The Big Stone Gap post. [volume] (Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Va.) 1892-1928, 1912-10-23
Rising Tide Of
Business Ac-
tivity
Manufacturers of All Sections
OF Country Tell of Re
markable Prosperity

weeks issue of the Munufac-
turers Record tell of rernarka-
BILE activity everywhere and in
every line of industry. Sum
ming up these letters, the Man
ufacturers Record says:
y rapid expansion in bust
ness interests, increasing every
where, factories overtaxed with
orders beyond their capacity
to fill, growing scarcity, Of
skilled mechanics, a car short
age which in many cases ia
greatly retarding shipments,
shortage so pressing in some
cases that one report tells of
cement being delivered by the
use of passenger cars as well as
cattle c0rs-such is the condi.
ton of business throughout the
country as voiced by leading
manufacturers in every section
in letters to the Manufacturers
Record. The story is one of
exceeding interest as whole,
why many of these individual
letters throw an illumination
upon business questions which
makes them of more than usual
interest.
In some sections there is as
yet no car shortage reported:
in others the railroads are re-
ported as wholly unequal to
cope with the business, and
manufacturers crowded with
orders that they can not fill be
cause of the lack of transporta.
ton facilities. This is 80 strong
ly presented in many letters
that it should command the
immediate attention of every
railroad man in the country, as
well as of every business man
and politician, for all must
unite to find some way the
money needed for a Yast expan-
sion of railroad facilities can be
secured Though we are ap.
parently only at the beginning
OF a period of great activity and
the country liz not yet in the
full swing of its highest tide of
prosperity, traffic i 3 running
far beyond transportation fac
illties. How great the Difficult
ties of transportation will be
with a continuance of n few
months longer of present activ-
tiles it il difficult to estimate.
The problem is one that will
tax the best effort of the rail
roads and the heartiest coop
Grafton of the people of the
whole country. Not day is
to be lost in trying to find a
remedy for this situation.
Almost over night there has
come upon the country, silently
and scarcely foreseen, oven by
the shrewdest fnancIers and
business III n, marvellous
change from inactivity to great
activity The steel works of
the country are wholly unable
to meet promptly the demand
for steel products. Building
operations are everywhere de
layed by the inability of con
tractors TO secure reinforcing
bars for concrete construction
and architectural work. Co
ment manufacturers, who since
1907 had Il hard struggle to find
trade, and what they found was
generally at a loss, are now
overwhelmed with business at
advancing prices, and the only
difficulty in the cement bust
ness is the fact that railroads
can not begin to provide cars
enough to handle the product.
Many of these letters empha-
size the point that, notwith-
standing the fact that this a
presidential year, business men
are ignoring political problems
and are attending strictly to
business. Apparently political
activities are having no effect
whatever, as in former years,
in retarding business or in pre-
venting manufacturers from
spending money to provide for
enlarged facilities. Everywhere
with rare exceptions, the de-
mand for labor is reported as
active. In some cases it IS said
that thousands of additional
laborers could find immediate