New-York tribune., 1921-01-23

publicity colu,,
Wednesday, ia
NATIONAL PROSPERITY
BUREAU
INCORPORATED
Executive Offices, Masonic Building,
NEW YORK Cry.
January 10, 1921.
Mr.. Henry L. Dohcry,
80 WAX Street,
New York City.
Dear Sir:
1t is not singular in these unsettled
business conditions that both the
thrift campaign, of which you are
an eminent exponent and spokesman
and the "buy now" movement, con-
Quoted by the National Prosperity
Bureau, should arouse widespread
interest. While there is much that
is common ground in these efforts,
the impression persists in many quar-
ters that their purposes are antag-
onistic and that your own position in
many respects is contradictory.
We frankly agree with your News
that economy and thrift, under nor
NAL conditions, can and will do much
good; with your contention that the
retailer in many instances is himself
engaged in a buyers strike, and with
your premise that economic conditions
have been in a large measure the
result of extravagant buying. Like
wise, we agree with your conclusions
that many merchants are disinclincd
now to replenish their stores because
of your stated apprehensions.
To be equally frank, we find our
selves not entirely in accord with
your explanations of the causes of
these conditions and with your pro-
posed remedies.
The accepted purpose of the
thrift campaign projected and car
ried on at this time is to induce the
average man to get along with as
little as he possibly can and to take
the balance of his earnings and place
these in Savings Bank, or in an In
surance Company to invest it, or,
himself, to invest it in recommended
investment securities, thus enabling
those institutions to extend credit to
clients.
Wha. these clients, whether they be
railroads, manufacturing industries or
trading concerns, will do with mere
currency and without an outlet for
their commodities, is rather obscure
to US. All the money in the world, if
there is no demand for and consump-
ton of the commodities which labor is
engaged in producing, will not, we
fear, relieve the demoralized situation.
Obviously, then, the thrift program
cannot help US out Of the situation.
The root of the entire evil, be the
cause of it what it may, Is the buy
ers' strike, and the only remedy is a
revival Of a public interest in pur-
chasing.
Whether the public is or i, not
justified in its present apathy is
another question. Some say that the
public strike is justified because the
prices of commodities have not ap~
preciably declined. On the other
hand, the position is taken that the
buyers strike is not justified because
the price Of labor has not equally
appreciably declined.
The public cannot on the one hand
insist on a maintenance of Its pres
ent wage-earning scale and on the
other hand justify its refusal to pur-
chase its needs. In any event, to
look for pre-war prices as criterion
for prices to-day is manIfestly- un-
sound, not only because of the rea-
son just stated, but because of the
additional burden imposed upon all
production by the tremendous war
loans now being carried by business
as part of its general overhead.
We are not justifying high prices.
On the contrary, we consider 1t the
function of all serious men to help
make prices more attractive to the