The daily Alaskan., 1916-09-19
EDITORIAL .-
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CLEMs FINANCIAL REPORT

The financial markets show re- markable resisting power against adverse news. Neither the threat- sned strike 0f the railroads last week nor The attempted teuR or transportation in New York City. ms week eNerted any noticeable eI- Iect upon the Stock Excnange. The concessions demanded by railroad labor created surprisingly little alarm, prO6Ghly because ot belief that present trade activity would largely cOmpensate the rail roads for increased OutIays and tha uet earnings, though diminished, would not seriously suffer. 4n the v4se Ot Lne raitrOaus, t was noted fua' the new arrangements for an cight-lour law did not go into ef- feet until January lsL; that its effect was to be studied by the government, and that IL really in JurOus to the rairCads the h. lerstate Commerce Commission might be induced to grant them an advance in rates as compeDsa- IIun. Further, the eonsltuuonality Of the new law is to De tested be- fore the Supreme Court whose de ctsicu will be watched with wide spread interest.
 General business has slowed down somewhat, bank clearings, HOW running only about 20 per cent of last year, as against 4V and 50 percent ahead g few weeks ago. Nevertheless, trade has been mare than usual at this season; and, Gs summer draws tO a close, all indications point to an active iall trade. 4 most important fact or in this connection Is the i'm mensely increased purchasing abilt- ties Of the masses reulting from the active employment Of many classes Of labor at unusually high wages, particularly those engaged Iu the making or hendlnE Of muni- lions. The Yor, the stoppage of emigration and the great demand for hands in many plants have ere ated a serious scarcity of labor; the result being that labor as a class is uuprecedentedly prosperous and Inclined to spend freely and demand still higher wages. The strike Of today ere melted by pros perity and not by wage reductions; thev are a part of the general in- flationary movement which Is spreading over the wholee world' and which has apparently not yet run its hlIl course. One Of the results ot the war has been to i'm mersely stimulate the industrial ac- ti7lty that would in any event have developed in this country, though in a much less degree. This war stimulus will extend for some time yet, some authorities saying the war will last for another year at least. The progress of the Allies is e1- cesdingly formidable, but slow; and the resisting powers of the Central Powers are doubtless much greater than commonly supposed; as the Al lies progress, the more desperate the resistance they will have to encounter. The managers of our industrial plants are, therefore, cal culating. upon a continuance of this all-powerful stimulus of war orders, which in turn induces con tinued heavy exports, huge trade balances, gold imports and further foreign credits, loans or bond 1s- sues. For another year at least, New York promises to be the only free money market in the world and this means a further Urolonga- tf,n of financial, industral and com merciaI activity, increased to a atiu bIgher degree by nR enormous ..--,1 av1 +ha now banking