The New York herald., 1921-01-20
National Thrift
Week
Let this be the Inaugural Week
of 52-Week Campaign of
Prosperity Building.


will read it.
But little more than year ago business seemed
to be the boom as it never had been before Re-
tail buying abnormal as to be unprecedented.
Commodity pfices at near maximum. We
wondered how going to build enough
houses to shelter all of people. There did not
seem to be enough labor to keep the ordinary ma
chinery going to supply the needs OF routine
All of this is changed
We have all had our troubles-everybody from
the big corporation to the small merchant.
Only yesterday in the newspapers that the
Pennsylvania Railroad Co. had to cut their
poyment to five days per week.
Even those of us whose business had nothing to
do with war work and who thought merely
spectators found ourselves plunged into the whirl
pool.
Speaking hguratively, some of us were In
crowded grandstand which collapsed.
Some of us were kicked down the stairs.
Some of us were thrown out of the window.
Some of us don't know yet whether we have
reached the street level, or by what route we are
going to get there.
And some of us don't know whether we arc 60
ing to be able to choose our route OF descent or
whether some unforeseen happening will select It
for U.S.
But after all, did you ever imagine that there
could be such a let down and yet little real
damage done?
We may not all be down to the street level yet,
but we can't have much further to go-and in most
cases we will have chance to walk down stairs
rather than be pushed out of window.
We know that many commodity prices have gone
below the cost of production, and sooner or later
they bound to come back.
We know that investment securities
dragged down into the sub-cellar, but gradually
and surely coming back. We know that speculative
securities were dragged down unbelievable levels
and that in spite of the fact that many of the
most experienced heads believed long ago that
these securities had reached levels that must in
cvtably produce a panic that power could stop
and yet they haye literally bounded back to much
higher levels.
We know that relief has come within few
weeks to our banking situation that most bankers
would not have dared to expect in equal number
of months.
All of which means that the inherent soundncss
of financial system and institutions, and our
industrial and mercantile institutions have been
subjected to the of a storm of such severity
that nothing like it will probably again be ex
perienced-and in spite of the severity of the storm
serious damage has been done.
WE'LL we know now that we were in an unreal
period year ago; and will know year from
today that were in an unreal period today.
Retail buying has fallen off until many merchants
are as apprehensive about the future many
Wall Street people were month ago. Some COM
modites at the lowest price of all history, Va
cant houses to be found here and there in every
neghborhood. Not only is there plenty of labor
to be had, but there hundreds of thousands OF
men out of employment.
Now let's stop and think minute. There were
plenty of black clouds in the sky year ago but
we not trying to sec them. There are plenty
of bright spots in the sky today but some of
not trying to them-and there is not single
cloud in the sky today that has not silver lining.
year ago we faced a wave of radcasm that
overstrained labor market had crystallized into an
present menace.
Today we suffer from of crime largely
accentuated by unemployment and threatened
with radicalism of type which is sure to spring
from long period of unemployment
But there is no reason to have long period of
unemployment.
A year ago we had not the time to listen to wise
counsel.
Today we will give careful thought to any
earnest man.
We can make many of our apparent troubles
solve each other.
Wisdom, caution and determination becor-
recklessness was the order of the day which
brought about our present situation
Therefore many of us believe that Thrift and In
vestnent is the will try to tell you some
of the reasons why tomorrow.
In the meantime try and name, If you can
single problem that this country faces that would
not be entirely solved greatly simplihed, If we
could make everybody thrifty and get them to In
vest what they In the mercantile and in
dustrial institutions that not only furnish with