The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram., 1921-09-07
BY MARK SULLIVAN

WASHINGTON, D. c., Sept. Tn
his speech made in Cleveland Tuesday
night Will Hayes, postmaster general,
closed a review of the progress made
by the administration in the direction
of back to normalcy" with the follow
ing words: Altogether, we look to
the future with great hope The fact
is, of course, that there is ahead the
greatest era of expansion and prosper
ity the world has ever seen. Every
one knows this and the only question
discussed is when it will start"
The last few words of this are lit
tie cryptic, but undoubtedly it reflects
the expectation held among the high
est authorities in the administration
competent to judge of such matters,
to the effect in business sense the
country has turned the corner and
that an upward swing can be expect
ed within reasonably near future.
Pendulum Going Other Way.
In some of the best qualified quar-
ters this expectation is held in the
very terms in which Mr.. Hayes has
expressed it. They believe the era OF
expansion will reach as far upward as
the recent depression reached down
ward, and that the volume if not the
suddenness of the coming prosperity
will be equal to that of the recent
slump.
On the same day as Mr.Hayes
/ speech, the head of the War Financers
| corporation, Eugene Meyer, Jr., gave
out statement which although more
cautious than Mr.. Hayes, pointed in
| the same direction. He said that the
recent rise in the price OF cotton has
added something over three hundred
million dollars to the going value" ol
the south and has restored solvency tc
many banks individuals, and CONNER
cial concerns in that section which {
few months ago would have been un
able TO liquidate for enough to NEE
their liabilities.
South to Become Buyer
Mr.. Meyer went on to say that thl:
improvement in the south means res
toration of business activity in buying
| as well as in selling 1t means a gen
eral improvement of all kinds o
business in the south and an increas
in railroad earnings which depend ol
the general business.
i To the north and west it is equall
important because the 30,000,000 pee
pie who compose the population O
the thirteen southern cotton state
normally are big consumers of cor
and hog products of the central west
of the shoes and clothing that ar
made from the hides and wool of tn
northwest. of furniture, of automc
biles, of fertilizer. of agricultural in
} plements, of manufacturing goods G
all kinds"
In all this Mr. Meyer takes pride, a
managing director of the War Financ
corporation. He is one of the sma
group of governmental officials VIII
are most directly concerned wit
bringing about the return to no
malcy" in a business sense.
Undoubtedly, the operations of th
War Finance corporation have bee
the largest immediate force in wins
: has happened in the south. But will
out denying the almost surely correC
theory that the country has passe
the worst, it will be useful to analyz
exactly what has happened
Such an analysis, while not destro,
ing hopes in reason, may help to say
US from flying into an excess of opt
mism only less harmful than the e.
cess of pessimism of the past year an
half.
Crop Report Raises Cotton
In the first place one large facto
: in the increased price of cotton is a.
. mittedly the government crop repo
4 which showed an expectation of
d trifle less than half the normal GRO
, However, such a report may hay