Show economic highlights S SALVATION IN understanding the alic year just cloned was it a ino 1110 montoli one HIP not only for the putted states but for tile the entire ch civilized world it was nias a year of crises of draina tic find far reach lilt ing changes lit in tile the structure truc turo of governments and peoples by the narrowest of margins 1 n I world wor war that seemed certain was avert rd ed yet tit nt the same time major though undeclared wars are arc in ili progress on oil two of the continents brithe force lins has become the prin elpel weapon of ino modern deril diplomacy find there can call iw be no real stability in tile thi world orld no permanent rest reit for the nones nerves of the ho troubled hll bit lions who inhabit it so long ions ns as tills iq 18 true coining hoine to our own oon country 1038 19 18 olana with business do on oil PI every cry hand and with depression deepening at the years end ono one of tile the sharpest improve i lit in business in ili our history i was registered over a period of five months find the immediate prospects fin favor or a continuation of tills trend some of the grave dlf dit feyen frrances ces between industry nt at large hid and tile national administration seem to bo be nearing lien ring reconcilement the rhe deduction deducts oil to be anade front from the important off year elections in ili november nw ember Is that tho the thinking of tile tho electorate Is turning toward the conservative side spokesmen for manufacturing in austry publicly express confidence all tills this Is 18 highly encouraging it glies gives groat great cause for hope that a depression it a decade long may be tit lust last nearing its ond end but even though tills this Is true it would bo be folly to overlook or to underestimate tile alie many vital and unsettled problems that the american people still face our int largest gest single industry railroading finds its condition growing worse better blasin ess during recent months tills hns nn na resulted in sonie inermae lit in railroad traffic nut but the basic difficulties facing the itlie lines lilies ato s excessively stringent rog reg illation heavy taxation and direct find indirect lot I 1 by government of their principal cona coin letl tr remain the same there call lie be no real prosperity in america so long as nil an industry which spends a billion a year for supplies in ili ii norin orinal 91 tittles times which employs of thousands of well paid workers and on which we depend for the transportation of tile lie g groat hulk bulk of the products of our barins ibid and factories can call look hok forward to nothing save in keliik liiK deficits the political pr problem oblenis affecting tile public service industries are similarly un there has bus twell iwen enuch talk for instance of inc nc cords find conciliations whereby tit the N deral Covern government ment would modify its program of i mh lely ow tied gas and electric sy steins but t kliore r has well no definite action such agencies as the TVA continue their policy of refusing third party arbitration of the prices to lie be bald for private properties they wish to purchase pur clia and to hold bold tile the threat ait of building duplicate plants ana transmission lines lilies over oer the of utilities which atch refuse to sell ns its prices which would entail i cilous losses to their bond and As a result utility l rei renial natili ns at low ebb and tills great industry which could do so u much toward revitalizing america must mark time while its owners nud and workers wonder willit nil iu unpredictable will bring A clond of eriv legislation lation linnik over that held in ill which the alio con consumer unior Is 18 most directly involved involve retail distribution tho ikins distri distribution distribute buth n agencies dRon cles of the which lieve nindo ninde such notable strides str ldes lit in reducing costs of f fill utmost every umes necessity sity and lux nu nry of life fire under attack should these agencies bo be destroyed na As some soine extremists in ili congress Cong rss mid find cw liero seem to desire the effect will be to reduce tile alio standard of 0 living of everyone of those millions of fal nille 4 to which the budget problem Is nn nil ever present worry warry hero then la Is another great issue directly us nil hint must be settled before national stability call a fact instead of 11 hope the related Irol of 0 debt taxation and alq aro like csc vise a drag on oil progress rroK resy though wt fire now flow carrying the tax tn burden in our history the national dolt debt KOCS goes steadily higher investors are frightened money needed for industrial expansion cannot be 10 obtained in ill adequate and again dep depression relon Is furthered the menage individual does not yet realize that plat when aj a treasury cheek it Is signed in washington it Is lit in effect drawn against hla his own owl nna income tit rn spite of our vast expenditures for relief in ili spite of in ili bus busques lues little if any dent tills has iwen been made in the dunber of the unemployed not until private business Is able to ni niora orb a majority of t relle flers thus thug reducing the weight of the relief millstone on productive industry can genuine recovery and be possible this brief up lip can touch on oil but a few of the grent domestic problems that confront us we may inny take heart from the progress we v have ninde made in ili the year just closed cli Cl hut but we must bring now new un to bear if we are to alake needed progress ln in the future |