The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-01-26
GREAT INDUSTRIAL
 ACTIVITY FACED BY U.S.,SAYS WILSON
Secretary of Labor Predicts Country Will Get Back in Normal Swing Within
 Six Months
Bv Associated Press

 New York, January .5.--Predict- ing the country will "get back into normal swing" within six months | after the signing of the nrmistice, Secretary of Labor Wilson de- cIared here today the nation facc> eight or 10 years of '.the greatest | industrial activity ever known 1 MT. Wilson spoke at a luncheon given in his honor and that of Senator James Hamilton Lewis of Illinois by I the Lawyers club on the eve of the departure for France of the depart ment, of labor's economic mission which will make survey of that 1 country.
 l. While predicting prosperity, MT. Will | son warned his audience that labor has | a reserve of money to resist any at~ l tempt to force down wages unduiy. 1 He asserted that If we have any large 1 period of industrial unrest, there is | no telling where the social upheavai will lead us" In this connection, he declared, it would be hard to say whether it would lead ito revolo | tion such as that of the French or of the bolsheviki in Russia" Democracy is slow to remedy in- l ternal evils,' he said; slow to move
 forward along new lines. Yet unless 1 the principle of accepting the will Of | the majority is taken the same condi- ] tion that brought about war with Ger
 many will exist. That condition is au- 1 tocracy. So my appeal to all people is | get your business going and keep IL | going.' PRESENT TASKS | Referring to the need of tidng over | brief period of readjustment. MT. | Wilson said
 t.s, 1 to the task of demobilization and re- establishing ourselves on stable, l postwar basis This will be easy to | accomplish if every man engaged in ] business in the United States will bring | himself to believe that the best policy | for him to follow is to re-establlsh his business on the same basis as be. l fore the war.
 | Many feel that this is not advisable. i They say war prices are abnormal. | that the prices of material are htgst and that the cost of labor Is out of the question This reasoning seems fairl.' !, sound. but it is only one phase of -he | situation. l predict that it will no. | be more than four to six months time
 of the signing of the armistice ansl the time it takes the country. to- get | back into normal swing.
 l 'In nearly all lines of industry ani commerce there is depletion of avail able stocks. Shelves are empty ani l they will have to be filled to normal
 business weight.
 LABOR SUPPLY SHORT
 'The supply of labor Is not as great 1 as many are prone to think. Because of the cessation of immigration during | the war; and the fact that it will be necessary to keep an army of 100000 men in Europe for more than year l to come, We are about 3,200,000 persons l short in our normal labor supply. Then, too, there will be an in- | creased demand. During the war 1 wages and living costs advanced in about equal proportions, but because ct | overtime for Sunday work, and the | fact that many who were previously | only employed part of the time mad
 steady work, the earnings of labor ! were greater than ever before They 1 have reserve in money which they
 will spend on things for their homes. 1 The purchasing power of the nation | will therefore be tremendously increas- l ed The farmers, too. have more mon | ey and will spend it in improving their farms.
 l South American trade is waiting
 for us. Germany had this trade, but l will not have it again. It will go to | other countries and if the business men of the United States exercise their
 usual foresight a large share of 1t | will come to us.
 Then there is the restoration of France and Belgium to be considered
 and later the central powers and the neutral nations of the north will want | our goods'