The Washington herald., 1912-01-28
Business.

Business.
The quieting down in business is not
necessarily an indication that the actiy-
ity developed In December has petered
nut. It Is hardly to be expected that the
inertia in the spirit Of general business
which has so long prevailed, would pe
overcome all at once and by steady
move upward. On the contrary, 1t must
he anticipated that this win be accom-
plished by a series of temporary acceler-
ated movements followed by quietlng
down until again the next upward move
ment gains force. IN addition 70 thls
the settlements of the year and the pre-
valence Of severe weather, usually, even
in our most active business years, pro-
duce some dullness around February. IN
a period like this IL cannot be expected
that general business will show many
signals of expanding enthusiasm. In
Iron and Steel nevertheless. the outlook
continues favorable considering the
period. Some effort has been made to
explain the slight slowing down by at
tributing II to the effect Of Congress
tariff talk, in which Steel is picked as
the victim.
AS far as the tariff is concerned, Steel
need have no anxious moments. 1t may
be depended upon that no bill will be
signed by Mr.. Taft until a report from
the Tariff Board is received on the sub
ject.
The Tariff Board.
The remarkable report OF this Board on
Wool marks an era i'm the history of the
tariff in America. Friends and enemies
both agree as to its wonderful compre-
hensiveness, the value Of its Information,
the indisputably just character OF its
findings. Manufacturers and those most
intimate with the intricacies Of the sub
ject admit and applaud its unprejudice
and its value. All this Justifes the Pres
ident's veto of the immature and utterly
Inadequate bills put up to him last sum
mer, bills conceived in now admitted ig-
norance Of the subject and impulsively
Jumped to passage from political motives.
The tariff report on wool scoffed at be-
fore its issue. acted like a bomb on the
Democratic cohorts gathered at the be-
ginning OF this session to quickly put
forward another bill. So comprehending
a legislator as Mr.. Underwood saw at
once that action would have 10 be de-
ferred, in view OF the undoubted illumi-
mating value of the report, and has taken
two months TO consider what to do. It
will be the same way with Steel What
ever may be put up to him, II IL even
goes as far as that Mr.. Taft will veto,
awaiting the report of the Tariff Board
So that the steel and iron industry for
the present may completely ignore the
tariff. however much political windblow-
ing may be indulged in this session.
On the subject of tariff then the bust
ness OF the country may be relieved for
the time being, as far as any real action
IS concerned.
Railroad Matters.
Average receipts for the railways in
November. 1911, were 1864 a mile-a de-
cline of SIS from November, 1910 These
figures represent 9OE Of the railway mile
age Of the country. Expenses also show
lower average per mile. Net revenues,
however. average SIG less per mile-a de-
cline of as. The decline in general bust
ness was unevenIy distributed. The lines
OF the eastern part of the country show
only slight decrease for November. 1911.
in comparison with November. 1910. while
the lines I'm the Southern section show a
slight increase and the lines in the West
ern section a falling of. Further de-
creases must be looked forward to in later
months. due TO the severe weather. The
railroad labor situation is not favorable.
A demand has been made by the locomo-
tive engineers of the Baltimore & Ohio
for a Il to 81 increase in wages. This
may extend to other trunk lines and is
important, as the Brotherhood OF EnEi-
neers is one OF the ablest and perhaps
most conservative of the railway labor
organizations. The situation is a difficult
one for the railroads, with net and gross
earnings declining.
The reduction in the dividend on st.
Paul from the rate of e. to the rate of
3. on Thursday was expected, and, in
fact, a reduction has been talked Of in
the Street before every meeting of the
board since the completion of the splen-
did Puget Sound Extension in 1903 This
same extension, however. last year, con-
tributed from its earnings enough to make
continuance Of the z. distribution possi-
bic. For the first five months, up to No
vember 30th of the present fiscal year. how
ever. earnings on both roads have shown
a decided falling of. Last year the indi-
Gated earnings showed I'll. on the COM
mon stock At the rate of indicated earn
ings for the five months of this year,
counting IN the Puget Sound equity,
about 5.35% for the year is shown. The
last annual statement of the St. Paul