The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1914-01-01
. cLEws, ANNUAL, REVIEW.


financial and business conditions dur
| ing the past year. His conclusion Is
/ that no intelligent observer tax ng
mental stock of the closing year can
escape the conviction that We have
positively entered a new era OF great
! political, social and economic posi-
| Dilities. This remark does not apply
to the United States alone, but to ali
Europe and to the Orient quite as
much as to the Occident C-vlliza-
ton is progressing at tremendous
pace, and the year 1913 will go down
into history as one of the most marx
ed in social and political changes IN
several generations. More specifically
Mr.. Clews says;
1.-THE striking feature OF this move
ment has been the rise of smocracy,
and an almost universal etfo to
bring government and people closer
together. Eaucation has ueen the
handspring of this moyeni mt. New
ambitions and new wants nave bee1
awakened by this silent but uplftin
lforce; while art, science, industry
and capital are doing their utmost to
satisfy ever increasing demands. New
ideas have been spread broadcast,
few of which might be c,assed as
sound, but large proportion OF viii IN
are certainly illusionary, dangerous
and unavoidable while human nature
continues what it is. This movement
towards democracy, usually styled
social unrest, like all social move
ments is exceedingly complex an has
many reasons for its ex Silence. CHIEF
of these is the desire for material
betterment In this respect thee Is
| a steady advance; the average man
naver having had more to enjoy than
| today, and this in spite OF the Sd
called increased cost of living, when
not infrequently has been due to
higher standards of living and lack
of thrift What the outcome of this
movement will be, it is of course i'm
possible to predict. In the long run
it is likely to prove beneficial and to
lead to higher standards of conduct,
and a wider distribution of material
benefits than heretofore To those in
the thick OF the battle it is not al
ways easy to see the p-o2ress alre .dy
made Nevertheless, within the past
decade big forward strides have been
taken. In spite of popular denun ia
ton, business standards were never
so high as today. Many abuses have
been permanently eliminated. Much
legislation has been enacted for bene-
fit of the masses. Benevolence and
humanitarianism were never upon
such wide and intelligent scale as
today. Social betterment ana scie .ce
are doing much to improve moral and
hygienic conditions, and ii the aver
age man could only be iIducef to stop
and take account of these va ious
gains he would find much less coca
sion for prevailing pessimism, and a
great many reasons for a more ra-
tional optimism. As matter of fact,
there is less cause for popu ar DIS
content in the United States today
than thsre has been for many years,
and a recognition of this fact would
do much to restore popular confidence,
business activity and more genu ne
goodwill -
Mr.. Clews points out that the year
1913 closes with many reasons for
encouragement which did not exist
when it began. 1t opened with grave
uncertainties concerning tariff, cur
rency, trusts ana railroads problems
which for many years have been at
the bottom of much of the discomfort
in business and politics. It closet
with several Of these problems prac-
tically settled and with adjustment to
the new order of things the chief
necessity of the future.
But 1t is remarked that the fnan-
cial situation is not entirely free of
difficulty. Confidence has been badly
shaken and time will be required to
correct pessimistic habits. The ad-
vocates of public ownership are not
likely to quietly subside and a grow
ing treasury deficit will sooner or
later require attention. In financial
circles much relief will be afforded
by the new banking law when that
ready in generally good condition and
there is little over-expansion outs de
of real estate in any direction Credit
is sound and the only problem of i'm
portance In the financial world al
home is the refnancing of the $500,
100000 to s5OO,0o0,OoO short term
notes which must be accomplished
during thu forthcoming year. Under
1 favorable conditions these maturities
ought to be financed without diff
Guilty.
In spite of all drawbacks, however
Mr.. Clews sees sufficient changes fol-
the better to warrant a much more
cheerful attitude toward the future
and confidently to wish everybody 6
happy and prosperous new year.
More Rocks Ahead.
Boone NeWs-R epublican Tho doc,