Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE SATURDAY, JULY. 24, 1920. DOWNWARD PRICE MOVEMENT.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 15275, 24 July 1920, Page 2

Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE SATURDAY, JULY. 24, 1920. DOWNWARD PRICE MOVEMENT.

x Reports received by the ' America!* mail this week state- tliat m. the United! Stateg towards the cud' of : June\ .there was a. decided tendency downward m the price of soaiie commodities withicsuiting Unemployment m iproduciag centres. In other industries^steel tot example — the demand 1 continued strong and. prices firm', and yet" 'there Avas uu- • employment, as also m th'e coal indus- . try, as the result of successful intevfer- • • ence, by .railroad strikers with the freci j movement of materials and "products. In f oo* products there was ho sign of . any reduction* of prices, the. values of! . those commodities being governed- by . tho-high cost and scarcity of farm labor throughout the- States. It is mostly iiiv boots and clothing that reductions have come about. For some -weeks, says, one newspaper, a. wave of price cutting has-been sweeping over the whole couu--I#r. Another talks of '* reductions; froui the record prices recently 1 established,. .. ranging all the way from 10 ;to 50 per cent; We hear to-day'" it continues, ' "of boots marked at £5 a. pair selling^ for £iv and of ready-made, suits priced at' £J5 going for £6." Better still; the ,'h National Association of ; Manufacturers,' employing ; 6,000,000' .workeis, avo » pledged to cordial co-operation m the ■task of permanently bringing dowrt the > high cost of living. The National. jAsH v sociatio?i of Manufacturers,-.- remarks' tWj/P* "London. Times, are ■business men. Ifl^ "iiofef to be supposed that they are \ actuated by charitable motives. . Con- ' y - sequeutly it> looks very much as if they 'i are reducing 1 their prices to the retail • dealer because th,ey are beginning ; to ': find that it does not pay to keep them up-' Another point, to be noticed is fcbafc the Reserve Board, m th'e United States . has for some time been trying to dinri'iish the volume of credit, by requejstincf bankers to reduce rtheir loans, m order to briifg down prices. This policy, which is based on the principle that a man with £20 in ' .his .pqcke£ will -be ¥ likely to pay ' more for an. article which ' he wants than if, lie had only i 55 to spend', is beginning to bear frtu't. The banks wish to insure themselves agdlintri) losses Kvhich. may' be sustained by ti-ud-ers m a falling marliet, and ttierefo\u • will not lend as> freely as they ditL ■ Tliis enforced restriction .has" untloubt- •\ edly had good effect m connjelliiig a ■ reduction of prices, but it has also -had the effect of producing unemployment | ,m producing centres. This has been \ particularly .'noticeable m. the woollen _. trade, m connection with which it is . 0 interesting to note that-. ; Amerkiur 'papers report- a rapidly increasing vsvn Iplus of medium and coarse :' wbote ' because consumers are not yet down ib a point where they will anytlib. v ■ but fine woollens. A situation indicj>ing much unemployment iji the lie -t future . exists m. th& American ' shipbui ? ■?- ing industry. Ship* ordered bv~t ft ..- Government are rapidly neanng -co:- - --; pletion and the yards are nW.irettt,: - private orders to replace ' them 1 : As H i, Alay l;t is* reported that the ' flKrr'-a • orders m American shipyards ag>< - - gated .^6 vessels.. of / : i!4oC^B fe - tons, whilo on: April 1 .the#^efe v--4 omoOO tpiis, of which more tfian athird for ,foreiffn amount,' :; - ' against less than ICOOOO lons for 7>v ' ■■■ ??V'|^^.i n -:.4^0ri.0a W . shipyara. L.he fact is thaV- British shitfbuild, * and l hen- workers Jiavojbefiui able to , -tO 1 helped: by the < -- ■if d W'"eant n^ws is publmhed i £?,,•£ J t hel ? *&■ °^ account of ,-• a- cupenters, bricklayers, plumbers— f ],' Q S * lile slackening of activil'.' • - thT b^J,^ i^ »l«t m. some lm ■«,. . from Ct ft «rJ? b& vastl 7'- different ' Put The iiSi^ n - Se has stil "«l«ted on* t" d then watc], this ' country r 0 " ®\, ! .! Zxn Si h 6 w l^ Way by whi< * Price --, <-«vi be brought down. TJio wav t-i things pitiful j* bf^roducinfe ihat Arh.ch preyents adequate prodji--tion is the- continual strikes, fnc^crease m per capita production of tliosv who work and the obstacles to cqliec'tioi a.nd distribution on the part of ■ railroad, elnppmg ant i dpok.Mwkcro. : Those wl/> aye by far the greatest, sullerera by jJ«c'-i acuon aro the workers. WeHl'e.glad that tins trutli is bt>h]g< ,recoghibed by the sane- labor leaders. Mr JJeu -Tillett, M.V., general secrotarv of \ the iVtirkW ' I LiMon, made an appeal- last nipnth' for conscientious <§ervice. towards/ ihoi'ojjisvd production/ which was/in strikiiigcohtrast wuh-tlio vibTTs thai bavf beuir expressed by certain <iu6hibcrs who are supposed to nepreseiit ■ liabor ill tlio' #ew Zealand Parliament. "If tlieve was (ahy reason : ih 'ca-' canny;.' " : . Mri V Tiliett wrote, "then now-, should be the Bar--5) Vest time- for the - poorest as well as vtlie richest among those who dejjfeiid on/r'mdustry. But such is ' not dje^ case V I#> paucity m production is the \ wofet evil -wo could, suffer from. ' \V e depend upon the energetic "• prosecution, bl'v industry all the %pr Id over. • 'Ca' caiuiy' means cutting. off our ecoiiomio nose : |0 • spite our ecpnbinio face. What- ; temporary advantage .either labor- or -cap;ital 'can get but; of ■■$■ 'cut-throat' gu'me one caiiiiot even fiiesa. ThousaiidsV qf • years before ..a .Soviet' -was'iipriS^d civilisatioii .jiad learned this iessofi, ■''*&&$ not pnlv.is productiqu. the' 6h!y^reji£|ttioti. for war, bufc.^it is- th6,-only.-es£6n- » tiar andi economic staliility to iu^taj^ or people." So far as.' Britain ■ i^* 1--cerned 'it may be.' that; tlie •'truaMll only come home,,. as it is - doing* % America, through' tim hard road iif v'ujiornnloynicnt. A London cable: of July JLOth reiioiled' that -gbod ' p N r ; ogre>B c .: liad_ beea made m Storing ®\c ''-j^'ti 6'h-S .- trude balance, an outstanding ' ••f- induatry «>/as : .fche '.:-.Mt!!;usU i*U4't;nfn'j: ifi upv: .bufiirie?R." ThU" n'p'piief!.-' ii. 1 . '-..■■.' *-» ■ "■• • ■ '' ■ '■ ■

varying degrees to Manchester, Bradford, Birmingham, Sheffield. Nottingham and Middlesborough. Buyers are satisfying only immediate requirements. There have been heavy cancellations of Chinese and Indian orders owiug to depreciation of the silver currencies. But manufacturers assert that a slump m the ordinary sense is impossible owing to the high cost of raw material and of labor. They point also to the practical absence of manufacturers' stocks. There has been no over-production, and it is held that thp world's demands are far from satisfied. A revival is anticipated before the autumn, if industrial troubles — notably amonpst tho wool operatives and miners — are averted and tramp freight rates continue to move downward, as they are undoubtedly doing. Tlie Economist's monthly index figures of wholesale prices for June show' the largest fall m any month for some years, especially m textiles, but cereals and meat reached record high figures. A feature of the produce markets during. the last fortnight is the slackness m all fibres except flax, There is stagnation m tallow, which is said i"_ trade circles to be almost unprecedented. Tlie non-ferrous metal trade believes that prices are finding a sounder basis, owing to the elimination of the speculative element and the transferences of metals to stronger hands. At the same time.*f^actuations have caused buyers to remain ' cautious. The Metal Bulletin considers the worst stage of deflation has been passed. All this information points m the* 1 one direction. Jhat a process of readjustment of values is slowly but steadily going on. It would be calamitous if the process was hurried, as rapid deflation, would undoubtedly create vast unemployment and mu^h misery. Better far. therefore, that the downward price movement should be gentle and ~>*adual. and" that .^ll; should assist m briniins: it abont^ r'^^r — — ■■■— mjjm \ '■'■ •-,.';-*■