The Washington times., 1911-12-17


to sell. In the meanwhile. however.
speculative sentiment on the part of the
professionals and presumably on the
ser tSs
sentiment there is without doubt an ex-
cellent basis in the betterment In iron
and steel, for instance, both as to vol
This Is highly aa enc es though It
! an Industrial boom.
The Basis for Hopefulness.
80 far as the banking element is con-
cerned, the favorable elements In the
present situation are not reflected In the
| stock market advance so much as they
are SHOWN in such things as an cxpnn-
sion IN bank clearancss, increasing
gross railway earnings, the strength of
| iron and steel, the advcncl In the price
OF copper, the Increased activity in
textiles, the more active demand for
money by commercial borrowers, and
the record-breaking cotton crop. Tie
Government estimate on cotton places
the probable harvest at IA sS5.0N bales.
exclusive OF llnters. Including liftrrs
the comn.rci,.l crop OF tho i'rsat oo staple
900, 900 bales, and in this unprecedented
| total Is a asis far genuine hot efulness
In the Government tra.le statement
for November was found, also. basis
all that have preceded 1t this year. the
unmistakable evidence Of our largely
accumulating credit balance abroad
Though the country's exports and i'm
ports for November are triEe under
| those of the preceding year the excess
Of exports, that is, the credit balance.
! amounts to SIS. 461,5S. This has been
exceeded but twice In the month Of No
tory. But 1t is in the record Of the
calendar year to date that the greet
satisfaction rests pertaining to iEterna-
tiorai trade. During the eleven months
0Si, S97. This balapce exceeds by 1882. =
9SS the entire credit balance of the
same period last year. which was SILL
ca ,sA; In other words. the gain is about
12o per cent.
Tobacco Plans Approval.
OF news developments of another
character It may be said that corpora
ton interests were highly gratified at
TIE outset Of the week by the Supreme
Courts answer to tire petition Of the
Independent tobacco concerns. The re-
fushl Of the court to reopen the ques-
! ton Of the Tobacco trusts dissolution
plan. after it's approx al by the Circuit
! Court, was, of course, not unexpected
| for the Independents were never parties
| to the suit; but the impression did pre-
| vail In some quarters that the court
might, In some way. impose upon the
trust some of the restrictions asked by
| the Attorney General which were not
| granted by the lower court
| Whether the final approval OF the To-
! bacco dissolution plan. which was char.
| acterized by ex-President Roosevelt az
a miscarriage Of justice. will result In
bringing the antitrust act into Con-
| gress for amendment, as was so freely
predicted a short time ago, remains to
| be seen. At one time Wall Street very
much feared such would be the case
Bankers and brokers, however. paid lit.
| whereby Congress should grant a spe-
| cial dispensation to the Independent to-
| bacco men to appeal the Tobacco trust
decree to the Supreme Court. But, ma
| turally. Wall Street regarded the Cum
| mings bill as peculiar. for 1t amounts
| to little more than a resolution to per-
| init the Supreme Court to do something
| which the court has refused to do.
Securities Commission Report.
1t Is rather amusing when one recalls
| the terror. real or fancied. that was
occasioned when the project to create
| the Railroad Securities Commission was
approved, to consider the mild present.
ment of that body during the week and
! the trifiing influence the report exerted
| in the financial district. OF course,
| the report contained no recommends
| lions such as were rumored in the
! Street few weeks ago, calling for
| the capitalization of concealed assets, u
| like. These rumors II will be recalled
| were used with telling effect in bidding
| up the price Of Union Pacific, the an.
| thracite coal railway shares. and some
| others.
The conservative character Of the