Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-10-26
sy a stafr Correspondent of The Star.


merchants of Philadelphia appear to be
satisfied that they have finally found a
potent tonic for stimulating business
and combating the ogre of depression
that Rripped the mercantile establish
ments and the manufacturing plants.
The slogan has worked like a charm
The people are buying again; money
has returned to circulation, and jobs
are actually more numerous.
Like a giant SNOWFALL. the slogan also
has rolled throughout the United States
and Canada, and in Philadelphia the
business leaders who started the ball
rolling say they already see o loosening
| of the purse strings of the Nation that
; portendS a return to the days OF pros
perity before the crash"
Washington, D. c., was one OF the
first cities to follow in the footsteps OF
PHILADELPHIA. Even before the cam
paipn began to show tangible results
the Washington Chamber OF Commerce
adopting as its slogan Buy Now for
Better Business"
Attacked From Two Angles.
The business men who started Phila-
delphia buying met about TWO week.
ago to diagnose the ailment tnat nau
left the business pulse OF the city low
and weak: that had the factories aDout
the city gasping like f1sh out Oh WaIei,
and that had the people WIN lioiit 81
piling it high into the panKs' alraiu W
let loose q single dollar. .,o
They attacked the problem from two
angles They debated whether tney
would urge the factories TO reopen any
! NIT their production on full time, thus
Solving the unemployment problem,
putting money into the peoples pock ,es
to spend with the merchants, or wnetner
they would urge those who are MAKING
and banking their money 10 spemu ~ ~,
Stimulate wholesale buying and give tne
Factories orders upon which they could
step up the production OF their plants
and return the idle workers to their
Jobs. 49,. ,r.a
when they discovered that the savings
and checking deposits OF the banks
stood at the highest levels IN hlSCoryL
when they discovered that the trouble
with this country Is not tnat the lac-
, tories are not turning out the GOODS,
that 1t is the fact that the people OF the
country have been the victims OF the
nsvchological effect of the stock market
crash of q year ago and have started
boarding their money and keeping IL
ont of the channels Of trade.
II was last Monday that the City OF
PHILADELPHIA received the flrst big DlaSt
of the BUY Now for Prosperity" OF the
city's Chamber of Commerce.
Plaearded Over City.
The city woke up last Monday morn
ing to find Buy Now for Prosperity
ulastered on sll its street cars, being
blared at them over the radio, piastered
on the bills they received in their morn
ing mail. on the caps Of the babies milk
bottles, drummed at them from the enc
of every motion picture In town, nurieo
at them from the store window OF every
merchant in the city, shouted at them
from the head of every luncheon meet
ing table, glaring down at them from
every street car, subway and elevated
seat. plastered all over every railroad
station, blazing forth from the FIRST
page Of every morning and afternoon
newspaper in the city, spread all over
every available sign board in the city
in short. put where every man, woman
and child in the city could see 1t num-
dreds Of times day.
Buy Now for Prosperity" was dinned
at the city Of Philadelphia from every
Today George W. Elliott, execu-
tive secretary Of the Philadelphia
Chamber of Commerce, said he had
been flooded with local reports of the
success of the campaign all week and
had been beseiged with calls from
chambers Of commerce and other busi-
ness mems organizations from Canada
to Florida, coast to coast, asking How
have you done it?"
lem here in Philadelphia" he said, but
it seems to go for the entire Nation, for
Canada. too-for the Nation Is accept
ing our diagnosis and adopting our
treatment"
For three weeks, at least, that slogan
will be dinned at the people OF Phila-
delphia Just as steadily as when 1t was
first started last Monday, and by that
time, Elliott believes, q Mood OF good,
hard American dollars will be coursing
through the arteries of American COM
merce, giving the life blood to business
that has been its only need In the hour
of its illness.
Treatment Was Simple.
1.-THE treatment was simple" Elliott
declared today. Once he had Oh
agnosed the ailment and adopted the
medicine. we called in all the organ
izations of business men in the city and
put the problem squarely up 70 them.
They came across with subscriptions 10
finance the campaign, and the nrst
:.
ton of the entire business interest OF
the CITY and the ball was rolling ano
gathering in size and momentum every
minute. ,,
we found in that first conference,
he continued, that the need OF lnous-
try and of the city merchant was the
dollars to make the wheels go around
and get the stocks moved from tne
merchants counters Reports OF the
Gu
deposits OF the member banks In THESE
DAYS of depression have increased
Al aga 900 600 In the last six months,
and recent reports indicate q gain
of S7OO, OOO, 900 in the savings deposlts
of banks throughout the country
enough money to lubricate the wneels
of commerce and send them rolling AT
q record clip.
THE Philadelphia Chamber Of Com
merce came to the conclusion that there
| is no scarcity of dollars, but that
through fear these dollars are being
| boarded. A dollar that is idle through
| fear stops the wheels of industry, re-
duces retail selling by reduced con-
sumption and increases unemployment
THE chamber decided this cycle
must be broken down-that this false
| psychology that has stagnated industry
| reduced buying and caused increased
unemployment must be dissipated
| This false psychology We termed en-
thusiastic pessimism and 1t was at this
state of mind that we directed out at
| tention. with the result our Buy Now
for Prosperity campaign.
Dollar Much Bigger.
| There Is an added incentive TO this
spending. Government statistics show
| that the dollar buys more goods today
than at any time since 1913. Prices
are low. and the dollar that Is being
boarded in the checking and savings
accounts in the banks of the Nation
| is a bigger dollar than it has been in
many years. 1t ought not to be II
| those accounts It ought to be moving
| @ro,,, ,>1nkat m oockef from till tn til