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Show Farley Advises People Not to Buy Business Mr. James A. Farley, former postmaster-general, in a recent speech in Birmingham, Alabama, advised the people of the South to balance their agriculture with industry and to make it possible for the people, through increased incomes, to satisfy their wants and their needs. In addition, Mr. Farley urged that no effort be made to buy business, declaring that "I am not one who would advocate giving giv-ing free sites to industries, years of tax exemption, special concessions conces-sions and franchises, guarantees of roads and highways, waterworks, water-works, etc." The New Yorker put his finger on one or tne racKets or modern industrial progress. Very often a community is faced with demands from a prospective industry that it provide, free of charge, certain essentials which are the legitimate legiti-mate expense of business. The people proposing the new enterprise enter-prise are anxious to get as much as they can for nothing and are adept in playing one community against another. As localities bid against each other, the net result is the loss of considerabl revenue reve-nue and the donation of considerable consid-erable public funds. Mr. Farley asserts that "real legitimate business does not ask, does not expect and would not have these baubles hung in front of their faces." He adds that "the business that demands these is worth looking into it savors too much of speculation and too little of permanency; it rings too much of theory and too little of practice; prac-tice; it's long on hope and short on know-how." We thoroughly approve the sentiments expressed by Mr. Farley Far-ley and give them publicity. Nevertheless, we have no illusions that what he says will persaude industry-hungry localities from attempting to "buy business." In the long run, however, we are convinced that there is no net gain. |