Texas Business Review, April 1934

Business Review and ProspectS EA SO l\A L peab in indu strial producti on have ap- parentl y hcen real'hed and saggin g tendencies may lw ex pected during co min g weeks although general busi-1!ess acli vi l y is 1 ikcl y to con tinu e at a fair!y hig h level when co mpared with the low point of the depression.Recover y still is not proceedin g at an equal rate in the various lirlf's of indu str y.Greatest ex pansion has occurred in consumers' goods or in those industries stimulated by Governm ent aid.On the other hand, industries which depend prim aril y upon stimulati on from private capital continue to l ag becau se legislative, monetary and trade un certainti es have di sco uraged placing fu~d s in l ong term ente rpri ses.U ntil the Cong ressional program is mo re r:l ca rl y defined , a nd assurances provided against L..th f u rlher dras ti c reform leg islation and unso und c urn!ncy inflation measures, a moderate l ag in trade volumes is lik1' ly.H eavy Cov1!rnment purchases of raw materi als in vo h f' d in th e P. W. A. and other projects, howeve r. will s ustain ce rtain of the laggin g industri es durin g the next severa l months and thus ameliorate any 11~te s prin g recess ion.Adjournment of Congress is ex pected lo occur within th e nex t six weeks, an d, in the meantime, a certain amount of <'ompromise legisl ation will probably be enacted.,'\ lthou gh so me concessions lo the radi cal inflationists a nd socia l re form ers are anti cipated , the growin g sentiment seems Lo he th a t the Administration will in the future pl ace g reater relian ce for attaining impro vement upon the re mo val of unnecessary obstacles lo busin ess ma nage ment and ente rpri se and less upon artifi cial s timuli of doubtful immediate value and with po tentiall y unfavorabl e res ults over the longer period.No t a lon e economi l' but lon ge r term politica l cons idera tions seem to suggest dea rl y th e wisdom of a policy which will be reassuring lo effi cient bu s iness management in both l a rge and sma ll enlt> rprises.Successful econo mi c planning can be ca rried o ut only as the wholehearted coope ration of pri\ a le enterpri se is enlisted; and such l'oii pc ration in Lu rn presupposes co nfidence on tlw part of bu sine;;s men in the underl yi ng phil osoph y of the Governmental prog ram.