Weekly Arizona journal-miner., 1908-06-17
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS AND
 BUSINESS INTERESTS.

Financial disturbance and stringency. It is no, simply that public attention is largely turned away from it's usual ,oursc tO the excitement of the cam paign, but much more the uncertainty as to the result, and as ,o the financial policy which may be in the ascendant for the four years To come, make men cautious and conservative and hold them back from new and large enter. priss. Almost always tnc declared pol. icies of the two leading parties are very unlike, if not aatly antagonistic, as respect matters as affect the hnan' cial interests of the country, and men believe that it will mako great differ. ence which party goes into power Mon. ey is proverbially timid, and men who have it shrink from investments, and especially from undertaking large pro. rc,s, pending n presidential election. They prefer 70 wait until they see what the result is to be, and know under whn political eonditions:t the bosinesA of the country iH to be carried ou for the next four years. ''''
 Now, this very feeling create tae con diiion which it drcads. The very fact that this impression prevails tends to make times hard and busipess sluggish. Of course, there is something 'in #, but Undoubtedly very 'ofsep the impression Is, vres,iy cIsggerstsd. IL is by DO means true ,ha. yes's. of presidential campaigns hsvc always bech' years of busipess disturbance and 6napeiai ss'ih. xepcy. A. writer in the New YoTk Eve. hing Post, op- of the sblest uewspa' pess of tho country, has been returning over the history of the r,sykets of 1904 aud he 6pds i, "impo~sibie to detect any influence whstevef visi6iy eIertsa by the approaching campaign until the democpiic nominations were actually made at the opening of July. Even sf.er that the s,estioD was n pegiigible influence on the Stock Exchange, and probably equally so ih general trade. August. September mud October were, ip fact, months 6f rapid recovery in pearly all fields of cntcIprise.''
 The probable explanation of this, however, is in ,he fact that the result of tae election was generally regarded as assured in advance, The overwhelrs
 ing majority of the people believed fully that Roosevelt would he elected, and hepse the caution and timidity which sri~ from uncertainty were hardly factors in the case.
 In 1900 there was rather singular state of affairs. for five or six months ! preceding the nominations of MeKin. ley and Bryan in June, financial mar kets were much unsettled and depfess' ed; business was sluggish aud feverish, and feeling of decided uncertainty prevailed. Bu, directly tlN nomina. tions were made, business revived and moved steadily upward till taerc was a sort of bursting of tho goom in April, 1901.
 lu 1896. however, things were entire. ly different. The financial interests of ! the country were profoundly disturbed and even alarmed by the threat of Bryan and his free silver campaign. Bryan was bogey.man, . genuine black. man in the closet, and in immi. nent danger of breaking out, and doing fearful things. The result of the cam paign was believed to be in great doubt, and, in fact. there was abun dapt reason why i, should be. Those of our readers whose memory runs back twelve years, and who recall the situa. ,ion then, will not need 10 be reminded of the alarm than was felt all oyer the country by the money interests, and how narrowly we escaped a destructivc panic; not because of anything Mr. Bryan and his party had yet done, but because of the fear of what they might do if the election went their way, as it "f," wy H''"'y A'"'N" " mikh'.
 We believe that tacre will be but little serious effect on the business in. tsrcsts of the country this year on ae. count of the election. People arc. mot onc'icnth so much in fear of Mr. ,Bry. an as they were twelve years ago. q, Be sides, the very stringeney through which We have been passing for some months now has brought us down ta solid ground. and we are not likely to be so easily disturbed as we would have been .a year ago. Weak institutions nave had to go out of business. Fool ish projects have had to be given. up. Inflated values have. been shrunken, nd