The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-08-24
.. Finance. Real Estate Insurance =.
HENRY CLEWS'
 WEEKLY LETTER
(Henry Clews Weekly

\ the war again proved the chief stimu- Jus. The resumption of war orders deciGively affected the intuition i. group, and ethe general market stiff ! fened under the success of new Bri- tish loan; while the railroad shares were visibly affected by belief that there would be no strike. The con- sumption of ammunition in the pres ent cruel war staggers imagination; but Great Britain now seems able to supply her own wants, both as to shells and guns, and intimates that
 she win soon bessready to assist her Allies in this respect. Nevertheless,
 both shells and guns are being con- stunned upon stupendous scale, and i bigger repeat orders are coming to American manufacturers than ever
 anticipated; all of which does not por- / tend an early end of the war. Such orders are being placed with greater ' discrimination than in the earlier
 stages of the struggleS and are going
 chiefly to large and responsible con- :, cerns whose products have. best stood
 actual test. While new orders are be- ing placed upon a better business lbasis, and are not encountered by such
 extravagant, commissions to promoters as marked early contracts, there is I still a handsome profit to cocerns
 which obtain these orders and need less to say. mean continued activity
 and prosperity for the American steel industry into 1917. Some munition concerns are being dismantled of their
 war machinery; usually those whose profits were below expectations or
 those whose output had not proved | ~o< f~Ra ,<A he oxyid I ton of the war means a continuance of big exports. further imports of
 gold or securities. also additional big credits to the Allies; all of which we I can readily handle. thus pointing to continuedprosperity. As already i'm timated in these advices when the war ends our steel plants will be occupied for some time in satisfyinC recon struction demands of Europe, where
 railroads, industrial plants, etc., will
 have to be immediately restored, par ticularly in France and Belgium. On
 this account alone, many millions of stel products will be sold to Europe
 when peace is declared.
 At this writing, 1t is impossible to
 anticipate the resdlt of the great con-
 trovorsy between the railroads and i theiw employees. The consequences to both sides of nationwide paraly- sis of traffic arc so grave and momen-l tous that a strike is regarded as al-, most impossible, because neither side lreally cares to deliberately face the
 consequences of an aroused public in dignation. Perhaps the threatening
 attitude of the unions has not been taken with sufficient seriousness. but in any event, the vigorous iniative which President Wilson showed in aiming for e settlement had a quiet Ting effect.
 The formal announcement of a loan
 of $26O,0O0,000 to the United King
 dom is an Important financial devel-
 Dpment from two viewpoints. Of the
 3O0.000,00 of securities that are to
 Constitute the collarteral for this
 large transaction. one-third, or ap-
 proximately $100.000, 900 represents : higf-grade American bonds and tn- jvestment stocks that have been accu- lmulated by the British Treasury in purmaance of its mobilization plan.
 These securities will now necessarily
 be removed from probability of sale
 during the two-year period that the lnew notes will run; they will no long,
 CT constitute threat to the general
 Stock Exchange price level TheNloan's lsecond influence to which reference
 has already been made in these ad- ivicss, contemplates the favoring re- suits to the market that are not un- likely to accrue from the efforts of 1.-the large financial interests who as underwriters have such a practical incentive to make 1t a success. The
 efforts of such interests under these | I<p3v afa ar onf n 11o DIT.
 couragaing and promote a favorable speculative and investment atmos- Iphere in the general market for se- curitdes.
 II The remainder of the $300,000, 0,000 z collateral in the new British issue will kconslst in round numbers of $100,- 100000 of Canadian Government and ICanadian railway bonds, and San ad- Iditional $100,000 900 will take the Eforfn of bonds and other obligations tof Argentina. Chile, Norway. Sweden, k6witzerland, Denmark and Holland. ,IAside from the similar class of securi- ifies contained in the collateral for the tmore recent $100,0Q0,000 French loan, kfe distribution of bonds of foreign Egovernments and of bonds represent Ians foreign activities, is, a new and hmportant development for American Investors. It is, however, merely a beginning that means a further active broadening of New York as world bmarket for finance. Other loans are ito be raised in our own country by lthe Entente Allies. Their number land volume will be limited only by bAhe duration of the destructive con- tflict< and by the final volume of the I1upply available of American capital A clear indication of this is contained lln the revision of the. British Chan lcellor's mobilization plan. As modi- flied, the English Treasury is to re-
 ceive on deposit for a period of five iyears a new list embracing securities l$3.00o,o00.000 in value. the list com kDosing seventy high grade foreign Ihonds. including among others those Ithat are to costitute part of the col
 1ateral for the new loan that has just been arranged here. Thus it is ob- lvious that the British Government lhas ample collateral readily available Ito seek additional financial accomoda- i4ion in America.
 Henceforward, financially speaking i've must look out and not in, and &C., lcustom ourselves to larger transac- ltions than have hitherto been the rule INo us the $25O,000, ,00O loan appears Ito be matter of very considerable importance, yet is smalls compared