The Washington times., 1932-09-24
Mind Your Own

Mind Your Own
American business today is paying too much atten-
tOn of the wrong kind to the stock market specua-
On in securities has become national business Obses
sion this speculative complex has grossly distorted
the views of the business community and large part
of the general public regarding the nature and condi
tons of economic prosperity and in this
"At this time it is especially depIOrabIe that such
exaggerated emphasis should be placed upon what is
going in Wall Street. There is reason why busi-
ness or the Government should act at any time
though security trading security values of para
mount Importance in economic life.
The business situation in the United States any
other country is not made destroyed by conditions in
the security market Prosperity does not depend upon
the price of stocks Progress is not measured by the
volume of securities foaed or sunk or the amount of
money that changes hands in buying and selling them.
TiddIedywnks
Fundamental conditions of business itsef-he crea-
tiOn and exchange of useful goods and services the ad
vancement of industrial science the efficiency of business
management the wise use of credit. the expanding
pOyment of abOr-in the end determine conditions in the
security market Upon them alone the general welfare
depends.
Security trading is large, legitimate and necessary
business but it is only part and relatively small part
of the vast aggregate of American economic activity
There many others, much more important, and quite
as exciting. Without them the stock market is merely
game of tddedywinks, and security prices simply
statistical sawdust.
IF business will mind its business, the security
market will take of ITSELF
And Today
suggest that the same words might we'll be said to-
day. few weeks ago the market going up up up up
up and everything going to be fine and dandy But
business conditions went their way, little bit up
and little bit down, and altogether unsatisfactory. Then
the election in Maine which Republicans modestly
call unsettlng because it settled the fate of their cand
date And the market had another of it's pretty reapses
which brought it into line with general conditions.
There Republican, in great Republican State,
who virtually told his employees that if Bryan
elected would to give milk only he put it that
he would stop making churns and separaors and they
would lose their jobs
Too Many Tickers
And told that when Mr.. Hoover got ready to
the moratorium he arranged for special ckers to
be installed that his secretaries could inform him of
the reaction in Berlin and Stockholm and Adelaide and
Vienna and London and Amsterdam. The story may be
exaggeraton, but all through the past three it
has been clear that noony the President but thousands
of other leaders have looked the ticker to tell them
how things going. And the ticker has been little
late with the news little misleading and sometimes
liar The moratorium was, frankly, flop fiscal
measure; France held it up it beated anyhow, and
it wasn't sufficient It's great value moral one,
and moral values not shown on the ticker
Maybe the game of tiddledywnks isn't important
the players think it is. Maybe ought to be stopped
from until Thanksgiving Day.