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Shattuck, S. F., et. al (ed.) / A history of Neenah
(1958)
The 1930's, pp. 109-[122]
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Page 109
THE 1930'S A S WE ENTrER the '3os, we instinctively revert to our initial ob- servationas stated by Paul Vanderbilt in the Spring, i95 issue of Wisconsin Magazine of History: "The main objective is not so much the mere tracing backward of historical streams to their remote sources, as the induce- ment of a vision of the current history flowing toward us from the past." How dramatically obvious this is as we visualize the economic her- itage bequeathed by the 1920'S to the succeeding decade. Business was good during the third decade of the century, following a tempo- rary recession of I92O and 21. The securities market mounted steadily, until in August of 1928, the head of a prominent investors' service, writing in one of America's well-known magazines, voiced among other things: " * * . the belief that a long period of peace is in store for the civilized nations of the World." Under the title, "A New Era in Wall Street," he evaluated all of the factors then undergirding the nation's financial structure, and, sum- ming up, reached this conclusion: "Naturally enough, forecasts made in 1923, which correctly foreshadowed what subsequently has happened in the security markets, would have been looked upon as fantastic by the average man;- any present forecast of the coming few years may also be looked upon as fantastic. Nevertheless, there seem to be many reasons for believing that the coming period may prove quite as stable and constructive in this country as have the past five years, if not more so. And though the prices of investment securities of standard quality look high to us today, they easily may, by 1933, be quoted in many cases at far higher values." The Bank Holiday What happened fourteen months later is common knowledge. From lo9
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