Great Falls tribune., 1921-12-06
CONFIDENCE.

CONFlDENCE.
WYE think it was the late ]. P
NV Morgan who once said that he
had observed that among the spec.
ulators who played the Wall street
game Of betting on the rise and fall
of stocks the bulls made more
money than the bears on the aver
age, and that among the great for
tunes Of the country accumulated in
a generation, most of them casne to
men who had confidence in the
future of the nation, and often in
vested their money in times OF
pessimism when more tirnid capital
was afraid and in hiding. A his
tory of the men who have made
great fortunes would, we believe,
largely confirm the shrewd obser-
vation of the great financier. The
men who triumphed greatly in the
industrial development of the ma
ton were men who dared greatly
because they had confidence in
human nature.
The subject is timely because in
Montana we have had rather long
period of depression in business.
Shrinking values in farm products,
metals, wool and livestock, and
goods on the shelves Of the mer-
chants have added their burden to
business and in some cases wiped
out the equity Of the owner. 1t
all eliminated in few banks over
the state carrying too heavy load
of Indebtedness closing their doors.
In nearly every instance this latter
catastrophe came about not because
the institution was bankrupt, but
because deposits shrank faster than
they could collect in loans, and they
were either closed by the bank ex-
aminer because their cash reserve
was less than the legal percentage
or the directors closed the bank
themselves for the same reason.
Some Of these institutions having
secured new cash reserves have
opened up again. Some are making
plans now to do so. Others are
liquidating as fast as they can. In
the case Of large majority Of the
closed banks the deposits will be
paid in full, and such losses as are
eventually incurred will come to the
stockholders In those banks.
In the midst Of our Civil war
when news Of catastrophe reached
Washington and the cabinet was
feeling blue and discouraged Abra-
ham Lincoln said to them, "This
too will pass, cheer up." He had
confidence in the will Of the people
to conquer and in their resources
to that end. We need the spirit of
Lincoln in the world of business to-
day. We need confidence in the
resources of the nation and the
world to surmount all obstacles.
We need confidence in the will and
the ability of the people to develop
these resources with labor and cap
ital. We need confidence in human
nature. Gentlemen Of Great Falls,
Of Montana, and Of the United
States, this too will pass
Nay more, we believe that we
can use the present tense, and say,
'.it Is passing" There is silver
edge to the lining Of the financial
clouds if you will but look for it.
Even the farmer who was hit first
with falling prices and who has
suffered longest can turn his at
tention to the noble American hen
who cackles proudly these days
with eggs selling at IS cents doz-
en-, price much above the average
in the last ten years. Butter also
is looking up, and few more farm
products, like potatoes, are bring
ing better prices than they did.
Money is getting easier and inter
est rates cheaper, railroad transpor-
tation is increasing and getting
cheaper also in many lines. Non
employment is slowly decreasing,
and the productivity of labor in
creasing under falling wages. That
is so because employment is not SO
easy to find, and those employed
are more anxious to keep their jobs
by doing fair days work in return
for their wage. There are good
many things to cheer us up if we
look for them which will help us
to a spirit Of confidence in our
selves, in our neighbors and in our
country.
And the sooner we get that con-
fidence and manifest it in our acts
The quicker will the country return