Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-03-21
BANKERS HEAD WARNS AGAINST
LOSS OF u. S. INDIVIDUALISM
Stephenson Makes Plea for Retention OF
American Standards of Living-Based
on Personal Initiative.

1t would be sounder, he declared, Ito
increase wages by the amount involved,
and then seek to inculcate the doc
trine of thrift and provision against I'M
employment through saving these added
amounts as a matter of individual per-
sonal responsibility. This would leave
labor free. 1t would avoid industrial
paternalism. If it resulted in happier,
more stable, more efficient workers. it
would thereby Justify itself as measure
of sound industrial accounting and
economies"
Mr.. Stephenson said that he believed
industry's better contribution to the
problem of unemployment would be one
of prevention of general employment
rather than of an attempt TO patch up
with doles situation created largely
by lack Of industrial foresight.
Economic Foresight.
public welfare demands that in
duStry as q whole vigorously and sin
cerely devote itself to the development
of a plan Of economic foresight" he
said, ''aimed to forever prevent any
repetition of the present unemploy-
ment situation-that it show a larger
degree of premediated responsibility for
ress of the country in the future than
it has in the. past, especially in the
immediate past"
1t is necessary to such a plan, he
said, that industry look upon business
on long-range basis and lay out pro-
ducticn and distribution with the
thought that at is far better to have
long period of good, sound business
activity rather than a short period of
frantically over-competitive endeavor, -
which would tend to lessen over-pro-
duction, present over expansion of
plant capacity and avoid over-stimula-
ton of public buying, followed by pc
RODS of slumpS and stagnation with
their disasters of unemployment.
Business should cooperate with in
dustry, he said, by an endeavor to
avoid over-stocking, over-selling or Gin
weighing the public into committing it.
self for expenditures beyond its cur
rent purchasing power, plus reason
able anticipation of future earnings
and purchasing power. Especially
should it refrain from tnveigling the
public into habits of but half using the
things it buys and hastily scrapping
good values to seize catchy new-fan-
gled models"
individuals Place.
"In this picture of economic recon-
struction," he added, banking and
finance, too, have their place. Their
premeditated effort should be to infu-
ence the use of credit and other finan-
cial facilities into channels of sound
public economy consistent with ths
attitude I have already sketched fol
industry and trade.
Finally the individual has a place
in this plan. 1t is his duty, given the
freedom Of opportunity that our political
institutions and economic organization
normally offer, to take care of himself
Taking care of himself consists of seek
ing that form of livelihood which will
render him the highest return in &C
cordance with his abilities. 1t consists
of gauging his personal financial plan
in keeping with his earning power. And
this means that after providing for the
living requirements of himself and
family, he must on his own initiative
and on his own personal responsibility
set up his defenses against the in
evitable contingencies of life by insur-
ance. sound thrift and savings
mo greater national misfortune car
come to the United States than a weak
ening of the sense Of individual respon-
sibility and eagernesS for economic in
| dependence as result OF agitation tt
shift the burden for favored political
classes to some form of public doleS. Oh
for our 1aboring masses to some form
of corporate dependency or industrial
benedce."