Vagabond Editorials

By Jack Dionne

Just picked up and read a Christrras advertisement of a lumber- manufacturing concern, the Hillyer-Deutsc'h-Edwards Company, of Oakdalg Louisiana" and the wish expressed deservis wide exploitation. Hert itis' Grab it' Use it. Its philosophy will help, right now:

"Look forrard-nPt back, Look uPward-not down. Have faith in Your countrY and-Lend a hand."

't'trF

"Can't" is a big word. I remember a year ago watching the head oi"a mammoth corporation known the length and breadth of the land and whose stock is quotcd on the stock exchanges-a name of such worth as to be one to conjure wittr Uottr for possessions, character of operation, etc' (Understand, this was NOT a lumber corporadon)' The mart ket had broken, and this man was in a brokerage ofice buying stock of his own corporation in great gobs' "Tl" .rio" of this stock is so gtbat it CAN'T go lower," was tte opinion he freely expressed. If any man on earth should 6ow the value of his own business this man should' Yet that stock has been. steadily slipping for a year, and is now a hundred points 6elow the point he said it COULDN'T go. "Can't" is a hard word to monkey with'

For the past year' in cvery line of business and in evcry part of this country, the things have been happening that ihey said,couldn't happen. But the "can'ts" didn't stop the doinward rush. We;ve becn on rock bottom for some time now. A wise economist has said that business depressions are either like the capital letter "V.", turning sharply upward from the low level, or like the letter "If"' rising slowly, and with a fat space at the bottom' The country has been on that fat space some time past' It is time for the upward turn. And the New Year may well be expected to bring it about. And, like the side of the letter l'IJ"' it should turn straight upward when it does'

On every side you hear the pessimistic questioner who asks-"But what is going to MAKE it turn upward?" Just the same old boy t ho tt""et sees the city because the high buildings are in the way-never sees the forest because- of it " ar"i. The same fellow who always asks that question -and-like the Devil the Carpenter cast out-his name is "Legion"-never rcould tell you when times were good' whfthey were. Yet now he thinks he ought to be able to unierstand why they should get good' The answer is simple. Modest ind conservative prosperity is with this nation a normal condition- Wc soesd bigb abovc noEErL We took a mighty tumble. Wc fcll away bclm normrl And it will b€ only normal for ur to rcturn to e level ol decent and consentative proapctig, iust as watcr sGGb il! level. r*a

'Wc're going there. And wc're going there goon 'And when we get ttrcre Mr. Pessimistic Questioncr won't bc able to understand how it happcned' any norre tharr he nw understands why thiags shorild improva But tbat docsat rncan that the lumbcr industry is going bacL to ridc the crest of the wive for an indefnite Pcrlod, whilc wc blor the whistle and shovc tJre logs hard against ttc saws. WCrc going to get what we descrvc, what we GrGstG' what wc build, and what we hang onto. I

Don't you know ft31 rnrny mco in tbc Palt tso yctlS have raised the question of rvhcthcr thire lumbcr itdutrt isn't a waning+ dy'ng-indrutrt? Aod wirc mca too, not feather brains. And the anrrcr ir up to tbc lqmbcrmen ttenselves, and rot uP to Damc Fortuae. Aa a matter of fact Dame Fortrme has dwayr bccn inordinetcly Lind to the lumber industry-kindcr tben it har crct dc*twcd. Let me draw you a fictur;, f.ou.hrmbcr follr-

Thc otter day I drove through a rcrice of bE oil f,.|dl First we drcvc ttrough fieldr tht hrve bcco wclin3 lc ten or more yGars. Every dcrricl in tholc 6clds rcrc o[ wood. And some of tbosc dclricls I loolcd at bavc boco stan.ling right there glving lcrvhc fc more tben twcatll years. Thco we cana to Eos! seccot 6d&' aad we tett a mi:ture of dertichs, wood and stccl' vith thc ltccl dminrting in tte newer parts of P"j*

Then we drove tbrough o oil f,cld tbat har catircly sprung up in the last couplc ol ycars. THERE.IS NOT A WOODEN DERRICK IN THAT ENTIRE FIELD. There ttrey are, hundreds utrnn hrmdrcds of dcrricls filling the territory as cloac togetha as the hair on a dog's bacl' And NO wood. * r *

I think some of the men who havc bccn guca3ing tht lumber is a passing industry must havc takcn some ruch ride as I did, and seen this change from a occ bugc oosumer of wood, to lW/o consumption of rtccl- I. !0GGl better for the purpose than wood? Is it mott p'recicel? Is it more economical? I DOlfT BELIwB IT. Thc. is only one answ6. The stecl dcrricl it bcisg bcttc u'

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