The Nome daily nugget., 1936-11-06
(CITY OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER)
MIR. ROPER'S FORECAST

Secretary Roper of the Commerce Department has for years gained the distinction not shared by all the governments present chiefs, of envsaging easily and practically matters of economic interest which his departments activities For that reason, his forecast recently of the counrys financial future at tracted interest Mr. Roper's expression of judgment IS that we have entered not temporary but long termed upward swing; that Approaching one of the greatest eras in American history The pre- diction has tnge of enthusiasm but it hardly be called eXtravagant in the light of what has happened in the aftermath of past great depression periods" Our country financial history has repeatedly proved that in the hard times following collapse of wild spec ulative boom, the people sorrowfully adopt the cusion that American prosperity has gone forever only to discover when the difficult process of retrenchment and readustment had been completed that subsequent recovery eventually carried the country's economic achievement to heights never reached before.
 This is the commonplace of American economic history. But the Secretary further remarks our economic future raise another question. MT. Roper very correctly reminds that of greatest diff faculties will be ito prevent segments of business from "boom conditions" This is only another way of say> ing that continuance of the prosperity which the try eventually should regain depends prudent of credit and avoidance of speculative mania The Sec retry ntimates that these very desirable results may be achieved by what he calls a Bureau of Industrial Economies Inferentally, it would be the business of such governmental bureau to examine the actual facts implications in outbursts of speculative excitement and by warning against possible eXcesses to protect the public from what happened in 1929.
 Nothing could be useful The difficulty is to insure the detached and dspassionate view of such an episode by an official body. Today and during four five years past prudent experts our chambers of commerce, and even our thoughtful government off, cals, could be depended to against financial ov erconfdence So they could have been in 1923 for in stance in 1097 But how about time when, as hap pened in 1929 the speculative illusion had not only gained control of the public mind, but had become al- most nextricably bound up with politics?
 We do not need to remind the reader of President Coolidge's remark of January 1928, when "brokers' loans" had increased nearly thousand million dollars in six months, that this natural expansion of business" in which there nothing unfavorable". The attitude of almost every competent practical ad visor in that period shaped either by surrender his part to the popular lusion else by hesi- tation at denounclng speculative movement which considered enthusiastic tribute to American prosperity. Reminiscently, imagine the public indignation if the President his Treasury Secretary in the middle of 1929, had publicly and emphatcally warned the people of what would happen to them if they did not stop their speculation Among even our re sponsble fnanciers Mr. Warburgs was almost the only voice to tell the truth and he denounced for try ing to "sandbag American prosperity.
 Perhaps the exceedingly bitter lesson of 1929 will last longer than others of the kind. Perhaps shall evolve of responsible fnanciers public men who will understand their duty at such times, and will not allow popular obloquy denuncation to stand in the way of honest and plain-spoken warnings Wheth- ora official bOdv cOud that