The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-04-28
BUSINESS |S IN X FIRM BASIS AND
 WILL REMAIN SO
Production In Excess of 1920 Peak and Consumption
 Is Keeping Pace
By WALTER E. BROWN (EditOr New York Commercially Special Dispatch to The Age-HeraId

Special Dispatch to The AEe-Herald.
 NEW YORK, April 27.-Usually the stock market is considered an accu rate barometer of general business conditions and there is no reason to depart from that theory on the pres ent occasion. Prices have held a current levels for some time and ad vances and declines, such as they have been, have been merely the re flection of technical trading condi- tions and have had no special sig nificance one way or the other. The story told by the stock market is that business is on substantial basis and that it is likely to remain so for an indefinite period. If there Is any doubt about this from the stock mar ket's standpoint. the lack of success of the bear raids upon dividend pay ing stocks is pretty good evidence. Such efforts have only momentarily affected the light floating supply, but have failed to dislodge the vast amount of such stocks held by in vestors.
 Business Satisfactory.
 As to the status of general busi- ness. it is in highly satisfactory condition. Production is in excess of the peak of 1920 and consumption Is keeping pace with it, so that thus far there are no accumulations of supplies beyond normal requirements. It Is all a question as to whether this situation can be maintained. Already the calamity hCwlers are at work and are proclaiming us as on the eve of imitation which will lead to the in evitable reaction and depression. It is not to be denied that something of the sort will occur in the course of time, but it is not in sight as yet. There may perhaps be some instances of pyramiding of orders as, fer in- stance, in some departments of the building trades, but it is by no means general.
 The 1920 imitation period which the federal reserve system encountered, was a difficult situation to control. No matter what action the federal reserve board might have taken at that time, it would have been blamed just the same.
 orgy Of Spending.
 The people were engaged in an orgy of spending and were not to be denied. They had more money than they ever had before and were in a position to gratifN-desires and ambl- tions that hitherto had seemed inn possible of attainment, and so they continued to spend and way had to be found to supply their wants There was no way of forbidding them to spend their own money and the only TeCOuTSe tueTt Wa ldN III dtttlipto Ao persuade them to save. The fede- ral reserve undertook specific cam paign along this line but it was begun too late, and even at that was too great a task. The only thing to do was to wait until war wages were spent and then the imitation bubble burst. Those who refused to listen to the federal reserve warn ings were the first to blame it for the results
 DF federal reserve records, there will be found any number of warnings against the imitation of farm land values. They had not the slightest effect. Farmers are now complain ing that they cannot get enough out of their farms to pay their interest and taxes and are blaming the fed eral reserve for it. They are still paying interest on imitation values but are receiving only deflated prices for their products.
 Tax Theory Unsound.
 As for taxes they. or those who profess to speak for them, insisted in the higher brackets, on the theory that 1t would be taxing wealth and placing the burden upon the shoul- ders able to bear it. It was pretty theory but not sound economically. Wealth immediately went into hiding in tax exempt securities and the farmers took advantage of the situa- rion thus created to provide wealth with numerous additional hiding places by insisting upon the issuance of large quantities of tax free bonds thus transferring the burden back to their own shoulders and increasing it by the addition of taxes incurred to pay the interest on this vast new indebt edness. Farm products are selling at pretty good prices but in reSNact fn their Durch2SlDR DOWer the farmers are not getting the ben eft. They have tried to shift the tax burden to industry and then complained because the farm dollar does not go very far in making in- dustrial purchases for farm use, for getting that they are unable to dodge . taxes no matter what they do be- cause they are paying them just the same in the increased prices of in dustrial products.