The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1921-05-24
IS
gNUP GRADE
SAYSRQlVER.
Secretary Of Commerce
Declares America Has !
Il Turned Corner

BY u. N. RlcKEY.
WASHINGTON; May Al am
convinced that we have tnndalnen.
tally turned the corner n
This was the! answer OF Secretary
Of Commerce Hoover TO my ques:
ton: ...Afe things going TO be bet.
ter or worse industrially In Ameri-,
CAT" X.
Because OF his knowledge Of Eu-
ropean conditions. as well as the in.
innate touch with American busl.
ness which his position gives him,
Hoover IL probably as well II NOT
better qualified than any man In
America In or out of office TO dis.
ctiss present conditions and future
possibilities.
Continuing, Hoover said: at
would be foolish not to aeknowl.
edge frankly that we are In the
midst Of great economic Difficult.
ties. But It is infinitely more fool:
lish for anyone to think, we will moi
grow out OF them.
I'm some ways the situation is
more difficult than that following
the Civil War, because today our
economic machinery is more intrI-
cate and less easy to adjust. Also
we are dealing with a world sitiia-
ton and not domestic situation
alone.
Great as our difficulties have
been and are, we have much upon
which to congratulate ourselves.
For the first time In our history we
have passed safely through a COM
modify crisis without monetary
panic. For this we may thank the
federal reserve system, which made
this possible.
although we seem to have turn.
ed the corner, there are many read.
justments to complete. Part OF the
bitterness Of the situation arises
from the Inequalities In the progress
of these readjustin In different
walks OF life and different branches
OF industry.
Much Of this readjnstment can
be accomplished only with time and
patience. Economics of hard times
produce savings and greater en-.
deavor. Shrinkage in values Yields
more free capital. These savings
In time fertilize the soil for upward
progress.r
what are the chief impediments
to smooth movement OF readjust.
ments?", asked Hoover.
There are many impediments., Z,
was the answer, "and everyone will
set a different value and import:
ance upon each Of them.
Among those daily enumerated
are badly adjusted railway rates,
excessive and badly adjusted taxes,
insufficient taritt, high wages, hish
profits, high interest, restriction on
effort by labor and a dozen Others,
while our domestic recuperation is
sadly interlockedi with the recovery
Of Europe,
Parity Of Levels.
ut Is necessary that we approach
a parity OF levels in profits, prices
and wages in different industries.
Some groups are able to put up
stronger resistance to reduction OF
economic levels than others.
For instance, this resistance
against lower levels in the services
and commodities that the farmer
must buy In the face OF his very
much lower returns Is digging q
grave Of unemployment for the
other industries.
isn't there a great lesson to be
drawn from this situation y ask.
ed.
There IS" was the emphatic an
swer. mo greater lesson can be
brought home to our people than
that we must not only get but give
quid pro quo in service.
No particular economic fraction
OF our population can long continue
securing tover.adyantage without
disaster, to itself and the commu.
nifty. 81 4,
"our whole economic and moral
problem, indeed our safety, our
satisfaction and our happiness are
l hN-ssSaSSN NRSA4 OuL "a RSbAG6 VI
basic fundamental in business deal,
ings."
Signs Of Readlustment.
What are some OF the. encourag
ing signs in the readjustment?r /
asked.
There are many" was the an
swer. Many manufacturers and
wholesalers are making cuts IN
their inventories that equal or ex,
coed the increases when we were
on the upgrade. They are passing
their savings in raw material and
labor on to the next step in distri-
button.
Economically, the retailer Is Of
necessity the last OF the chain ID
make reimbursement and In some 10.
calites and some lines he has been
less responsive to the necessity Of
this rsadjustmept than the sNua.
ton calls for. b
The processes Of competition