V.gabond Editorials

By Jack Dionne

The hearts and hands of the nation are being extended, as this is written, to Southern California in her hour of tragedy.

Out of suffering and travail great things always come, and Southern California is already girding her loins to rebuild her shattered districts bigger and better and more beautiful than they were before. Just as from the prostrate ruins of Santa Barbara arose a city infinitely more beautiful than the one the earthquake struck, so Long Beach and other Southern California towns will rise anew.

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The building material people have promptly rallied to furnish the immediate aid and assistance needed for the preliminary work. How much material and labor will be needed for the renovation and rejuvenation of the stricken areas is as yet problematical, but it wiil be ready and forthcoming.

Coming, as it did, ," arl" *rd.a "n the greatest financ'al crisis of modern times, the trouble that came to Southern California entirely wiped the thought of banks and finances from the consciousness of the people of the West.

>lc** rnstead of the n.rrr" "rl i"rl *r.r"dy that might well have been expected to imrnediately follow anything so terrific as the closing of all the banks and the complete stagnation of our financial system, there came a cheerful calm that was surprising to all concerned. It was accepted philosophically. It might be said that a sigh of relief rose from the bosom of this entire nation.

How the two have contrasted ! Without warning, and out of the clearest of California skies, there came the rumble and roar and terror of the quake. Yet, just as amazingly, out of the blackness of the economic situation that necessitated the closing of every bank in America, has come light, and hope, and confidencHven enthusiasmall of which are nation-wide.

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You could liken it to the situation of a ma.n who had been caught in the rapids above a water-fall; who had struggled and fought and grasped at every rock and root and branch and floating thing that presented itself, trying to stay the power that was sucking him constantly downward. Finally he loses the battle, the last straw is grasped in vain, the quickening current catches hirn, he gives one last gasp-and over he goes. And, instead of being dashed to pieces he finds himself floating cheerfully toward shore. He feels the same, he looks the same, the sun shines, the world goes on around him, people are grinning at him and he grins back at them. The awful climax he has been fearing has come upon him-and wasn't anything like as terrible as he had feared. d< ,i. {. d.{3*

And friends, we have looked upon a miracle ! For not only was the confidence of the people quickly and almost incredibly restored, but today this entire nation is practically in a position of rejoicing. We have met that fearful inevitable that we have been struggling against and fearing for three and a half years, we have struck bottom, and now we are on the way out. Somehow-for the past six months at least-everyone has known, down deep in his heart, that all our efforts and all our struggles and all our artificial injections, only postponed-could not preventthe inevitable drop that has just come.

Complete restoration of confidence is sweeping this country. A genuine spirit of optimism is everywhere. You can hardly find a man who does not believe that we are going to bounce out of this. There are physical manifestations everywhere. Commodity prices have been rising while the banks and exchanges have been closed. There is a general belief that. when our medium of exchange is normally restored there is going to be an upward trend of values that will cover all territories and all commodities.

I have been interviewing, by telephone and telegraph, many of the best thinking lumbermen in the country. Today men do not particularly care to be quoted in exact prophesying, but note these opinions offered me by some of the best known lumbermen in America.

Here is one: "I believe it to be the duty of every man to put forth his uttermost efforts to restore confidence, believing as I do that conditions demand and justify the hope of immediate restoration of prosperity in this country.t'

Here is another: "f look for an immediate revival in business followed by rising values in the basic commod- ities; confidence is slowly returning, and we feel that we have turned the corner."

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I take the liberty of quoting and using the name of Mr. R. A. Long, who had just attended the inauguration of President Roosevelt when he wired me: "I think we have definitely turned the corner and the confidence of the people throughout the nation will from this day rapidly return and within sixty days this situation will be so bright and encouraging as to cause us to all but forget the serious situation of the last few days. This condition of mind should and will help all k^nds of legitimate business."

Personally I feel like "": ;. L"" ,""r, a miracle happen. The dark clouds hung so low when state by state the banks folded up and locked their doors, that it just seemed like the end of the long, hard row that has been tearing the vitals out of all of us through the years-had arrived. But we actually BOUNCED out of it. If I live a million I shall never forget the blinding surprise that has come to me in the amazing reaction to this final financial development. ***

There is a general conviction on the part of everyone, everywhere, that there are good things just ahead of us, that prices are going to climb above cost for the first time in a long while, that demand will be active, that this is a poor time to book orders at prevailing low prices, etc. I see commodities withdrawing from the market entirely for fear of being caught short in a rise. I see hope and faith all about me. But more than that I see confidence and enthusiasrn and conviction-and those things are better than faith; for the Good Book tells us that .,blind faith availeth nothing."

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Personally I am heartened and strengthened by every intelligent contact f have made in the past several days. We are all selling one another enthusiasm. The door to opportunity seems to be swinging wide. The future of business seems to be dating from right now. -.

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If it ever occurred to me to doubt that this IS the greatest and soundest nation this world has ever seen, this miracle of reaction has successfully erased , any such feeling.

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It seems to me that'the entire nation is saying: ,,Thank God for the leadership of Franklin Roosevelt; let's go from here !"

And I have more n"".J ", rrtd today than I have had any day since the fall of 1929.