The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1909-05-20
BUSINESS CONDITIONS POOR.
turning From Extended Western
Trim

Trip.
Hon. j. A. DeBoer returned to
his home in this city Saturday even
ing, after trip covering about $500
miles of railroad travel and 1000
miles in automobiles from which he
inspected properties in which the
Nationa Life Insurance company is
interested. The trip was made prim-
arily to look after certain matters
of investment of the funds of the
company of which Mr.. DeBoer is
president and incidentally to attend
the Pace Congress which was held
in Chicago, to which he was sent as
a delegate by appointment Of Gov.
G.. H., Prouty.
The Peace Congress itself, said
Mr.. DeBoer, while very impressive,
had no immediate results, and indeed
none were expected from it, but the
passive influence of the PHILOSOPHERS
and ideals promulgated at the ses-
sion can not fail to have a most de-
cided influence upon the ideas and
mode of thinking of the American
citizen. Had the people of California
and the other coast states been
taught to think over the ideas adj
vanced at the Chicago conference, it
is entirely probable that the diff
Guilty in which President Roosevelt
found himself as the result of the
Anti-Japanese sentiment, would
have been evaded.
The idea of arbitration is coming
more and more into general favor
and while the Peace Congress does
nothing to diminish the respect and
admiration for military sentiment,
which is Unborn in the American
citizen it tends to impel sober
thought as to the results or war,
both direct and indirect.
During his trip, Mr. DeBoer visited
Chicago, Kansas City, Muskogee,
Tulsa, Dennison Texas, Wichita,
Topeka, Imaha, Pittsburg, Minneap-
oils, Baltimore, New York City, Bos-
ton and Philadelphia. At Kansas
City he addressed the Underwriters
Association on Current Problems
in Life Insurance" while at Topeka,
Kansas, he elivered an address be-
fore the Vermont Association on
Home Affairs" at a dinner, at
which every course was of pure food
products from Vermont. Still an
other address was demanded of him
at Boston, where he spoke before a
meeting of about 45 agents of the
Nationa Life, on affairs pertaining
to the increase of business.
One special feature noted by Mr..
DeBoer in his travels. through the
| country, was the fact that the agri-
cultural sections of the land are
prosperous in the extreme, business
being on the jump where agricul-
| tural interests are what city de-
! ponds upon, but when a manufacture
ing city is reached, the difference is
at once apparent, for the fearful
slump in business has caused a
| large majority of the manufacturing
plants to close down. Minneapolis
| and Omaha, two cities which are
practically sustained by agricultural
interests are booming, about 500 new
buildings going up in the former
| city, while Pittsburg, where the air
! is usually the color and consistency
of diluted ink, is enjoying a fairly
| perlucid atmosphere as the result
] of the shutting down of about 60 per
cent of the manufactures of the
city. Mr.. DeBoer is of the opinion
| that the tariff question which is ag-
itating the Legislature at this time
is directly responsible for the bust
ness conditions now prevailing and
| after review of the situation, it is
| indeed difficult to avoid seeing the
matter in this light. In the mind OF
Mr.. DeBoer, it will not make so much
difference as to what the Legislature
does as to the speed with which il
is done and gotten over with, for the
| people of this country have a fac
ulty of adjusting their affairs to the
! prevailing conditions and while the
raising and lowering of the tariff on
/ certain articles will affect certain
departments of business in great
er, light westerly winds booming
will Immediately begin to enjoy a
renewed increase in business after
the disposition of the tariff question