The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-06-15
CHenry C1ews.)

A14SAAy OASWS.J
 Our foreign trade in April showed
 splendid results. Imports were val
 ued at $217,7OO,oOO, or $57 100000 in excess of the same month last year.
 Exp drtagwere $399, ,80QaO0O, or $1O5,- l O0o, 0O0 more than a year ago. The excess of exports was $1S2,oOo, 900,
 compared with $134,OOO,ooO in T 1915 This is usually the season. of declining. l exports when crop movements nave
 passed the maximum, and the in creAse must be largely attributed to intuition shipments, especially asf the | British blockade has materially inter
 fered with exports to neutral coun- 1 tries contiguous to Germany In April l the4 exports of -foodstuffs dropped to i $8zi00O, 1000, compared with Slooa- 1 O0O{OOO year ago, while the snip 1 ments of manufactures rose to $751; l OO0,O0O, against $128,0OO,OOO In 1SIo. E For ten months of the fiscal year inn ports have been $1,722, 100000, or 934s. 900 900 more than last year; ! while exports were $3, S95, 900 .OoO' an { increase of 1.170, 100000. The e1- cess of exports in these ten months was $1,678, ,OOO, ,OO0, compared with Ess51 .0oO. 900 a year ago. It should not be forgotten that our foreign re- 5 turns have been much inflated by the risa. in values In a few instances thesrise in values has been double the rise. in volume. In the majority or cases the advance in values has been much greater than in quantities and in only a few cases has the value gained less than quantity. These f1uc-
 tuations are almost entirely due to
 !thes war, which. revoIutionized. for { eign trade. Little prospect exists. or a return to former conditions. New openings are being made for Aner1-. { can products in foreign markets < owing to withdrawal of some of the bellfgerents- Some of these markets ! we will hold permanently, others may return to former channels after the war. Foreign purchasing power, { aside from sheer necessities. will un- { doubtedly be curtailed for a period, l and foreign countries will have a. smaller surplus of products to sell the United States On the other hand Z the various beIligerents may recuper- ate more rapidly than generally ex- pected and if so the depression after 9the5swar will be less prolonged than sometimes anticipated. Doubtless there will be sharp competition for tthe worlds markets during the next decade and the end of the war will find the United States in better con- sdition for the struggle than any other
 nation so far as unimpaired strength
 as factor is concerned. Our chief fhandicaps will be high costs of pro-
 ductfon, inadequate banking and 1 transportation facilities and unfamil- iarity with foreign +reQuir ennents, as 1 we'll, as unpreparedness to meet for
 eign competition. In skill and ex- 1 perience necessary to export trade, foreign manufacturers are often our | superiors, but in all these respects we are ready learners and not likely to let opportunities go by default. Ohr 1 foreign trade has a brilliant future;
 and, notwithstanding the irregulari- ties which war many bring, war has f opened the door to trade expansion ' the present upheaval began.
 There is nothing in the financial sit uatfon to ~warrant either pronounced I optimism or undue caution F'avora- l ble conditions appear to have been twen discounted, and unfavorable
 conditions are difficult to discover in
 view of general financial strength and
 wide industrial activity. War news,
 except the Russian victory, exerted
 little effect, and this market has
 Abandoned expectation of early peace.
 Cessation of hostilities would affect
 a few stocks unfavorably, while a klarger number would undoubtedly be
 favorably influenced. Aside from the purely sentimental sense of relief (which peace would bring, the stop Epage of the waste of capital and the cessation of foreign selling of our se- lcuT1L1eS4 WOuEQ EcerId1nly De nelpIu1 10 the stock market. This country has Fcertainly bought back a biIlion>of it's own best securities since the war be- gan and some estimates are,>50 per cent. more than that Had it not been for this diversion, the bulk of all this capital would have gone to the development of home industries. Thus it. happens the war has unbe- kknown to many deferred home enter Tprises; and peace would, if nothing else interfered, lead to their resdmp- kfion. Business in this country is still livery active in spite of the slowing kdown which has occurred in some Hines, and which was certainly desir- fable if unwholsorne excesses were to be avoided. The steel trade seems Eto have reached the high point for a fperiod at least, and the same is true of some other industries. The build ling trade, on the other, hand, shows
 lsigns of recovery and would prosper
 more freely if materials were shaded
 somewhat from present high prices.
 Attention this week has been large
 By diverted by the automobile merg-
 Ie&s and the attendant speculation, T ANaHMlRRa