The Washington times., 1935-02-22

CnrOugn arCl- "is NANCY
ficially high wage payments and
other forms of dole or distribu-
ton of Government funds.
Everywhere we see extensions
Of credit and the piling up of
huge artificial deposit credits in
the banks, which represent Gov
eminent debt. There is no stand
ard money in this country, and
the theoretical gold dollar is not
our standard. as is witnessed by
the fact that the paper price OF
gold is out of line with the paper
price of most other commodities
Above all, we must admit
that it is not safe to save in
this country. Most of the So
called saving that is being done
IL for the purpose of what is
called 'liquidity." 1t is storm
cellar saving, not saving for
investment. Yet despite this
fact, money rates" have been
forced down nearly to zero
through the arbitrary use Of
Government credit.
Incidentally, foreign trade is
utterly impossible on any nor.
NAL basis, because of worldwide
restrictions on the exchange
" gOOGs and services, and cur
E6ncy instability.
but all this does not mean that
there is no hope, nor that bust
ness must come to a Standstill.
After all, people must live, and
living means that business must
go on. Nor does the lack of
fundamental soundness mean
that the people of this country
are crazy. After all, human ma
ture changes but slowly. I, for
one, believe that the majority
of the people of the United States
may fairly be called sensible, and
that they want to do the right
thing. They want to be fair.
Furthermore, as common sense
observers, we must recognize that
temporarily business can be "stim.
ulated," and that temporarily"
may mean a considerable period
of time. In this connection, we
must remember that the limits
to Government credit are not def
nitely known, and may be more
remote than we realize. Certainly
as long as the people continue 70
consider one kind of dollar as good
as another, and to accept papel
money of all kinds without ques,
ton, we may go a good deal fur.
Their along present lines.
The most pessimistic must also
admit that a large volume of debt
has been wiped out or settled dur
ing the past few years. And we
all know that the volume of de-
ferred maintenance, pertaining to
the nations durable goods of all
kinds and including capital goods,
must be growing.
Thus there is no sense in fold
ing up, and saying that because
fundamentals are unsound, there
is nothing we can do about it.
Business may not be "as usual"
but there will always be much
business to be done.
So my advice is, don't ignore
the fundamental conditions or
the reality of economic laws.
Don't allow yourself to become so
deeply involved in a position,
either as a debtor or as a credi.
tor, to be caught in some one Of
the establishments which must
still be made. Keep on thinking
straight with reference to eco
nomic questions.
But keep on. Business is
going to keep on, and eventu-
ally there will be great re.
cOvery, Then the business con.
Germ which has kept itself SOL
vent, and maintained its plant,
equipment, and good will in
the best condition, will win.
Don't try to do the impOs-
sible-there are plenty of other
things to do. Things are not
right. but you can do the right
thing. Keep your eye on storm
warnings. hit don't rive ,,v, a.