Evening star., 1922-07-02

tive industry IN this country Ii fear-
ful OF the consequences and tartns
are being designed by Congress to
from rising 100 isst: II. Is iii %. con-
trrdtctory.- Seeking TO maintatn our
own productive activity 1t a htsh
peak by keeping out the competition
OF Imported goods. we nevertheless
are looking NrwArd TO large repay
s msnts from abrosa aEainst existing as
In only one possible, way--with goods.
For. the sake Of the future tnteE-
rity OF International financial obliga-
tions.- action to determine, what Ia 70
be done In the matter of Internal! !nai
debt settlement win have to be de-
liberate. and any scheme for a gen..
eral adjustment Of debts. will require
painstakfng attention. But in the
meantime; confronted with an emer-
gency, 1t would seem most logicai'
that the debts involved should oe
liouidated very slowly. ard tnst *~.n
soon to begin. should begin with H.nsil
amounts. increasing slowly over a,
long period. Such course would
give time for our debtors to buiio
up their resources and give time also
to our industries to accommodate
themselves to the new conditions-
Metals and Mechanics Bank of New
York
- Pr0Eress Of. Business.
The record Of business during the
last three months seems to show
GRADUAL improvement. at least In vol
une. Whether or not much proft has
been evolved can be known only when
the reports of industrial concerns for
the second quarter begin to make their
appearance. In the rank and file OF
business. where any inquiries have
been made. there are indica tions that
profits have been limited. and the
small trader generally will tell you
that business is not good. :
This. however. may be the natural
course In slowly reviving business
cycle. The. upward swing in general
prices, which has accompanied this
movement, may not be permanent.
and 1t will, in fact, be better II this
turns out to be the case. Prices gen.
orally are by no means so thorough
ly readjusted as to make it desirable,
with the present irregular and unad-
Justed level. to have a long upward
rise, which might be caused by re-
newed imitation. and. being unnatural.
would be subject to serious setbacks.
'The resistance Of the buyer Is still
factor in keeping of runaway
prices. This is illustrated in the raw
wool market. A few weeks ago
heavy buying took place. Prices rose
and seemed to. be getting beyond con-
1HoTc was u iull IHch, duu
dullness settled down over the mar
ket, with some tendency to yielding
prices. Speculation in raw wool had
been carried beyond the limits of good
Judgment 81
'In some other lines the rise has
been more gradual. The excellent
monthly hide and leather summary
Of the Merchants National Bank. Bos-
ton, shows that under the stimulus of
the continued advance in prices of
hides and skins the leather market
has improved materially in the past
month. Tanners have sold consider
able volume of sole leather and upper
leather at slightly higher prices than
prevailed q month ago. Even at these
advances, however, tanners complain
that the rise In raw stocks has wiped
out any profit. They are encouraged.
however. by the broader demand for
their product. Leather buyers. never
theless, are' not ordering far ahead
or in large quantities. And the pub
Tic still believes 1t is paying too much
for its shoes. s. Bache & Co.