Evening star., 1932-09-22
Optimism" TO Be Scrsrre6

In his press conference rs<fsSSsN SEC
ress-y a. Commerce CAsrin discussed
the hopeful signs posea ey sn upward
swing ol construction contracts during
Auyllst. the volume sos tina, month r.
verxiys the downward tendency a the
r-ecrSins tA-es v~srS &assvSis 81 re-
yo-rs NJ ranst-uctaan credits the FED
era building program With coatrieut-
irs ls-sels ts hating the decline. Yet
NOTING these things ana others which
insicss -eccve-y, NJ, Chsp.r was care
ful so announce tast hts department
has sieels~es . Moratorium, Tor the
tirns ne!ns nE tAe wa-S optimism,
That ssis the Secretary. has S>co-ns
Q much rverwaTsss so-6 ana Is due
fnr q resi- re compared its use With
.nr caoulsr '-co-ooe-s taoS" applied II
everything everywhere during the days
sher ths Nsror Vas backing down 10
the work a. winning frt ws,
Hin !. thf-r a. inclination ey the
Department o, Commerce - outlaw
optimism ths movement Shoula
spread snd ne appliee - other words
thai have beer cslles TGau toc her
culear tasks these DAYS One a theSe
Is calamity" :. vr O. No; CO certain
things. VT ~. told ;he alternative Is
acceptance ot calamity" IN VARIOUS
forms. The cslsmitoas results o. elect
ins ths ticket pe-son!nec ey Mr.. Roose-
welt and Nr. Garner have been wisely
proclaimed. but no less 50 than the
calamity that lies ahead for the coa.n-
-y which refuses 10 change political
esdsrship during this time o. stress
and strain. The calamity o: permit
ting suffering and hardship TO continue
du-rs this Winter Is no less serious
than the calamity which certain meth
oos Of snevis1ins distress and suffering
vii invite. And along With optimism
anc calamity. there a-e many who would
DOUBTLESS be GLAD to hasten the retire
nent of such words and phrases as
chaos --in1tation TO disaster" 'repe-
tition Of hideous mistakes" loss o.
confidence" and the birth Of q nex
era" The 6epression-lt would be
good thing to get nc Of that too!-
has been unfair 10 al these and they
have been called upon night ard day
without relief
But M. Chapin's expugstory gesture
Was made on day when optimism
might have been utilized quite hanoiiy.
The Department OF Labor announced
what otherwise might have been con-
strued as the most optimistic report
on employment since the depression be-
gan. This report showed an increase
of one-halt Of one per cent in employ
ment in August, as compared With July,
IN sixteen mxjo, industrial groups. Op-
timism Was not reflected in the size OF
the increase. but n the fact that the
increase checked, for the first time, the
persistent decline OF the past two years.
And while the Labor Department was
making this contribution 10 illumination
Of the field OF hope, the TreasWy's ststis-
tics on revenue receipts for August shed
reAssuring light where befsgs there has
been only darkness. The new taxes
boosted collections for August $lS.253.-
s4s over July and slI Is4sl7o over At
gust of 1881. and the increase gave
promise OF materially cutting down, if
not wiping out, the deficit Of nearly
s4oo .ooo. 900 thst has accumulated since
the beginning OF the new fiscal year.
The receipts showed that In the short
interval Of tvo months since the new
r.venue act became effective, tax-free
stocks accumulated to escape the new
levies have been rapidly exhausted.
And on top Of these hopeful. if not
optimistic, signs the bulls in Wall Street
went On q rampage that will cause the
whole Nation to shed crocodile tears
! over what happened to the recently
excoriated bears, stocks being pushed
up three to ten points for the widest
advance since last February and the
advance seemed to bs based On rela-
(, lively sound neutrality-suspicious.
seeking cover from the advance In COM
| modify prices
II other words. the time seems TO
be approaching when optimism, having
served its purpose can be thrown aside
in favor Of more tangible sentiment
| One must not be too optimistic, how
ever. over national ability to relesate
optimism Immediately.