davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-03-02
Equalising Nations
Purchasing PoUer

The effect of thrift upon indus
tries is further deveoped by II. II. S.
Handy, president of the Semet- Sol
way Company, of Syracuse, N. Y.
"lirst,' he says, "the inducement
to put savings int oactual use, Of in
vestments as against boarding. and.
secondly, because of its effect in
euualizing earnings through good
and bad periods. 1t is Of more
value to the business Of the country
and to the national finances that
ability to purchase goods and to live
normal life on the part Of the
wage eArnerH should not be subject
TO Ms large extent ms In the
past to the periodic variations Il
the activity Of national industry.
The saving habit prnctiscd on
wide scale will probably do more to
cqualize purchasing power and
thereby to stabilize the business Of
the country than anything else"
A different technique Of saving is
suggested in the experience of The
Texas Company, the United States
Steel Corporation and other large
corporations. +. c. Lufkin, prcsi-
dent Of the Texas Company, says:
II am thoroughly convinced that
anything that can be done to pro-
mote thrift among employees is
worthy of serious effort on the part
eff employers. Our company has
had in operation for some time
past a plan by which an opportunity
is given to employees to subscribe
for stock in our company at par,
and to pay for the stock at a low
rate a share month. We have
found that this plan works very sat-
isfactorily, and that, beliefe, it not
only promotes ideas of thrift among
our employees, but gives them
greater interest in their work.
Many contributors to the discus
sion touched on the work Of The
new National Thrift Bond Corpora
ton. According to it's president,
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-03-02
British, Financial Debauch, Pay Dear for Tri>

not adjust it carefully to the kind Of
food that he ordered
That sort Of thing is no more. The
restaurants arc crowded with men in
Khaki or mutt. Evening clothing is
the exception rather than the rule. and
this holds for oven the Carlton and the
RITZ. And they buy wine mostly
champagne with but glance ut the
list 20 see the price or ns ~ matter Of
form, 1t is odd to see people in cloth
ing Of a cut and texture which one
would commonly find only in the cheap
restaurants trying to master a twenty
page wine list and then desperately
ordering champagne, because they
know at least what that is. 1t is the
same in the shops. The better places
on Bond Street are doing little bust
ness, for the rich have no money to
spend, but the less exclusive shops on
Regent, and especially on Oxford,
street are selling more than they ever
sold before and to people they never
saw before.
All OF this trade is in non essentials
in clothing of the champagne order;
that Is, in fancy dresses, in home deco
ratlons, in pianos and all those arti
cles which come under the general
head Of luxuries. They are being
bought by people who never before had
them and the prices arc beyond all
reason. The profitccring is not only
in price but in quality.
Good woollcns and silks are all but
out Of the market; in their places arc
inferior woollcns and what they call
"spun glk," for which one pays more
than one formerly did for the real
article The prohteering extends
through every line: it is especially bad
in the hotels, restaurants and tobacco
shops. That curious, half-human race
who manage London hotels, and are
supposed To be Swiss, arc making fort
uncs by selling small meals at high
prices; the connoisscurs in wines tell
me that they will no longer order for
tho labels on the bottles have nothing
TO do with the contents~~but the people
who are now buying wine do not know
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-03-02
ErW l'orh tribune
EpfOnrnn Jy,,yxo,.

ErW l'ort Tribune
'oopyrst'. lsla Sew YORK rrbn. rneI
I oNDON, Fob. 1e. Putting Eng
l. lands business and financial
house in order will be an in.
nhi'ely greater task than the Same
process in the United States viii he
because England, to greater cx.cn,
''Ah one can realize from mere facta
ana 'igures, Is suffering from an in.
mated credit and currency and all the
disturbances that follow in the wake Of
an Unrestricted use of the banknotc
printing press.
We have something Of the same CON
uiuoHs IN the United States, though
not IN so marked degree. But if Eng
'and IL in worse condition, her bankers
ana larger business men seem more
"eehly alive TO the situation than ours.
ana also seem more willing to face the
Facts and the popular resentment
winch getting down 70 business basis
entails
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-03-02
After the Last
Loan Is Fioufed

After the next loan, what then?
Is the great national experiment in
saving. which was carried on in the
laboratory of war necessity, to be
stopped Are the social and econ
omic benefits inherent in thrift as a
national characteristic to be given
UP rs inappropriate in time Of peace
Ia the great education Of from 90
100000 TO 100000 people concern
ing securities TO have no application
20 conditions Of peace? What In the
future Of thrift IN America
The Tribune. seeking answers to
these inquiries. addressed series of
questions to those men Of industry
and finance who are known to have
given much study to the matter Of
perpetuatlng impulses to save. Their
replies, replete with suggestions, will
be presented here in summary.
In the months Of active warfare
the American people showed that
the standards of financial perform
ance which had been set up were
artificial and inadequate, and with
will to do that made the whole
world attend burst the bounds of
precedent. Popular saving became a
formidable influence in the nations
life.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-03-02
Some Londoncrs Are
Speaking Bryanism

The other party. composed Of the
tinanciers Of the nation and joined by
the greater manufacturers and ship
ping men, who see that they must go
out into the world and trade, want the
quickest possible tightening of credit,
an encouragement of national thrift
and tho reGstablshment of tho gold
standard with its automatic checks and
balances. In some respects the argu
mcnts of Mr.. Bryan in the days Of ID
TO l are being repeated, but with the
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-03-02
RITA Mark of Virtue in War Tme-A Necessity for the Future

allowing for the employment of
large, active, vigorous and perma-
nent force of solicitors. The first
consideration must be absolute
safety"
AS to the desirability, Mr.. Kim
ball added: "In view Of the neces-
sity for the investment Of huge
sums in the securities Of foreign
governments or institutions in order
to maintain favorable exchange
condition and to provide money for
the immediate resumption on a
large scale Of corporate and munich
pal capital improvements, the bill
lions which may, as has been dem
onstratcd by war finance, be added
to the nations savings fund through
solicitation, must, at least for the
next few years, me maintained"
Clarence H. Kelsey, president of
the Title Guarantee and Trust Com
pany, says, commenting on the de-
STABILITY of thrift: "The workman
who has accumulated enough to
marry, and, still more, enough to
have a little home, is not the trou
BILE maker in the factory and is a
faithful and valuable employee.
The great employers of labor could
do nothing more to their own ad-
vantage than to help in every way
the acquiring of the habit of saw
ing by their employees. The effect
upon the employees is beyond ques-
ton. 1t is not too much to say, al
most, that veal or woe for the
future of our country is involved in
whether we can educate all our peo-
pie up to the necessity and the adj
vantage Of thrift or fail to do so.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-03-02
Symposium Indicates AccumuIa-
tons of Earnings Stabilize
Buying Power and Make
Labor Tractable

thirty thousand employees are maxi
ing automatic savings to-day by the
delivery to them of thrift receirts
in their pay envelope weekly to the
extent of l, So or So, and
they are receiving in exchange for
these SO thrift bonds (Which are
certificates of ownership in govern
ment bonds), paying per cent,
and they are to the extent of sew
eral hundred thousand dollars a
month exchanging these thrift bonds
into government bonds that pay
higher rate.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-03-02
Carrying the Far
Debt Il Real Problem

There is no question, too. but
what the whole financial stability
and comfort of the country is in
volved in the same proposition. with
the immense public debt accumu-
lated and the necessity Of great
Investment market to carry it. 1t ia
important to the banking and Hnnn-
cInl interests of the country that
the common people should nccumu-
late the money with which to share
in owning and carrying not only
government bonds but other conacr-
Natlvc Investments by the aid Of
which the whole Industries Of the
country arc carried.
"Thcrc ought to be dozen such
organizations rs the National Thrift
Bond Corporation scattered all over
the country, making an energetic
and we'll considered effort, through
the most intelligent type Of sales
n'anship, to bring conservative in
vestments to the hand of the work
ers Of the country. Nothing but
government and municipal bonds
ought to be the basis of these eff
forts. The rate of interest has to
be low if secured by such invest
ments, and any margin is to be left
to pay the corporation and it's
stockholders who prosecute the bust
ness; and if capital would go into
such corporations and able people
take the trouble and have the pa
tience to develop them, they would
do great service to the entire
country"
The question of thrift may be
approached from two angles-the
saver as a consumer and the saver
as producer, says Darwin r. James,
jr., president of the American Chicle
Company. "In the case of the wage
earning classes, among whom the
extension of thrift habits is of spe-
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-03-02

bonds and thrift stamps, but those
who had not already established
habits of thrift and who began to
save for the first time were prompt
ed chiefly by patriotic motives. And
such people will fall back into their
old wasteful habits unless they are
closely followed up. Consequently,
every thrift promoting agency
should get busy and keep busy. 1t is
pity that the savings banks are so
apathetic, and have not introduced
aggressive measures to extend their
public service. Must the government
cease to teach thrift now that the
fighting is over?"
John II. Rhoades, Of the Stock Ex-
change firm Of Rhoades & Co., be-
lieves that the great task of keeping
on saving must be fostered by others
than the semi-charitable institutions.
He says: Il for one believe that the
encouragement to save should be put
upon a business basis; that elee-
mosynary savings institutions, i'm
portant as they are, and other semi
thrift are inadequate, and that the
time has come when the thrift move
ment should be commercialized,
something which our fathers would
have looked upon with horror. To
them a business corporation the rur-
pose of which was to go after and
look after the savings of the poor
was madness itself.
"The question presents itself, how,
with proper safeguards, this big
business can best be accomplished
If we are to commercialize the in
centive to save we must get at the
wage Garner and secure his savings
with the least possible effort to him
such is but business policy.
at has often occurred to me that
the savings bank missed an oppor-
tunity in not seeking the depositor
and thus persuading him to save.
have no doubt that many an indi-
vidual would adopt the principle of
thrift if some one would do the
work necessary and relieve him Of
the effort. If. unbelSnown to me-,
somebody would put inside each
month n small part of my income, |
would save that amount and never
miss it, but IT, on the other hand, |
I'm Obliged to make the effort, walk
to the savings bank, and stand in
line, it is more than likely that
would let the opportunity slip by.
II we will make it easy to save, dim
cult to spend, and give the fellow
who is after the business the chance
to make an honest dollar, we ought
to be able to hold many Of the mill
ions who through patriotism learned
the art of thrift during the last
two years. No schemes should be
permitted, however, unless under
rigid state or Federal supervision,
for safety of principal is vital A
business proposition, if you like, but
it must be beyond suspicion"
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-03-02

cial Importance, the effect of thrift
on the fundamental relations of
prices to wages is vital. All are
agreed that at the present time not
only our labor stability, but our
business stability, depends on these
interacting influences of wages and
prices. ! feel that thrift and the
thorough development Of thrift
habits will go far in steAdying the
uncertainties during the present
period Of gigantic readjustments.
"Since buying demand is in the
end the deciding. influence on produc-
ton, the effect Of thrift on purchas-
ing and consumption should be con-
sidered. The character of those
who have developed the thrift habit
is interesting. The man who saves
is wise buyer, more careful and
better judge of values. Such buy
ing on an extensive scale would
necessarily tend to put merchandise
ing, and consequently production,
on sounder basis. This does not
mean that borrowing would be mar
rowed-the man who is saving and
has his household expenditures on
firm foundation usually feels iusti-
fled in making expenditures for So
called luxuries.
again, thrift tends to raise the
living standards, and this increases
the diversity Of products within the
range Of the consumer.
"Many industries would not have
reached the level they have attained
if it had not been for the thrift
habit. Regular saving has enabled
the less wealthy classes to buy
products which were previously con-
sidered impossible luxuries and
made a mass-commodity out of a
class-comnodity, multiplying de
mand many times. Thrift increases
buying power and therefore stmu-
lates production.
"Another aspect is Of timely i'm
portance at The present period.
Wages have been high for some
time and there has been tendency
toward extravaganza, All illuetraa
ton Of which appeared IN the mum
tona and ehipyard centres, In eome
places there WAS an orgy OF crude
spending, nggraVntIng imitation and
keeping up prices. Thrift habits,
however, would cause the wngo-
Garner to lay aside SURPRISES in
prosperous times for use in periods
of harder conditions. Expenditure
would thus be distributed over longer
periods, stabilzing demand and
production and in turn reacting
back by increasing labor demand
and improving conditions. The man
who saved out Of high wages has
better buying power when prices are
lower and wages lower. At this
time, therefore, when wages and
prices are waiting for each other
to go down, thrift will prove of
great national benefit in helping
toward a healthy deflation.
industrial efficiency depends on
the stability of the worker. There
is no doubt of the power Of thrift
as a stabilizing influence. The say
ing habit tends to make a worker
settle down, to make him feel that
he has property and to steady his
outlook. This makes for industrial
peace, with consequent benefit to
industry.
"a factor which has, think, not
been given due attention in this re-
lation Of buying and saving, is that
the thrift habit may be encouraged
to the greatest degree where saving
is made as attractive as spending.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-03-02
An Approach
To the Solution

ingalls, Kimball, president of the
National Thrift Bond Corporation,
which was organized to meet the
very need under discussion, saws,
in answering the inquiry: "By the
establishment of institutions issu-
ing bonds or other thrift documents
in small units not subject to mar
ket variation but maintained at a
fixed buying price, such obligations
to be put out at an interest rate
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-03-02
The Problem Of the
Immediate Future

Need for additional machinery for
savings for the future has been en-
phasized by all the contributors. For
the months that lie ahead the Vic
tory Liberty Loan and the 1919 war
savings campaigns offer, perhaps,
the best method of saving for the
millions who want to but do not
know how.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-03-02
Canada System,
Is 4duOcated

Il would put savings on an estab-
lished basis through the adoption of
a system under the auspices of re-
sponsible and high-grade private
corporation, suitably audited and
regulated by the government or I'M
der direct government operation,
preferably the former. | believe the
Canadian system of paid representa-
tives of reputable character, solicit
ing and re-soliciting individuals
would do more toward retaining the
popular savings movement than any
spasmodic effort of people whose
principal interests lie in other direc-
tions, although they may be held to
such efforts by patriotic motives
from time to time.
81 believe thrift benefits industries
through the increased financial re
sponsiblity of those who save over
those who do not; their appreciation
of property rights; their increased
stability Of character due to the
measure Of self denial involved !.
their increased interest in their
work; the reduction Of dissipation
and avoidance of puupetism through
hard times, that thrift alnbllizeH the
nations finances through the wide
distribution Of accumulated capital
and the operation Of the law of aver
ages to Il finer degree which such
greater distribution permits"
life insurance Is the best form Of
saving, in the opinion Of William
Alexander, secretary Of the Equita-
bic Life Assurance Society, who
says: Life insurance is, in my csti-
nation, the most effective of all
known teachers Of thrift, and this
for two reasons: On 1t goes to the
people and constrains them to save
their earnings. GU 1t compels sys-
tematic thrift.
"Our future prosperity will de-
pend on whether we can be trans
formed from a wasteful into a
hrift-loving people. And if the ma
ton is to be made strong it must be
by strengthening the individuals
composing the nation.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-03-02
When Patriotism
Ceases to Sell

During the war lessons of thrift
of the most valuable character have
been taught to our people. But we
must not deceive ourselves as to the
extent to which the people have
prohted by these lessons. There has
been a great deal of saving. Rich
and poor have invested in Liberty
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-03-02

tho difference. know ono London
hotel that charged a woman 30 guincas
for weeks stay in a room without n
bath and without linking more than
half her meals mt the hotel. A very
good briar pipe that used to cost
pound cannot be had for less than three
timc9 that price
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-03-02

added force that the orators have tho
war record to point TO.
with all the plans for reconstruction
hanging in tho air and involving the
expenditure Of many millions OF
pounds, the return Of England to
sane money basis ia bound to have its
political reactions. The interest Of
America in this condition, aside from
the fact that imitation in any part of
the world is bound in the course of
time to affect us, is that England most
emphatcally does not now want our
money for investment, and also that
an era of excited speculation is very
likely to set in at the very moment
that the applications for new capital
cease to come under government VISA
which is expected to be about June
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-03-02
Many Amalgamations
IRE NO,U Under V0v

Many American bankers have been
hoping that American money might
have an outlet in English industry, but
at present there is plenty OF money
here and it is cheaper than in New
York. l have before me the prospectus
sheets of the last dozen offerings
of sizablc nature. They are interest
ing as showing the investment condi-
ton and what money is worth. Here
they are
When it is considered that there is
tax Of n shilling in the pound pay
able on all of these interests or dvi-
dends with the exception of the one
tax free offcring) it will be seen the
prices are mostly below those for is
sues Of even greater worth offered in
New York Every one of these issues
was ovcrsubscribed and in some cases
the subscriptions ran to double the of
fering within couple of hours after
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-03-02

20 per cent for Barclays, Loyds, Lon
don County, Westminster & PARIS and
18 per cent for London Joint City and
Midland down to ~ per cent for the
National. they have all set aside large
reserves; in fact, the dividends in each
case could have been much larger had
it not been for the reserves decided
upon. For instance. the London Joint
City and Midlands set aside a reserve
Of i1,100,000 TO tide over. MS Sir Ed
ward Holden said to me, "thc very hard
times that viii soon be on ua."
This all looks we'll enough on tho
face, but the trouble is that no one
quite knows what the money stands
tor, because it has been created out Of
the air. The currency of England ia
no longer gold or Bank Of England
notes backed by gold, but now consists
Of currency notes issued to a very large
degree against government obligations.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-03-02
Cola Standard
Is Nominal

The government borrowed for cur
rent needs from the Bank of England
and then disbursed the money to con-
tractors, who deposited with the Joint
stock banks and thus increased their
deposits, which were still further in
creased by customers borrowing to buy
war bonds. There has really been no
check on credit, and the bank deposits
are credit transactions and not pounds
STERLING which can be converted into
gold.
AS long as England was only buy
ing from abroad or manufacturing to
send to her armies and those of her
allies all Of this made little or no
difference, but now the imitation is
such that unless the air is squeezed
out the merchants and shipping men
do not see how they can compete
with the world, for although the
whole world Is suffering from imitation
1T stands to reason that the nation
which first gets down to a firm basis
will have the whip hand.
The British steel manufacturers
find that American steel can be bought
for about two-thirds OF their lowe t
possible price. A group of manufact-
urers called at the ministry the other
day to ask that embargoes be put
upon most foreign products other
than food and raw materials to pre-
vent them from being undersold in
the home markets, and both American
and Japanese agents in London com
PLAIN that 1t Is no use taking orders,
Tor they cannot have permits to i'm
port the goods.
The British manufacturer wants to
trade just as soon as he can get men
from the army and materials from