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Show iRSON SAYS BUSINESS I READJUSTMENT IS J PROGRESSING. wAiy llllls- J,;lss- Au- , I ;;i ll'i.';?. Koger W. Hub--11 Iol:'.v nives his monthly ro-l,v ro-l,v of iviu'rnl business oondi-;'u oondi-;'u Mr. Babsou is not bull -0 h immediate outlook vijiovinir rat lie r "'at wo have ' .n In carnost to complete porioil of readjustment 1, was started in Ho ; ts, however, that this com-Xtioii com-Xtioii will eloar the docks for C prosperity in the future. jj;s statement is as follows: '.Business is beginning to ;vl the shock of President ii-inlins's tlonth which so ;:;UUUHi the American people. o there is some consolation in the fact that his successor, Calvin Coolidge, has had great ..iiuinistrative experience, yet . shifting from one President o another must break many reflections and change many ,':1ns. The first people to feel he results of this change are ;he retailers. Retail sales fell eff immediately following President Harding's death and have not yet resumed. Hence wholesale buying is on only a derate scale. Buyers are not inclined to purchase beyond their immediate needs. The people are also awaiting th" ;:ze of crops and the prices of agricultural products. "The best immediate busi ess opportunities are believed t.iliain tlio Smith Altlin enr- rent cotton reports are some what disappointing, yet the good prices promised should make the South prosperous daring the next twelve months. Given the right kind of weather for the balance of the season and current prices, the South will add greatly to its wealth and purchasing power. The Northwest, however, is handi-c?pped handi-c?pped by the European farmers far-mers who are raising grain every year, which naturally reduces re-duces our exports of cereals. Wheat prices have shown no matenal change recently; but!' com prices are softening, altho I this softening is only natural as j the new corn crop approaches ! maturity. "Iron, steel, petroleun, copper, cop-per, wool, and certain other basic commodities are declining declin-ing in price, but this is not an unhealthy sign. The great difference in the level of farm products and manufactured goods must he eliminated soon- : er or later. The price of agricultural agri-cultural products must come up and that of manufactured goods must come down. There -fore, the present readjustment movement is healthy and good for all of us in the long run. This readjustment will be ac complished by a reduction in the prices of raw materials, an Urease in the efficiency of labor, and a reduction in overhead over-head and selling expenses. "The unemployment which '8 threatening certain indus Wes, on account of foreign competition, should make labor la-bor more reasonable. On the other hand, indications are that the wage earners in those monopolies such as transporta-tln, transporta-tln, coal, etc., are still greatly mpted to make trouble. Certain Cer-tain of the railroad unions are jjhout to make drastic demands for wage increases, restoring Wages to what they were at the Pk following the war and Jrior to the cut July 1, 1921. Considering that the dollar of 1913isnow worth about 67 cuts compared with only 40 ,','n, May mid only Itr,;'0 " , HrmK , il--MhiW demands on the part ".' laW lor a restoration of war ""J y seen, very unjust. "mik clearings have defi-mM'tl.''! defi-mM'tl.''! the corner and !UV 'lining; mail order sales m;,v Imvo again apparently "cached a maximum; the de-,iml de-,iml for iron and Hteel ia sinckon.ng. Crude oil is pilin,r P 111 IVnusylvania, Oklahoma, Kansas and texas. People scramble to buy on advancing "''"kets, but refuse to buy on declining markets. As a result, re-sult, the decline in prices may "w go as much below normal as the previous advance went above normal. This is unfortunate; unfor-tunate; but being in accordance with the law of Action and Ho-' action, it is inevitable. This' further explains the current do-1 crease in retail buying and th.! consequent falling oh" in the orders of manufacturers and Jobbers. AVhen we are in a bear market prices always decline de-cline to abnormally low figures irrespective or merit or the cost of production. "However, these are optimistic optimis-tic signs if studied with the: long pull in view, altho they ; naturally affect the Babson-: chart Index, which is today 10 1 per cent below normal. There is no doubt that business when ill in 1920 and 1921 did not properly pro-perly liquidate it got out of bed too soon. Wo must now. rest again and be willing to convalesce slowly. Therefore,! things are now travelling in the right direction notwithstanding notwithstand-ing current pessimism and, ' when prosperity finally comes, it will be much more healthy, and last much longer than it otherwise would." j |
