DRAPERS’ OPTIMISM

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18192, 13 September 1933, Page 11

DRAPERS’ OPTIMISM

UPWARD TREND EVIDENT THE SPRING OUTLOOK •‘With the coming of spring it is gratifying to note the improved prospects'for business and substantial signs that there is a break in the clouds which really presages better times ahead,” states the official organ of the New Zealand Federation ol Drapers, Clothiers, and Boot Retailers. “The welcome rise in the prices for wool at the first sales in Australia and in New Zealand is something more than a hope of brighter business, and if the present slow but steady increase m the pride of dairy products can be maintained the road to recovery will soon be cleared,” the journal adds. “In the confusion of a multitude ot counsellors the way out of hard times has been obscured by conflicting views, and it has been difficult to distinguish cause from effect. There has been a general agreement among the more reliable authorities in all countries that the economic crisis has been a price crisis, and that countries which relied for their prosperity and well-being on foodstuffs and raw materials could took for little improvement in conditions until those prices moved up and exceeded production costs, as beyond a certain limit the policy of reduction in those costs was no longer practicable unless living standards were reduced to an undesirable level.

“The welcome upward movement in prices lias every . appearance of being a very real and'.solid one, arising from increased demands and keener competition to secure supplies, rather than from fictitious sources, market fluctuations, or artificial stimulants. It is not only here and in Australia, but throughout the world that there is a notable 1 indication of business recovery. The marked healthier tone which pervades the wiioie world of business is now spreading here, and will bring a return of that confidence in ourselves which lias been so lacking during the dark clays oi the depression. “It is inevitable that in such times an atmosphere of fear is created which is fatal to healthy business, and confidence in recovery will have its psychological effect on the new season now approaching. Once the people are satisfied that the present improvement is real and tangible our frozen wealth will begin to thaw out, and every branch of business activity will feel the befiefit as the cumulative, effect becomes more evident.”