Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-07
BUSINESS
IN FINAL QUARTER
SEEN BY SEAGRAVE
Corporation Executive Be.
lieveS Orderly Upward Trend
Will Soon Begin.
CITES MANY FACTORS
POINTING TO REVIVAL
Expects Steady Upswing Will Be
Continued Into Year
of 1881.
BY JOHN F. SINCLAIR.

asked Louis II. Seagrave, president Of
the United Founders Corporation. If
quarter of 1880 would equal or ex-
coed that of 1929, he replied by say
ing:
The final business quarter of 1929
was characterized by so many uncer.
tainties that comparison Is of dubious
value. am confident, however. that
the hnal quarter of 1880 will witness
more than seasonal revival of busi-
ness: expect to see an orderly up
ward progress of production and dis
trloutlon. 1t should prove a healthy
quarter regardless of actual volume
comparisons. don't, however, expect
any vigorous upswing in trade activity
curing the balance of this year The
last quarter is likely to witness the
beginnings of that recovery and not
the full swing of it,
Factors in Recovery.
Then what forces are making for
business recovery" asked him.
THE reduction of surplus goods. In
many. cases to the point of elimina-
tlon, mas brought production and con-
sumption OF goods back into an an
proximate balance. This will be fol-
lowed by the speeding up of produce
ton and restocking of depleted shelves
OF dealers and merchants. It is be-
coming daily more evident that cur
rent money rates are an increasingly
important force for business recovery.
The accumulative effect of ample.
available capital and credit on rea-
Sonably attractive terms Is a Certainty.
not speculation.
Yes, business is at the point of rally
ing from the setback. The influence of
the drought has been exaggerated. The
real business condition has been repre-
sented as being in more of slump than
has actually been the case, because Of
comparisons with the abnormal preced-
Ing year. 1t will not be long before
we are all realizing again that, while
1t Is possible temporarily to overproduce
goods, we cannot 60 on long under
producing them. Adjustments which
have taken place gold reserve, credits,
tariffs and other implements of BUSH
ness may not have achieved perfection,
but they are coming to be pretty well
understood; the uncertainty has been
eliminated and they no longer afford
cause for apprehension"
Are there any forces holding back
business recovery"
1.-THE forces which are holding back
business recovery are characteristic.
depressing pessimism, great emphasis
OF the press on current business reports,
essential characteristics of business UNI
duly emphasized and tendency to
compare the current situation with the
abnormal year of 1929. PeSsimism and
the customary representation of all
the bad things that might happen,
which always come from the mouths
OF peSSimistS when things are mo-
mentarily looking dark, WILL in my
opinion, give way to optimism when
Autumn business, characteristic of the
season, begins to get under way. Al
ways in the past we have within a
year or so looked back to laugh at the
unreasonableneSs of such fears when
fundamentals were beginning to grow
sounder. A year from now we will all
be smiling at current pessimism."
Mr.. Seagrave, largely responsible for
organizing and developing the Ameri-
thecan Founders Corporation and its
vast investment affiliations in hundreds
of different industries throughout the
world, was born. at Council Bluffs, Iowa,
38 years ago.
He was graduated from the Spokane,
Wash, High School, and then from the
University of washington Is years ago.
After q couple of years as a news
paper man he became manager of the
Seattle Office of the Lumberman,s
Trust Co.. In 1923, he was appointed
sales manager of the First National
that post to become president of the
American Founders Trust of New York
in 1925.
Famed as a foot ball player in his
college days, he still takes keen inter-
est in sports.
Platt's Service.
The resignation of Edmund Plat
from the Federal Reserve Board is fore
cast by the announcement that he is to
become an associate of George F. Rand
in the Marine Midland Co. of Buffalo
Mr.. Plat has been vice president of
the board almost continuously since his
appointment by President Wilson. He
was reappointed in August, 1928, to
serve for the full term of 10 years, or
until 1888. Up to the present he has
decade. Before that he was a member
of Congress and chairman of the House
Committee on Banking and Currency.
There Is an intimation that Mr.. Platt's
resignation was brought about to enable
Eugene Meyer, jr, to qualify as mem
Der for the New York district If this
is true it raises a serious question Of
governmental policy.
Has the Federal Reserve member
been asked to resign to make room for
some one else? If so it makes the
board political, subject to the dictation
and policy of the administration. To
prevent this the Federal Reserve act
provided for a 10-year term for the
members. so that they should be able
to remain independent.
Mr.. Plat has always been highly
esteemed as a member of the board.
Edmund Plat has been for a decade
one of the most valuable men on the
Federal Reserve Board" commented
one of Americas leading bankers.
when speculation was rife last year,
and the sky was the limit In everything,
Mr., Platt kept his head and was known
to be in favor of putting the credit
breaks on long before they were ap-
Piled. He was in favor of higher re-
discount rates months before they were
put into play. American business will
lose big man, should he retire from
public service"
Copyright 1880 by North American News