Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-02-06
HIGH COST OF PESSIMISN
A NEW NATIONAL AFFLICTION
Talk of Philadelphia Approaching Hard
Times Reflects Faulty State of Mind
Rather Than Natural Causes
OPINIONS are conta gious.

wiring their hands and tell each other that
hard old times are just ahead. then hard
old times will come as naturally as the dawn
OF day. The reason for this is parfec.y
simple. II is the getting ready for hard
times that makes hard times. Such idle.
ness as there is in the country is not due
to any natural cause, II is due TO n state
Of mind.
Times are going To be hard" some
business men are saying. 80 we'll re-
trench" Behind this general attitude is
the belief that prices of material and
of labor are going. as they say, to tumble
There is talk of plenty of cheap labor"
Hopes such as this spring from more
than grievous error The man who waits
for plenty of cheap labor will have to be-
queath paralyzed business TO his heirs.
Labor will never be so cheap as ii was
before the war. Any one who can read
the plain lessons Of events need not be
told that And while occasional readjust.
merts Of wage scales may cause some
decrease in the general price Of materials,
the raw stuffs Of industry will not be af-
fected by phenomenal sumps Popular
opinion will require higher wage scales,
and this will naturally affect the costs OF
elemental production
In the end, after YOU have looked twice
at the matter it is apparent that costs
alone aren't adequate to impeI business
forward or back. The success and pros.
peJity of any industry depends chiefly
upon the minds behind il.
The motor business. for example came
.,1+ of ,l,n
clamoring for room in which to expand
full OF the promise of new wonders. There
is no talk of slowing up in the motor in.
dustry, not because automobile producers
aren't dependent upon the high.priced es
sentials and expensive labor, but because
the automobile world is new. And it has
many fresh and imaginative minds be.
hind it.
All of this is interesting to Philadelphia,
because we have in this city an .unbe-
lievable lot of money 10 spend upon essen
tial improvements and an incredible lot OF
work waiting to be done. What we are
threatened with is not the high cost of
labor, but the High Cost of Pessimism.
The various departments of the city
nave II virtually IN their
power TO eXpend about $4,000, 900. The
wise and quick expenditure of at least some
Of this money will instantly release other
countless millions and send them outward
to the pockets of workers of all sorts
Some one said not long ago that Phila.
delphia could use another 100000 houses
Building in this city began to slow down
four years ago, and it has been almost at
standstll for fourteen months. Aost
of the new construction will be done in
suburban areas. But it will wait upon the
completion OF new road and sewer I'M
provements that already are planned and
plotted by the city itself When new
streets have been paved in the outlying
regions we shall see such building
boom as never was dreamed Of.
In its general financial aspect and in
it's immediate needs Philadelphia is typical
of the rest Of the country. There is limit
less work TO be dore and almost limitless
money TO DO it with. But there is a hest.
fancy and fear, hope of an easing up
in labor and material markets, a general
timorousness based upon desire to wait
and see
improvements mere tne new
boulevsrds, the Parkway and bridges and
am incalcuable amount OF street building
and repairs await the cooperation of the
Mayor and Councils and the department
heads and public opinion.
Labor and materials are growing plen-l
tiful now. In a year there may be new
scarcities when all of the industries are
competing in the general market after
periods of idleness Public opinion in this
city will welcome any show of hurry and
energy at City Hail. 1t will not finch
at the prospect of high prices or great
contract awards. The municipality might
properly set an example for the doubling
minds Of industry. And II one part of the
city is prosperous and busy it will be
pretty hard for other parts Of it to be
dun and depressed.
Mayor Smith has expressed hope 10
get a great many public improvements
under way with available funds before he
leaves office But that will be too late.
Statisticians Of the Federal Employment
Service who have been making general
surveys, say that IL a serious depression
occurs in the United States it will be felt
there will be a reaction. Is there any
reason why the immense amount of work
TO be done in this city should wait later
than spring?
Nothing could be- more grotesque than
talk of hard times and idleness In the
United States. We are the richest country
in the woDfd. Almost every nation owes
US money Meanwhile we have within
our own borders all OF the materials and
resources necessary to sustain apd i'm.
prove our own civilization. You could
build wall mile high around the
Epited stafee and we could go on supply
Inf every ~ q peacs and var. 7hero