Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-10-26
IMPOVERISHED Industries.

1t was rather tough break for those
who have been giving vent to hollow
laughter over the alleged existence of
prosperity that at this particular mo-
ment, of all the fine moments in a
year, several of the big business
barometers should be disclosed as reg
istering particularly fine weather, with
little or no humidity and exceptionally
good visibility. The net earnings for
General Motors for nine months, for
instance, have been $240, 534, 6l3-earn-
ings that establish a record for the
period and are greater than in the en-
tire year of 1927. Retail sales of motor
vehicles increased 24.5 per cent and
the total sales for the nine month
period we're greater than those Of the
preceding year. This General Motors
Corporation, by the way, is that same
struggling organization which, with the
able assistance of John j. Raskob. has
made such a valiant fight to keep the
wolf from the door during all the. lean
years that have marked the political
supremacy of the dangerous Republican
party.
Other barometers of prosperity in
clude E. 1. du Pont de Nemours 81 Co.,
whose net income increased about Sc
per cent in the third quarter of 1928
over the corresponding period in 1927;
the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, which
had orders on hand September 80
amounting to $5S,725,6 500 as against
ssh, 761 ,90S for the same date last year,
and which is operating at "a per cent
of capacity, a new record; the By
Products Coke Corporation of Chicago,
whose third-quarter earnings have de-
creased because of the lowest prices for
it's products since 1913; the Wright
Aeronautical Corporation of Dayton,
whose net earnings for the nine-month
period over 1927 have increased from
$648,616 to $1,992,130. There are a
few others reporting earnings for the
nine-month period in 1923 lower than
those of 1927, notable among them
being the Pierce-Arrow Motor Co. and
the Market Street Railway Co. of
Chicago.
Now, were these earnings possible
because the Republican party was in
power, or in spite of the fact that the
Republican party was in power? The
answer is altogether dependent upon
the political point of view. But any
answer depending upon the political
point of view alone is erroneous. The
earnings were not due to the fact that
the Republican party was in power any
more than they can be explained
by the fact that the Democratic party
did not have control. The answer,
reduced to simplest form, is that great
industries, making use of efficient
methods in production and distribution,
are catering to a public that has the
money to buy their products and is
spending that money. At the same
time the Government at washington Is
functioning normally and, in the abb
sence of circumstances necessitating
such action, has religiously refrained
from throwing monkey wrenches into
the machinery.
Prosperity, or the lack of 1t, lends
itself nicely to political campaigns. And
the efforts of the Republican party
during this campaign to take all the
credit for the most apparent fact that
the country is highly prosperous have
been as amusing as the efforts by the
Democratic party to prove that pros
perity is a myth, and that the Nation,
hungry, shabby and forlorn, is knock
ing at the door and begging handout.