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Show Striking- An Average The tendency of most people is to be either too optimistic or too pessimistic, according to. their feelings or impressions at the time During the present period of depression de-pression one should try and stjy In the middle of the road, allowing allow-ing neither unjustified hopes or unreal fears to influence them too much. As Mr. Richard Whitney, president of the New York Ex change, said in a recent address- "The current situation, however, has not been improved by the weak and uncertain counsels which the public has received from business bus-iness leaders themselves. There have been too many suave statements state-ments that reassure nobody, too many empty platitudes, too great, a lack ol frankness and realism, too much of an attitude of trying to whistle in the graveyard at midnight. mid-night. On the other hand, the occasion has called forth the usual crcp of calamity -howlers, alarmists alarm-ists and irresponsible publicity-mongers publicity-mongers with some personal axe to grind. The alarm felt by the public has been placed a sort of premium upon making sensational statements, writing hasty and lurid articles and even books, and issuing solemn warnings of the collapse cf civilization. Most of these hysterical over statements have been selfish, vain and insincere, insin-cere, yet they have played a large part in augmenting the fear of )a- vestors and consumers to buy, and in retarding the formulation of constructive business policies. Obviously, Ob-viously, this sort of thing tends to delay the completion of business readjustment and the ending of the deepression. "When looked at in cold blood, highly seasoned emotional talk of this kind is only the froth and spindthrift whipped up by the changing tides of supply and demand. de-mand. We have heard it all many times before Whenever demand . 1 ,j appears to be outrunning supply and prices rise, there is alwavs someone to treat us to a glowing vision of the mllbnnium. Just around the corner. Wlipnevcr supply sup-ply temporarily over-balance de mand and prices fall, someone is always on hand to point out to us the bottomless pits of Hell Itself yawning at our very feet. Strangely Strange-ly enough, these ready guides and prophets are orten the same identical iden-tical person. Consistency mav be a Jewel, but also, apparently ' ad vertising pays. Mass emotion of this sort is actually ac-tually generated by major changes in prices, which themselves are caused by economic readjustment This explain.5 why it is that just when optimism is at its height danger impends, and that just when pessimism is deepest, readjustment read-justment toward mere favorable conaitions Is already., powerfully under way. 1 |