The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-03-25
BUSINESS SHAKEN | BY ANVIL CHORUS
Bonus Vcte And Refusal To Cut Income Tax
 Big Blows ,.v.
By g. c. FORBES

Have you ever heard powerful band play "The Anvil Chorus?"
 The. sledge hammer blows on the an- wills shake the building. The business world and the security markets are be- ing subjected to veritable anvil chorus these days, Ringing blow after blow has been struck.
 The refusal of Congress to lower in come taxes by March 15 camesas one bad blow, to business. s1',eA
 The overwhelming bonus vote in the House was unfavorably received by fi- hancial and business people.
 Tae oil and bootleggif. .investiga- lions, conducted in s"W;id Western style, have tended to demoralize busi- hess. es
 Now come announcements that there will be a shipping investigation, an air craft investigation, gan income tax investigation, and others without num- Der. Limitations are heard that Con- Eress will get after the railroads tooth and nail. rse
 The outcome of the presidential campaign, formerly very widely regard ed as a foregone conclusion, is now causing concern.
 Doubts are now hafbored that Con- grses may so neglect legislation, in its mania for scandal, that tax relief will De postponed and postponed.
 Reports of price cutting in, steel have hit the market.
 Wall street is daily told that auto mobife dealers are overloaded with un- bold cars. s sa
 Textile mills send no encouraging tid- ngs.
 Copper drags along at an unfavorable price level.
 The silk trade has slumped.
 Sugar has declined.
 Coffee has followed the same down. yard course.
 Of 3S4 price changes recorded last week by Dun's, no fewer than 61 were ieclines, a much more one-sided show ng than formerly.
 Manufacturers, merchants, consumers everybody are buying tinidly, hand o-mouth operations being the order all along the line.
 Money in Wall street has. dropped to he lowest quotation since the war. z commercial paper rates have declined. The business being done in discounts 1y the federal reserve banks has dwin- He'd sharply. / ~ This is interpreted as reflecting cur failment of. general trade activity.
 &r> e-s1ss ,FsY Notwithstanding all this space of snfavorable news and views, the se- Purity markets have held up impress Eiyely. Stocks fluctuated fairly sharp some days, but there usually were About as many advances as declines, with the result that the list ended the week only fractionally off. As for E bonds, they recorded at least modest improvement every day, all grades, rom liberties to speculative issues, par tcipating, thanks to the greater bundance of cheap money. sS Need all the currency noisy hubub .ause such nervousness? would an- Sswer that by asking this other ques- ion:
 "Are we not justified, rather, in look. ng for decisivesy encouraging news rom Europe and in expecting the fire Eorks at Washington to peter out, now hat the public are becoming disgusted with the methods pursued?
 Spring proverbially brings a revival f life and vigor and enterprise; en- ployment usually expands; building &C., ivities are. redoubled; farmers become busy; sunshine becomes warm. Life akes. on more hopeful aspect.
 
 Therefore, despite the unsettling phases of the situation at the moment, IS permissible to look for more cheer uiness and for more cheerful develop nents in the yerv near fr,tnro