New-York tribune., 1911-02-13

favorable as, for instance. decisio"' W
tho Sunremc Court f. favor OF the gov
ernmept in the standard Oil CompaH!
and the American Tobacco CoinpN''
suits. and refusal by the lnteis'a''
Commerce Commission to grant an III
crease I'm freight rates. Such decisio''
will not involve the coniiscation or Piop
ertv or the bankruptcy OF the raiifo'''
The fact that bankers are going ahe""
with plans for financing expected grow III
in the business OF our transpor'a''oi'
companies and industrial corporations
should set at rest the idea held by SUM
people that industrial revolution VIII
develon If the railroads are not alloWeo
to increase their freight schedules ana
If certain corporations are found 10 De
guilty Of viola ting the Sherman anu
trust law
Bank clearings continue to sno" d
falling off as compared with TINS time
wear ago. but the percentage OF loss
is much lighter than was reported III ''ie
closing weeks Of 1910. Railroad earnings
are making good exhibits in gross re-
turns while net results are better than
they recently we're, many companies pre-
senting gains, against heavy decreases
I'm the autumn months Of the last year
With results of this sort mui'ipiSi"s
there Is no reason for pessimism over
the future. especially as there is good
supply of capital in the country seeking
investment. Most commodities are tehd-
ing toward lower prices, notably cotlon'
wheat and coffee. Cotton is now b
points below the level reported at the
opening of the year. and about a point
under the record at this time year ago.
the wea kness in the market having SUM
ulated n better export demand. Specu-
Iation in cotton futures is active at the
expense of prices. The decline In the
quotation for the raw material mas IN
duced a somewhat easier tendency III
some lines in the primary cotton goouS
market, and according 10 reports re-
ceived from the drygoods district here
and in other cities demand from con-
sumers is improving. Spinners, however
do not appear inclined to cover tneir
requirements in spite OF the lower quo
tations. Wheat is cheaper than it has
been in many months as a consequence
of liquidation and short selling pased
upon increasing supplies, unsatisfactory
mill conditions and a favorable OUTLOOK
for the winter wheat crop.
Pig iron statistics for January, as COM
piled by The Iron Age showed an
output Of 1,75e,00O tons, or $4,000 tons
less than was reported In the preceding
month, but on February l, 206 furnaces
were in blast, against 1s9 on January
!. with production at the rate Of 5s,5bs
tons a day, compared with 53347 tons
day at the first Of the year. Marked
Improvement has taken place in the
market for finished steel in the last few
weeks. all lines being represented in
the inquiry, although apart from rails
the heavier products are i'm less demand
than the lighter materials. The rail-
roads are more active buyers then they
recently were. both of rails and new
equipment The report or the copper
Producers Association Is far from salts
factory, as It shows an increase in the
American surplus of the metal of more
than 2O.000.00O pounds. owing in large
part to n decline in the export move
ment. Although production in January
fell off almost 100000 pounds, there
was an increase in the worlds surplus
Of upward of 100000 pounds. Returns
Of building operations for the last month
reflect greater activity than at any time
since last August