Vagabond Editoriafs

(Continued from Page 6)

What a terrible thing is fear ! Fear started the depression; fear turned it into a panic; fear has been consistently barring the return of better times ! The Bible says that "perfect love casteth out fear." Then all I've got to say is that perfect lovers are mighty scarce these days.

We will emerge rapidly from this trouble whenever bankers go back to banking; investors go back to investing; enr,ployers go back to employing; we all lose our fear and go back to normal thinking. The Governor of one of our Federal Reserve Banks told me the other day that if the banking fraternity could cast aside their unreasoning fear and go back to acting something like normal, we would, in his opinion, enjoy a very sudden improvement in conditions generally. He thinks the time has arrived when that could and should happen. But so long as money stagnates and credit congeals, business must creep.

"And," added ilri" e"alr"i *l"u*" official, "prosperity cannot return until these things DO happen." There seems to be a change in the mental attitude of finance that is hopeful. The other day I delivered an address to a convention of bankers, and when I remarked 1fts1-.'f den'f say you boys started this depression; but I WILL say that it wasn't anyone else," I was surprised to get a roar of applause from all over the room. When we quit taking the thing so blamed seriously, our blood will begin to circulate again'

:ts {<

The activities of the Government Refinancing Corporation; the high tide of the campaign against hoarding; and the break of spring; are all coming at about the same time. The psychological effect will be fine. Things COULD pick up in a great hurry; rttF*

I think conditions have made a lot of people slightly goofy. There is a nationally known and advertised line of building material, the head of which has told me directly and frankly that he does not advertise in the lumber trade press because he does not believe it to be a paying advertising medium. But every now and then he fires me several reams of bombastic reading matter about the leadership his company is taking in a pep movernent to save the country.

And he feels certain that my readers will be deeply interested in his "message'n. Can you beat it? Just how can a paper be a valuable channel for PUBLICITY but a poor medium for ADVERTISING? You can take a journal that even a blind Chinaman or a runaway nigger could demonstrate to be tensely, interestedly read from cover to cover; its logic assimilated; its opinions quoted. And some guy tells you he doesn't believe an ADVERTISING message in such a rnedium pays, but evidences by his own offerings that he thinks free PUBLICITY DOES. How do they get that wiy?

Now Russia is bringing into this country hardwood veneers, plywoods, and lumber. No one is stopping them. Oak veneers are reaching the Pacific Coast states by way of the Panarna Canal. The plywood and lumber comes direct from Vladivostok. Arrangements for national distribution are reported made. At the hardwood mills of the United States tens of thousands of laborers and their families are suffering for lack of food and clothing. The veneer and plywood mills employ but a handful of their normal crews. And Red Russia spews upon them to increase their misery. We read every day about "protecting Americans abroad." Abroad, indeed ! Why not protect a few of them at horne?