Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1924-01-01

WI u .kl &c GAI anu KS ElOIlA III )
became outwo!n from much use. II
saw the Improvement, first visible in
the summer o. 1877 and the calendar
year 1922. apparently eliminate in
the record breaking industrial! output
OF the first five months. Following
This came tarerinC of Of activity
and ar ebbing Of optimism which all
most convinced pessimistic p-ogncs-
t!ca;ors that they Rad successfully
forecast the future, hut following
this, in turn, came Il fair measure Of
oVement-SucceSSlV gains SCOr-
cd in both wholesale and retail trace
over the preceding year. a speeding
up of the industrial pace IL many
lines, and a cheerful ending. In a
record holiday trade; ct an eVenJfUi
twelve months. All IL all. the year
rcSembled nothing SO much a. 4 mill
tary movement. At first ii tie form
of an advance along an entire front.
later checked and succeeding this in
turn, came detached advances or re-
treats. accordingly as resistance de-
.Neloped or the inequalities OF the
terrain provided obstacles. Individual
conditions. in other words. either
called for the putting forth OF 2
reNed efforts ct an advance. the con-
solicitation Of positions already won,
or IL Il few instances maze necessary
withdrawals, pending preparations
lur HCW advance. 1t is Byoh.hlV
SAFE 20 say that the year was q dis
appointment alike to the over san
gu.no and 70 the unGuly pessmisitic.
a!thcuSa, go doubt, both could adj
dUce abundant proofs from the
soundncss Of their varying prGdic-
tiOns
The year had It's full share IF ma
tural draw backs. Weather condi ions
operated TO discourage buying N the
spring and again in the fall. stretches
OF cold and mild weather altern..t.ll,..
while crop Yields were reduced bl-
excessively dry or wet weather or
by insect ravaGes. Sull, Yields IL the
farmer. these taken collectively, wore
better than in 1922 from a peculiarly
standpoint, although some loss, $.
notably in wheat and cotton areas.
could not possibly be offset by sans
elsewhere.
Taken as whole, the maaufac-
turing industries. after the great
surge forward IN the first few months.
rad difficult year to operate in.
The price situation became .air-
stabilized in the course OF the sear.
but there were enough EXCEPTIONS 10
give serious concern t. produce. =,
manufacturers, distributors and con :
SuineiS. 1t was year of full, i'll tact
flush, employment. with labor scar
city present until late in the ycar.
and public purchasing ability, except
In the cases of some wheat and cot
ton growers, at probably its highest
point, The railways were called upon
to handle record volume of traffic.
ana 'rOicd w unprecedented S.<Ss
cdrnln@S, doing this with Gnpreced-
cntod dispatch al slight reduction
III operating expense ratios. although
realizing less in net profits tEan in
years when gross receipts were far
smaller. The building trades mace
ne" history in 1929. and, with the
@utoMunle indUStU' set up new
records Of production and cNpcndi-
turc. Export trade vas S.igutl,- lar
Ger than in 1922. hat the farmers
suffered heavily from the loss al trade.
il grain, mainly wheat. this bang
made UP for hy increased cSpo.ts Of
manufactured goods and IL snii!cr
quantities of higher priced cotton.
Imports for While exceeded exploits.
hut fell eff with the quoting Of trade
in midyCar.
Throughout the year. uncertain
49, IL" W INSdI y ia INSH' bAl DIS ~
high costs Of operation kept tn,
business world, nCtaphoIicaliy. on
its toes. With these two G.eat fac
tors ever present, the tendency. ts-
peCiaily after the outburst Of eau
tiOnary signals in late Maj, h. VAS
to keep close to shore and buy spar
ingiY for all but immediate needs
That this llCl; down the volume al
business and Of industry goes with
out saying. but that il made for
safety, though perhaps Ior smaller
profits than were expected. seems
equally certain.
And yet. with all its draw backs
foreign and domestic. cur foreign
markets being crippled and the cN-
change situation having dangers Of
its own, while domestic affairs were
unsettled by the appearance of a
new crop of radical measures put
forward by political ghost dancers
in the alleged behalf Of the farmer.
the year was a big year. a wonder
full year in fact. with many records
of production broken, with prosper
ity widely diffused. and with the
man trained to trade living better
and saving more than ever before in
the history of the country.
The money markets displayed 4
good deal of case throughout the
year and carried record businC SIS
without much. if any evidence of
strain. The Federal Reserve Bank
notes that the loans ana investments
Of the member banks were larger
than in 1920 while their BORROWINGS
from the Federal Reserve were far
smaller Thus, the credit extended
was $i!> 100000 larger than in the
earlier year, While the borrowing
was $1,000 000.HjO less
The great surge forward in trade
and industry which characterized
the first quarter of the year set up
many new high-rccord production
marks. surprising anything prcNi-
ously seen. The apparent luImina-
ton, for the time being at least, OF
this wonderful advance was herald
cd by the issuance OF a great many
cautionary signals by leaders Of f.
nance and trade in the last week of
Mach, but the momentum obtained
and the banked-up orders on hand
kept production at nieh points for
months aftCrWard. Cold stormy
weather temporarily retarded trade
In the last weeks OF February and
again. early in April. when the cold =
est weather in third of 4 century
was reported on Easter Sunday. An
important event in the textile man
ufacturing trades in March was the
announcement OF the granting. of ad-
vances In wages, Of about l. IL per
cent, 10 5000 workers in wooden
mills. Coming at time y hen cot
ton mill workers were demanding a
complete or partial return to the
wage levels OF 1920 this action seem
ed 10 precipitate a very general
movement toward increased COM
penSatiOn of industrial uorLare