Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-10-11
WASHINGTON IS bright SPOT"
IN DEPRESSION, SAYS COTTRELL
Board of Trade Secretary in Radio Address
Urges People to Cease Talking of
Non-Existent Condition.

The National Capital hasn't any idea
| what depression is.
But instead CT being thankful for our
lot. in the opinion of Robert j. Ccttrell,
! executive secretary of the washington
! Board of Trade, we are sitting around
| with long faces and bemoaning a nom
existent condition in sack cloth and
ashes.
/ Cottrel expressed his opinions in a
J vigorous radio address broadcast last
| Thursday by station WMAL, in which
! he cited bank and business statistics
/ showing ''our general good fortune"
and called upon Westinghouse gen.
orally to cease talking depression. His
address follows:
Take Complete Flip Flop.
"One would hardly expect the peo-
pie of Washington to be accused of be-
ing victims of mass psychology. With
reputation OF being rather cynical
and undisturbed, and particularly un-
aWed by great national and interna-
ttcnal events, by reason OF the fact that
we are participating in them daily, we
! seem to have taken complete fiip-h- p
I in the matter of depression With
the rest of the country facing many
problems and difficulties, we are sitting
amid a comparative environment of
plenty with long faces and bemoaning
! a nonresident condition IN sack-cloth
and ashes.
While it is perfectly true that we are
| not tripping along in the merry and
carefree manner of four or five years
ago, 1t is nevertheless a fact, that as
! far as the National Capital Is con-
! cerned, in comparison with other large
! communicate hasn't any idea what
depression is.
''Of course. am in no way attempt
ing to state that people here have not
! felt hardShips. But in Washington it
Is is problem of individual cases and
generally speaking, a diminution of
profits rather/than, If may use the
vernacular, whole industries going 10
pot
1T Is tKle that certain conditions
which have brought about unpleasant
notoriety have arisen in a few cases in
the business field of our city. Yet 1t is
equally true that the depression has
had little to do with it, that these con-
ditionS were unavoidable under any cir
cumstances. AS a matter Of fact, the
community IS better of with the re-
adjustment than If they had been al
lowed to continue rolling up even to a
greater size with the inevitable results.
No city in this country-in fact, no
city in the worlds SO peculiarly stu
ated as Washington. in that 1t is prac-
tically impossible for it to know depres-
sion in the real sense of the word with
cut complete ruin of our entire ma
tional and governmental economic
structure.
Planted in the middle of our city is
an industry-that of the Federal Gov
ernment-which continues on, and must
continue on, regardless of conditions
outside. and annually pours into the
community nearly 100000, or APP
proximately $7,500,000 every two weeks.
Rain or shine, good, bad or Indifferent,
this gold clinks out into the hands of
nearly 10000 persons on the Federal
pay roll.
Have No Cause for Alarm.
II wonder what Baltimore and Phila-
delphia, Chicago Detroit or any other
city. would feel If they knew their basic
industries could not fail; their employees
in their main factories would always
have their jobs; that conditions pre-
clude any wage cuts in the outstanding
economic activities of their community!
that some branches Of national organi-
cations in Washington have received
cuts, but these are more or less isolated
cases, and we must bear in mind, in
speaking Of this situation, that we are
doing so on a comparative basis with
conditions as they maintain in other
communities. Certainly, with the atti-
tude of the administration, from the
President on down, in their public
statements opposing wage cuts and the
cutting Of personnel, persons on the
Government pay roll really have no
cause for alarm as to any leSSening of
their income. AS a matter Of actual
economic condition, those on the Fed
eral pay roll are, or should to be, better
OF as to income and purchasing power
than they were two or three years ago.
Salary increases have been effective
since that t.p1e and the cost Of living
has dropped Considerably
There are the individual cases Of
misfortune, those are existent at all
times. There is a Government build
ing program, costing scores of millions
of dollars, in progress in the COM
munity. 1t is providing work for local
employees, in many instances 1t is Great
ing business for many local building
supply houses, etc, and it is certainly
paying out money to workers who are
living here and spending their wages
in Washington. This will continue for
many years to come.
1T is quite true that our local chari-
ties have had a problem on their hands