New-York tribune., 1918-01-29

war has placed upon the nation, accord
ing to Charles II. Sabin, president of
the Guaranty Trust Company.
at seems reasonably certain" to
quote an article written for "The
Guaranty News" by Mr.. Sabin, "that
we must resort to all three methods
in some degree, and we should indi
vidually and nationally adjust our af-
fairs to meet the conditions they i'm
pose
Resentment and opposition to thrift
that is not in the public interest, Mr..
Sabin declares, have been aroused by
hysterical agitation and unbalanced en-
thusiasm.
"No right-minded man." he adds,
"will challenge the basic need for
rational thrift, but such thrift does
not mean parsimony, nor does it mean
the unsettling destruction Of legitimate
business"
The apprehensions which have been
created by some Of the extreme thrift
propaganda the banker regards as un-
fortunate and not based upon sound
economic or patriotic grounds.
The normal savings of the people of
the United States at the outbreak of
the European war. he points out. were
estimated at $4,000, 100000 or $6,00O,-
100000 year, in 1917 they were
estimated at S14,00O,OO0,000 or S15,-
0O,000,000, and an increasing meas
ure of thrift. is reflected on all
sides. To carry thrift programme
beyond the point of rational increase
in saving would serve only to depress
business, destroy values and create un-
employment. There is tremendous
productive capacity beyond that re-
quired for the governments present
use which should not be dried up by
arbitrary rulings or false economic the
ories.
Must Keep Optimism Alive
at is certain" says Mr.. Sabin, "that
the spirit of optimism must be kept
alive in our people, and that good cheer
is an important factor in financing our
way to victory which must not be over
looked. 1t is out of such soil that gov
ernment loans and taxes must spring.
"Business men and wage earners cam
not lend money to the government un-
less they can make money. And busi-
ness must earn more money this year
than last year. The government is 60
ing to need more money, and increas-
ingly more money, before this war is
won.
"Thcrc must be discrimination, Of
course, between that which is essential
and that which is non-essential. But
no legitimate business, which can make
money without competing with the gov
crrment, is non-esscntial. In fact, it
of the most important munitions Of
war. And, it should be remembered,
the people who earn the money in such
businesses are among those who invest
largely in the governments war loans
and who pay taxes.
Banks should not be expected to
deny credit to legitimate business. 1t
is rather the duty, the patriotic duty in
the larger sense, of banks to supply the
monetary needs Of their clients in gem
eral business as far as possible after
financing the requirements of the gov
crnment. Non-essential business can
be regulated by the government through
priority orders and otherwise most cf-
fcctivcly."
A Middle Course
A course Of wise economy and bust
ness conservation, which Will neither
exploit nor wreck, but maintain and
protect the business system Of the
tween the fallacy of "busincss as usual"
and the threat of "drying up business"
In view of the limitations which the
general welfare places upon the de-
mands Of thrift it would seem that in
creased production Of wealth offers the
soundest and most helpful measure of
relief. TO quote Mr.. Sabin:
1--WE have given great consideration
to price fixing and money saving and
all too little to increased production
since we have entered the war. 1t is
certain that along this latter course
lies the line of national progress. No
great nation has ever won prominence
in the worlds affairs through any pol
icy of mere thrift; many have sue
cecded through increasing the wealth.
producing powers Of their people.
"1ntensive cultivation of the soil
the increase and Improvement of me-
chanlcal methods, a wise use of labor
and intelligent cooperation between
government and industry will assist in
increasing production and creating the
new wealth necessary for wars con-
sumption. Much that our government
has done has had the opposite effect
Some Of our price fixing has served
only to limit production rather than to
stimulate it-as in the coal situation
Too Many Shackles
Restrictive laws and uncconomo
regulations have hampercd the orderly y
progress of business and prevented its
treest and fullest development. Many
OF these have been shown in their true
character under the pressure Of war
If we could take these shackles from
Oft the hands and feet Of industry a
great increase in production could CON
iidently be expected This fact is
notably illustrated in our transporta
tlon complications. There enforced
competition, conflicting and wasteful
regulation, government parsimony and
the struggle to serve many masters
served to paralyzc one of the funda-
mental industries of the country and
! to render it absolutely incapable of
meeting the demands made upon it.
This is proved by the action of the
government itself in seeking to climl-
nate these very defects when it as
sumes control of such industries. The
public is denied the use of great ma
tional resources capable of developing
immense production of wealth through
governmental red tape and false
standards of conservation"
Credit Expansion Possible
MIR. Sabin says the third recourse
open to meet the cost Of war is throUch
expansion of credit. now possible