America's Money Machine

18.
The Lapping Waves of Crisis
T HE
YEA R 1 9 2 6 ended with an extraordinary spectacle on the
floor ofthe New York Stock Exchange. During the final hour, a bull
rally was going as floor traders sought to fill orders that poured in from
a confident public; but their shouts were drowned by the blare ofa band,
and their finger wagging was hidden in a shower of confetti. Trading
came to a standstill as the band played, balloons floated in the air, and
stock brokers danced on a floor littered with ticker tape and confetti.
Members with more agile feet entertained the packed galleries with exhibitions
ofthe Black Bottom, the current ball room rage.Just before three
0'clock the band moved from the gallery to the trading floor and the final
gong sounded in the midst of songs and revelry.
There seemed ample reason for rejoicing. It had been a prosperous
year-probably the most prosperous in the nation's history. Prices of
goods were stable, the public debt was steadily diminishing, gold was
flowing to these shores, factories were humming, jobs were plentiful,
profits were good, and investors were reaping the rewards of their
shrewdness and thrift.
Such a year would not return soon, and when business did again revive,
following the worst stock market panic in history, and after an exhausting
war, the profits of business were no longer its own, nor its decisions.
There would be an immense public debt and interest to pay; there would
be an enormous defense cost to meet; taxes on corporate enterprise
would now drain over half the profits, and corporate managers, in addition
to the internal revenue auditor looking over their shoulders, would
find their affairs under the continual scrutiny ofdozens of other bureau-
135