Great Falls tribune., 1921-12-21

Boston. Dec. 2O-Speaking to ar
audience of from 5000 to $4,000 peo-
pie from the wireless telephone sta.
! ION at afedford Hillside, Mass, Roger
! ~. Rabson, foremost business stats
tician of America, Monday night de-
livered the first business address ever
given via the radiphone, to the largest
audience which has ever heard bust
! ness talk.
Mr.. Babson spoke on When Shall
We Return to Prosperity" pointing
underlie the prosperity of u nation
and the things which America must dc
to return to sound, healthy business
basis. for the benefit of the business
man and the laboring man alike.
| The talk was sent out from the pow
erful Medford Hillside station of the
American Radio and Research corpor-
alton and was picked up by stations in
all parts of the United States, east of
the Mississippi river, in southern Can
ada and at sea- 1t was estimated that
be was heard by at least $4,000 people
and. as his talk was received by news
papers in all parts of that territory,
it will reach millions of Americans.
On several previous occasions con-
certs and sermons have been delivered
ny D5 "iCiCSS lSIC-
phone, but this is the first occasion
on which a business talk has been
transmitted in this manner.
Sees Upward Trend
Mr.. Babson's address follows:
Economists and some of our So
called business authorities are becom-
ing befuddled by the prevailing pes
simism and are issuing statements to
ixL .fE hat
prove until 1923 or 1924. I should like
to go on record as contradicting such
an opinion. Fundamental conditions
indicate at the present time that the
low point and the turn upward will
arrive in 1922. That you may get a
clear idea of our exact present posi-
ton as basis for the solution of our
problems, shall review briefly the
causes for the present depression.
For eighteen months we have suf-
fered the natural result of wartime
prosperity-we have experienced the
operation of the great law of action
reaction which governs our business
world exactly as 1t governs our scien-
tific and mechanical world, causing
business to travel it's inevitable cycle,
perity, decline, depression and i'm
provement.
I'VE were just coming out of slight
depression when war was declared in
1914 Almost Immediately we were
called upon to feed and munition half
of the world. Business was decidedly
brisk. Prices began to rise under the
keen competition of the buyers. Help
became scarce and so the fear of los
ing a job disappeared and the worker
gradually slackened his pace.
Prosperity Rampant During War
I'm 1917 we entered the great world
war, gradually, three to four million
men were taken out of industry and
put under arms. Orders increased.
patriotic incentive was added to the
natural drive. Our depleted working
forces were called upon to produce
more and more--to work at high speed
and overtime. Wages and prices rose
still higher. At the same time we
were asked not to buy luxuries, on the
ground that even if the material were
not needed, the labor necessary to
manufacture these luxuries was.
"Instead Of spending money we
bought Liberty bonds. and built up a
great reserve purchasing power.
Prices. meantime. became quite un-
bearabIe and everyone looked for
ward to the end of the war as the
day on which we would return to the
good old days. with prices and every
thing else just as they were in 1913
and 1914.
when Armistice day finally came,
however. slight reaction gave way
almost Immediately to the peak of
prosperity such as you have never
seen. Released from the patriotic ne
cessity of working long hours every
one went on holiday and production