Vagabond Editorials

Bv Jack Dionne

"Money," said a capitalist to me the other day, "is a drug on the market." But it's hard to get, fellers; it's hard to get the drug' * * r.

THIS is genuine. True as gospel. This gentleman showed me that he had a gob of money on call in New York for which he is getting the magnificent interest return of THREF-SIXTEENTHS OF ONE PER CENT. Get it? This ,rnan has so much surplus money on hand he loans it on call for that interest rate. *rt*

And I thought of all the homes that money would build' and all the men it would put to work, and the fine rate of interest it would pay invested in first mortgages, and the entire safety with which it could be invested in that fashion. ***

I thought of the banks piled high with money-higher than ever in their history in many places-the owners of which would rather have it put away in storage than invest it in mortgages on needed and honest buildings; and I wondered when this dam of needed money is going to break. ***

Jesse H. Jones told the American Bankers' Association convention in New Orleans the other day that the average banker today wouldn't loan ten dollars with a twenty dollar bill for security.

!t:t*

I've said many critical things about the bankers in the past five years, but I dgn't think the above charge is quite true. It IS undoubtedly true that the money is piled high in these banks and you can't borrow it, but it isn't the bankers that are afraid to lend; it's the people who own the money and have it on deposit that are to blame. ***

I asked that man who has a lot of money out at threesixteenths of one per cent interest why such things could be when millions of buildings are needed in this country and the investment in mortgages would be an entirely safe one; safer than ever before, I believe. And he uttered one word: "INFLATION." Still the fear of what happened in Germany. ***

Which isn't even logical, to my mind. If you had a million dollars in the bank today and wild infation came, that money would become worthless. But if you had that money invested in first mortgages on good homes or good real estate, with notes due several years hence, YOU WOULD HAVE THE BEST SECURITY ON EARTH. Because in case of inflation, the only values that would remain would be REAL PROPERTY. When the trouble passed the good home and the good land would still stand there. Money fortunes would be wiped away, but not REAL fortunes. *t+

If there were just some way to get the people of this country who have idle money on hand to realize that the safest thing they can do with it is INVEST IT IN REAL PROPERTY, we would put more people to work in a month than the entire work relief effort with billions of government money behind it has put to work yet. But how to spread the conviction? That's the question.

**'k

I should think the bankers of the country would be busy advising their depositors today to make such REAL investments. The banks are over-burdened with money. They don't want it, don't want to pay interest on it. I wonder if we couldn't get the American Bankers' Association to sponsor a program of national scope, advising owners of surplus money to buy first mortgages on good homes with it. ***

And if we could get the people who own these surplus billions to invest it intelligently in real property right now, they would by that very act be taking the most definite steps to make inflation impossible. Get that building boom going; put millions of people to work on REAL construction; take the fear out of men and out of money' and boy ! We'd be going to town.

Things are undoubtedly showing improvement. Worlds of money is fying round. This is the time to get that unemployment problem reduced to a minimum. All it needs is for the surplus money owners of this country to "get right."

The danger is that we have not reduced the unemployment and relief rolls half as fast as we had hoped with the government billions going into circulation, and if we spend all that money and still have the huge unemployment and relief problems of today-things wouldn't be so hot. And profitable and safe investment of the surplus private money

Individual effort on the part of the lumber folks everywhere, is the first step. And then, if we can spread the news abroad throughout this land that first mortgages, wisely placed upon honestly built homes, are the best of investments, we'll soon win a hill climbing contest.

This COULD be a big winter for the lumber business. If we start picking up all the slack we've lost, neither ice nor snow could stop a big building volume.

The old saying that "Business is what you make it" was far from true for several years past. There was no interest in building, there was nothing to build with, and inertia grabbed the lumber industry and threw it for a series of hard falls. But those days have passed. It seems that opportunity again knocks. Building COULD be created once again by intelligent effort.

Exhibits it Retailers' Convention

One of the interesting features of the State retailers' convention at the Hotel San Diego, San Diego, on November 6-8 were the exhibits whi,ch attracted the attention of the delegates. The companies having exhibits were the Pioneer-Flintkote Company; West Coast Lumbermen's Association; Red Cedar S,hingle Bureau; Wood Conversion Co.; El Rey Products Co., and Paraffine Companies, Inc.

of the country today would answer all questions, solve all problems, and eliminate all dangers.

*t<*

Announcement of continued bank deposit increases is NOT a sign of good. Greatly reduced deposits and greatly increased loans would be infinitely better. Advertise the fact that there is money available everywhere in this land for building paper investment, and we will be getting somewhere.

**>B

My personal opinion-and it isn't worth a dime-is that we aren't in the least danger of infation, and that the continued frightened aspect of money owners is all that could bring about trouble. In fighting a ghost, they create one. Which is often the case with we bipeds.

*** use:

It seems to me there is indication of voluminous sort that people are again thinking BUILDING. Every impression I get from voluminous reading testifies to that fact. And f must reiterate what I have said continually in this column for five straight years; BUILDING IS THE WAY OUT. The auto industry is doing a tremendous job; other industries are taking up portions of the burden; but the industry-and the only one-that can put our idle money and our idle men to work in greatest volume from now on, is BUILDING.