The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1954-05-13

w. Arthur Croft, president of the
Western Maryland Railway Com
pany, was the guest speaker at the
34th annual dinner of the Hagers-
town Chamber of Commerce, held in
the ballroom of the Hotel Alexander
ON Thursday night.
Speaking on the subject 'Limitless
Opportunities" Mr. Grotz told his
audience, which over-fowed the ball
room, that moral and spiritual faith
is one of the important elements that
viii affect the share that all of us
may have in the opportunities of the
future.
The meeting was presided over by
the retiring president, Herman L.
Stockslager, and Mr.. Grotz was in
PRODUCED by j. B. Ferguson, a di-
rector of the Western Maryland Rail
way Company and president of J. B.
Ferguson & Company. The Invoca-
ton was given by Rev. Dr. F. Berry
Plummer, pastor of ST. PauTs Evan
gelical United Brethren Church.
Others seated at the head table
were: Winslow F. Burhans, Mayor of
Hagerstown; Elmer Eshelman of
F'rederick, director of the u. S.
Chamber of Commerce; Dewitt S.
Hyde, member of the House of Rep
resentatives from the Sixth Con-
gressional District; Honorable Joseph
d. Mish, Chief Judge of the Circuit
Court; Lester L. Mobley, Sr., chair
man of the Board of County Commits
sioners; and Harold M. Porter, the
president-elect
Paul Comegys was the general
chairman of the Dinner committee.
Mr.. Grotz opened his address by
stating that although at the mo-
ment, business generally is substan-
tally below the peak levels of other
years, l feel strongly that the po-
tentiai market for goods now being
made-and those yet to be discover
eds limited only by our capacity
to produce and our skill in keeping
the economic processes in balance. :"
''That," he added, is why | pro
foundry believe in 'Limitless Oppor-
tunities."
Continuing in this vein, the speak
er pointed out that "the increase in
demand and the evolution of pro-
duction to satisfy it, have experience
ed remarkable acceleration in the
course of history. Each basic dis
covery," he pointed out, ''has spawn
ed countless adaptations and opened
the way for further basic discoveries.
Thus, looking back to my youth,
there has been perfectly amazing
expansion in the past 40 years. Even
in the past IS years the transcendent
era of atomic energy has been born.
There is, therefore, overwhelm-
ing reason to believe that a great ex-
pansion in human demands now con-
fronts us, not only in the United
States but throughout the world"
Turning them to the present bust
ness conditions throughout the ma
ton, Mr.. Grotz had this to say: First,
the demands that I have been talking
about are the normal demands of
people. For many years these
normal demands have been affected
by emergencies, of which the most
recent has been the tremendous ex-
pansion in National Defense expen-
ditures. These essential expenditures
are governed by considerations other
than the evolution of human de-
mands for goods and services and dis
tort the day to day, or year to year,
results.
Secondly, we are not individually
or collectively SO constituted as to
present uniform and constant en-
thusiasm or effort. Although I've new
er seen a statistical curve of human
demands, it seems to me that such
a curve would exhibit the character
istics of all human activities, name
ly, changes in pace resulting in
zigzag line. Accordingly, there must
be periods during which demands
climb rapidly and then, plateaus, dur
ing which they seem to stand still,
only to rise shortly to a new plateau"
Getting back to his subject-"Lim-
itless Opportunities" Mr.. Grotz said
that he felt confident, regardless of
the precise charting of human de-
mands, there would be a great ex-
pansion of American enterprise. In
this connection he cited the signif-
canoe of the new highs in the prices
of common stock on the New York.
Stock Exchange.
Discussing the various elements
that can affect our share in future
expansion, he spoke first of govern
ment, stating that: Among the in
gradients of the growth of American
productivity have been freedom
from artificial limitations and tha