The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1941-01-02
WHAT ABOUT THE
RAILROADS?

AS readers know, | have never
recommended railroad securities
since l spent two years as Assistant
to the Secretary of Labor at Wash
ington, from l9l7-l9l9, and fought
with leaders OF the railroad unions.
came back from there saying that
even ii any cream should rise from
the railroad milk, II would be SKIM
med by labor and never reach stock
holders. Railroad security owners
are further faced with severe COM
petition BY the truck, the bus, the
airplane. and the automobile. Even
TODAY. approximately 10 per cent o.
the nations freieht and IS per cent
81 the Aati1ns passengers are PC
inx transported on rubber. Inese
figures 4noreover, are increasing *
the rate OF 1bout 20 per cent year
while the percentage OF freight ana
passengers hauled by the railroads
is constantly declining When rail-
road earnings look good in l94l,
this will be the time to get out and
STAY OUT. Do not be fooled on
the long-pull outlook by news items
of rising carloadings and earnings.
IDLE FUNDS AT MAXIMUM
We enter l94l with the highest
known record of national bank ex-
cess reserves,-about seven billion
dollars. This means that banks are
in a position to loan billions OF
additional credit. No such good
condition ever existed in our ma
/ lion before. Our outstanding bank
notes are covered nearly lou per
cent by actual gold, while other
countries have coverage averag-
ing only about 10 per cent. More
money is being carried IN the pock-
cts of people today than ever be-
fore. The money in circulation IN
the u. S. as | dictate this column
amounts to $500, 600, 900.
! Dividents are popping like ire
crackers Dividend record sheets
show tremendous expansion II
disbursements, equal to the balmJ
DAYS OF 1928-29. 1t is well enough
to talk about the explosives which
are being manufactured by the q,
Pont and other powder-producint
plants; but surely some OF the sta
tistical explosives ON my desk shoult
be the basis of some real tire
works in l94l. I emphasize this s.
strongly because the defense pro
gram has hardly started. Recon
, Army and Navy monthly expendi
. lures have been only about 50 pc
cent OF what they will be durin
xt1o41. Construction is just startin
ION so many OF the plants which ar
necessary to produce hundreds
thousands OF needed items and ma
terials, that statisticians estimate
will be the fall of 1941, at leas
, before we get fully under way.
: It is estimated that it cost Gel
: many twenty billion dollars to arm
{ During the five years she was er
gagged in this, she paid her worker
! twenty-five cents per hour. II "
4 must pay our workers three to FOL
! times this, you see what it will CO
: this country to duplicate the Ge
! man war machine. A year from no
: it will be time enough to discu
: 1912, 1913, and 1914; but as Fl
II as l941 goes, nothing can stop u.s.
i not even peace talk if it shou
i come in the fall of l94l. The Wor
n is entering a new era,--industrlall
q economically, and socially. 1t
= hard for us older men to becor
= reconciled to these changes; but G
i cry day there are 1000 funera
= The undertakers are bringing ba
as prosperity
BODYBUILDING WILL
y, CONTINUE
as
st During World War /, the bul