Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-06-15
THE BUSINESS OUTLOOK.
Henry Clews Sums Up the Situation
in Wall Street.

New York, May 15.-Henry CleWs
in his weekly financial letter says:
Liquidation has continued upon a
most remarkable and mysterious scale.
No authoritative explanation has yet
been put forth except that bankers are
now withholding their support from
questionable schemes, that many UNI
derwriting operations recently organ
lied have been quietly closed in con-
sequence, and that heavy capitalists
may have taken advantage of the sit
uation to further important financial
operations. Whether these theories be
correct or not, it is plain the market
has suffered very largely under Sc
we're reaction from the speculative I'M
derwriting mania of the last three
years. Good stocks have been sold to
protect the weaklings. There is ap-
parently nothing in the crop money or
labor situations to warrant such fall
as we have recently experienced.
While the injury to crops has prob
ably reached the worst, the labor sit
uation also seems to have reached a
climax Strikes are on the decline. and
indications are that under more care
| full and prudent leadership labor in the
future will avoid some of the mistakes
of the past The most interesting
question in this respect is, how VIII
business and industry stand the new
| tax imposed by higher wages? 1t is
quite certain that costs of production
have been considerably increased by the
| high wages and short hours now in
force. This means continued high
prices for all manufactured articles and
! nossibly still further advances IL mills
| and factories can not obtain adequate
profits under present conditions. VIII
| consumers pay higher prices. or has
the limit of their buying power at this
Ileyel been reached? In many cases 1t
has been reached, and consumers are
consequently obliged to either buy less
or seek substitutes. Organized labor,
tho exceptionally we'll paid, forms only
a portion of the entire population, and
a good many laboring men have inn
paired their purchasing power by
strikes and self-imposed idleness. This
situation is fully appreciated by the
mercantile classes, who are pursuing
a very conservative course until they
see how the crop, the financial and
| the labor issues are likely to develop
during the next two months. Wh1ie
there is much ground for hopefulness
in these respects there is much reason
| for caution. and prudent business men
are acting accordingly. The cotton sit
| uation is certainly an element of weak
ness. and will bear close watching.
Until the market energies from its
present feverish condition speculation
will have to be conducted on careful
lines. The pendulum seems to have
swung too violently in the opposite dt-
rection, and a fair recovery is justi-
fled. 1t must be remembered, however,
that much of the buying power former
ly in the market has been dlsslpated by
recent losses: and that. while stocks
have passed from weak into strong
Hands, there is no material yet in sight
for prolonged bull market. The Sit
uation is safer in many respects than
at any time within the last twelve
months. and there has been no lack
of opportunities for quick turns. and
such opportunities are likely to con-
! tinue for some time ahead.