The morning journal-courier., 1908-02-26
THE BUSINESS SITUATION.


 THE BUSINESS SITUATION.
 The Boston News Bureau, after looking the field over, takes more hopeful view of the business situation. It says that it is convinced that con ditions are shaping themselves some what for the better. This financial journal is close to the heart of things and keeps in touch with the pulse of trade. It is therefore more in a. posi- ton to carry a spirit of hopefulness with its investigations than would be the case with newspaper concerned with the gathering of every kind of news and too often perhaps engaged in commenting favoraby upon it for the sake of ooing so. The News Bu- reau would soon lose it's hold on the investing class if it did not make it's predictions and suggestions with the greatest care and impartialitv
 Since the psychological phase of the period of business depression still eX- erts its influence upon public thought 1t is we'll to reprint from the columns of the News Bureau what 1t has to say upon the subject of the situation: "Without question" it says. ''the po- litical position is the keynote to the situation, and there are reasons to be- lieve that in this particular a distinct improvement is under way The idea is growing that the capital and jntelli- gence of the country are finally swinging to Taft as the safest and surest way to meet the crisis prevail ing. It seems to be the general inn pression that while Taft espouses what are termed the Roosevelt policies, he will adopt conservative and sane meth rods in their application. and after all it has been the methods, rather than the policies, that have been so instru- mental in disturbing the business con- fidence of the country Already there are signs of some betterment in gen eral trade. For long time we have been Inclined to take counsel of our fears. The sudden and sharp cessation of demand for commodities has caused an extremely pessimstic feeling to pervade the business world. But all this may change quickly. Human na- ture Is much the same everywhere. The moment the average man is satis- fled that prices have touched bottom, that moment he will appear as buy CT, and then it will become evident D what an extent the curtailment of pro- duction has lessened the general SUD- ply. That something of more than us. ual importance has occurred in the body polite is made manifest by the sustained strength in the security mar ket. Undoubtedly the buying to over outstanding short contracts has ten led to this strength, but of greater i'm port is the fact that sentiment h ,s changed to that extent where the sell ing pressure has been decidedly les- sened."
 It is encouraging to learn from sucn a quarter that the investing and gen orally intelligent classes have so far re- covered from their alarm as to realize that while methods of prosecuting the law and enforcing it may be improved upon, there will be no change unds T any possible administration that can be conceived of in the determined spjr- it in which the jaws of the land are 10 be prosecuted and enforced. That marks a very great advance over the older philosophy which railed qaite as much against one as against the other A strangely perverted view of individual and corporate independence grew up under the arbitrary suspen- sion of the law, and it became a very much disturbed view when 1t was sud- denly seen that the ban of suspension was to be lifted and the law enforced. We will agree that the manner in which the awakening was undertaken was rietous and disorderly. and yet it may be seriously asked if the awaken ing could have succeeded in any other way, so steeped were men and corpor- ations in their own fancied immunity Now that the awakening is fact, and now that there is little likelihood of the country falling asleep again, the investing public and the trading public alike naturally estimate the chances of their being kept awake by reasonable methods of orderly prodding. In so far as Mir. Taft is concerned the feel ing reflected in the columns of the News Bureau is to the effect that it is being realized that while he is in no degree a mild second to President Roosevelt in his determination to see to it that the laws are enforced, his method is an impressively different one The friends of Secretary Taft will