New Britain herald., 1916-08-12
Henry Clews Weekly Letter

i of our growing population and in- dustrial development. The eXtraOr 1 dlnary expansion in manufactured eX- 1 ports is mainly due to the war and
 must be considered s@ quite abnormal. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that we shall retain much of this newly 1 gained foreign trade, provided our I costs can be made to meet those of l Great Britain and Germany, who | will strenuously endeavor to recover all and more than they have lost. Our chief handicap will be high priced commodities and labor troubles in both of which there will have to
 be readjustment before we can suc- cessfully meet foreign competition abroad.
 There is still no prospect for a
 prompt ending of the war. Recent
 successes of the allies seemingly only
 serve to strengthen their determina- tion to complet</ overcome the Gen. tral Powers. This probably is the
 explanation of additional large mu- milton orders now being received from abroad. The steel trade has, of course felt the stimulus of these de- mands. Prices are very firm and the outlook is for continued activity in this department of industry. Some huge orders for copper are also be- ing negotiated by the allies. The labor situation has been quite a factor Tn financial circles, but the adjustment of the strike in New York City and the acceptance of mediation by the representatives of railway labor was favorably interpreted in the "Street.
 The dispute between the railroads and their employees, however. is far rom being settled; and the feeling is grow ing that the third party to the dis pute-the public-has greater ln- terests at stake than either of the two contesting parties. Both sides are anxious to have public opinion upon their side, and the outcome or the controversy is still uncertain, al- though financial interests are inclined to believe there will be no serious strike or tieup of traffic. The preSl- dential campaign is proceeding so quietly as to be hardly factor m financial affairs. Congress is endea- voring to adjourn about September 1st, and the Mexican problem has now passed into much less acute stage; the administration evidently doing it's best to secure a satisfactory adjustment before election.
 General business is quiet as usual in August, though the volume of trade is larger than year ago, as tes1hed by both bank clearings and railroad earnings. The railroads are now en- toying more prosperity than for SeV- eral years, but the fact that the co=-oanies are facing heavy increase in operating costs and that they have only recently escaped serious financial mp1ications, prevents any special enthusiasm among railroad managers. The money market continues easy in spite of approaching crop demands, and both time money and commercial paper have shown a downward ten dency. RumOrS are again revived of a coming British collateral war loan. Thus far these rumOrs are not verified and the British are known to be un- favorable to the idea of putting up collateral; but this feature would Un- dOubtedly assure it's success on this side and would also materially relieve the pressure of foreign holdings in this market Had it not been for the securities from abroad this market would have been considerably higher. Should this pressure be withdrawn, 1t would be interesting to note the eff feet upon a class of securities which have so far escaped the inhatiOnary effects of war and a plethoric money market.
 HENRY CLEWS.