Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-11-21
What McKinley's Election Has Done
for the Country.
SUMMARY OF MANY REPORTS
A Lasting Revival in Industry Gen.
orally Expected.
EXTENSION OF CONFIDENCE

CHICAGO, November 21.-The Railway
Age in its issue of this week will publish
| a summary of reports received from some
two hundred railway companies and manu-
facturers in all parts of the country re-
garding the effect on business up to date
of McKinley's election. The conclusions
drawn from these reports are as follows:
Il. Has the railway business picked up
at all? We are compelled to answer no;
1t has not. In parts of the west and south
west 1t has even been distinctly worse since
| the election than 1t was before There has
not even been an increase in the little local
passenger travel. Here and there are
| isolated cases of increased activity, but
locking 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 received
-. Although there has as yet been nc
increase In traffic. the railway companies
as whole have very materially increased
their expenditures. especially in two ways
| as VIII be seen clearly from the abstracts
OF reports which are published. There have
peen many increases of shop forces and
very general tendency to purchase more
! freely. This last fact is shown more con.
ciusiVely by the reports from manufacture
ers than the reports of the companies them
selves.
.; Still more important than the above
is tne number OF companies which report
tnat they had all plans made for a reduc-
tion In force in case the election had gone
.ne otner way. These reports emphasize
very strongly the gravity of the danger
from which the country has been saved.
ne railway companies generally have.
curing the hard times, been keeping IN
thelr forces and expenses at point in ex-
cess or what existing business would JUS
t1y' In the hope of a return of prosperity.
ana they are now in a position to meet any
increase or demands that nav be made
upon them without further expenditures.
=. The expectation of a revival in the
near future is almost universal There is a
curious unanimity 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 1t will last
Tor several years at least.
In conclusion we would saw that the
evidences of actual increase in business to-
day are more marked than We had expected
to find. The improvement So far however,
is largely one of sentiment Railways are
taking advantage of existing low prices to
place orders for goods and make better
| ments which they hope that an increased
demand will soon justify. Manufacturers
are similarly opening up and increasing the
output, SO as to be forehanded and ready to
furnish stock when it is needed.
All this implies an actual return Of con-
hdence. With the extension Of that conf
dence, so that money will be available for
new enterprises and for expansions of ex-
isting business, the circle of Improvement t
will widen; and, as 1t widens. as the num-
Der of men who are earning wages and lave
wages to spend goes on increasing, those
who have dared TO move in advance of the
| times will reap the reward of their cour-
age"