The Minneapolis journal., 1903-12-26
The Business Outlook.

AS the year draws TO close IL is
possible to detect from day to day a
gradual change for the better in the
commercial and financial reports. A
few more days will carry the business
world over into a. new period. What
the year 1904 will bring forth is now
the matter Of paramount considera-
ton. A few weeks ago the tenor Of
the. general newssWas such as to leave
little ground for hopefulness and bad
reports were numerous enough to
overshadow the more favorable de-
velopments. It was the climax of the
feeling Of cautiousness, that, starting
some six months ago, soon ran into
hesitancy and finally developed into
outright; pessimism. So uniformly
unfavorable were the news items dur
ing the last half Of November, SO nu-
merous the reports Of strikes or
threatened strikes, of wage reductions
affecting many thousands Of men, Of
lack of new business and the closing
Of great Industrial plants, and SO. con
tinuously bad was the general sum-
mary that it was impossible for busi-
ness.am men not to have been affected
thereby.
Difference of opinion has been
noted as to the meaning, of the recess
sion for several months past, SO very
pronounced in a number OF leading
lines. While on the one hand it was
contended that this was really. Moth
ing more serious than a temporary
| setback, a necessary thing certain to
result in benefit in the long run, fear
has not been wanting that the .un-
favorable signs might be only = the
| forerunners Of worse things to come,
and in view Of the increasing fire.
quency of unfavorable happenings the
| belief had been growing that: a bad
year. might be expected. This feeling
reached it's height about Dec. 1. Since
then there has been less Of At The
wave Of pessimism has spent itself or
has been checked, for confidence has
been in good part regained, and in
.creasing hopefulness has been a fea-
ture of the past week.
Two years ago the business situa-
ton at this date was remarkable.
Never before in the business history
of the country had there been the ap-
proach Of new year with so much of
the Industrial effort for that year al
ready planned. Anticipation was then
not only the. tendency of the. day, but
! it was forced upon business men by
a condition Of. congestion in manu-
| foo ,?rk o,1 hny RI
| precedent Not to figure far ahead
at that time was to take the risk of
being left entirely. The consequence
was rush Of business Of such magni-
tude. that, in the time OF retrospectior
and prospection incidental to the
! holiday week, it. was possible to show
that many great industries already
| had their capacity sold out for the
entire year that had not yet opened
! A year ago the situation was much
the same. Business for future deliv-
/! cry was by no means SO heavy, yet
4 there was a great volume Of order;
A entered ahead. This year the contras
lis marked. So far from having solo
/ their capacity far ahead the great in.
| dustries, with some exceptions, have
little in hand for, next year, and are
about cleaned up on old business
Hence, a widespread impression tha
the. new year is about to open will
l conditions less favorableS than fol
! some time, and hence the tendenc,
towards increased hesitancy, the yer,
tendency that has brought about pres
ent conditions.
In the year to come, the countr,
will consume more than ever before
The people have their wants, whicl
must be met, and, generally speak
ing. they have money. It is the gen
eral expectation that building will b
carried on next year on a large
scale, especially in the cities of tn
west and northwest A number o
business lines report very bright pros
poets. Notwithstanding the presen
scarcity of orders. The trouble witt
the country at this time lies in TIL
fact that every business man has lon
81 felt that there would have to be
recession. Factories rushed with or
) ders they could not fill miles of load
ed, cars that the. railroads could no
! move-these We're the conditions som
. time ago. The country had to hav
now. Every man wants to wait unit