Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-02-03
MEN AND MONEY
By NJ. S. Rukeyser.
Copyright. 1877

Commodity prices, ever dancing to
and fro, reflect the fiuctuatine
| optimism and pessimism of business
men.
Prosperity rarely is accompanied by
alling commodity prices.
The strange part about the business
] situation in the recent months has
been a combination of record breaking
business activity with falling com
modify prices. In 1926, wholesale
| prices declined s per cent to the lowest
level since July, 1924. On the sports
page it would be observed that the
grand old dope has failed to operate.
! The practical question is how long
the downward trend in commodity
prices will continue.
Some soothsayers predict long and
gradual decline toward pre-war levels.
| Prof. Charles j. Bullock, Harvard
economic sage and one of the more
credible. forecasters, asserts that the
country is near the end of the de-
cline in commodity prices. He be-
lieves that the normal between now
and 1880 will be so per cent above
1913 average prices. On this assump-
| ton, he foresees a price recovery be-
fore long.
Money Depression i'm England.
Prof. Bullock traces the present re-
dictionary movement in commodity
prices to the hard money depression
in England, which followed the return
10 a gold standard in May, 1925. The
effects, he said went round the world
England" said Prof. Bullock, may
emerge this year with the first
moderate prosperity since the war.
The country seems set for recovery:
There are already signs of stability
in prices in England.
Another factor which recently
proved a price depressant was the at
tempt of France to stabilize its cur
rency. Since last July the exchange
value of the franc doubled. France,
too, has had a hard money depres-
sion. She has, however, done all the
debating which she is likely to do for
some time. The recent French policy
reacted on the whole fabric of inter
national commodity prices. partic-
ularly affecting prices of non-ferrous
metals. Italy, too, is not likely to go
TO greater lengths toward defiation in
the near future.
LAS a matter of fact, If you elimi-
nate copper prices and prices of cot
ton and other commodities which were
affected by the drastic slump in cot.
ton, you will find that commodity
prices generally have not been de-
priciating.'
Hand-tO-MOuth Buying.
The secret of the ability of Amer
lean business men to make large
profits while commodity prices were
declining is the new habit of
hand o-mouth buying. With inven-
tories low, trade factors are ready |
for any change in conditions, and
can quickly adjust themselves TO new
price levels. Nevertheless, If Prof |
Bullock's forecast is correct, a mod |
crate recovery in commodity prices |
is likely to have a. tonic effect on |
business.
The dominant fact in the American |
economic picture continues to be easy |
Thus far, easy money has made |
downward readjustments in particular |
such as the Florida boom |
and in certain types of urban real |
estate construction, painless. Develop |
ments since the first of the year point |
to continued abundance of credit at |
low interest rates. Although ulti- |
mately the country is likely to lose |
some of its new gold boards the cur |
rent movement is still in this direc. |
ton. In January gold imports ex-
ceeded $50 900 900 for the first time in /
any month since 1921.
AS chairman of the Harvard COM |
mittee on economic research, Prof. |