The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-01-04

Nineteen hundred and sixteen was
wonderful year. but that character
ization does only partial Justice to this
latest and greatest twelve months In
the country's history. 1t was said OF
1915 that adjectives were lacking
fifty to portray that years progress
So it may be said of 1916. in turn
that comparatives fail TO describe the
repeated examples of high records set
up in nearly all lines Of trade and in
dustry, only to be displaced in turn
and relegated to the rear by new and
hitherto unheard-of totals Of indus
trial production and trade volume, OF
bank clearings and building expendi-
ture, of transportation earnings on
land and on water, OF export and i'm
port trade in merchandise, in gold
and in silver, Of mineral output and
ship construction, of prices Of all
commodities, and Of high levels OF
wages paid in most Industries and OF
dividends paid by enterprises Of all
kinds. It would be far easier, in fact,
to single out the lines that did not
break records than to attempt to emu
merate the multitude of directions in
which trade expanded, industry set
UP new milestones Of progress, and
finance sought wider fields of ex-
ploitation.
In 1915 the bogy of troublesome Ii
quotation Of our own stocks and
bonds held sabroad was finally laid,
and we began to offer q market here
for foreign securities; but in 1916 we
denitely secured title to our position
as a creditor nation, loaned freely to
the entire world, and, despite hitfer-
to unequaled purchases by us of belli-
gerent securities became possessed of
gold imports in 4 volume such as was
never before seen. To the spur, of
foreign war demand, 4 represented by
,fnfeard-of quantities of food, Tnuni-
lions and general merchandise sold
abroad, was added new and record
breaking volume of imports, largely
of raw materials to feed our indus
trial machinery, while at the same
time purely domestic trade grew be-
yend the most sanguine dreams of
our merchants and manufacturers A
quoting down in midyear, with at
tendant free predictions of the ter
mination Of war demand, merely act
ed as a breathing spell before new
and still larger demands were again
met in the sautunfp and early winter.
INOCf scuOukA CdIB, ldOOI VI 6OOOS
was a common description Of trade
and industry throughout many
months. j Even toward the close of
the year, W. hen nearly all lines were
booked for nine months ahead, and
some iron and steel lines were sold
well into 1918, when prices of COM
modities, after rising to new heights,
had broken badly, due largely to
peace talk being injected into the sit
! uation, there were but few signs of a
let-up in active buying, or indications
that the conservatism $50 long preach
ed was really acting as brake upon
extraordinary purchasing. How much
of this late quieting down was due to
the usual year-end seasonal dizziness
1t would be hard to say. Some of II. .
as for instance, the quiet and easing
in some cotton goods, was undoubt-
eddy due to a Accent break in raw cot
ton.
All this activity had occurred. too,
despite the fact that it was a presi-
dental year, one also OF disturbed
foreign relations and period Of dig
appointing crop outturn, which was
made more manifest by large foreign
buying of obtainable supplies, and
evidence of speculation having taken
advantage of natural conditions to
push prices Of food to record heights.
This latter resulted in a popular out
burst against high living costs and the
usual frenzied effort of public men,
legislators and others to find evidences
of monopolistic combinations affect
ing the prices Of the peoples food"
Some Financial Features
Exports of merchandise totaled S.
400, 000, 900 in value. excelling those
for the previous calendar year by 55
per cent, and those for the year
1914 by 157 per cent. Imports aggre-'
gated $3.50, 900, 600, exceeding 1915
and 1914 by 80 per cent. Gold inn
ports totaled $63O,O00,O0O, surprising
exports by $500, 100000. Our gross
imports of gold during the war have
aggregated 1O0,000,000, and the
net imports 1898 100000 while our
sales of. merchandise for the like per-
iod were considerably over double our
purchase. Hence the estimates that
we bought back $1,000, 100000 Of
American securities, and, in addition,
became creditors for an additional
$4,000, 100000 Of foreign bonds or
notes. AS our export trade has grown
since the war began, it's character has
dOudlty CUdnSCQ, duO IUS carly
large shipments of foodstuffs have be-
come dwarfed,. partly because of crop
shortages, by later enormous exports
of manufactured goods-not all of
these, by the way munitions
though 1t musr he said that our Slip
mems to Entente countries have far
exceeded those of tie rest of the
world. Our gains in trade with the
part of the world at peace have hard
1y expanded as much as might have
been hoped, though it is hard to see
how our factory production. strained
as it was to the breaking point, could
have been further increased. Credits
based on the new and vast supplies of
securities and gold have expanded,
and the country's banking position
has become one of unparalleled de-
posits and resources Bank clearings
for 1916 testified to the enormous
volume Of the banking movement in