Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-01-08
Local Financial Circles Have
Cheerful Outlook and Look
For Betterment.
TRADING is RATHER QUIET.
net"een-season Breathing Spell Fol.
lows Brisk Business Over
Holidays.

At inc beginning of the new, yea.
everything looks encouraging. excent
there Is Il greater demand for monn,,
'hdn the present supply Will afford
however 1t is hoped that this cordi.
tion Is but temporary, and the now
year VIII witness continued actIvIt,,
rs large part OF the demand is for
perfectly legitimate projects am,
schemes. The local banking com,nuni,,,
was much shocked to hear of tho de,+h
OF Dumont Clarke, president of the
American Exchange National bank IN
New York, Dec, 81 last He was 8 deem
ly Interested in the leading activities ar
the country as any citizen OF tho
United states. and yet on account Of
his native modesty was not as widely
known as some other monied men. Mr.
Clarkes bank was the New York cor
respondent of a number of Utah bank.
and in fact he was so well known bero
that more than one Salt Lake ana
ogden banker feels in his death a sense
OF personal loss President w "
Ritter of the Deseret Savings bank had
known Mr.. Clarke almost since hoy
hood. The deceased he'd the peculiar
generations of bank presidents. IL
was man of unusual moral probity
and strength.
HENRY CLEWS' LETTER.
Henry Clews in his annual review
circular, calls special attention TO the
high cost of living, and says:
What are the causes of present high
prices? This is an exceedingly COM
10,
elements which enter into the making
of prices. The gold supply. advance in
land, trusts. tariffs, short CROPS trade
activity. currency imitation, growth of
population. taxes, extravaganza etc,
etc, all enter into the making of prices
in varying degree, Probably no single
cause is of greater Importance than the
gold supply, the worlds product now
amounting to fully S442. 900. coo, against
an average of $235,000,000 from 1886 to
1900. Many political economists fay
much stress upon this fact, giving K
far greater prominence than any other:
but men in close touch with practical
affairs recognize that supply and de-
Jnand, increased population, the ad-
vance in land and many ether causes
already mentioned play very impor-
tant part 1t is self-evident that
neither cotton nor wheat nor wool
would have sold at recent high
prices had it not been for the
scarcity OF these articles, while it ~
equally certain that copper would be
selling at much higher prices today
were IL not for oversupply. Neverthe
less. the increase gold supply has un-
qucstionably given the dollar less pur-
chasing value hence a permanent ele-
walton in the price level OF all commo-
ditics. The increase In the gold sup
ply has also been an important factor
in expansion Of credit. which is one OF
the main Stimulants to business activ-
ity. AS to the future course of prices.
their trend promises TO be upward
until an increase in supplies produces
reaction; and the big profits which our
western farmers have been making for
several years should result in a much
larger output from the soil during the
next few years Manufacturing Will
also he stimulated by present condi-
tions and high prices must be expected
until production overtakes consumption.
When this happens the cost of living
VIII decline; a contingency which may
not be so far distant as sometimes ap-
pears. In fact the coming year Will
probably show a decline In the prices
of food products under an Increase OF
production. The total farm value of
our crops this year is estimated at
sS. 76O. O0O, 900. a huge and very 1attering
amount and IL per cent more than a
wear ago But the total products of
our farms measured by quantities
showed no such gain. Aside from to-
bacco and oats, both of which were
big crops the yield was generally mod
crate and only slightly above last year.
Our corn crop increased per cent;wheat
10 per cent: rye was practically the
same; barley increased less than 2 per
cent! potatoes decreased or per cent
hay decreased per cent; cotton de-