Life — October 26, 1928 — page 17: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Florida real estate and finally that bubble burst. Then they speculated in urban real estate, but city real estate prices are rap- idly coming down. Now they have turned to the stock market, and stocks are selling pectation rather than on realiza- on ¢x tion.” That is no new argument; Mr. John J. Raskob, who knows a good deal about markets, lately observed that most stock prices arc too high. But Mr. Raskob's remarks could be, and were, disregarded; he is running a Democratic presidential campaign, and by that sign all good busi- ness men know him as an enemy of business. Mr. Ayres, however, was talking asa banker to bankers when he said that “the public appears to be mistaking the past for the future, and confidently believ- ing that the credit inflation based on the gold that is gone will somehow suffice to support. market prices until something dse can take its place.” Did that disturb the public that has been running up the prices in the Stock Market? Not in the least; the market went on rising, The Federal Reserve Board has tried to hold the gamblers down, but with no success; if the bankers think of reducing speculators’ loans, their depositors, the great corporations in which the business judgment of America isembodicd, take over the work and lend the money that boosts prices higher and higher. Possity some of these corporations pre- fer to use their money to finance stock gambling (on good security) rather than to expand their own businesses, because they have a suspicion that the consumers are already absorbing about as much as can be forced down their throats; but whether or not that is the reason, it begins to look as if our famous prosperity were not so securely founded as some of the campaign speeches would have us believe. That argument, however, will not be pop- ular with the optimistic stock gambler, who knows that a fifty per cent increase in the average price of stocks means a fifty per cent increment in national wealth, regardless of the return that the stocks may yield to their owners. It looks as if there were several billion dollars of sucker money in this. country that are bound to be lost somewhere; now that the bottom has dropped out of Florida the money is getting ready to be lost in Wall Street. But violent fluctuation of prices on Wall Street is not very good ‘or American business. It might be cheaper in the long run if we encouraged the development of roulette. Elmer Davis. Tue Ong WHisrerer Worth Listeninc To —Life Lines— As near as we can figure it, about the only thing a General Motors official hasn't come out for this year ‘is the new Ford. aL “Mr. Dallas Parker, and Miss Edna Muirhead seemed to have a good time Sunday night."* —Wetumka (Okla.) Gazette. A Guarpep statement, if we ever heard one. LL Tue purchasing power of the American dollar in Rumania, travelers report, is but fifty cents or, in other words, just double what it is over here. LL “Corrorarion, doing nation-wide business, has desirable opening for lady, good appearance, to qualify for position of responsibility, educa- tional campaign; must be free to leave city; com- mon school education sufficient if applicant is ambitious, energetic, capable handling people; will be trained in business; salary $18 first year. Suite 1715, 303 5th av."" —New York World Want Ad. Wuy Corporations Do Nation-wide Busi- ness; or, How to Be a Lady of Good Appearance on $18 per Annum. aL It is reported that a flapper boot- legger in Oregon was carrying moonshine in her bloomers. This ought to give some- one a chance to revive that old joke about a kick in the pants! LL Our favorite co-eds are those that you meet in the School of Experience. comicbooks.com