The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-12-13
M E N w o M E N
 A ND THIN C s

| in a leaking boat when you yourself are sitting safe out on the bank; but if you happen to be in it with him, him to help pull for the shore | great deal of advice is being off, fered by men who write both to the city and countryunan not to get excited over the business situation, but to view it with philosophic calm, as times have been bad before. and things are not in as bad fix as they were in 1914
 
 Here I ain no longer a publisher with pay roll to meet every Saturday to make me sit up at nights and hustle during the day, for I belong to the wage earning class and have only to | look forward to Mondays envelope without having to rustic for the coin to put in it. It's the farmer, merchant and manufacturer along with all the rest in business who are puzzling their brains at this present moment. 
 . True, many wage earners will be thrown out in the readjustment to get back to pre-war basis, but somehow as class they are accustomed to live merely with their hands as common workers. The class of workers who will be hit the hardest if hard times arrive are the forward-looking ones who have , gone in debt for their homes, or the careless ones who have lived beyond their means and put nothing by for a. rainy day.
 The great question at present which IS agitating both country and city is ''To sell, or not to sell? It's a wise farmer who can answer the riddle of cotton, just as it's shrewd merchant and manufacturer who can find the right answer about merchandise. The ultimate consumer has, however at last made up his mind not to buy, or at anE rate with the reckless abandon which has characterized his purchases during the past four years, when to want a thing was to acquire it with out regard to cost.
 l belong to the buying class I have been in the crowd which was thoroughly plucked while the plucking was good. and yet I can truthfully say that for the good of the country it will be a bad thing if prices take too quick a. tumble. It's for this reason I am will ing to still be held up a little rather than to have liquidation so unsettle business as to bring on a panic, when there is no need for one if we will use our American common sense and practice thrift while the threatening clouds blow away.
 I am sure that admitting that such a. thing as hard times may be ahead will be Ioounted treason in certain circles where the watchword has gone out to look only for the silver lining; but think the surest way to uncover the bright side is to realize that it will take more than cheery optimism to do it, and that what is needed is to look conditions squarely in the face and then determine the best measures to meet them, not in spirit of braggadocio, but with bulldog determination to win out in spite of the handicaps.
 It will take hard work on the part of every possible worker, yes. but there is big difference and a long way be- tween hard work and hardship During the war the call of humanity warmed our hearts. the deeds of the Germans put iron into our blood, and the need speeded up production. In other words, when American were put to the acid test, they proved to the world that they were the stuff from which heroes are made. believe in our war heroes, we can never honor them too much. but the call now comes for heroes of peace.
 No one need get hysterical over the outlook with the abundant crops already in sight or harvested. Sure the period of reconstruction is always one of trial and danger. It has been so from time immemorial. You know there are a lot of catching flies to put in their oint- ment. There are whole colonies of trouble chasers. They can't be happy unless they are miserable They belong to the tribe who, when you meet one of them on the street and for politeness' sake ask after his health. will give the answer: Thank God po'ly''
 
 Avoid the pessimist as you would the ''flu,'' for he is real danger. He poisons the business atm mosphere with his fearful predictions. There are some folks who are just pastmasters in the art of spreading Encouragement. At every chance they breathe gloom Be- ware of the habitual discourager, it makes no difference whether he sits behind bankers desk. occupies seat in manufacturing establishment stands behind the counter. goes down into the mine, or follows a blow. The croakers, if they had their way, would croak un- til khere was nothing left to croak about.
 Say what you please, but business is more than financial game in which dollars and cents count for most on the board It is a human game. and men and women play their full part in | it am not trying to create a fools paradise for myself or for my readers I am no silly optimist living with my head in the clouds. But I am a great believer in grit and grace as an abid- ing asset of the average American.