Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1922-06-01
BABSON SAYS
Business Men Should
Cheer Up

Wellesley Hills, Mass, Mas- 90
'Talk about musicians and actors be
ing experimental They cannot
beat the average business man who is
up today and down tomorrow. With
in a period of sixty days he will be
a pessimist, an optimist, and back
again to a pessimist, when all the
time nature is slowly but surely fol-
lowing its natural course, said Roger
w. Babson in his weekly interview ON
business conditions.
{" A year ago business men were very
pessimistic; then came a temporary
upturn in business and following the
lead of certain federal officials and
prosperity boomers, they became opti-
mlstlc. Since, however, these prosper
lty forecasts have not matured, they
are again down in the dumps. How
long will it take us to lAarn that presi-
dents don t make business, but rather
business makes presidentsq It is
true that conditions are dull at the
present time partly on account OF the
late wet spring, partly. due TO the
floods of the south partly due to the
strikes in New England and New
York state, and partly due to the
upset conditions in Europe. When,
however, business is looked upon from
a long range it will be seen that it is
passing through only a natural read
justment which takes always consid-
cradle time. I stated more than two
years ago that no permanent improve
ment could be expected before August,
1922, and ! still feel that way. Even
after the corner turns in the summer
Or fall of this year, it will be slow
although steady climb upward.
FIRST HIT-FIRST RETURN
On the other hand, as all industries
were not hit at the same time, they
will tend to come back at different
times. The industry that was first, hit |
will be the first to come back. This |
was the silk industry and a change
for the better is already in evidence |
The industry which was most suppress
sed during the war will show the
greatest recovery during the next few
years; indeed, it is already recover
ing. | have in mind the building in
dustry. There is marked increase in |
the demand for all building materials
notably lumber, although iron and
steel are sharing in the building boom.
The sales of hardware and paints have
increased. If labor does not become
too hungry for increased wages, this
squirt in new building may develop in !
to a real boom.
"Another industry which should
quickly show better employment is
the automobile industry, especially
the makers of the more expensive
cars. These makers were the first to
be hit and these should be the first
to come back. Following booms in
the stock market the makers of ex-
pensive cars and other semi-luXuries
always experience good business. For
the first time in two years and half,
rubber factories at Akron are adver
Using for help. This same improve
ment in the employment situation is
noticeable also in certain steel cen
ters such as Youngstown, o., and hard
ware centers such as Ansonia, Conn,
where wage increase of fifteen per
cent went into effect May 10.
NATURAL ADJUSTMENT
Commodity prices are likewise adj
usting themselves naturally. Those
products which were first to decline,
such as cotton, sugar and lumber are
showing a hardening tendency, while
,ther products, such as furs, that were
bought by the masses during the war
N great quantities, are showing con-
inued declines.
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