The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-12-31
ClelUs' Annual ReuielU

- ~ - 49,
estimated at 1900, 600 tons. 50 tina
ne have now turned out more thai
! one-third OF the worlds product
Il While the railroads we're heavy bug
] ers, the demand from other source.
was also unusually heavy. Our ex
port trade showed astonishing deTel
o2ment, being valued at abou. seSc,
eee,oe0 for the past twelve months.
record never before approached
The boom In real estate is still IN
checked, and is illustrated by the fac,
that In eleven moaths the aggregate
i OF new building In the United States
Il was estimated at over $sa7, COO, lGe
compared With $780,, COG. 900 for twelve
months Of 1909. the previous heaviest
year on record. A good indication OF
| the years business activity is shown
in bank clearings, which for the eley.
en- months Of this year totalied $780,
i 000, 600 600, as against s14s, oe0, 900, 900
for eleven months OF last year. AS
for railroad earnings the gross thus
i far reported for the first ten months
amounted to $2e3,0oo, 900, an increase
of ss5.000.e00 over the same period
! last year. Duling the same eleven
/ months the net earnings were $685.
! 100000, an increase of over $4,000
| 900 compared with last year This
i very gratifying gain was, of course,
cue to the stimulus OF magnidcen,
/ harvest and was mainly observed IN
/ the last two or three months. 1t is
hardly probable that this rate Of ex-
pansion win be continued throughout
the rear.
Tariff, Trusts and Currency.
/ The new year promises to open
with a distinct Improvement in politi-
cal conditions. In the United States
We have had peaceful revolution
following an era of very disturbing
! radicaltsm- While the latter is str;i
much alive, there are signs of its
moderation. The people expressed
their desire for change at the polls
last November By again bringing the
opposition party into power. led by a
man of progressive yet moderate ten
denotes. All good citizens viii await
The outcome patiently. AS a whole
I the chief Issues are still the tariff,
trusts and currency. Fortunately we
have selected for president a man OF
ability, integrity and courage, man
OF rational progressive tendencies and
strictly temperate in action. It is TO
be hoped that business will not re
eeive any severe shocks from Mr.
! Wilson. As TO what may be expected
! from the national legislature, it is not
yet safe to predict. There is alto
gether too strong a tendency to use
the probe by unskiIlful hands and for
questionable purposes. We are suf-
/ fering from too much hasty and i'll
considered legislation. II may be
that now the campaign is over CON
| g-ess will moderate its persecution OF
big business and confine itself to
some constructive work calculated to
/ rectify real evils Already congress
shows disposition to handle the
tariff iudicious1y and to enforce such
! reduction in the schedules as viii
produce as little harm as possible It
/ may De six months before a new bill
/ viii be passed, and this uncertainty
must inevitably be regarded as de-
terrent upon business activity, espec-
tally in the textile industry; but the
Democratic party, which now includes
a considerable protective element, is
not likely to ruin its political future
at the outset by smashing the tariff.
Revenue necessities will also prevent
any serious lowering Of schedules.
I On the trust question there Is at
! present little demand for legislation
1 The monopolistic movement reached
/ itg zenith in 1910 at the lime OF the
/ oil and tobacco decisions. Those de-
/ cisiong not only brought about DISCO
I luton OF two OF the largest so-calleo
nonopoIies IN the country, bu. what
was OF more Importance they prevent
ed the contamination Of many new
combinations than merely dreams in
the minds of ambitious men. The SUI
preme court has since then handed
down other important decisions, not
| ably the Union-Pacific merger, sup
porting the antitrust law 1t is now
quite certain that the trend towards
undue monopoly has been severely
checked Time will be required for
the restoration of competition on reas-
enable lines; just az time was requir-
ed to create many OF the great com
binations. The important thing to re-
member in connection With the Sher.
man antitrust law is that very
menacing political danger has been
restrained. for It is quite certain that
had the monopoly movement gone
much further the country would have
had to fare a grave political unheay-
81, ending either in much more objec-
tfionable government control than is
in prospect today, or In an immediate
Introduction to absolute socialism. It