The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1938-11-24
Economic !. i.
eM9hA9hA

-thirty-nine will be the
best year for business and industry
lin decade" That sentence accurately
sums up the views of numerous econ
Iomic forecasters today. In their opin-
ion, the recovery movement, which
was staggering and uncertain when it
began seven or eight months ago, will
continue to gain both in strength and
lvelocity.
The forecasters, of course, have
been wrong before, and grievously so.
But it is fact that at present opinion
lis amazingly unanimous as to the
pleasant prospects ahead for the i'm
mediate future. You can find many
an authority who is dubious over the
llong-term outlook-who, for instance,
believe that governments greatly
stimulated pump printing activities
|are going to cause the country plenty
|of trouble in years shortly ahead. But
you'll have hard job finding an au-
Ithority who doubts that next year will
be the most prosperous since the de-
Ipression began. AS the conservative
Annalist puts it, Recovery shows no
Isigns of slackening."
Biggest recent optimistic news was
THE announcement of a tremendous
spending drive by the nations electric
utilities. Representatives Of ID ma
jor systems met with the President in
Washington, and, as an AP dispatch
!phrases it, "Amid a display of friend
liness which left the capital guessing
:. . announced a far-reaching pro-
gram to strengthen national defense
and stimulate industry by expanding
Iprivate power facilities" Details in
lvolve spending at least S2,000,0O0,00O
in the next two years "a sum double
the recent rate of capital expenditure
by the industry and buying sufficient
equipment to add 100000 horsepower
to existing capacity. And this, it is
!said, is only the first stage-if plans
go through as scheduled, still greater
Expansion will follow.
On the red side of the ledger, in
the view of business generally, is the
Presidents Emergency Boards report
to the effect that railroad wages
should not be reduced, and that rail-
way management withdraw it's request
for Is per cent cut. The President
has met with George Harrison, rep
iresenting railway labor, and John J..
Pelley, president of the Association of
American Railroads, for conference
concerning what to do in the future.
The railroads are unquestionably in
the worst position of any major in
'dustry. But there is a possibility
that even this may have it's brighter
|side-the Administration is considered
friendly to the lines, and informed
observers say that legislation to help
the industry in one way or another
will lead next Congress- calendar.
Excellent augurX is the automobile
|industry's rapid ef{lt sigeace from the
economic doghouse. The severe shut
down in production that took place
last spring and summer was a strong
depression factor By the same token,
the unlooked-for Improvement in pro-
duction and demand now-which has
lcaused some makers to change their
|plans and embark on more elaborate
ventures than they thought wise even
la few months ago-is strong recov-
cry factor Important by-product in
this field has been substantial
amount of high-wage unemployment.
In brief, the barometers give the
commentator every reason for being
bullish today. There may be minor
setbacks especially in security
values, where considerable profit
taking at intervals is to be expected.
But it seems certain that next year
will be as good as any year since 1880
and in all probability better.
X X X
This government doesn't like the
dictator nations. And the dictator
nations don't like us. This is the
logical deduction from the Presidents s
recent anti-fascist speech, coupled
with the State Departments blunt
warning to Japan to respect American
rights in China under the traditional
"open door" theory. Newspapers in
Rome and Berlin and Tokyo promptly
branded us as war-makers, and de-
nounced our great rearmament pro
gram.
This government is gravely con-
cerned with recent developments
Japan, at the beginning of her Asiatic
adventure, solemnly pledged mainten-
ance of the open door policy. APP
parently she had her fingers crossed
For that policy has been widely vio-
lated in fact-and so far as theory
goes, recent Nipponese announce
ment said, in effect, that Japan in
tends to dominate China, and that
other interested powers can like it or
lump it.
Still more important, possibly, from
the long-term standpoint, is something
on which this column has commented
before-the nazi-fascist ambition to
ieXtend it's influence in South America
1t is reported that this government
plans to establish large radio sta
tion in the Canal Zone, from which
to broadcast pro-American programs
in an attempt to counteract the con-