not having the final say in sucf matters. There is also the question
 which cannot be answered in advance as to whether such reductions vii
 bring an adequate volume of business
 under present depressed conditions, tt compensate for the reduction in rates Like most of great economic problems
 it will probably all come out in tht wash, though not so fast as we maJ
 desire. For much of it is dependen
 upon the action Of certain governmen
 agencies, and no one can recall an,
 government forces, in time of peace
 hustling themselves to get thing;
 through in a. hurry. That is not tn,
 way of red tape.
 We have yet to learn from experi
 ence how far we can safely go, ant
 no father. in the regulation of pubIi utilities; but this much is obvious a present, that the impossibility of tn railroads dealing dkecS with theil
 employees on matters of utmost mu
 tual interest is serious handicap ol bringing about that spirit of loyaIt.
 without which there can be no eff
 to "hang up the fiddle and take dow . the hoe?"