The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-10-06

now, Gen. Hugh s. Johnson, national
recovery administrator, is trying to get
the country to buy, or those who still
have money are being urged TO "buy
now" It Is part of the general
scheme to set commercial and indus
trial wheels in motion, because IL those
millions who still have jobs and who
have been holding tightly onto their
money will let loose of some of IL for
the things they need, there will be a
big difference in the total of sales In
the country.
II is a fact beyond peradventure of
a doubt that thousands of persons.
their confidence shaken, possibilities
of lost jobs. funds tied up in closed
banks and that sort of thing, have SIM
ply refused TO buy their normal guam
tity of merchandise They have been
denying themselves many things which
they ordinarily would buy, because of
the uncertainty of the times. General
Johnson is simply asking them to re-
turn to their normal ways of living.
It is not confined to the individual
consumer, this holding off from buying.
Retailers have been running with just
as small stock as they can, and job
bers and wholesalers have held down
their inventories TO the minimum. The
waiting policy which the retailers, the
jobbers and the wholesalers have fol-
lowed, necessarily has reacted on the
g ~ rryf1l 70
take the chance, he did not dare put
all of his resources into raw materials
from which to produce his usual out
put. So the seller of raw materials
has had limited calls from the manu-
facturer, and when the raw materials
folks had limited markets, the cycle
could not be set In motion.
General Johnson has a dual purpose
in his buy now" campaign. He has
been promising those businesses that
signed the NRA codes that efforts
would be made to encourage new bust
ness. or a revival of old business, for
them. Besides. it is imperative to
most of them that they obtain a great
er volume Of business. They cannot
meet the added expense of higher
something like old-time trade recurs.
General Johnson is trying TO push the
"buy now" campaign on that account
as much as TO force business upward.
If business revives, OF course, it means
more jobs, and more jobs means res
oH Siv or
eight years ago when we termed our
country as prosperous.
Some observers here are inclined to
doubt that General Johnson will sue
coed in his plan. Their argument Is
that people are going to be governed
wholly by their own circumstances and
their own beliefs. If, for example, one
family head is none too confident about
the future, he is pretty. likely to disre-
gard the appeal from Washington. No
amount of balIyhoo will cause him TO
change On the other hand, undOubt-
eddy many individuals will say they
can buy a little bit more than they
have been buying and they will do so.
Even these small additions will total
a great sum when the whole country's
purchases are added together. Surely,
whatever good may come from the
new campaign will be a net gain, and
any net gain, it is certain, must be
considered as helpful.
President Roesevelt's program to
buy farm SURPRISES for food for the
eountry's poor and
Surplus Food destitute Is probably
e. N..J,, about the most pop
ular thing he has at
tempted. I have heard little criticism
around here. Most of the folks with
whom 1 have talked have praised him
for the move Just as vigorously as they
criticized him and Secretary Wallace,
Of the Department Of Agriculture,
when they announced their scheme TO
pay a premium for pigs and for sows
about to farrow in order to force hog
prices higher A large part of the
pork from that wholesale, and I be-
Heve ridiculous. slaughter of pigs went
into fertilizer II was the most waste
full thing that I have seen a govern
ment do I believe the consensus
among observers here is the same as
my own. But the program Of using
that meat. and portions of the surplus
wheat and cotton and dairy products
and fruits. ETC., TO relieve suffering, Is
quite different matter. In the first
instance. everyone regards the latter
course as human. course that viii
do some good. The same can hardly
be said of the former arrangement,
despite the claims of the 'brain trust
economists who argue that higher
prices viii prevail as a result of the
plan.
Present plans call for the use OF
about s75.000.00o Of federal money,
funds contributed to the treasury by
taxpayers OF the nation, in the pur-
chase of the food and clothing mate
rails. That ought to buy many meals
in any language you may speak. and
food is food however it is obtained
There are approximately 100000
families on relief rolls throughout the
country. That means something like
100000 men. women and children
are dependent entirely upon charity
for the food that they have and the
clothes that they wear. Heretofore,
the distribution Of federal money has
been by the states which received sums
from the national government But In
this case. food viii be granted. instead
Of funds.
Q. 1914. Western Newspaper Union