Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1915-01-09
New Era of
6 Good Times
Prominent People Throughout
County are Optimistic.

Old Doctor Optomism appears to
have opened up his medicine case and
administered huge doses OF his famous
panacea throughout the land according
70 press articles that are appearing
daily in the city papers telling of this
and that man-of-big business who, upon
being interviewed, declares that the
European turmoil will be the cause of
unusual prosperity for this nation.
One of the most striking examples of
private opinion as to the business out
look was shown in speech by Mr..
George Webster, general manager of
the Lake Superior ron &c Chemical Co.,
at recent dinner of The Marquette
Commerce Club. His speech, the SUBJ
iec4 of which was "Start Something" as
IL appeared in The Marquette Chronicle
is as follows:
'If the signs are right some of us are
going to live long enough to see good
times, the rest of us may be broke. II
some of US are going to be broke, we
might as we'll look on the sunny side
and do business right up to the finish.
To do this requires optimism Any
banker will tell you that the most op-
timistic person is the man who is all in,
but presents himself to borrow money;
everything is all right, his plans cannot
fail-and there is great deal more to
this attitude than we realize, because
if there is scrap or fight in man,
that is the time il is developed.
"Any doctor will tell you that the
patient for whose recovery he fears is
the placid person who does not fight to
get up and out. Someone has said:
"Twix optimist and pessimist the diff
ference is droll, the optimist the dough-
nut sees, the pessimist the hole"
Notwithstanding the terrible shadow
the European war casts over the whole
world, the fundamental position OF the
United States is sounder than it has
been for years. No other country has
the three great wealth attributes that
we have, namely, wheat, corn and cot
ton, and the country has never had
such crops of which to dispose than this
year, and this irrespective of price.
81 believe that this country has been
served with notice that it will no long
er stand for such wholesale stock job
bing deals as have been perpetrated in
the past, and for the future the social
ed trusts shall proceed more upon the
lines specially dwelt upon in their
prospectuses, where they prove on
paper the advantages and economics of
doing business instead of grabbing and
throttling business.
"The iron business and lumber busi-
ness is starting. Enquiries are not
orders certainly, but they are the fore
runners and they look good to us.
"The federal government has started
the regional banks working Those
banks are not put there to help our
bankers on a speculative basis, but TO
render elastic the fixed loans onr bank
ers make, BY so doing the credit or
money released begins pressing for in
veStment, and before long our esteem
ed bankers will be making things easier
for the man with business tact and
judgment, to do days work and keep
that capital working. Confidence, how
ever must first be inspired and restored
and believe that confidene today is
being inspired.
with politics and its effect upon
business have little to say, except this
that think il too much for us to expect
that few gentlemen elected to look
after the business of Uncle Sam can be
looked upon to lay down rules, termed
laws, whereby business can be regulat-
ed. In so doing much OF our respec,
for these and.other laws has been alien.
ated.
'The history of our business revul
II ons seems to be, that we jump from
bottom of the well clean out over
lie top of the pump, instead of climb.
ing up gradually and coming out of the
spout Everyone here is looking for il
to be repeated. Now if any of you
gentlemen can say the date this will
start, and will say it we will all tall
about il. I'll tell my friend on the lef
what my friend on the right said to me
and well keep on telling 1t, it will
ryach around this country, and in ths
Ntpuage of the poet, Start Some