The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-03-01
Business Forecast
ISSUED by The Connecticut National Bank)

creased rate, the visible supply Of tin
must increase during the year and the
tendency of the price will be down
ward. January deliveries at the open
{ ing of February was 1901 tons COM
pared with 1886 the month before.
| . The visible supply of electro1y1c
copper decreased materially during the
month, both in this country and for
the world and on account of a better
demand and heavy shipments abroad
the price has advanced to a point be-
yond the quotations of January, 1914,
with tendencies toward q further ad-
vance.
| SHIPMENTS of anthracite coal in
January were 1881 thousand tons
compared with SOB the previous
month and 5,176 a year ago. This is
the lowest months shipments since
February of last year, the lowest ship
ments for any month being recorded
in July, 1911.
The production OF gold at Che Rand
Mines In January was us thousand
fine ounces compared with 696 in De-
cember and 652 g. year ago. Com
modify prices have continued to adj
vance since November and are nearly
as high as they were in December,
1918. Prices on the average are high
er than at any time last year except
during the first the weeks Of the war.
/ Money in circulation per capita on
the first of February was $S8.S4 com
pared with $500 year ago. On the
21st day of January, 1915, the popula-
ton of the United States passed the
100 million mark.
Cotton exports in January were H.
372 thousand bales compared with 1 9
a year ago. Domestic consumption of
cotton was only 469r thousand bales
compared with SIT a year ago and
stocks of cotton in manufacturing es-
Establishments on the first of February
were only 1,615 thousand bales
against 1,765 8, year ago, Active cot
ton spindles during January number
ed 80, 565 thousand compared with
31s0S8 a year ago. We are not using
the usual amount of our own cotton
but our cotton exports are, at present,
above average.
I The heavier Interstate movement
of goods, coupled with record exports
of wheat, cotton and manufactured
goods, is helping the railroads The
last complete statement available, be-
ing that of December shows gross
earnings of 281 million dollars COM
pared with 257 a year ago, a decrease
of nearly &c million dollars or almost
10 per cent. This makes the total de-
cline of gross earnings for the year
1914 about 220 million dollars. In
1909, we made a gain in railroad gross
earnings over the previous year OF 2 81
million dollrs; in 1915 of 24O million
dollars; in 1912 over 1911, of 220 mil
lion dollars; In 1913, of LAG million
dollars. In considering these returns,
we must remember that in less than
ten years our railroad mileage has-in-
creased 20 per cent and equipment
per mile has increased in even larger
proportion. Operating expenses, taxes,
etc, have continued to increase, the
wage item showing a notable advance.
When the full effects of the eastern
freight advance have been felt, the
railroads affected will show an i'm
proved position in the matter OF earn
ings, both gross and net, but the gem
eral prosperity of all the railroads
hinges very largely upon the action
taken following the hearing which be-
gins on March 4th at Chicago by the
Interstate Commerce Commission in.
the matter of proposed freight rate in.
creaSes on lines west of Chicago.
Hearings will continue at least until
April End and further time may be.
necessary. 1t is believed that in view
of conditions, the commission will
make every effort to render an early
decision, in order that the Western and
Southwestern roads may be placed in
a position to finance improvements
and to refund, on favorable terms,
maturing obligations. The needs of
the Southwestern roads are particu-
larly acute, seven of the nine principal
Southwestern lines being sadly in
need of additional revenues. That the
Interstate Commerce Commission
fully realizes the gravity of the present
situation may be taken for granted
and this will assure an early decision
in the freight rate matter.
While in the tremendous increase.
in exports of manufactured goods, we
find the greatest reason for business
encouragement, there have appeared
within a month many factors evil
dencing a steadily but surely inprov-
ng situation Taking. out of our De
cember exports of manufactured goods
almost at random 20 million dollars
worth of articles, we find that in that
20 million dollars, we exported nearly
6 million dollars worth of American
labor. When we export in finished
article certain percentage of Ameri-
can labor, we are losing nothing and
gaining everything. This export item
Of 6 million dollars in labor is worth
more to us than the export of SO mil
lion dollars worth of wheat, as we
have, in manufactured export,
exported the factory labor on the nm
tshed article as well the labor of
the mine, the field or the forest in the
raw material which entered into the
manufactured article. 1t is not in the
volume of business but in the nature
of the business we are doing that we
should find great comfort AMI salts
faction. In our domestic and foreign
sales of the past sixty days, we find
an absolute assurance that conditions
have been steadily improving since
December first with good prospect of
the Improvement continuing through
out the year.
The talk by thought1ess persons of
6%-o Ion hT1Ci hoo "a
Carnival of railroad buying should
not be taken seriously. This present
situation is decidedly no carnival and
is far from a boom. AS our wisest
men see it, we are experiencing a
steady and dependable Improvement
in conditions and fna end oF tho WOO.