The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-12-03
GENERAL LETTER ON
 TRADE CWDiTlONS, BUSINESS FORECAST
IIssued by The Connecticut National
 Bank of Bridgeport.)

Bank O1 BEIOS0pOEG.(
 A careful analysis of the Bushes:
 Situation at this time shows clearly
 hat the majority of complaints hearc
 lbout business operations during the
 aaat two years have been without req
 foundation or reason. Taking the
 -otals of all big things in business TOT
 ne past twenty-four months, we dno
 nat new records have been set TOT
 he two-year period by nearly every
 one of them and the sum total o1
 them all sets a decidedly new record
 In transactions. Bank cleartngs, for
 sign trade, production of gold, coal
 and the base metals, earnings or rall-
 roads and crop production nave aA'
 during this period, exceeded any sam
 liar period in the history or the C90n-
 try.
 These great activities have caused
 light money market because we have
 not enough of the circulating medium
 and scarce money in turn has causc@-
 business failures to increase mater
 laIly both in number of failed con- eerns and in total liabilities.
 The trouble has not been lack of business but lack of money with
 which to carry it on and the continu- ed dullness on the Stock Exchanges is another natural result of scarce mon ey The banks have been busy talk Ing care of the absolute needs of their big customers in manufacturing and merchandising lines, in helping I'm porters and exporters to finance thelr tremendous exports and imports ana In assisting, through the country banks, the moving and marketing or the crops, the total of which for the two-year period, as just stated, IS the largest ever known.
 It has been a period of enormous transactions, tight money, uncertain ty as to the future and, as natural result, it has been a period of small profits. Hand to mouth business, even though in large volume, is less profitable than the purchase and sale of goods in larger individual items and at less frequent intervals.
 While readjusting ourselves to the operations of a new political admins tration, while re-pricing our lines to meet the necessities of the new tar If bill, while scheduling our incomes in accordance with the requirements of the income tax law, while adjustF ing ourselves to the operations of a new currency system in whatever form 1t may be finally fixed by Con gress and while going through the tre- mendous business readJustment which may become necessary because of pro posed antitrust legislation and anti trust action-while all these things are going on, the volume of business as a whole must necessarily shrink to some extent. The care, however, WILL which business will be operated dur ing the coming two-year period will mean much in the increase of actual net profits.
 During October, Bank C1earings to- tailed I5,696 million dollars while last year they were 17,146 millions. The considerable shrinkage for the month was not all due to lack of stock ex- change operations because clearings outside New York totaled only 7002 million dollars compared with 7,007 millions for October last year. For the ten months, clearings have totaled Al billion dollars compared with 143 billions for the same period last year.
 Business failures have been numer ous, numbering 1,344 for October compared with only 1,122 for the same month last year. Total 1iabi1i- ties were 2O,652 thousand dollars com pared with 14,716 thousand dollars for the same month last year. For only three individual months in the commercial history of the country have the number of failures and the total liabilities both exceeded the past month of October. It is believed that the business atmosphere is being cleared up by these failures and that each unstable concern which discon- tinues business is helping to make the whole business fabric strong and de- pendab1e.
 The last complete figures available on railroad gross and net earnings are for September and show total gross earnings of 2s5 millions compared with PTS millions last year and net earnings of only 93 millions compar- ed with 9S last year. This gain of ten million dollars in gross earnings and decline of five million dollars in between the two of 5 million dollars and is another evidence that the greater the volume of railroad busf- ness, the worse the railroads posi- ton. A ruling has not yet been made by the Commission on the pro principal eastern lines. A number of 1 wage increases are already effective l and 1t looks as though nothing would | clear the situation except some in ,reases in freight rates and a read | iustment of the amount paid the rail- | roads by the Government for carrying | he mails which will offset the loss | burden which has been laid upon the | roads by the Parcel | Post
 The car shortage is not severe but s still with us and not enough cars are as yet available to handle the l pads awaiting them. The net short ,ars.
 For the month of September rner- ;handise exports totaIed 21S million 1 iollars compared with 200 millions a -ear ago and 196 millions two years tgo- Imports amounted to TO miI-.I ions as against 145 millions a year Lgo, and 125 millions two years ago. The resulting balance of the trade in 'ur favor, for the month is nearly 49 million dollars compared with 55 millions last year and II millions the previous year. These figures would | e misleading on their face were it not xplained that large quantities of inn 'orted merchandise were held in 'onded warehouses until after pas age of the new Tariff Act, this re- casing them for distribution. Our ctual imports for September were cry low, and imports have been low ince last March. For the first nine l. months merchandise exports have ex1 eeGed z22 million dollars. l