The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-04-18
SEEN
AS THREAT Of
DISASTER
General Marshall Urges Bust
ness Conference to Con-
slider Rising Costs.

This Is the second of taOO ar
ticIes on the dangers IN the
present business situation as seen
by General Marshall, tV1so 1UGs
chief of the construction division,
U. S. Army, during the aOorLd SOGr.
By Brig. Gen. r. G. MARSHALL, Jr.
General Manager Associated General
Contractors Of America.
written. Expressly for Cosmopolitan
News Service. Copyright, 1929
Initiation in nearly every branch Of
trade and Industry is apparent from
reports coming to me from all over
the country. Factories are operat-
while building for the year, to date,
has registered new high records in
almost every section Of the United
States.
The productive and distributing
activity Of the industrial elements Of
the country is very near its capacity.
1t has already overtaxed our ordi-
nary transportation facilities and,
in many departments of industry,
has caused shortage OF labor.
AS a result, the general level or
commodity prices has risen about IL
per cent and construction costs have
mounted from 1875 to 190-more than
Is per cent in a year.
Bursting Of Bubble Due.
This condition has been described
by financiers and others as highly
encouraging situation"
But. is such condition a highly
encouraging situation?" What
lesson have we drawn from 1919
1920, during which period we turned
from an adverse business condition
into just such an era of boom times
by q much similar process?
If economic and business cycles
have the same causes, then the re.
suits will automatically be the same.
Therefore, If we expand too much
and too rapidly at this time, as we
did in the years mentioned, from
q similar cause, then / take it we
are due, later on, for a bursting
|of the bubble.
unprecedented activity in build
ing in cities throughout the
United States" is one of the re.
ports I get. I believe building" to
mercial conditions.
With costs mounting in every
direction; with the purchasing
power of the overwhelming ma
jority of the people almost defin-
itely fixed, where is, it to end?
FayOrs Business Conference.
I don't think we ought to wait
until it is necessary to call the
coroner. believe we should take
preventative measures, by getting
together in a business conference
and planning to steer our ship
safely through the fog of business
uncertainty and away from the
shoals of business disaster.
What could such conference do?
What If 1t would do nothing but
"talk?" In any event, by talking
together, the best brains of the
country could make their views
known, and the public would be
informed as to what they think.
What are the elements in the
present situation which ought to be
thoroughly aired and acted upon?
Peril In Rising Costs.
To my mind, some of the ex'
tremely important matters to be
considered are the causes of the
present too high and continually
increasing cost of living, and the
relationship of wages and rent to
that phase of our national life; the
tariff and it's influence upon the
cost Of living; our gold supply and
our credit policy as set forth by the
Federal Reserve Board, and the
control of the fundamental necessi-
ties of life by the closely allied big
interests.
These and other formidable ques.
tons must be threshed out and
understood. and when an under.
standing of the causes of our
present condition Is reached, then
we can sanely influence the results.