Norwich bulletin., 1920-09-18

Speaking at banquet in New York Friday night Francis H. Sisson, vice president of the Guaranty Trust Com pany of New York said in part as fol- lows:
 we are entering the second stage of our postwar transition period. The mo- mentum of economic forces generated and accelerated by the war in rapidly ex- pending itself as is evidenced by the les sening of industrial activities in many lines. Imitation has been arrested the era of extravagant expenditure is end ing; devastated Europe is again begin ming to produce, as is attested by the ris- ing tide of imports. And we are facing a period of unsettled conditions, even more critical in some respects than that through which we have just passed
 There seems to be every indication that the peak of high prices in commodi- ties generally has been passed, and that the process of readjustment to lower and normal levels is under way.
 But manufacturers and dealers who are endeavoring to sustain prices by arti- ficial means are merely emulating King Canute-only they are forbidding the tide to recede and they should remember that tide and time wait for no man. They are trying to do that which bureau 
 vainly to accomplish during the war by ment-the suspension of the operation of economic laws. It is as foolhardy as defying the law of gravitation.
 Summing up the whole commercial situation, we must either climb down or fall down from the peak reached by war demand and war imitation, and the jour ney downward is already under way. Some of us will be more rapid than others and some will experience greater | suffering than others, but down we must | all go until a new and more solid level is reached. The business man who blinds | himself to the facts and refuses to face
 the issue will simply be postponing his own day of reckoning and will deceive himself to his own disadvantage.
 | There is another important element
 to consider. Within a few years we have acquired very large merchant fleet We must keep it profitably em-
 ployed, The terms of the shipping bill
 recently passed by congress commit us
 definitely to an aggressive policy in the
 use of this new fleet And it is a source
 of qualification to not that American
 ships today carry 60 per cent of our
 ocean-borne foreign trade.
 'We must further develop our mer- chant marine and see that it operates in private hands under sound laws. in order I to facilitate the development of our for
 eign commerce and the maintenance of
 our. national prosperity
 There is no longer any question about the imperative need for repeating the ex-
 cess profits tax or of the practically uni versal demand from all substantial busi- ness interests for such action.
 Even more vital than the reforming or our tax laws, however, is the trans portation situation. The railroads have rightfully been returned to their owners
 under provisions for ample government supervision and fair treatment to the car | riers as regards rates. But these favor able factors cannot immediately restore the credit of the railroads, and they can not supply at once the freight cars, en
 zines, and terminal facilities so impera lively needed today There is only one way, in fact to overcome the seriou: handicaps confronting the carriers. ant that is by the full cooperation of rail way managers. railway employees, ship pers, and the public Only thus can WV
 obtain greater transportation service
 and we must have such service.
 '"The war eurtailed railroads growth
 so that today there are not enougl
 tracks and trains to carry the tonnag Ol lIlS lTy-uIlleSS tnS LldndSSTS dIlt
 men, and shippers and receivers O } freight cooperate to utilize present equip ment to better advantage. Heavier load ing and accelerated movement of car
 will produce more ton-miles. And nor : ton-miles are sorely needed now } Better railroad operating efficiency l largely matter of the better use O r freight cars. which means keeping tn ? cars well loaded and moving
 5 But there is involved in the railroa { problem a far greater issue than eve s that of adequate and efficient transports 9 tion. I refer to the issue of private owr l ership of property.
 "We have been through the throes ( T government peration-virtually goverr ] ment ownership-of the railroads. Ths r was justified as war eXpedient bI y l the people of this country. I venture, wi e long remember the inconvenience and u = colossal expense of that experiment. Bl j. in this critical transition period, with i = ferment of sociological discomfort follow '- ing a natural phenomenon the violel 3 psychological reactions of the var, tT Il danger lies in resort to extreme measur e as possible panaceas for our econom $ ills. We must guard against untra-rad