New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-06-27
Coniuring Prosperity Out OF an
Empty Hat.

-. Wilson will not greatly impress the
,.,ntrv nv his Herrmannesaue annouhce1hen' Ui"'
~ a. Going TO conjure prosperity out OF the rees'''
.r+sr.bosrd hat. Americans have little pa
,,onco with stage magic in politics. Wpeh SHOW
...,osman exclaims, pass this little bll Ior
,d rrosnerlty will return" most of us feel IKE
-. - the box Office to get our money back
,rsst ,mpulse is all the more OverpoTering wnen
49, ,agclan who offers to recall prosperity is tne
- under whose ministratlons prosperity has
had every Involvement given to It 70 nuke ''se'A
scarce. II. ,.o-,,ors wa
One Of the most determined magic "orAels "o
80 over had in politics was William j. Bryan
v,r eight years he tried as the head OF the Demo
cr.tlc marty TO persuade the country that Il Con
r-oss and the President would only open the MINUS
- the free coinage Of silver there would De d
hoou in business such as we have never witnessed
4, tho United States" No doubt Mr. Bryan oe-
,;eved sincerely in his ability to revive business w
tho simple device Of debasing the currency ana
emitting in half the principal of all outstanding
dsbts But the country had no faith IN the Vaide
/, hot Kind Of business revival 1t savOred TOO
much of legerdemain. Mr.. Wilson's resuscltauoh
olso has an artificial look. What relation 70 the
hetterment of conditions in commerce and Industry
has the immediate passage Of undgested legislation
calculated merely to harass business further anu
20 increase uncertainty as to what constitutes
violation Of the laws against restraint OF trade!
Tho President admits that the country has gone
tl,rouob two serious shocks in adjusting Itself 10
tho now conditions created by the passage OF the
tariff law and the currency law. 1t has been
strain on the nerves for people to accommodate
themselves so far to what Mr. Wilson calls the
now constitution Of freedom" for business AS a
result Of that strain confidence has been arrested,
busipess has sackened, property values have been
enormously decreased and the pinch Of unemploy-
mept has been painfully felt The normal remedy
in such cases is rest from nerve racklng uisIurD-
ances But Mr.. Wilson's remedy is still more OF
the same thing He would give another wrench OF
the nerves to a patient lowering on the border OF
nervous prostraton. The country wants Congress
70 quit and Congress itself wants to quit. But
there stands the memorable nerve wracker Win
his whip and bludgeon, and the poor frightened
Democrats in the House and Senate have no choice
but TO subject the business Of the country to an
other thumb screw ordeal
II after all is over the bruised and jaded victim
breathes a sigh of relief the President will try 20
hail that as a vindication of his policy-as sign
Of tranquility and prosperity ahead Yet If pros
perity comes it will not be due in the least to the
experiment about to be made to confuse the mean
ing of the sherman antitrust law by superhuous
and, in many cases. deliberately tricky amendments
There is no possible stimulus to commerce or in
dustry in such a procedure.
In some directions the business outlook has been
moderately good for some time past In others 1t
is clouded The return of prosperity, in full tide
e It comes, will be due to conditions associated
only in a slight measure with the legislation OF the
Wilson administration, and few people Will at
tribute It to Mr.. Wilson's agency. He will draw
blank out Of the hat Business, even If 1t recuper-
ates before his term is ended, will look back to
legislation OF the first two years Of that term as
period of afllctlon, some of 1t helpful discipline,
perhaps but most Of it unnecessarily harsh, harm
full and depressing in its results