The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-07-10
(Henry Clews.)


 The recent drift of events has been moro favorable from the stock market point of view. Mexican affairs as- snned a more peaceful aspect, and there Is good reason for anticipating ., satisfactory solution of this prob lem by means of mediation instead of war. Pitches and setbacks may de- velop. but one thing is certain, this country does mot want war with Mex ico; and. once the Mexicans appre- Cite the sincerity of our declaration that we have no lust for conquest of Mexican territory, the way to perma- nent peace between Mexico and our selves should be firmly established. If eur government can aid in restoring order on al basis, satisfactory to the 7 unhappy people of Mexico, so much the better. Anarchy. misery, poverty and starvation rule our Southern >neighbor with cruel hand at pres X ent; and, for such conditions, peace and friendship ought to cure much more effectively than war and hatred,
 Tn Europe the great conflict has broken out with greater violence than ever. At last the Allies have initiated their universal drive; the Central Powers are being sorely pressed in every direction, and 1t may be the be- ginning of the end. It is now almost \ two years since the war began. It aeems impossible for the struggle to shst another year, and millions on
 10th sides are hoping for peace within ¬her six months. Certainly the {, lar is two-thirds over, and let us {; 4ope three-fourths. In bitterness and 4 fntensity 1t will grow toward the end. i but the world at large is already pre- Y baring for resumption of peaceful ac- 4 tivities. The doings of the Economic v Conference at Paris in this connection were of much significance, and an .aereetnent between the Allies to form . number of scc-operative plans for irestoratfon of their commerce and in- 6ustry after the war is not surprising. These agreements are of course in- tended to hamper the Central Powers. N 1t is satisfactofy, to note. however, < that no eenefal boycott is to be de- | clAred A6Ainst Germany. That would De sheer folly, and if carried too far would surely lay the basis for another war as soon as Germany sufficiently l lrecovered. Moreover, if Germany can tproduce any products cheaper and better than other nations, refusal of the Entente Powers to buy them 4 would infiict self-injury and build up tho trade of the nations at the ex- pense of the Allies. Furthermore, all of the Allies will be only too glad to sell to Germany; an impossibiity un- 1ess they also stand ready to buy. \ Comnferce has an Irresistible habit of j 1eaping over political barriers when eTer transactions yield a mutual ( proflt: and is always a powerful !; ;peacemaker. causing war only, when throttled or fettered to death..
 Home conditions are generally en- couraging. Our agricultural output I does not promise to be quite as boun- tiful as last year; but good prices are ipractically certain, and there is no abatement of prosperity in sight for the American farmer, who has now enjoyed an unusually long period of 4 good fortune. The cry of back to the fArm." was never more justified than now: and the small margin between <, production and consumption in all the International markets, together with. the high, prices|for all farm products, affords a stimulating prospect for the agrieulturist. Regardless of the war, the worlds production, especially of animal producas, is often below con- sumption. Our industrial activity is still running at top speed. The steel trade is positively suffering from over Iconsumptiop. Production is operated at the llnft.: yet there Is no cessation in the pressure of orders; no signs Of weakness in prices, and steel mills would welcome a respite from the ur- ecv1f Aavvp Ao nF intuition factories are shutting down; others, of course. are busy; the rate at which ammunition is now being con- stmed at the front stimulating expec- tations of fresh orders. The textile trade. especially in New England, is fairly active and in good condition; the better prices recently obtained for most fabrics resulting in increased dividends on some mill, shares and re- sumption on others. The boot and shoe industry also continues active Automobile makers have had a won derful season: home trade having ex- ceeded all expectations. while the ex- port trade on war account has been simply phenomenal
 Financial conditions in the United States are particularly satisfactory. Our banks are prosperous and strong, while our enormous gold supply and the new Federal reserve banks have imparted an responsiveness to our cur rency that has much to do with pres ent activity. National bank loans are about $1,00o, 100000 in excess of a z year go, while bank clearings in June were 46 per cent. ahead of last year and 48 per cent more than in 1914. There is doubtless much infla- ton in present values; and the growth of trade in this country, do1pestic ard foreign. when measured in quantities as 1t should be. is much smaller than when measured in values Political conditions at home are exceptionally quiet and the Presidential campaign for the time being is almost entirely forgotten. The most interesting fea- ture has been the introduction of a new revenue bill to meet the costs of preparedness. This bill is expected to produce about $260, 100000. a large proportion of which is to be raised by doubling the income tax. This bill has as yet received no serious dis cussion. and the efforts at Washing ton to railroad it through Congress without proper debate should be strenuously protested. There is no emergency warranting such haste.
 The stock market has shown fair