The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1921-02-04
VIEWS OF LAY MEN

Don't Blame Capitol For the Indus.
trial Ills.

The Free Press: In my daily contact
with people l find that there is a
feeling among a great, many that the
present period of lower prices, UNI
, employment, and depression has been
brought on by our capitlistic class
that is Wall Street and the boards OF
trade.
One of the greatest mistakes chat
we as a people can make is to blame
capitalism for all our troubles. The
truth of the matter is that we-a ma
ton OF one hundred ten million of
people-and the world consisting Of
many hundreds of million more, make
conditions and not the capitalists.
They are simply part OF our organi-
zation and can no more control things
than you or l can control the prices
of any commodity.
A few weeks ago published short
article, bringing out the fact that we
needed greater religion and a
greater love for work and accomplish
ment; and brought out also that our
troubles would be short lived as we
had plenty to eat and that we could
have really no hard times in the true
sense of the word. Mr. Frank
Brooks made a friendly criticism of
my statement, claiming that people
were making more money both the
farmer and manufacturer and merch-
ant when they had a smaller quantity
Of merchandise than there was de-
mand for. That may be quite true for
short length of time, and is brought
on by economic conditions, but is not
at all what l call prosperity.
The wealth of a nation is never
governed by shortages OF supply. on
the contrary our wealth consists in
what we have and what we produce,
and not in the amount Of money we
have in circulation.
We are hearing grave complaints
| by the farming element and by manu-
facturers and retailers of the exees-
sive drop in the prices of their com
modities. The farmer is blaming it
onto the boards OF trade and capital
ism and the retailer and manufactur-
er are blaming it unto everyone; when
the truth OF the matter is that any
| far sighted man could have seen
months ago that the prices could not
continue and that heavy drop was
| inevitable.
! AS a merchant and businessman
it has been evident to me that the
/ higher the prices went the less there
was being consumed.
J We must not lose track of the fact
that the income of one third of our
people during the war imitation period
was not keeping Up with the prizes
In the cost OF living in other words,
the incomes Of one third of our pu-
bile, while increasing probably 30
per cot above the prewar level,
we.e being screwed tighter every day
! that the cost of living went up one
notch, and as result they had to
/ curtail their purchases on those
| things which were not absolutely ne
ycessary, and even curtail their pur-
chases of what many considered
daily necessities, such as sugar, fruits
and even bread and butter. While
grooming under the. load and was
suffering. the other two thirds of the
population were reaping a harvest.
Speculation was rife people were buy
ing automobiles right and left, buy.
! ing Injuries, without any considera
ton for the future; and instead of
saving this extra money they were
getting, they were spending it.
How many hundreds of our farmers
right. around Mankato were offered
$3.50 to 81 for their corn and refused
this price, holding for higher figures?
! How many merchants in our neigh
borhood were carrying heavy stocks
/ with the feeling that the public was
going to buy at any price? How
many of our laboring men especially
/ in the eastern parts OF the country,
were striking, not only for more pay
but less work, forgetting the fact
that money is valueless unless there
| are things to buy with it?
During this period of speculation
and selfishness money was made easy
| by the feeling that everyone could
get it-that all he had to do was to
go to the bank and borrow it-and
the bank would get all the money that
| 1t would need from the federal re-
serve banks. Instead of paying up
their debts they were mourning still
/ greater ones with the result that
! when the crash came in prices the
banks were tied up with loans for
farming purposes and mercantile
/ purposes, half of which was incurred
with the object of holding merchan
disc and raw products from the mar
/ ket. 1t is this part of/our population
who are feeling the pinch heavily to-
day, and in my opinion they deserve
1t.
| The great workings of economic
law are governed by force greater
than any force that man can empow
er, and it is Gods way of adjusting
any inequalities. These periods are
blessings in disguise because they
make people realize tndL SeluSnneSS
and a desire to get everything for
| themselves does not always pay. We
must live and let live and not lose
! track Of the fact that we are all a
part of the world and are simply a
cog in the great wheel, and that any
class that ever tries to get any ad-
: vantage above others to their person
al interest, forgetting the rest of the
people, will eventually pay the penal
ty. 1t is Gods way and there is no
| earthly law that can prevent it.
! We have no real overproduction of
merchandise today because the word
overproduction is only, relative. A
hundred pounds of sugar in a com
munity is too much for that commun
ity If that sugar be 800 a pound,
while one thousand pounds Of the
same sugar at 10 cents a pound would
not be sufficient to supply the de-
lmand.
This is no time to be pessimistic
because commodities are reaching a
level whereby 100 per cent of our
people will be able to buy instead of
IS per cent. In fact we feel that
bottom and that within a short time
they will rise to harmonic more
with the general level. Among this
many commodities have seen their
class may be included raw products