Rock Island Argus., 1917-05-24
THE sTABILIZING OF BUSINESS

Chicago. May "a - "Tha prompt
adoption by the American people Of
the business as usual idea IS going
70 enable this nation 70 prosecute war
without experiencing q temporary de-
preston such IS England and France
have recently recovered from. said j.
Ogden Armour in an interview +1
which he was asked 10 discuss the
/ economic condition of the country
/ Modern war" he added. requires the
! expenditure OF huge sums of money
and means maximum employment and
+ high wages for ali workers Other
/ conditions, peculiar to this war make
! It certain that this nation VIII enjoy
period Of business and industrial &C
glvity the like Of which has never been
seen and which is assured whether the
war lasts several months or several
years.
But suppose people become over
cautious as the result Of the preach
ing Of war economy then What?" he
vas asked.
There is some reason 10 oe4l5Fe-
/ he answered, that economy rules VIII
I be misapplied for q while, bat cond5-
tons are such that the public will
+ soon see, If they have not already. that
there is no occasion whatever for
them to become alarmed They Will
have more money 90 spend than ever
before and they will not fud the things
they want, disappearing from the
market"
Then Alr Armour launched right
into the whole subject saying
ga continuation Of the great pros
perity that has ruled i'm this country
for two years is assured There is an
abnormal demand for everything the
workers OF this nation can grow or
4 manufacture. There IS work at high
wages for every man and woman who
wants work, the earning power Of
the people is restricted only bE phvsl-
cal limitations. the buying power Of
the public is greater than ever be
fore. These are certain guarantees of
continued prosperity and of au ever
widening scope Of our business and
Industrial life."
How about the billions Of dollars
we are lending 20 our aIIies1' he was
= asked Wouldn't il be better to keep
: that money at bouee+
~ am glad you mentioned that.' re-
- piled Mr.. Armour. LAS "a matter Of
2 fact, lt is a mjsuCmer 10 call Il q loan
g. TO our allies We are primarily aE-
2 tending them credit Instead Of send
- ing billions Of dollars out OF the cOuu-
try, the transaction means that bill
/ lions Of dollars viii actually be freed
for circulation iD this country Prac-
t.calIy all of the billions we lend our
allies viii be spent In this country for
the products Of our soil and our fac
{ tories and for payment Of our work
3 ers. We are the storehOusa and the
{ factory of the world now and the
more money the world can get hold
Of the more will be sent here and the
; more that comes here. the more work
) and the more business will result And
in this connection remember the gov
I erument of the United States S now q
buyer for war purposes and the dollars
3 of Uncle Sam have already begun TO
pour forth 10 stores. factories and
farms 20 pay for the expense Of mo-
bilZng drilling eQutpping and feed
3 ing the army and navy.
i Under the civilian boards gathered
, together by the president TO direct the
! great work Of preparation this ma
ti0n is going ahead. fortified against
delay and mistakes through the intel
Iigent application Of the lessons
7 learned in England and la France
This applies 10 industry as well as
war There is abundant evidence that
we are prOhtng from the experience
OF Europe auG fhat our president and
/ his advisors are going TO prevent auT
Industrial hitch such as preceded the
prosperous business conditions now
T pFGhalluS In tGE BRUSH Isles ana EE
France
II consider she present the most
s auspici0us from the standpoint Of ma
tional prosperity, in my memory.
y There is not one good reason why the
70 business Of this country should not
- proceed in It's normal course and on
ever increasing lines. There ls not
one reason why people should fear for
the future or should permit themselves
10 be swayed from the certainty that
s they are on q sound financial basis.
The per capita wealth Of Americans.
1 today, ia greater than ever before
e greater than that of the people Of any
2 nation at any time IN the past, or in
+ the present Our national wealth is
f past the widest dreams of q few years
- back Labor is satisfactorily en-
e. pioyed and az record wages. Every
! day that the war lasts wifi find a
greater demand for the labor and the
: brains Of the wage and salary earners
! of the United States Certainty OF
I work and certainty Of wages are the
: prime factors of prosperity. They
S make prosperity certain.
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