Current Situation

Many business men are, this spring, asking themselves: "What is prosperity, anyhow?" Since 1915, the tendency has been to define prosperity in terms of a boom, short but violent. A period when steady profits could be made without much risk seems, after the hysteria and excitement of the War years, a very tame sort of affair.

In consequence, the complaining attitude of many really prosperous business men is in reality a phase of the reconstruction after the War, which has similarly left its mark in the Arts and even in the Sciences. During the past decade, everyone's appetite for thrills has become somewhat jaded. Had a smashing panic, on the order of 1907 or 1893, occurred in 1920, business would by this time be thoroughly thankful for its present blessings, rather than inclined to carp at the moderate yet consistent profits of today.

Prophecy is always dangerous, yet it seems entirely probable that the present generation will not see another large-scale war. Moreover, war conditions in business are the exception. There is little sense in harping back to the great days of 1916 and 1919. Our industrial plants have been restored since 1920 to a genuine peace footing. It is high time that the mentality of the average U. S. business man should experience a similar transformation.