New Britain herald., 1917-08-11
Henry Ckews Weekly Letter
Especial to the Herald.f

I l A highly profitable harvest for grain. cotton, fruits and vegetables. 1 A sound financial situation. Great industrial activity arising ! from war expenditures of $10,000,000,- ] 900 or more. Steady growth of government con- 1 trol over industrial movements and l prices. Aside from a poor spring wheat 1 | crop, the government crop report was l highly encouraging The month of l July showed great improvement in 1 nearly all crops. The most satisfac- 1 tory factor was an unexpected corn crop of 3,191,00O,000 bushels, com 1 pared with the previous bumper crop ] of SPA, 100000 bushels. The signi- 1 ficance of the is great crop will be 1 appreciated by a comparison of prices. 1 At present corn in Chicago is selling ] at about $2.25 a bushel, this abnormal | price being due to special causes. l A year ago the price was about 45 cents. September corn, however, l which more nearly represents fair 1 price, is selling above $1.65 in western 1 markets, which is double the price of 1 a year ago. The present price of wheat 1 is in the neighborhood of S2.40 in western markets, compared with about 1 $1.45 last year. Other grains are also l selling at very high prices, though l the increase is not so great as in the | case of wheat and corn. A big potato l crop is assured. good cotton crop
 is also probable, present indications | pointing to a yeild of 100000 bales, l which compares with II 100000 bales
 in 1916 and a five year average of
 14,2o0,000 bales. Cotton is selling at | about 27 cents, compared with IA 1-2 l cents year ago. It is quite evident
 that our agricultural classes are about
 to enjoy a season of undreamed pros
 perity for in spite of te increased costs 1 of production the margin of profit to l the farmer has increased enormously,
 and he needs no coddling. The same 1 is also true in many lines of industry.
 Iron, copper, lead and tin are all
 selling at prices affording extraord-
 mary profits to the producer and not
 withstanding higher costs of produc-
 tion and advances in wages our min
 eral industries, with possibly the ex- l ceptlon Of coal, are also enjoying un-
 expected prosperity. It is a very strik l ing fact that such producers of raw
 materials as farmers and miners are
 today enjoying larger profits than any
 other class. The manufacturing classes
 and distributors of these products are ] also enjoying great prosperity, which, l
 by increased costs of doing business
 and by concessions to labor. Right | here a new factor has been injected l which causes great uncertainty and
 some unsettlement; that is, the ever-
 extending control of government over l industry and prices.
 The food bill, passed August 8, is
 vastly more far reaching than is com
 monly supposed. It is not mandatory,
 yet bestows upon the president of the
 United States power to regulate in-
 dustry on a scale and With a compete
 ness never before exercised in any 1 country of the world. MT. Wilson may
 when he chooses completely regulate
 nearly all of the great industries of
 the United States. Our railroads are
 already under practically government
 reguation, and shipping is gradually
 approaching the same control The l government has recently laid its hand l upon the export trade, and it Is now 1 proposed to similarly regulate the inn
 port traffice of the country. Along
 with these measures comes the power
 to regulate prices. Truly, war is a
 one-man business. These vast powers
 could be used for veal or woe, but
 MT. Wilson has the confidence of the | people and can be relied upon to act
 wisely. Everything depends upon the
 
 applied. If drastically used, much l loss and confusion will be inevitable l If used with care and prudence, they
 may accomplish great good. They 1 can only be Justified as war measures, 1 for trade and industry will ever 1 prosper more under self-development l and regulation than under government | domination. These new methods have, of course, introduced great changes ! i,,+o Regulation bill has been passed and the details of the revenue measure l are settled, business can be freed of many uncertainties and will be better | able to undertake obligations entering into the future. With these two all 1 important measures practically settled, 1 l much of the doubt which paralyzed business for the past three months 1 will disappear and the way will be /, opened to renewed activity. Agricul- 1 tur3al prosperity will undoubtedly [ greatly stimulate business at the in 1 terior, while the huge expenditures | rendered necessary by war will stimu- i late business in Eastern sections. A l | good cotton crop at high prices must l l similarly affect the South. Thus, for i ] all sections of the country, an active l 1 business is to be reasonably expected | l for the coming fall and winter. Of | | course, much unrest may develop here 1 and there, owing to unavoidable de- arrangements caused by the war, also to 1 disaffection in industries and classes ] unavorably affected by the same cause. Our banking situation is exception l ally satisfactory, considering the vast strain imposed upon our resources by | the war. The Liberty Loan was suc- ! cessfully foated with scarcely ripple. l It was the biggest financial transac- 1 ton in our history, and yet made conl- ! partively small impression upon | either loans or discounts. Another