Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-10-21

due to the failure OF new institutions
10 make good"
Several Of these virtual failures came
very near causing 4 great hardship 10
the people of the middle and working
classes. For example. the Federal
Trust company. which was taken over
by another bank early in the Year. was
in reality a savings bank. 1t had adj
vertised its facilities throughout the
country. and held deposits from the
working classes of nearly every state
in the union.
But savings bank depositors are now
reaping another fruit of tariff pro-
duced prosperity" The banks here
have been paying ( per cent interest
on savings accounts. They are just
now beginning to scale that interest
down. Heretofore. they have paid in
terest from the first of the month on
all sums deposited up to the eleventh.
The rule just adopted is not to pay in
terest on any sum deposited after the
first. Heretofore interest has also been
paid on ali money held for full 80
days period. The new regulation is
to pay no interest on money deposited
for less than three months. The saw
ings banks found it very easy for sew
eral years to pay per cent. This is
not so now, and it is generally believ-
ed that per cent will be the prevail
ing figure before very long.
Money is more difficult to borrow in
Cleveland today than in almost any 9th
er large city in the United States. In
tcIest rates are fully one-half of l per
cent higher than they are even in Gin
cinnati, and banks are loaning very
little money for the expansion of man
lufacturing plants Few of the con
:arns here, outside of the automobile
factories. (which are everywhere en-
! joying an abnormal prosperity, have
added TO their producing capacity with
| in the last II months. There has been
feeling of uncertainty and discOur-
agement throughout the period, and
this sentiment has been most mani
| fest among the concerns most closely
allied with the large trusts. Small
companies which have been content to
sell their output at normal figure, and
not push the market overheard by
grasping all the opportunities offered
by high protective tariff, have enjoyed
and are still enjoying Il good business
Lake shipping Largely Decreased.
Next to Chicago this is the most i'm
portant shipping point on the great
lakes. Heavy cargoeS of iron ore from
the Lake Superior regions are receives
here, and great shipments of coal ant
ron are dispatched from here. Ye
this summer has seen the smallest LAKE
shipments, both outgoing and incom
ing, for many years past. This ha!
been due in part to the strike which
occurred on the lake vessels early il
the season, but it has also been yer.
materially affected by the reduced bust
ness all along the line
Yet every bit of this hating of trade
has been accompanied by a heavy in
crease in the cost of the necessities O
life. The most conspicuous changes il
prices have been in wooden goods ant
meats. The increase in the cost q
beef, bacon and pork has been fully .
per cent here within the last three o
four years The price of flour ha
risen very steadily. and the most ag
gravating part of it is that the raise
have occurred almost Simultaneous
with general reduction in wages, q
with the shutting down of mills. Time
are not hard" mere. hut the people
, and even republicans. feel very strong
ly that there should be 4 readjustmen
of economic conditions.