Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1921-04-21
HOLDS AUDIENCE
OVER TWO HOURS
F. E. Herring, PROMINENT
EAGLE, GIVES GOOD
LECTURE

ing faith in our existing civic inSti- |
buttons and the proper use of the ballot |
as means of remedying the evils of
discomfort and economic depression,
Frank E. Herring, past national presi- |
dent of the Fraternal Order of Eagles,
and one of the leading economic au-
thorities of the country, spoke to an
intensely interested audience for over
two hours last Monday evening at the
Presbyterian church The speaker is
editor of the, Eagles magazine and is
at present engaged in a series of lee
lures throughout the country in which
he discusses the causes and remedies
of the present economic depression,
which, he declares, has reached it's
worst stages and is now taking a
course for the better.
Post War Contrast
Mr.. Herring contrasted the post war
condition of the United States with
that OF western Europe, showing how
much better our country is placed in
regard to wealth and resources than
any of our allies. He reviewed the
conditions of the national debt, tracing
its enormous growth druing the period
of the war, declaring that the payment
of this debt was not possible within
the present generation. But this debt
is no cause for disaster. There will
be no financial panic in the United
States. Our federal reserve system is
the bulwark and safeguard of our fl
nancial system, but it will require the
cooperation of all branches of indus
try, looking the situation squarely in
the face and taking their individual
losses together to bring the country
back to normal condition.
The present depression was un-
avoidable. 1t affects all industries,
agriculture as well as manufacturing.
The farmers of Iowa are selling corn
at thirty cents a bushel and wheat at
$110 How does this affect those far
mers who still have some of their last
years crop, grown at 1920 costs?
They face loss which they must take
as well as the farmers of Iowa who
are selling below cost, The fruit
growers of California are considering
whether they shall pass up this years
crop entirely so that they may dispose
of the stock still on hand when the
accumulation shall have been used up.
The cotton growers of the south are
being urged to diversity their crops so
that they will not be dependent upon
cotto alone, of which there is an over
supply on hand The cotton and wool
| manufacturing industries of the east
have shut down until consumption
shall have caught up with production.
Oyer-PrOductiOn Cause
The direct cause of all this was
production The country is pro-
ducing in eight months enough to sup
ply it's needs for whole year. The
surplus accumulates and industry suf-
fers from a showdown when the &C
emulation becomes large. The logi-
cal procedure is to dispose Of this
! surplus, but where? Europe cannot
buy of us at the present rates of for
| eign exchange. We will not accept
| her paper money and she has not
enough gold to stabilize her own mo-
notary system Therefore Europe will
buy of Germony and of Russia with
whom she can trade to advantage.
| The speaker called attention to the
possible markets in the far east, the
/ Chinese as an instance. Those races,
/ however. are not educated to the use
of the products we manufacture. He
said that the only chance of developing
market in that quarter is to do as
Holland has done in Java, process of
educating the people to the point
where we can sell to them our pro-
duce.
'"The present age is the age of in
! yention and it brings with it pro-
blems that are serious" said Mr. Her
ing. about forty or fifty years ago
the present factory system was start
/ ed. Then large industrial centers
were unknown, factories and indus
tries employing thousands of workers
did not exist. The application of
steam and electricity have brought
] this about, the development of the
railroads allowed transportation OF
raw materials and the concentration
of labor.
"All this development has been very
/ rapid; it took four thousand years to
] develope the wagon to it's highest state
/ and in fifty years the automobile has
arisen to practically supplant the wa
/ gon Rapid development was en-
/ HANGED during the war. There was a
great call for materials, and industry
speeded up to supply this call. We
were producing more than we could
use, but Europe took the surplus
Then in 1920 we struck snag; Eu-
rope stopped buying"
Stop Immigration
AS one of the remedies, the speaker
suggested stopping much of the pre-
sent flood of immigrants. There are
now about six men for every five jobs
in the country and the incoming peo
pie crowd to the industrial centers ag.
gravate the situation. He also sug
gested that il the country could lent
Europe ten billions, it could lend here
in the country itself another ten bill
lions that would bring results. There
are great un1eveloped areasthat coulC
be made productive BY irrigation ant
Che employment of men at this ant
the construction of great nationa
highways would enable adjustment Of
the wage situation and the building III
of wealth for the nation. Our country
is rich in raw materials and Europe
possesses cheap labor. An arrange
ment whereby Europe would be en-
abled to work up raw materials tina
~. tl Alr Il. IA.