The herald., 1897-03-21
THE BUSINESS OUTLOOK
People Living Within Their Incomes and
Paying Their Debts
Whata Very Conservative Business Man
Has to Say About the Approach
ing Business Boom

A representative of the Herald yes
terday interviewed Mr.. ]. r. Newberry,
one of the leading merchants, and asked
his opinion on the business outlook. Mr..
Newberry is a shrewd business man,
very conservative-in fact, has general
ly been considered bear" so great has
been his conservatism.
'The business outlook, did you say?
Business at present is very heavy Peo-
pie have been living within their income
and paying their debts. This has made
hard times, and the hard times have
thrown many people out of employ
ment, and this has made harder times.
1t has been a bitter dose for our people
to take but they have taken 1t and il
has done them good
Il see by a recent article in the Her.
aid that the mortgage debt of the state
is 1914 per cent of the assessed valua-
ton, and that the mortgage debt of
Southern California is only 11A per
cent of its assessed valuation, while the
mortgage debt of Los Angeles county
is only S1s per cent Of its assessed valua- =
ton. That is a remarkable showing,
one highly complimentary to the re-
cuperative powers of our people. 1t sur
prises the general public-even our own
people. l also see by another state
ment in the Herald that the population
Of Southern California has increased
about 100000 in 1890 to 1896. This is
another remarkable showing. If our
country can increase its population fifty
per cent during such a financial de-
preston as we have just passed through
what will we do when the clouds roll by
and prosperity is with us once again?
Our banks are full of money. They
are carrying too much idle capital for
the good of the country 1t is just as
bad to have idle capital as 1t is to have
idle labor Rates of interest are con-
tinually coming down, and still we have
not yet quite reached the point where
we can afford to borrow. The people
are not buying freely yet. l send out
a man to get orders for groceries. He
brings in forty or fifty orders That
many orders ought to load three dellv-
cry wagons, but they scarcely load one.
People are as yet only buying what they
must have. But conditions are rapidly
changing for the better Each day
brings a better feeling. There are many
clements Ci prosperity right now at
hand. The good prices now being re-
ceived for oranges and lemons and the
prospects that these good prices Will
continue, together with rapidly IN
creasing crop as the new orchards come
into bearing, and the prospects of get
ting better prices for other fruits, all
tend to put our people in a position
where they can buy more freely; this
will give employment to more men and
thus the wheels of commerce will again
be set in motion with accelerated speed.
THE building of a s3,000,c00 break
water by the government at San PEDRO
and the stimulation to railroad building
in this section given by this government
work will put other money into circu-
lation, and the first we know Southern
California will have slipped right into
the middle of another great big era OF
business activity by the side of which
the boom of 1867 was not circum-
stance. The conditions are now nearly
ripe for just such elimination. There
is no power on earth that can prevent
it and that too within the very near fu-
ture. l give it as my deliberate con-
viction that within one year from date
/ shall have use for the three delivery
wagons where now only have use for
one"