Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1917-01-06
Business of Nation is
Greater Than Euer
Christmas Slump Does Not Affect General
Conditions that Make for Most Prosperous
Year In all Lines Of Business in History of
This Country.

e Results during 1916 surpassed tn,
g most sanguine expectations, evidenc,
, OF the unexampled business beins
= found IN ev ry statement that ap
= pears. l. has ben period of un
a precedented achiev ments in finance
} trade and industry, with the mainte
| nance of consumptive demands II
record volume, Notwithstanding tn
highest prices of modern times, tn,
J outstanding reature The year close 1
, however with rather general abate
J ment of purchasing, and with tn,
!; question of future readjustments en-
tering more largely into calculations
Yet a certain hesitancy and slowing
down is natural at this season. In
7 view of the interruption caused by
lnventorying and annual settlements,
and the fact that In most cases re-
quireme nts were covered far ahead
on the previous extensive buying
movement. Producers still are less
concerned about securing additional
contracts than in making deliveries
on old orders, and the difficulties of
reducing the great accumulation of
business are intens flied by the trans
portation breakdown, which has been
aggravated by storms in some sec.
tions. Freight embargoes further
complicate the situation and manu-
featuring operations are seriously
hampered with more blast furnaces
and other plants stopped because of
lack Of fuel, With outputs and ship
ments restricted, industrial earnings
Lave ndtI.ahy diminished thLUg
the years results in this respect
have never been equaled. Mercantile
profits also reach unparalleled figures
and the generally increased prompt.
ness in the settlement of financial
obligations is reflected in a marked |
contraction in commercial failures,
preliminary statistics Tor 1916 indi- |
eating numerical decrease of over
20 per cent from the high mortality |
of the previous year. Retail holiday
trade fulfilled the mostopttmistic pre-
dictions, and bank clearings at cen
ters outside New York this week are
2S5 per cent. larger than in 1915
while the gain in all points for the
past year is approximately $50 per
cent. 1t is noteworthy, however, |
that commodity prices are reaction
AIRY, the list of 321 wholesale quota
tions regularly compiled by Dun's
Review showing more declines than
advances this week, for the first time
in months
Comfirtable conditions Characterized
the local money market in the final
week Of the year. Arrangements for
the record annual disbursements
were effected without difficulty, and
many millions more of gold were ad-
ded to the unprecedented inflow Yet,
In spite of the fact that about $675,. {
900 900 has come In from all sources
the Clearing House inSti utions hold (
L IS cash than at the close of 1915 I
and the surplus reserve also is ma !
.erially smaller, though well above {
It's lowest level Latest available re- 4
urns disclose a net loan expansion {
If about $3.50 900 900 in 1916, but ;
his does not suggest the wild in
laion of which some people were
Ipprehe ensive Since the maximum |
,oint was reached in November, loans |
lave been curtailed appreciably, and (
he year ends with the general situa-
ion dec dedly more wholesome as a {
esuh of the recent drastic specula- t
i've liquidation. {
Speculative excitement has abated J
nd the markets have improved their S