New-York tribune., 1921-01-20
National Thrift
Week
Let this be the Inaugural Week
of a 52-Week Campaign of
Prosperity Building.

TO be on the boom as 1t never had been before Ia
tail buying was so abnormal to be unprecedented
COMMODITY prices were at or near maximum. We
wondered how we were ever going to build enough
houses to shelter all of our people There did not
seem to be enough labor to keep the ordinary ma
chnery going to supply the needs of routine.
All of this is changed now
We have all had our troubles-everybodv from
the big corporation to the small merchant
Only yesterday saw in the newspapers that the
Pennsylvania Railroad Co. had to cut their enlplov.
ment to five days per week.
Even those of us whose business had nothing to
do with work and who thought we were merely
spectators found ourselves plunged into the whir-
pool.
Speaking fguratively. some of us were in a
crowded grandstand which collapsed.
Some of us were kicked down the stairs
Some of us were thrown out of the window.
Some of US don't know yet whether we have
reached the street level, by what route we are
going to get there.
And of us don't know whether we are 90.
ing to be able to choose our route of descent or
whether some unforeseen happening will select it
for u.s.
But after all, did you imagine that there
could be such let down and yet so little real
damage done?
We may not all be down to the street level yet
but we can't have much further to go-and in most
cases we will have a chance to walk down stairs
rather than be pushed out of window.
We know that many commodity prices have gone
below the cost of production and sooner or later
they are bound to come back.
We know that investment securities dragged
down int the sub-cellar, but gradually and
surely coming back We know that speculative
securities dragged down unbelievable levels
and that in spite of the fact that many of the
most experienced heads believed long ago that these
securities had reached levels that must inevitably
produce panic that no power could stop-and yet
they have literally bounded back to much higher
levels.
We know that relief has come within few
weeks to our banking situation that most bankers
would not have dared to expect in an equal number
Of months.
All Of which means that the inherent soundness
industrial and mercantile institutions have been
subjected to the test of a storm of such severity
that nothing like it will probably again be ex-
perlenced-and in spite of the severity Of the storm
no serious damage has been done.
Well, we know now that we were in an unreal
period a year ago; and will know year from
today that we were in an unreal period today.
Retail buying has fallen off until many merchants
are as apprehensive about the future as rnanv
Wall Str ,et people month ago Some com.
modltles are at the lowest price of all history Va
cant houses to be found here and there in every
neghborhood. Not only is there plenty of labor
to be had but there hundreds of thousands of
men out of employment.
Now let's stop and think minute. There were
plenty Of black clouds in the sky year ago but
OF bright spots in the sky today but some of us are
not trying to see them-and there is not single
cloud IN the sky today that has not silver lining
A year ago we faced wave of radicalisn that an
overstralned labor market had crystalized into an
ever present menace.
Today we suffer from wave of crime largely
accentuated by unemployment and are threatened
with radicalisn of type which is sure to spring
from long period of unemployment.
But there is to have long period Of
unemployment
year ago we had not the time to listen to wise
counsel.
Today we will give careful thought to any earnest
We can make many of our apparent troubles solve
each other.
wisdom, caution and determination are becorn-
ing as much the order of today as intolerance and
recklessnesS was the order of the day which brought
about our present situation
therefore many of us believe that Thrift and In
vestment is the answer. / will try to tell YOU some
OF the reasons why tomorrow.
In the meantime try and name if YOU cam
single problem that this country faces that would
not be entirely solved greatly simpified if we
could make everybody thrifty and get them to in
yhnf fhnxyc0 .,4 IT,