The morning journal-courier., 1908-01-17
STIR UP THIS srAGNATIoN.
We'll Known Citizen Docs Not Think
 Times Tue sitabis. s-i -4

.
 It has, been ea,l tha, conffne. cial 2 movements have four stages. First, ac- { tivity;, second, iniiati,n; third, panic: fourth, staghatton. We have x.,ne ! through them all and are ito ' landed i and stranded in the, last one. What next? {
 There was popular demand notto say clamor for investigation and cor rection of the inisdeeds of railway and \ industrial corporations. Newspapers, periodicals, public bodies and state and national governments turned their attention to that work. Many i offenses were unearthed. many offend CTS discovered. Overcapitalization,. un- just discrimination in rates, favorit- ism, bad bookkeeping and unlawful combinations were exposed and duly turned over to the courts. The work was pretty thoroughly accomplished. The unjust rates were stopped, the combinations ended, the overcapitaliz- alton brought to a sudden halt Cor orations now are not putting out '.wa- tered" securities and if they should nobody would buy them. l Presumably these results were ac- complished to. the satisfaction of the public. But what the public are not so we'll satisfied with is the general air of gloom and distrust that seems to
 hang over the business community.
 the scarcity of cash. the premium on
 currency, the dwindling of trade, the shrinkage of values, the loss of faith in investments. the ruin of investors
 and the apprehensions of banks and
 their customers, although the banks
 have been thoroughly overhauled and
 are found to be as a whole, remark
 ably sound and solvent.
 Denunciation is supposed to be
 pleasing to the public Ii is easy. Any
 body can denounce Anybody can
 tear down, though few can build up
 After while the public tires of 1t
 The muck heap is large and doubtless
 more unsavory stuff can be found by
 turning it over and over. But that b
 not all the public wants Men can
 not ride to business or ship freight on muck rakes They want--and this is
 what they originally set out to get
 better facilities for trade and trans-
 portation, more and better care, more
 and better lines and terminals. better
 methods of management. reliable cor , porations and trustworthy officials
 They want to see business resume its normal channels. at rates that are
 reasonable and profitable. not extrava- , gantly high or abnormally low. Tn a f word they want to see more steps taken toward renewal of enterprise P and restoration of confidence.
 p We are told that such a period of F hard times as this is natural and i inevitable in the sequence of events. : Perhaps it is. But there is no excuse f for the .crcakers who would prolong f and perpetuate it. Now that we have Y gene through the worst and faced the h hardest it is worth while to consider t something on the other side. Our gov Il ernment reports show that we have q shipped and sold abroad during the II last year more of our. products and n manufactures than in any previous IT years of our history. The gold that e Europe has been pouring into our cof- # feTs by the hundred million is only e her payment for the merchandise she y has bought from us. In view of these
 facts. it IS worth while to consider T. whether it is better to settle down Id into s'our winter Of discentent" ol n agree that the time has at last arrived n when we may thank God and take ,r courage. Letter to New York Trl. ,r bune,