The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1904-09-16
Business LOOKING Up.

Henry Clews speaks encouraglnSly OF
the country's condition. His weekly re-
port follows: NO great kneeness of per-
ception is required to observe that a de-
cided improvement iii confidence has tax
ell place during the past two or, three
months. This has been due, of course,
partly to a natural reaction from the
extreme depression which usnered in the
current year, but mainly to an actual
betterment of conditions, chief of which
is the passing of any serious uncertain
ty regarding the crops. 1t need cause
no disappointment that thus far the
more hopeful spirit recently developed
has not yet crystalized into an enlarged
volume of business. A change of feel
ing must always precede any change of
action; and there is every reason to be-
lieve that in due time trade and in
dustry will experience a reasonable re-
vival. Impatience cannot hasten its
coming, and there are still sufficient adj
verse conditions to prevent any too
buoyant expectations.
OF all factors in the situation is that
we are now gathering an abundant and
profitable harvest; not quite so album
dant as at one time expected, yet suf-
ficiently SO as to secure our agricultur-
lists another prosperous year: 1t makes
one shrink to think what might have
happened had this been a year of crop
failures, succeeding the series of disas-
tiers which began in 1902 and continued
through 1908. The good harvests of the
current year have not only saved the
country from a fresh outbreak of liqui-
dation but have really gone long way
towards restoring the country's finances
and industries to a position of normal
soundness and stability. Another year
of profitable agriculture should afford
time and means for better taking care
of the mass of indigestible securities Gre
ated during the last six or seven years
There is still a great mass of indigesti-
bles left, but these will no longer be the
menace they once were. Some will be
recognized ere long; some will settle
down to their intrinsic value, and others
will disappear from the market entirely;
thus permitting gradual instead of a
forced liquidatioM as well as wider
and consequently less serious distribu-
ton of losses For all of these verv i'm
portant advantages we are indebted, as
already said, to good harvest.
| The most important hindrances to
further recovery are the war, the labor
situation, the high level of commodity
of our foreign trade. Concerning the
war, the extraordinary successes of ia
pan are unfortunately not conducive to
early peace. Mediation may be attempt
ed by some Power with view of stop
ping the awful waste of life and wealth;
but Russia is least likely to think of
peace while humiliated; and not until
the Car has accomplished something to-
wards restoration of Russian prestige
will peace proposals be considered; es-
pecially as Japan would probably impose
harsher terms after a great victory than
when the score was more even. AT pres
ent, therefore,, the indications are that
the war must drag along for an indefi-
mite period, and thus prove disturbance
of more or less consequence in the inter
national markets.
The struggle between capital and lab
or fortunately shows some tendency to
abate. Gradually, though only through
the school of bitter and costly experience
the labor leaders are learning their cause
is on the wane. Labor has extracted all
it can get out of the total product; the
limits of cost as well as of patience have
been reached, and the effort to secure
monopoly of labor is failing just as sure
ly as the failure to establish monopoly
of capital. The entire drift of economic
tendencies is once more back to the
open shop, the open market and the open
door, in which all shall have more equal
opportunities and more equal protection
under the law.
As for high commodity prices, the