The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-02-15
Eastern rate dec,sion. and II the Inter

Eastern rate decision. and II h Inter
state Commerce Commission sees ut. as
well II may, to grant the relief asked
for in the Western rate case which Ia TO
he heard In the near future, a potential
factor OF disaster in our economic affairs
will have been in n comparatively short
time transformed into o constructive fac
ter Of far reaching consequence. 1t
means a great deal to general enter
prise In the United States If railroad en-
terprise IL financially able TO project ex-
pansion and Improvement.
Wall street Hopeful Response.
OF direct effect in Wall street was the
evidence afforded OF the turn for the bet
ter In the steel trade. Foreign trade on
tinues' In sustained volume, February's
export movement so far having attained
fresh record breaking proportions. but
forward impulses have been waiting
upon tokens of domestic recovery. The
traditional significance of increased ac-
tivities In the steel industry, with its
probability of a result in more profitable
prices for steel producers, Is always
great. and testimony along this line has
Just been given. The United States Steel
Corporation reported an increase OF
Az, 900 tons during January In untitled
orders on It's books. making a gain OF
924.000 ton in the last two months. al
though operations at the steel mills have
risen from 80 per cent. to co per cent. of
capacity.
A vote OF confidence in the future was
cast by several important bodies Of bust
ness men. meanirg the directors OF cor
porations like the American sugar Rein
ing Company and the southern Pacific
Railroad Company, who declared regular
common stock dividends. although doubts
about the present maintenance of diVi-
dends had been mooted The Calumet
and Hecla dividend was restored to the
anteIbellum rate.
In the money market the feature was
a renewal OF decline In foreign exchange,
sterling remittance going practically TO
the low point OF tire extreme slump NJ
the height Of the 1907 panic. The drop
In the exchanges forced British finance
to take steps to maintain Londou's credit
in the new world money market and
81. 500, 600 gold was released from OF
tawa by the Bank of England on the
application of New York bankers, THIS
being the irst return OF our exported
gold since the outbreak OF the war, and
1t was understood that to a moderate
total more gold would como here on the
movement.
There was evidence in ehis transact
tion OF our increasing international fl
nanctal ~ascendency. although Il Re also
true of the foreign exchanges as OF
other matters which have been noted
that there are certain offsets to their
more obviously optimistic Implications
our international financial strength. for
example. must be increasingly gained at
tho expense OF foreign weakness.
II is not surprising. in view OF the
foregoing. that the stock market showed
a fresh turn of strength which seemed
to he an effort to resume the January
rise. The new upturn had the leader
ship of standard stocks. conspicuously
United States Steel and some Of the
railroad investment shares. The synp-
toms OF the market were that II rep
resented Western speculative activity
responding TO some financial initiative
here. and this also would not he surpri.-
ing. Western interests are often mis-.
taken in their judgment of tho imme-
date course Of quoted values, but the
West is the resilient element IN our eco
monte life. and It ia the West at the
moment which seems 10 have the strong
est of domestic reasons for prosperous
effort.