Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1915-01-07
Secretary Redfeld Tells Busi.
ness Men to Brace Up and Get
after Their Golden QppOr.
tunities.
QUIT TALKING MISERY"
"NOthing's the Matter with the
Man with a Crouch Except an
Absentee Heart and Missing
Nerve--Cheer Up and Go to
Work"

Washington. De. 3I.--HearteaeG By
months of close study of tho business out
look cf the nation, Secretary Pedfeld Of
'he commerce department wrote today
New Years greeting to the merchants
and manufacturers of the country, SirdinR
hem IN characterised" larGua... rot, n ou.
FOR the prosperity he sees within their
grasp.
There is no warrant. Mr.. vcdfold de-
! clared, Tor gloom or despair. The III ef.
fects Of the European var on American
enterprise are passing and new vistas FOR
commercial ventures are obeninl with
each new day HIS message fo.lows
~ you want prosperity do vo.r op'o
share to bring II and do II now. Get tnet
addition to your shop going; it will cert
YOU less to-day than six months henc,
Is :ra1e a bit dull IN TIE works? Got
those improvements begun. Prices are
! low and likely to rise You've been think
! ing of that contract work better start 4
yourself before things get the start on
! you.
This country slows down a bit now and
then. but II never stops growing and IL
always moves up and not down We
don't know what it means in most of the
United States to have real general dis
man with Crouch, stink into your hole
and pull 1t in after you. There think OF
your sins and your blessings and come
out with your courage in working order.
/ SKIES ARE ALL BLUE.
There are lots of good examples of
pluck no you remember San Francisco
ard Galveston and Chicago-Boston.
Charleston. Baltimore and Dayton and
many others like them?
Remember Thomas a. Edison and lots
of others of your fellow citizens who
showed pluck when things were hard
"Nothings the matter with the man
with Crouch except an absentee heart
and missing nerve. Cheer up go to work.
do your ii"el best, quit talking misery
The vars over yonder--not here. Men
are slaughtered yonder--they are living
here. It's all clouds there--cear day
here.
Get out and sell some goods F'ial.
more acres; do more work than
YOU planned Talk cheerful talk and
you'll And this country of ours a pretty
good place after all"
SITUATION NOW REVERSED.
TO support the secretary's hopeful views
are the figures gathered by his depart
1lfHl as 10 american IbTelBI
since the outbreak of the great war
Since August when the monthly trade
balance of the nation showed deficit OF
nearly S20."n,ro through excess of I'M
ports over exports. the situation has been
completely changed. For December alone
it ir estimated the export excess will
reach 800, 600, 900 or more, with one ex-
ception tine highest mark of the last two
wears
The way caught the country unprepar-
cd. in that tremendous import excess
had been rolled up in the four months
preceding It's outbreak With the Angus:
total included. American merchants were
in debt to foreign manufacturers and
producers nearly s40.0oo,o0 BY these fig
ures alone. Since then. including the De-
cemhor estimate, the export excess has
reached a total Of &l7< 100000. The
floating debt II the United safes 20 Tor
eign countries has been paid in goods Soc
rotary Rcdfed has declared and he looks
now 10 the near approach II a daY when
the United States will take her place as
creditor nation. no longer borrower.
1O6 SHIPS yINDER OLD GLORY.
Stree the war also o5 foreign built
ships with gross tonnage OF s7s.sa0
Additions to this fleet are being made
evcry week. Already plans are afoot 20
draw closer through commercial bonds
, the Latin-Anerican countries. Extensions
of credit that. Mr. Redfed believes must
pave the way toward any expansion OF
commercial relations with those countries
In preparing tor the ne-s year the COM
laercc department will Issue, January Q,
, tie first copy OF the DeilyC ommercial
Report to supplant the only consular bull
etins Or, Pratt of the foreign and do
nests commerce bureau. decided to-day
TO make the new publication to some ax-
tent departmental by presenting In
. its columns cablcFrams received by the
state department trnde advisers data as
TO crop yield and condition from the cen
, sus bureau and agricultural department
and information as TO war risk INSURANCE,
writton by the government bureau In tire
treasury department from day to day