The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1914-11-20
PROSPERITY HITS.
UNITED STATES,
SAYS REDFIELD.
Secretary Declares War De-
preston has vanished and
Good Times are Coming.
EVERY INDUSTRY is
REOPENING, HE SAYS
Exports are now Greater Than
Imports and Bank Reserves
Grow.

Washington, Nov. 17-While the
forces Of destruction are being mobil-
lied in ever-increasing strength in
the warning countries of Europe, con-
struction agencies, public and private,
are at work on this side of the At
lantic, and resources of peace are be-
ing concentrated to overcome the eff
fects of the world-war.
All information reaching govern
mental departments here indicates
that the gloom and depression which
overlook business enterprise in the
United States when the war storm
burt is slowly drawing aside, and
glimpses of present and coming pros
perity are visible.
The hopeful outlook for American
ventures was summarized by Secre-
tary Redfeld in a letter to the Cham
Der of Commerce of the United States,
in which he declared:
Let the worst be said and admitted
that can be said respecting existing
business difficulties in America, our
condition still remains not only rela-
lively bright, but rapidly improving
and in many respects both prosperous
and promising"
The Secretary's letter, in part, fol-
lows:
There IS always room in a country
as large as ours, and with such vari-
GUS conditions as exist in its different
portions, for the pessimist to find some
hook on which he can hang his mourn
full prophecies. One need not reach to
the other extreme and exclaim that the
special prosperity of one is an indi-
cation of equally good conditions ev-
erywhere. The truth lies between, but
no observer Of the large movements in
our commerce today fails to recognize
the great improvement that has been
made IN business conditions within the
last few weeks and which is still pro-
crossing.
The payment of our foreign obliga-
tons is no longer cause for serious
worry since an import excess of S20,-
00,C00 N August has been changed to
an export excess Of approximately $50,
O00,0C0 in October This favorable pro-
cess continues, and there is every indi-
cation that it is likely to continue
long.
The deficit IN our bank reserves in
New York, which was as low as S43,-
100000 in August, rose to a surplus
reserve early this month of nearly So
100000. The course of exchange has
become more normal Clearing house
certificates are being retired. Large
sums of emergency notes have beer
withdrawn. and with the opening of
the Federal reserve system great adj
ditional supplies Of loanable funds
have become available. There is no
Ion~er serious concern over our finan-
cial future.
One can look back calmly now to the
first week of August when there was
a wheat embargo which some feared
might mean sad loss to many of our
farmers. Those same farmers ara pros
porous today, for wheat exports have
been unprecedented in amount and at
profitable prices.
Cotton has begun to move and exist
ing arrangements promise relief from
the shadow which has so long hung
over our farmer citizens of the South.
If both money and crops are in far
better condition than they were
months ago, and if both are in some
respect in excellent condition, the
same is true of our industries. They
are not all fully occupied, as facts in
the iron and steel trade show. land
there remains still a surplus of idle
cars.
One. does not hear as much of the
number of cars in use as IS said of
those which are idle, and one wonders
whether the proportion of idle cars to
the total. if it were stated, would not
give different impression from that
which is made by the present form of
statement
Nevertheless, on many sides mills
are busy and factories running full
time or overtime; the number of un-
employed is steadily getting. less.
The coming winter throws no such
dark shadow before as was feared a
few weeks age, and the statement is
beginning to be heard here and there
that goods cannot be delivered as
promptly as they are wanted because.
the factories are too busy.