Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-06-14
ENTERING MOST
PROSPEROUS ERA
IContinued From FIRST Pagc.l

rOTl IdBCsl
opinion of men of large affairs re-
garding the probable duration of the
war. These estimates vary anywhere
from three months to five years. Let
us stop to ana1yze the probable effect
upon the business conditions of the
country of a struggle lasting for
these extreme periods. Should 1t
last only three months, by the end
OF that time considerable amount
of the billions of dollars worth of
orders which the government must
necessarily distribute will have al
ready been under way to such an
extent as to make cancellation inn
possible. Should the struggle last
for three or five years these vast ex-
penditures will be constantly increas-
ing and the labor supply will be de-
creasing simultaneously. And then,
when 1t is over. whether 1t be at the
end of three months or three years.
cur friends and enemies on the other
side will also have fought for three
years or six years correspondingly.
The damage that they will have
wrought upon each others build
ings, bridges and farms and other
utilitarian objects will have to be
repaired. Their labor supply will
have been considerably curtailed, due
to the tremendous loss of life and
limb among their young men, their
laborlng class. There will be an un-
precedented amount of building to
be done, which will necessarily re-
quire all of the available labor and
materials that are to be had. IT Is
also almost certain that the termi-
nation of the war will see such i'm
proVements in the economic con-
dition of some of the belligerents as
to make their emigration not nearly
so attractive as 1t had been before
the war and very Improbable.
Foreigners Will Leave
1T is highly probable that at the
termination of the war instead of
the usual influx of foreigners into
this country, large number of them
Will be attracted by the improved
labor and social conditions in their
own country and return to 1t. Under
the above conditions, what possible
chance is there for prices, especially
in the building world. to drop for a
considerable period of time? What
possible reason can there be for be-
lleving that prices will drop? How
can the building investor justify him
self In holding off at the present time
with the certain increases in cost
that are to come staring him in the
face?
We are in a highly prosperous
condition to-day. Our prosperity is
greater than it has ever been here
tofore; but this unprecented pros
perlty will seem picayune to that
winch is in store for us immediatly
and for years after this struggle is
over. Wake up, we inv estor. to the
possibilities which lie before you!
Take advantage of present low
prices, for they surely will be low
compared with what you may have
to pay for your. materials and labor
later on. Get the pessimism out of
your system, for it is at least as
harmful to you as to those with
whom you come in contact. Arise
from the rut you are getting into so
that in years hence you will not be
forced into the unpleasant position OF
the person reciting the old, old story
of what might have been, if -
The view herein expressed is the
view largely accepted by those who
have made a study of the situation.
COR this reason many undertakings
which were temporarily suspended
are likely to go ahead without fur
ther delay on the assumption that
conditions after the war will be no
better from the standpoint of cost
than they are at the present time.
This is the time for optimism and
not for pessimism; a time for wide
spread activity and tho forcing of
production rather thar a letting
down and consequent depression.