The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1908-02-19
iii g ead BIZ ood
Times Soon To be Here

OF 100000 year, with an enormous
increase in. consumptiye requirements
by virtue Of improved labor saving ma
chinery and modern methods. the ac.
tivity OF 1905-19G6 and the early part
OF 1907, great as 1t seems at the time,
will soon be but a normal condition.
Our regular volume OF business. con.
sidering the growth Of the country,
must in the very near future fully
equal that of the period mentioned,
while the abnormal or special periods
OF activity VIII run as far ahead of
that as that was ahead OF g or 10 years
ago. Railroads must be reconstructed
and new ones built at cost Of many
thousands of millions Of dollars.
Economic conditions will force this
even II great deal Of the money
could only be had through receiver.
ship certificates. No road can stop I'm.
proEements for any great length of
time without being bankrupt physical
ly. and this would soon mean financial.
ly. II money cannot be had through
the usual channels, it will of necessi-
ty have to be found through the work
of receivers. for construction and de-
velopment must go on. AS disastrous
as such condition would be to own.
ers of securities who could not hold
on until the inevitable reaction would
come, the railroads must expand and
practically double in mileage and in
equipment within the next 10 or 12
years; In fact, a very large amount OF
it must be done within the next FIVE
or six years. City growth has only
fairly begun. The great cities of the
country, with one or two exceptions,
are not much more than overgrown
villages Municipal improvements on
scale never seen in our country must
go forward. Good roads must be built
at cost OF hundreds of millions OF
dollars, and every other line OF work
needed by a verile. vigorous popula.
tion OF $1,000. 900 people at present, to
be 1O5,OO0,O0O people 10 years hence
and 130O00,0O0 20 years hence, backed
by resources unequalled elsewhere on
the face of the earth, must go forward
upon such scale commensurate with
our natural advantages and the world 3
wonderful material progress. 1t be-
hooves the wide-awake, far-seeing bus
mess man to recognize these condi.
tions and to prepare for this coming
activity.
Now, when labor is cheap and album
dant. when building material is lower
than 1t has been for some years, when
iron is down in price, when machine
shops can accept and fill orders within
a reasonable time. is pre.eminently
the opportunity for the far.seeing man
to prepare for the future and for the
hustling man or concern to secure bus
mess. In this time OF dullness and low
prices. when the timid folks are un.
willing to spend dollar for fear pros
perity will never return, the man OF
strength and force and business abil-
ity should be putting his factory into
shape, re-eQuipping it with the best
machinery. enlarging his plant, in or.
der to enable him to produce to the
best advantage and at the lowest cost.
This is a great time. time OF oppor-
sunity for the business man who wants
to be ready to reap his full harvest Of
prosperity with the next swing OF the
pendulum from present depression to
the high.water mark Of the future. No.
body need imagine for one moment
that this country will not soon right
itself. Nobody need imagine that pub.
lie opinion will not be on the side of
property rights and the upbuilding
forces Of the country, compelling legis.
lators to join in constructive rather
than destructive work. In the Manu-
facturers' Record OF January 2, Mr..
Charles A. Moore. president OF Man.
ming Maxwell & Moore. the great ma.
chinery builders and handlers, dis
cussing the outlook for the future
said: "a have never found it profitable
to sell the United States short" This
same sentiment was expressed several
years ago to correspondent OF the
Manufacturers Record by Mr.. Henry
NJ. Flagler who, being asked his views