The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1920-09-16
THE NATIONAL CAPITAL
BY j. z. Jones.

are perceptible at the national capital
indicate that the country is thoroughly
alive to the desire TO stop the foolish
expansion that has been going or for
a long time. The federal reserve
board has been discouraging the reck-
less expansion of credit, and specu-
lators everywhere have been feeling
the pinch. The result has been par
ticularly noticeable in the stock ex-
changes where purely speculative
transactions have shown a decline.
The tightness of the market here has
been due to the determination on the
part of the federal reserve board and
the banks to use their money in help
ing the legitimate industrial situa-
ton, while they have curtailed the
loans of speculative interests.
In consequence of the changing con-
ditiOns there has likewise been a Iii.
minution Of the attempts to buy up
all the farms in the country by pay
ing for them with a little cash and
tremendous mortgages, and the de-
partment of agriculture finds that the
farmers of the middle west are letting
up on their feverish anxiety to get
rid of the old farms and buy new ones
The farm loan board has been dis.
couraging these speculative tenden-
cies that prevailed last spring in the
richer agricultural regions of the
country.
In the larger cities there is also a
noticeable let-up in the buying and
selling of homes on meagre payments
and ~lOngdeferred contracts. IT is like
wise worthy of notice that people
are beginning to recognize that they
connot build more houses than there
is material for, or hire more men than
there are and do more business than
the railroads can handle. In this
connection it is TO be noted that the
railroads have to a large extent re-
lieved the congestion of freight n
the yards and terminals. The plan
to get a much greater mileage out OF
every car that can be pressed into
StINlNS, udS lCSullCu ouINtSoIuis e
Therefore the railroads have been able
to supply an enormously increased
amount of cars for taking care Of the
crops and for other purposes. Indus
trial conditions so far as they affect
the railroads and the employees are
in the best shape they have been since
the signing of the armistice. The
whole railroad situation seems to have
cleared as a result of increased rates
sufficient to meet cOrrespondingly in
creased wages of more than 100000
railroad employees and to furnish a
sufficient return to investment TO sta
Billie the finances of the railroads.
There appears to be a general feeling
of relief over the fact that the rail
roads are passing from the predica-
ment which made it necessary for
them to be kept by the government,
which assumed the burden of Sup
port" which it in turn collected from
the taxpayers. The new arrangement
that has been worked out through
congress and the different federal and
state commissions, has re-established
the stability Cf our transportation sys-
tenn, which has been in the throes of
many hard struggles for more than a
dozen years.
In June, 1914, the loans and dis
counts of all national banks aggre-
gated $G,43O, 069, 900. Today more than
$12, 600, 600, 900 represents the bank
loans. which have grown over $4,000
600 600 in the past year. Thus it ap-
pears that there has been a perfect
riot of money filling peoples pockets,
and a large part of it has represented
BORROWINGS" Liberty bonds have
furnished the necessary security for
a greet deal Of this.
Expansion and Imitation" are
thus traced to the banks and their
operations, and since this way of get
ting easy money has necessarily
about run its course, there are tens
of thousands Of people who must get
back to work. The sooner this period
gets under full swing just that much
quicker will the country begin max
ing UP for all its lost construction Of
war time. Gradually it appears to be
dawning upon the entire population
that shorter hours and longer spend
ing is no the true road to industrial
and economic prosperity and progress.
An old truism worked over might be
made to read: "a part of the peo-
pie can fool themselves a part of the
time, but all the people can't fool
themselves all of the time" and for
that reason the population will have
to return to the old-time custom of
working for their daily bread.
A representative of the national
federation of federal employees has
issued a statement to the effect that
1000 employees have been dropped
from the swollen war lists of the gov
eminent. At the same time purely
partisan claims are being made that
great numbers of unnecessary clerks
are employed in the government.