Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1920-12-10
MOTOR MEN Do NOT
LIKE SCOLD|NG
iOWANS TOLD THEY ARE AZ.
FLicTED WITH GET.RICH-
QUICkiTIS.
FEDERAL BANK OFFICIAL
RAPS IOWA BUSINESS MEN
Farmers Also Criticized For Efforts
to Grab Money ~ Speaker Tolls
Convention State Has Gone Mad
Over Moneymaking Too Much
Silk Shirt Extravagance.

Cedar Rapids, Dec 1o.-The state
OF Iowa Is suffering from an attack Of
| get rich quickitis." Its credit is
stretched to the breaking point, yet
1t is continually demanding more.
Iowa bankers and farmers are both
to blame for the state Of depression
that exists. The brightest spot in the
whole situation Is that the lowered
prices OF farm products will stabilize
Exchange and thru this means the
country can export the surplus and
put Europe in the way OF paying its
debts.
! The above are some OF the hot shots
fred by Charles l.. Powell. counsel
for The seventh district federal re-
serve bank, In an address before the
Iowa Motor Trades Bureau in the
| chamber Of commerce last night.
| His remarks created a distinct SEN
sation. Part Of his address follows:
You can not get down to brass
| tacks in business unless you have
1 first got away--and We have got
| away. IT. seems as 90 over the
state OF Iowa And that among It's
other Affections It is suffering from
an attack OF 'get-rich -quickitis.' The
people arc not content to get rich but
are over anxious to find means OF
making easy money. They have
wealth but are not content. The in
crease In farm lands and building
values in the last few years Is UNI
precedented. According to the 1920
census values in Muscatine county
increased 122 per cent, jackson coun-
ty ITO per cent, Dubuque 81 per cent.
and these are not the richest counties
in Iowa by any means. The total in
crease In ten years Is so great that It
amounts to nothing but mass OF
T figures. The crops are SO great that
they have to rent storage space In
Illinois. In addition they have gone
Into the investment business. buying
+ stock certificates with green borders
and yellow tinge, and that's part Of
what's the matter with Iowa today.
Too Extravagant.
Il I'VE have all been too extravagant.
/ buying silk shirts, silk stockings.
their intricate value, and We bought
blue sky The whole people are now
getting ready to get back to business.
/ Iowa Is essentially sound and solid
but her credit is stretched to the
breaking point. Iowa has corn and
4 the world must acquire 1t. It's corn
crop for 1920 is estimated at 10000
900 bushels, which exceeds the 1919
crop by 40,000,000 With her enormous
production. the greatest in the history
Of the state. she Is not bankrupt.
Various plans have been employed
to relieve the farmer. The chairman
Of the federal reserve board said re-
Gently that the effort to relieve the
farmer is unfair to other lines Of
industry likewise loaded up with high
inventories. In September an Iowa
farmer wrote me letter asking il he
should hold last years corn. ! advised
him to sell It as soon as he could. It
! proved to be good advice.
| "All sorts Of businesses in this coun-
try are dependent on three elements
transportation. credit and labor.
Each must support the other. The
Iowa farmers troubles are the re-
suit OF inability to market last years
crop because Of the breaking down
of the transportation system in the
hands Of the government, accentu-
ated by tho straining Of credit. The
railroads must como back or be
brought back before we can got back
to normal and I believe they are
coming back. Lot mo At this point
give duo credit to A. d. Cummins,
J senator Of Iowa, who with fearless
courage and almost uncanny fore
sight tackled situation so fraught
with danger to the existence of the
nation. Disregarding backbitin4 at
his heel he framed the Esch- Cum
minis bill and be it said to the honor
Of this great state the people on
Nov. :, placed the stamp Of approval
on his actions. Personally, I believe
the time will come at no distant day
when bull-headed, swell HEADED rail-
road officials and labor leaders will
| not be permitted to paralyse indus.
try while they settle their difficulties.
| I believe your distinguished senator
! will yet work out plan absolutely
doing away with strikes and lockouts
and congratulate you on returning
him to the senate.
Stands by Reserve Systsm.
During the war under the hands
! of the government the roads were
allowed to get into deplorable con-
dition. It has taken the American
people twenty years to learn
that the railroads are and must be
servants Of the people and some of
the commonwealth have not yet
come to realize that the roads must
receive adequate compensation for
their service or their service can not
be rendered. Back Of the railroads
and then developing and supporting
them is the development Of a system
by which credit can be evolved, fos-
tered, utilized and conserved. With
out our federal reserve system we
would have scarcely been able to
function In the war and the panics OF
1894 and 1907 would have paled
into insignificance.
"The ability to reserve money
kept US thru the trying period
just passed, reserve such as was
never before put together and has
magniicently withstood the demands
put on tt. But there is q limit to the
demand, wisely set by congress.
That limit has been reached but the
demand for credit has increased.
Iowa hassnot been the least Of Offend,
ers In the demand for credit from its
q lyu ~ 49,.