Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1910-01-14
Trade, Price. Prosperity
From the Philadelphia Press.

Not a trade or a financial paper sees
a cloud in the sky. No year v
opened with such a chorus of prosperity
as was apparent in the reviews and
prophecies which appeared last week
in all newspap ers. 1t is the universal
belief of all authorities that 1910 opens
with an absolute assurance of enlarging
business, expanding profits, fair wages
aud continuous employments, such as
was predicted in January, 1905, the
best year in our history.
The first week of this golden year
was n of rising prices in food, grain
and meat, and of falling prices in Sc
curities and many manufacturing
staples. The market for railroad shares
and trusts fell sharply, though not far.
A high rate for "money," or bank loans
on call, going up to 20 per cent. on one
day, had TO do with a fall in the aver
age of sixty active rail way shares, So 20,
and ten ind u~strials dropped almost 81
This is the heaviest fall in a week in
some time and it reflects a very gen.
eral belief that the market for securi-
ties is as high rs it is gong. Congress
is about to legislate, the period o frising
prices is long extending over months,
the rate for ''money" is high, loanable
capital is nearly exhausted, January
dividends have o brought the inves-
tor out as was expected and the issue
of 81 400, DOC, 900 of new securities last
year is a good deal to 'sdigest." These
conditions breed a wise caution appar-
ent In the share market.
Cotton fell last week a cent a pound
and both leather and hides were weak
er. The simple final reason for this is
that high food has cut into the power
of the masses to consume, and the de-
mand in December and at the opening
of the year does not justify large pur-
chases by manufacturers. Cotton fell
daily through the week. A yield of
10, 500, 900 bales-not improbable-will
meet the present demand. The adj
vance of cotton goods has began, but it
Is far short OF the rise In cotton. South
ern mills in their meeting last week
agreed to reduce yarns about | per cent.
Cotton has risen II per cent. since last
year. Print cloths have only risen 36
per cent. in the past year. This dis
parity never exists when the con-
sumer's demand has been maintained.
In boots and shoes the demand is
below a big year, like 1906, by 20 per
cent, though there are 100000 more
people to shoe now than then. But
consumption does not keep pace. Hides
and leather have risen. The manufac-
turer cannot advance his widely adver-
tized prices He buys sparingly and
raw materials begin to yield.
In iron, steel, copper and tin the re-
ver-e Is taking place. The December
production or pig iron, 2,635,6o0 tons,
beats any previous record and prices
are still elastic AMI orders mounting on
this output. Copper, already high, rose
a sixth of a cent a pound, and tin a
cent, while spelter and lead keep their
high level. The demand Interpretations
and mills does this, though house
building has passed its maximum.
Food also rose. Wheat rose 2 cents
a bushel in New York and rose but re-
acted to the old level in Chicago. Corn
rose 2 cents a bushel in Chicago aud a
cent in New York. Hogs reached 50, a
record price in Chicago. The whole
range of meats tends upward and on
sumption remains large. In six months
80, 100000 bushels more of wheat have
been absorbed than in 1908, and 64,-
000, 900 bushels more than In 1907
This large increase in wheat cOnsump-
ton is partly due to dear meat.
Railroads and banks are doing a
larger and more prosperous business
than ever. So is the Steel Trust, con-
tractors and builders generally. The
wage-earner is more uniformly en-
ployed. The salaried man and men
with permanent places are squeezed by
high food and so are manufacturers and
distributors, as the high price of food re-
duees demand and raw materials with
expenses rise on all sides.
-sG~s-
All sizes of the only good white kind
of mackerel, for DC. Delicatessen and