The Alaska daily empire., 1916-06-23
NO HARD JOLT WILL COME AS
 WAR IS ENDED

CHICAGO, June 23.-When the St. Paul directors officially consider the common dividend late fin July, the determining question will not be whether this fiscal years results, probably better than per cent, and earnings in prospect well into 1917 justify higher basis than per cent. but how long the high tide traffic will continue after the European war ends.
 Pres. Earling viii not discuss di- vldends but his opinion regardinf the course of business after the war may have an important influence in determining the dividend action. He expects the traffic will keep the transportation facilities nearly if not quite fully employed while the war continues, if crops turn out as well as he expects-at least a good average. And he does not expect a hard jolt after the war
 Naturally, there will be a period of hesitation" says Mir Earling to The Wall Street Journal, but do not think 1t will last very long or produce any serious depression. Our business is becoming more stable, with a smaller proportion of muni- tions for Europe and a larger pro- portion of domestic and peace trade with foreign countries.
 Eleven ships work exclusively with the St Paul at Puget Sound for the Orient, but these and all others available are utterly unable to move the traffic we are delivering. This is real trade, permanent and profit. able. and it stimulates imports A ship came in the other day. from Honolulu for lumber and it had a cargo of 32 car loads of Hawaiian pineapples. That is something new. These pineapples move across the continent to eastern markets.
 Business conditions in the North Pacific Coast country now benefit by the war. Up to month or six weeks ago the improvement in the East and middle west had not been felt in the far west, but it has been very distinctly felt there recently Without that stimulus, however, our Puget Sound extension has shown relatively better earnings, gross and net, than the old system, also a lar. ger ratio of increase this fiscal year-mile for mile. The electrifi cation project continues to surprise us in its performance, no less in decreasing costs than in increasing the capacity. What 1t will mean when finished is almost beyond in. telligible calculation.
 General business and crop condi. tions and prospects along our lines continue satisfactorily. Farmers are improving their facilities and meth. ods. There is a great deal of mis Miscellaneous building Farmers are prosperous and live better Montana farmers who mortgaged their farms a couple of years ago for three 10 five years at per cent. and up now want 10 pay them off in full instead of renewing them as former. ly. It is easy to place farm mort. gages now at much lower interest One does well indeed tc get better than 6 per cent on his investment in good paper of that sort. Farm. CTS are not extravagant, but are expending Rural collections are ex- cellent."
 It is MT. Earrings opinion that regardless of the war. 6 period of prosperity was overdue in the Unit ed States, and would have arrived in ordinary course of events. Ex. banding foreign trade in peace goods he regards ah very opportune on ac- count of plethora of money in the country. He believes after the war America's best trade opportunities will lie in the orient Russia and South America