Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-09-08

Washington, Sept. 5.-American citi-
IONS who come to Washington in the
government service, whether to elective
offices, such as those of senator ana
representative in congress, or 10 up
pointiye offices, learn q great deai
about practical business metnods anu
finance. The government is so closeiy
allied with business that the Servants
of the government are thrown into
close contact with the great business
machine. 1919 ;
These officials may be divided INTO
two groups, differentiated by the tnlnsS
which they learn concerning natiohat
business affairs. One group is thaI
which learns from the tipsters
lobbyists. This groups members may
be subdivided into those who go nome
broke and those who 60 nome rlch'
the former sa3de- but wis-- men. the
latter often with occasional pricks from
| their consciences. The other general
group is composed of those who Apply
| themselves to a scientific study OF the
! information which their functions ie-
! ultimately bring before them. Inese
usually stay out of business entlrely
or 20 into it in a manner SO cautious
that they are successful.
In every group of men, whether me-
are ditch diggers or statesmen mere
will be found some susceptible to the
Wallingford call Of get rich quick. Inc
halls of congress and the anterooms
of executive offices of the government
will have just as many lobbyists ana
sure-thing men in them as feel they
will find a welcome. The number OF
both elective and a%ppointive officials
who do welcome such parasites has
been growing fewer and fewer every
year, but there are some left.
The lobbyist who seeks to curry
favor with a member of either house or
senate frequently will give him tips on
the stock market. Not i~ntrequentiy
these statesmen act upon such informa-
ton. Sometimes the tips are good.
More often they are not. But 1t is
a part of human frailty that the gam
bling temperament never loses hope
and so tips continue to be taken and
acted upon. There have been not a
few instances of country lawyers, doc
tors, storekeepers or armers VINO
have come to Washington and been be-
guiled by the lobbyists and the smooth
confidence man. Most of these &c
home like shorn lambs.
What Wise Ones Can Do
The other group is the careful ano
conservative one-the scientific stud
| pILS OIL bCouOlulC dlldIISs IOboGAi
there is no place in the world where
so much information is available con.
corning the economic status not only
of this nation but of the nations of al
the world, as in Washington. This in
|, formation is available to everyone, bu
the men who come to Washington hav'
it thrust under their very noses, while
those absent must send for it.
The wise ones at Washington stud.
these data. They can obtain reports
, of utmost value from the department o
commerce, the treasury department
! federal reserve board, department o
, agriculture, interstate commerce com
mission. federal trade commission an,
many other sources. This information
! is open to anyone.
! A good case in point may be cited
! A year ago reports received and mad
public by the department of agricul
! ture showed what the indications woul
be for crops of cotton, not only in thi
s country but in the whole world, 70
U the coming year. Reports of the cen
, sus bureau showed the rate of Ameri
7 can consumption and reports of tn
bureau of foreign and domestic com
merce showed the rate of consumptio
: in the textile mills of Belgium. Eng
land, France, Germany and the Orien'
as well as in all other countries. \
single report would mean a great dea
But the man who took all these re
ports and studied them learned that
{ was as inevitable as the succession c
night and day that the price of cotto
would rise. Everyone knows that tn
price of cotton-last fall a dirt-chea
0 bargain-has risen notably.
The students among the Washin,
ton officials who were able to tai
y lie has a right to look for flu,