The Washington herald., 1914-06-22
Sees BETTER
Times AHEAD
Financial Expert Declares
Business Is Drifting
at Present.
HOPE In !. c. c. EDICT
B. c. Forbes Criticises President for
Insisting on Ful6llment of His
Trust Program.
HOPE In |. c. c. EDICT
ny n. c. FORBES

un the New York AnerieInl
Business Is drifting.
Washington monopIizes attention
But a distinct change for the better
ought TO be at hand.
Let the Interstate Commerce Commits
sion hand down, as II Is expected to do
this week, a reasonably favorable rate
decision and believe the whole country
will wake up.
Little Concern I'm Politics.
Politics are exercising less concern in
the highest financial circles. not because
of any voluntary change OF heart by the
administration, but because OF growing
confidence that President Wilson has so
oyerstepped the mark in attacking busi-
ness and berating responsible business
men that Congress will refuse 10 respond
to the crack of his whip and rush through
more anti-business laws at this session.
and because OF a conviction that the fall
elections will deliver a strong rebuke to
these who have advocated rabid corpora
tion-baiting with all its resultant depres-
sion and unemployment.
Former President Roosevelt's declara-
tiOn in London that he will hay the ad-
mInistration for its mishandIing OF bust
ness problems is regarded as having an
important bearing upon coming political
developments.
Public Opinion Soldering.
OF even greater moment, however, is
the manifest SOLDERING of public opinion
our business organizations as
a whole, a circumstances that is reflected
by the cautionary attitude now being
adopted by House Leader Oscar W. Tn
derwood and other statesmen who keep
in close touch with the people and are
not guided solely by schooLrOom theories.
Ny humble view is that. IL the mo-
mentous rate decision proves even mod
erateIy helpful. other things will work
out satisfactorily. CMexico, i leave en-
tireIy out of reckoningJ.
America. you will have read has lost"
S7O. on. 900 of gold to Europe since January
l. and the continuance of the outflow is
described as being in itself a very grave
matter. Now more fiub-dub is written
and spoken about gold shipments than
any other financial subject.
Europe Can Use Gold.
The principal reason Europe has taken
gold Is that she can use the money and
we can't
The largest national bank in America
is at this moment carrying more than
s. per cent reserve in its vaults. although
lne law cans lot OEly - PCT ItHN- 1hdl
is a striking fact.
Money for strictly commercial = and
stock market purposes is going a-begEing
in the United States because there is no
l. gitimate thoroughly safe demand for II
owing TO nationwide stagnation.
President Wilson's pet advisers may
gull him with all the fancy, ear-tiCkling
tales they like to conjure up about in
prosperity and humming indus
try. but the cold truth is that business
is NOT booming but the polar reverse.
The state of the money market alone
were there no supplementary evidence OF
a more painful nature would serve to
prove that
Money Not Lost
But the S7O.OOo,noO gold is not lost"
It's expectation was not melted wholly
or even largely by the very recent eX-
pansion in merchandise imports and
shrinkage in exports. The causes are
older and lie deeper than that
They have 10 do with the very exten-
sive liquidation Of American securities
by European holders during the last two
years. with the maturing and paying
of of American notes and bonds held
abroad. with the almost universal scram-
BILE for gold by the leading European
and most of all with the decay
Of enterprise. industry. trade and specu-
lation in the United States.
The whole international gold movement.
mind. is about to undergo a gradual but
transformation. Before IL
IS over believe We shall bring back
from Europe more than the S7O.0O1OOg We
have shipped.