Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-01-03
Bradstreet's Annual Review OF
Business Year, With Forecast

might have been good reasons for vast
deal of worry. But c1Vlilzauon mas " oIG
fine rafting sword the shining armor ana
other .'proDerties'' of the Berlin Snowman,
as Harden called him, have been relegateu
to the scrap pile, and Europe no longer mas
to listen with bated breath to the rantIIss
Of neonle who in the past had made murder
and robbery profitable while masqueraulhs
under the compare lively respectapIe nalne
of war. We do not belleVe the me- a
has come, or that we have seen our last war,
Init something like what the poet Iennysoit
termed q ''parliament of nations IS ABOUT
to meet, and under the agreements Likely TO
be evolved therefrom the "Q nign Snoui IN NC
We believe TINT big potential uemuhu
for goods exists, at price, and 1t IS known
that there is and will be tremendous oe-
materials for clothing and for shelter ana
implements of agriculture will proDaDly DC
badly needed. The United States having
suffered the least of all the belligerents'
should be in a position to supply these ue-
mands, as we have good snare OF InS
food and the raw materials which the world
needs, and our prestige has certa1nE noo
suffered at the hands of the 2,OOO,Ooo men
who lave represented us in Europe we
ais have-what we hitherto lacked-a Dig
= erchant marine capable Of serving our lil-
porters and exporters, and our loans to ailles
and neutrals have given us Il financial foot
ing in the markets of the world of winch
our bankers probably Will not be SLOW TO
take advantage. If 1t is necessary 10
to enable us to sell goods, we can do 1t,
because we financed Europe when the posi-
bility of returns was not nearly so good as
now.
We also have larger capacity for out
put and certainly greater adapta5iltty for
catering to foreign demands, whether OF
peace or war In fact, we have reached IN
a few short years position that 1t TOOK
Great Britain, the business national par eX-
ceIence, generations to achieve. Fears of
unemployment of the masses should be con-
sidered with the known fact in view that
immigration, which should have given US
5000, 900 persons in the past four years,
has been almost at Il standstill. Further
more, we not sure that our whole army
is coming home much before a year from
now. War taxes are source Of apprehen-
sion, but these, too, should be looked at in
the light of the fact that taxation in this
country has not assumed the all-pervadlng
character impaired to it in Europe by. cen
turtles of custom and precedent. Unless
most signs fail, the possibilities of future
state control, interference or regulation are
not so great as seemed certain when we
were in the full stress of war.
Prices May Decline
Lower prices may come, not all of them
at once, by the way, and may delay, but
should not radically Interfere with the
processes Of proper reimbursement. While
war initiation may have been responsible for
some Of the present high prices, the latter
in the last analysis merely spell scarcity.
which it should be our work to remove and
in removing make business friends who will
stick and customers who will come again.
No headlong break in domestic prices seems
probable with the purchasing power Of our
people so high; supply and demand condi-
lions what they are; stocks OF goods outside
of government hands not burdensome; those
in government control large perhaps but
promising to be IiqUidated COnservatiyely;
creditiOn conditions. MS reflected in failures,
sound: the farms of the country such mines
OF wealth, and the outside worlds needs so
great. 1t really seems certain that the
people and the country that have done so
Huch in the past four years will not fater
now that peace has come and business
as UsuGi' is again to be the watchword.