The record-union., 1896-11-22
Regarding the Effect on Business of
McKinleys Election.
While Traffic Has Not So Far Shown
Any Appreciation, the Prospect Of
Revival in the Near Future is
Almost UniverSal-General Belief
That 1t Will Really Begin to be
Felt After the First of the Year.

CHICAGO, Nov. 21.-The Railway
Age in it's issue of this week will pub
lish a summary of reports received from
some 200 railway companies and manu-
featuring companies in all parts of the
country regarding the effect on business
up to date of McKinley's election. The
are as follows:
l. Has the railway business picked up
at all? We are compelled to answer
No, it has not" In parts of the West
and Southwest it has been even dis
tinctly worse since election than it was
before. There has not even been an in
crease in the little local passenger
travel. Here and there are isolated
cases of increased activity. but looking
at the country as a whole there has
been no improvement yet either in
travel or traffic. This fact is established
beyond question by the reports re-
ceived.
2. Although there has as yet been no
increase in traffic, the railway compa-
nieS have as a whole very materially
increased their expenditures, especially
in two ways, as will be seen clearly from
the abstracts of reports which are pub
lished below. There have been many
increases of shop forces and very
general tendency to purchase more free
ly. This last fact is shown more con-
clusively by the reports from manu-
facturers than from the reports of the
companies themselves.
3. Still more important than the above
is the number of companies which re-
port that they had all the plans made
for a reduction in force in case the cleo
ton had gone the other way. These re-
ports emphasize very strongly the grav-
ity of the danger from which the coQn-
try has been saved. The railway COM
panies generally have, during the hard
times, been keeping up their forces and
expenses at a point In excess of what ex-
listing business would justify, in the
hope of return of prosperity, and they
are now in position to meet any in
crease Of demands that may be made
upon them without further expendi-
lures.
4. The expectation OF a revival in the
near future is almost universal There
is curious unaninity in the expression
of a belief that this revival will really
begin to be felt after the 1st of January
There is also-most cheering of allan
evident belief in all directions that this
revival will be permanent-that is to
say, that it will last several years at
least.
I'm conclusion, we would say the evi-
dences of an actual increase in business
to-day are more marked than we had
expected to find. The improvement so
far Is largely one of sentiment. Rail-
ways are taking advantage of existing
low prices to place orders for goods and
make betterments which they hope that
an increased demand will soon Justify
Manufacturers are similarly opening up
and increasing their output SO as to be
beforehand and ready to furnish stock
when 1t is needed. All this implies en-
actual return Of confidence. With the
extension of that confidence, SO that
money will be available for new enter
prises and for expansions of existing
business, the circle of Improvement will
widen, and as it widens, as the number
of men who are earning wages and have
wages to spend go on increasing, those
who have dared to move in advance of
the times will reap the reward of their
courage.