The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1933-12-04
Let's Hurry and Get There

Let's Hurry and Get There
With the money battle raging or
many fronts. It behooves the average
American to stop and take stock oil
the situation.
Not that the argument Is one In
which he has direct immediate in
terest but because IT. qualifications
are certain to affect him, one way OF
the other, in the end. Few people
have enough money to be greatly
concerned about itS immediate status
but We are Z race OF incurable opti-
mists and have hopes for the future.
Hence tho justification for interest.
As 1t stands now. the argument Is
between the sound money" men and
the "lnflationists," names given to
the two separate groups which claim
to know the most about 4 very
abstruse subject.
Between these extremes stands the
great body Of our citisenry. too con-
cerned with opportunities to make
a dollar to give much thought to it,
quality after II Is obtained. This vast
majority finds It easy to agree with
both sides. paradoxical - that may
seem. They want their dollar to be
spendably sound II they manage to
get it and they also want more dol
lars. On this basis 1t is a good deal
like telling the waiter at restaurant
to bring me 4 little Of everything"
Also. dancing between the two ex-
trcmes like . shadow boxer or a
tight-ropc walker. Is the presidents
gold program. The people don't un-
derstand that fully, either. There
must be some arguments for. it or
the president would not be so insist
ent upon trying 1t. There must be
some arguments against 1t or its op-
ponents wouldn't be hollering so loud.
But one thing all of Us can be sure
Of. That Is the desire to have the
thing over and done with 1t. Rightly
or wrongly. there Is no question that
the whole business Is giving q lot OF
people, notably those with money, the
filters. Whether or not the condition
Of their nerves Is justified Is beside
the point. The unacceptable thing is
that their mental situation is prov
Ing handicap to private business
and 1t is upon private business that
all Of US are pinning our hopes for
ultimate recovery. Officeholders may
not believe 1t, but there still are
many persons who prefer working
for themselves, or for others, to
working for the government. These
folks know that private initiative and
the investment Of private capital will
provide jobs for the unemployed, get
commodities to circulating freely. lift
the prices Of farm products and ac-
complish other results which we long
have sought by other processes.
1t is hard for the people who have
little or nothing to feel sorry for
those who have lost anything less
than their shirts. Yet
these same people should not overlook
the hardships which the investor has
encountered In recent years and the
situation he faces now. There are SO
many Of him. great and small, that
his reactions como pretty close to
establishing Americas mass psy-
chology.
In the late 1905 he was loaded
down with "gilt-edged" stocks and
bonds which he tucked away with a
consciousness Of present or impend-
ing prosperity. Then came the crash
and the stuff began to wash out. BY
the end Of 1882 many Of those pretty
securities, which the financial pi-
rates had sold him. were more valu-
able for wallpaper than anything
else. He may have saved something
from the wreck but not much. He
was Stripped BY fear.
~ 1888 the various investigations
began to disclose what really had
to him. They showed how
Tire big buccaneers had manufactured !
{ ocks by the ton, sold than at high ,,
r .css BY ths pound. He began to !
understand how It came that his hide
was On ths fence and to believe that |
We had reached bedrock again. Tim.
Idly. he began to Lift his head and
look about him for places 70 put what |
dollars he had.
Then came this money hullahaloo.
+ disturbed him and ~ craWjed
back into his hole until the storm
'hoald blow. mar. confidence beeanI
10 lag.
~ : result, private initiative has
zen retarded rather than enhanced.
American business o most Of Us