Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-12-12
Going Like a House A-Flre
Now" Says REQ Official
"Whe Timid Ones Are Wondering What America VIII Do
America Has Gone Ahead and Done IT.

| try. AT first 1t cost little more but
tbe now onsIi,v imG cost Is coming down. AS a Tor
chemists IN this country as there are
In the world. so we are getting that,
This instance can be PARALLEL as
many times as you like. Two or three
cases will suffice. Carbolic acid was
also made in Europe Not that 1T was
a secret or that we could not do it, but
| that the European makers were so we'll
entrenched. Americans hesitated to
enter competition against them Thomas
A. Edison had to have carbolic acid.
Inside of ten days after the war broke
out, he began to produce it. At first 1t
cost more also. but as facilities were
perfected and quantities produced. the
| price began to come down, and now, 1t
is said, that If the war ended to-day.
carbolic acid from Europe. We can
make it better and cheaper here.
About three months ago l was talk
ing to the. president of one of the
! larg- knitting machine concerns In
AMERICA. To say he was blue is putting
1t mildly-he was panicky. We haven't
than the e9s1y fays 20 pe0pe NE @ ia
willing to wear white hosiery and
everything else white: All our dyes
CAN'T CAN'T do dom in thh0psi this Country. Everything
is over
The other day I met him again; ask, a. &
full capacity he said. What about
those dyes? 1 asked. Why. we are get
ting all the dyes we want and better
than we ever imported, he replied,
jubilantly.
"Still another: wallpaper maker
told US when the war broke out that II
would be impossible to make colored
wallpaper-for the same reason the
knitting manufacturer had given me.
To make a long story short, we are
wallpaper, and faster colors than ever
before in the history of the industry.
THE point l want to emphasize Is
that we bought from Europe not be-
cause we could not make it here just as
good and just as cheaply, but because in
certain things that formerly were
secret secret processes European parnSsd mSkers ad nad
America feared to invest the amount
to build the plants necessary to hght
for a share of the business. Now the
for 1.-THE demand must be supplied,
and we are now supplying our own de-
mands.
Just here I might call attention to
one great difference between Ameri-
cans and all other people. Your Eng
lishman, your German, your French
buying or using anything that is made
In any other country. We Americans
have had a foolish prejudice in the OPP
posite direction. Our loyalty has not
reached the commercial stage yet. That
Is because we have had no real COM
petition--nothing to stir up our com
word Imported on the box and we have
actually paid more for an inferior ar
ticle Just because 1t was made in Scot
land, France or some other European
Perhaps we are exceptional, but the
only indication the REQ Motor Car
Company have had that there is dis
turbance anywhere on the face OF the
earth is increased orders for automo-
biles at season when, in former years.
we expected less orders. .,,
nrsn ~ hi lG
manufacturers, our export trade has
been n very small percentage of the
total, and inasmuch as we. have for
several years past been making better
steels, carburetors. magnetos, lamps
and other essentials in this country
than we could import. the war has not,
of course, interfered in the slightest
with our supply of raw materials.
II think we have taken too seriously
the admonition of the bankers and the
plight of the stock brokers. Eighty
per cent of all the automobiles manu-
factured in this country. go into the
great and prosperous agricultural sec
tions, think that is true. not only Of
dities Those people have plenty Of
money--they are getting good prices
for their crops and for their livestock
affect them in the slightest. AS for the
caution of the bankers. we need only
recollect that the banker makes his
he can get high rates of interest. Opti-
mistlc talk does not make for high in
terest rates, Your banker can peddle
pessmism to greater profit than he
can distribute good cheer. Not that I
would impune the motives of all bank
ers On the contrary. I think many of
them mean well in their efforts to keep
the poor, unscared horde from getting
scared. T.,eir tremulous Whoa, boy!
Whoa, boy! is well meant-but it is
unnecessary.
THE old horse is not scared. He is
going along W
stomach full and happy prospect of
getting home betimes. He sees some
thing unusual on the road ahead, but
he knows the road is wide and he will
pass 1t all right If the driver will only
sit tight and-and let him have his
head"