The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1921-03-12
BUSINESS Is SICK.
BY Charles E. Carpenter


Business in general is like unto
patient who, because of riotous living
has been compelled to undergo an op
Grafton for appendicitis.
The operation has been successful
the patient has withstood the SHOCK
wonderfully, but is very weak. Upor
the care he gives himself and upon
the watchfulness and careful nursing
he receives during this convalescent
period depend the speediness of his
return to normal health, and, in fact,
whether he will not have a relapse or
become a permanent invalid. He
should, above all, not overtax his de-
creased strength, or be allowed to do
so. -~.,
hear, roundabout, much so-called
optimistic talk of starting everything
UP with a BOOM" This isn't optimism
it is merely stupid Ignorance. 1t was
booms that necessitated the operation
and the patient is not physically able
to indulge in any. such revels, and
won't be for awhile yet,
The patients relatives, friends, de-
pendents and nurses must remember
that he needs delicate n~ourishment,
and that rich food, artificial stimu-
lants, excessive medication, will be
deleterious to him in his weakened
condition. He does not need doctors
now; his only physician now must be
nature, who will heal him and restore
him to his former health if not inter
tered with. Above all, no quack rem
edies should be administered to him,
lest they produce a "cure" that is
worse than the disease. y
An ingenious chap wrote to me sug-
costing that everyone begin at once to
make inquiries" for such products as
they regularly buy. The idea is that,
if l make an inquiry of twenty sources
for prices on one thousand barrel lots
of oil, it will spread abroad the i'm
preston that there is a market for
twenty thousand barrels of oil, which
impression will have an %enlivening eff
feet on trade like a shot from a hypo-
dermic. The reasoning OF my ingen-
ius friend is that if this is done judi
ciously in all lines of commodities,
business will soon be booming.
Marvellous idea, I must say, and it
would NO doubt make the patient leap
from bed like a well man, but he would
soon be back again, with a condition
of artificial high prices such as neces-
STATED the original operation.
The patient must not be stimulated
artificially. We as careful nurses, do
not want him to leave his bed at once
and go out-we want him to recuper-
ate naturally, and by gradual stages
the health which will enable
him to finally get UP and go about his
pre-operation pursuits.
AS one who has suffered a substan-
tial loss because of depreciation of
merchandise, l would warn everyone
that there are things much more i'm
portant for the return of business tt a
healthy condition than the creation of
an artificial imitation of prices that
will enable those who suffered from
depreciation to recover the loss.
The public complained until it ob-
tanned low prices-now it is complain
mo hnpaJ1cn npionc orn lAw Onao
more there is proof that the public sell
dom knows what is really wants.
The best business man is the one
who takes unperturbed a loss that he
has seen is inevitable-and forgets it.
If business is going to be dosed with
all kinds of nostrums that offer, by
imitation, to regain what was lost on
merchandise inventories by defation-
then business is in for a long siege.
The things to do are to forget the
loss-but remember what caused it
to start a new deal-to avoid fixing
u standards for comparison (now
that times are NORMALLY upon a war
basis or the artificial basis of the inn
mediate post-armistice period.
If we have made fools of ourselves,
let's admit it and profit by our exper-
fence, rather than try to save our
faces and cause detriment to all.
How much business did you do in
1914?