Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-11-23
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try is suffering temporary penance for
overspeculation in Wall street. Why
do | believe we are not confronting a
general panic? Naturally l look at 1T
from the merchants viewpoint / have
never observed anything like panic
of more than local scope which did not
present this condition.: the warehouses
of manufacturers filled with goods
which had to be put on the market
and sold at sagging prices in order to
enable the manufacturers to meet
pressing obligations. Not only have |
never observed real panic which did
not start with this situation, but / have
never read Of one.
"Now, what are the conditions in the
manufacturing world today? There is
scarcely an exception to the statement
that there is not u warehouse of a
manufacturer or of his selling agent
or distributor which is stocked with
unsold goods Most Of the factories
from which the wholesale merchant of
the great city buys his wares are sold
out of all they can produce for several
months to come. My observation is
that the most of the large factories
have already sold their entire winter
output and some of them are sold out
far beyond that date. This is not the
setting for panic scene. 1t is exactly
the reverse.
In this country the farmer is tho
great actual producer, and 1t Is to him
that the merchant instinctively looks
when he wishes to get line on the
real situation. How about the farmer
today? He has abundant crops which
are in keen demand for the feeding OF
the world-and in demand at eNcep-
tionally high prices. There is hardly a
single locality of which this is not
true. 1t must be remembered that the
export trade of the United States, IN
almost every line Of staple produce, has
increased tremendously within the past
few years. And whatever we sell to
other nations brings what we most
need at the present moment-money,
gold.
There is still another vital fact in
the farmers situation. He Is not In
debt and trying to dig OUT" on the
contrary, it is not too much to say
are not only out of debt but have
money III lIe DdIlhS oul lhlcA
est. Again l say, that is not the set
ting for panic; l have never seen
a panic which had this sort Of a basis.
And I do not believe there ever has
been one or will be one now.
I'm speaking Of the farmer there is
only one word to say: He is the basis
of the structure today, and If he pur-
sues a normal course the currency
will soon be smoked out. He has the
real tangible and basic wealth; the
world at large wants 1t and stands
ready to pay good prices for it. If the
farmer takes his profits and does the
natural and normal thing for them
puts them in his local bank, just as he
has been doing right along-then he and
the merchant and the railroad and the
city banker will be all right. But II
the farmers Of the whole country
should allow themselves to become
frightened and withhold their money
from deposit and from circulation they
can make trouble. The responsibility
Of the outcome, not of the origin, OF the
situation seems to me to be clearly In
their hands And l believe that they
are big, broad and far-sighted enough
to recognize this and act accordingly.