New Britain herald., 1916-05-13

more carefully, since credits have Teen greatly extended and much larger sums arc required to finance
 given amount of merchandise than formerly. With commodities at such dizzy heights and exposed to a reaction bankers are justified in ex- erclslng greater discrimination. Further, the cost of doing business
 has been tremendously enhanced by the rise in raw materials and the
 elevation of wages. Such develop ments mean that the next twelve months will not see a repetition of the bulge in profits of the last twelve months. Again, foreign muntion orders, which did much to swell both profits and exports, may be repeated, eut on a decidedly smaller scale with the prospect of almost vanishing when peace comes. In many cases rev enterprises have been deferred until costs of building declines. Not Q, few concerns, notably in the steel industry, are sold aheead so complete ly as to be unable to take further orders, or at least until the outlook for raw materials is more settled. While the prospect for peace, as said above, is not yet in sight, it is prac- tiCallN certain that a cessation of hostilitics is not very far distant, when both domestic and foreign trade will be demObilized or re- adjusted upon a peace basis. It would be decidedly erroneous to ex- pect to return to the ways and con- ditions existing before the war. On the contrary, many problems will be wholly new and quite as perplexing, if not more so. as those now in the melting pot. New forces, new con-
 6itions, new ambitions new policies, new methods, new markets and new opportunities in endless procession will bring in a flood of fresh prob lcms the solution of which will re- auire much prudence and time for adjustment.
 Outlook Still Promising.
 In spite of such perplexities, the business outlook for the country as a whole is decidedly promising. The West is practically assured of another year of prosperity because of the high prices for all food and agricuI- tura1 products. Labor in other parts of the world has been so diverted
 
 this country is practically sure of another good export season for raw materials, particularly grain and cot ton. For our mineral products there is also an unprecedented demand; notably copper, petroleum, Iron and coal, all of which are bringing extra ordinarily high profitable prices. 1 There is no cessation of the boom in t,-o5 5n disposition of the steel companies to l accept further orders for 1917 owing 1 to the uncertainty of securing raw | materials The railroads have been | liberal buyers of steel products and l in some portions of the country the building trades though spotty, show l much activity. The textile industries 1 are in a satisfactory condition. al- though manufacturers have been somewhat embarrassed by adjusting themselves to higher wages and the loss of consid erablc of their export trade. The outlook generally, how ever, for textiles, clothing and food products is encouraging for the reason that wage advances nave ma teria1Iy augmented the buying power of a considerable proportion of our population.
  there has been no such imitation in the security markets as exists in com m nOditics The war group have lately heen adversely affected by peace rumOrs Other classes of industrials have, however, been well main tained and the better class of rail- road shares have received much more attention from buyers after a long period of comparative neglect. Some issues scored sharp advances. The firmer tendency of the money market and the liberal return of securities from abroad as a result of "nobilizing" operations have tended tc restrain any active advance in the stock market Intrinsic conditions, however are sound and the outlook continues favorable, the only ob- stacles to further rise at this time being foreign selling of Americans, The risk of trouble with Germany, and the unsettled state of affairs with Mexico.
 HENRY CLEWS.