New Britain herald., 1928-01-14

Politics experienced . bear market in New Britain during the past week, little being said or done to indicate interest on the part of thoss who pull the political strings. In the ra- pidly approaching electieu.
 Salary readiustments occupied the center of the stage for several Aaya. Az usual. when all who apply do net receive favorable attention from the salary committee. there k consld- erabls dissatisfaction. and 1t ts being openly expressed in city hall and in the fire department. The next move will be on the part of tho common council. Tho expectation is that effort will be made to change the report, in fact, those members of the committee who refused t0 70 on record as supporting the recon mendations did % for the purpose of leaving themselves free to attack the report in the council.
 After the common council com pletes its share of the work, the re- port. as 1t now stands or In its amended form. will 70 to the mayor for his signature or veto. The mayor has declared against salary in- creaAes. Whether he will experience a change of mind cannot today be predicted. If he vetoes the report there will be some .satisfaction on the part of those who failed to get raises. who will then consider that no partiality could have been shown. If he does 50, he faces the possibility of losing some voting strength. which is . thing to be carefully avoided especially in election years. If the mayor is not going to run next April. and 1t appears to be the consensus that he will not. then 1t would make little difference to him personally which course he follows.
 A conference at the mayors office yesterday at which Councilman Don- aid L., Bartlett, prospective mayor nominee. and William H. Judd. ald- erman. representative, and town committee chairman were in attend ance. may have had some bearing on the veto situation and It's effect on next springs vote. However. nothing for publication" was the only public report on the gathering, leaving nothing but conjecture.
 The American woman's buying power is the basis of all business. National statistics show that $72,- 0,000.0 went into the pay envel- opes of the nation last year, and that women spent more than 452.- 900 0.000 1000 of that amount for food, clothing, shelter and recreation. Nine out of every ten purchases are made by women. This makes the woman buyer by far the largest pur- chasing agent in the country.
 These are some of the reasons why the General Federation of Wo- mems clubs is one of the most active participating organizations in the annual observance of Thrift Week, which falls this year on January lr. 23. Through the Department of the American Home. the division of family finance of which Mrs. Edith Mcclure Patterson of Dayton, Ohio, is chairman, is urging each of the 14,000 memberships to observe the week by a study program of thrift and budgeting, an address by an tx- pert on economics or in some other fitting way.
 'Woman's ability as a buyer de- terInines in a large measure tho country's progress and prosperity" said Mrs. Patterson. "In view of these facts it sometimes seems lu- dicrous that many merchants, sales men and advertising agencies still profess to believe that men, not wo- men, are the persons to whom the appeal to dispose of merchandise must be made. The average man seldom buys more than his personal wear. Even in the purchase of an automobile it is usually his wife who is the last word in the selection.
 "Women are realizing that they must use business methods in the conduct of that important business, home making, quite as much as large business institutions, and so classes for the study of family fi- nance. budgeting, banking, invest ments. etc, are springing up in hundreds of women's clubs through out the country, for the modern wo- man. when she has a job to do, wants to do 1t in the most approved end bukiness-like way"
 A business man who can look into the future and forecast trade con- ditions is in fair way to become independently wealthy. Unfortunate ly many merchants are not profici- ent in the occult sciences, being too much occupied with their daily schedule to allow their minds to be diverted to a serious study of nation- al business conditions. But there are students Of commerce who devote their energies to scanning the hor- izon and noting what they observe there. One of these has expressed the belief that business will be bet ter during 1928 than it was last year. He has compiled his conclusions in the current issue of a bulletin is- sued monthly by the New Britain National bank as follows:
 Money conditions are favorable and while rates may reach some- what higher levels during the year than in 1927 no advance largo enough to handicap business is in sight.
 Inventories are generally low and will need replenishing.
 Falling prices. which made condi- tions difficult for business in 1927.