Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-12-21
BUSINESS And COMMERCE
Prosperity Prospects.

Prosperity Prospects.
Nearly every prospect seems 70
please, and year that started under
cloud Of uncertainty or depression
Is ending with productive energies
moving at high speed. This weeks
reports. reflectfng as they do cnnIu-'
iative growth in trade and industry,
display marked degree Of snap, the
situation In general being the best
noted for q long time past Misgiy-
ings as to the immediate future are
negligible, in the leading industries
operations are being pushed to the ut
most labor 10 scarcer, pay rolls are
heavier. and q spell of cold weather,
plus the Increased spending power Of
the masses, has wrought marked i'm
prDGement IN retail trade, progress In
which also il helped along by holiday
buying. These factors in turn have
brought recorders TO jobbers from inte-
rior merchants, and over wide area
such purTeyOrs as well as wholesale
dealers are doing more than well Ac-
tfyity in the larger lines springs from
good house trade, mail orders and
sales by road agents. Things to eat
and wear are those most wanted and
various kinds of textiles are IN short
supply. America is reaching out for
new foreign markets in which TO sell
the products OF peace times. but In
passing 1t is 70 be noted that while
wars needs started things moving
cut Of the rut Of depression. foreign
demand no longer overshadoWs do
nestle requirements, although It Is
to be conceded that our own consum-
ers have come into the market at q
time when anything but bargain prices
prevail In this connection Il is sig
nifieant that q leading railway has
Withdrawn an order for cars because
of high prices. -Bradstreet's.
Money aEasy.r
Previous experience does not count
for much in these unusual days. Ordi-
narily. money tightens at this season
and, with business everywhere broad
ening, there is special reason why an
advance should now be witnessed. Yet.
instead Of moving upward, rates have
declined to a level that has few prece-
dents for the period. The abatement
Of speculative activity, with sales OF
stocks averaging less than 100000
shares daily. only partly explains the
phenomena, the real cause for the
present extreme ease being the re-
markable accumulation of funds
throughout the country. Enormous i'm
p0rtations from Europe have swelled
the stock Of gold beyond all former
records and the movement continues,
though in lessened volume. Bank de.
pCsits in some Instances have reached
new high totals. while postal savings
In the United States showed an IN
crease Of over $2,0e0, 600 In October
one Of the largest gains ever noted.
This clearly indicates the improved a..
nancial position of the general public,
due to full employment of labor at
good wages. After slight setback.
quotations of foreign exchange recoE-
cred close to the recent high point.
Strong financial interests are in con-
troll Of the situation and repetition Of
the previous erratic fluctuations is less
likely to be witnessed.-Dun's Review.
War Risks.
The alleged activities Of belligerent
sympathizers in causing the destruc-i
ton Of American mu1iition plants are
not affecting the attitude OF fire in
surance companies toward these risks,
says the Insurance Press. The total
number Of fires and explosions pub
licly charged to this cause is some
thing like 80. with q property loss es-
timated at $4,000, 900. Nevertheless,
there is scarcely an Insurance com
pany that has put war supplies or sup
ply houses on the prohibited list 1t
is felt that to draw sharp line would
exclude vast amount of desirable
business on which the war hazard Is
uncomfortable In comparison with the
amounts involved.
can interesting sidelight on this sub
ject is found in the announcement that
certain company writing marine
risks has paid losses on 40 vessels
destroyed by submarines or mines
since the beginning TO hostilities. The
amounts paid aggregated 100000.
Several American life insurance
companies have considerable Europe
an business, but in Is months Of war
their losses have not been excessive,
the reason given being that at least
in Europe most OF the Insurance Is
carried by men above the military
age. The Indications are that, COM
pared with other great wars, the rate
Of death from actual warfare is in.
creased. and that from disease de-
creased. A rough estimate is that the
average extra mortality due to the
war is about 3k per cent of the sum
insured on the lives of soldiers. which
is made ND of minimum extra Of
about 715 per cent for officers and IL
per cent for privates. The effect Of.
military. service In war on the NOR
tally experience of life insurance COM
panies has been an interesting sub
ject of speculation since the outbreak
of the European conflict, but UP to
the present time the strain has not
been sufficient to cause any anxiety"
'-Bradstreet's