The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-10-28
HENRY CLEWS'
 WEEKLY LETTER

dent Wilson's peace articles. Ger many is, of course, not ready to take any such step; and fighting may Il continue several months, or may end l! in a few weeks should General Foch win a, decisive victory, as eventually he certainly will. Our troops and l. those of the Allies continue their vic Il torious progress unchecked. Absolute l. and unconditional surrender of the | German army is their supreme ob- ject, with no parleytng until that ob- ject is accomplished. The world has | learned by bitter experience that the ! present German government is insin- l cere and untrustworthy. President | Wilson wisely told Germany the plain i truth in this respect. Peace with the l Hohenzo1lerns is impossible. They l and their military associates have 1 misled Germany and brought down 1 upon that unhappy nation the hatred | of the entire world. History fur | nishes no other such remarkable ex- ample of universal and bitter hatred; l not only among civilized nations but | among the savages of Africa. and even among her former allies, whom she has also deceived. Under Hohenzol- fern leadership Germany has become | the greatest outlaw and the most de- spfsed nation of the world; the result | of pushing inordinate ambitions by the cruelest and most barbarous war
 fare that science and force could de- lvise. There can be no dealings, nor
 any real peace discussion with Ger
 many until its military ascendancy is permanently broken. That is a task
 which will require supreme effort on part of the Allies; and overconfidence
 on our side will delay rather than
 hasten the end. When that task is
 accomplished, the Allies will be ready
 to talk about justice and peace conGf-
 tions. but not before.
 One of the most satisfactory results of the last Liberty loan was its wide
 distribution among the people; the latest estimate being that over 25,- 100000 individuals participated. This is wonderful testimony of the deter
 imitation of Americans to win the
 war, and will doubtless encourage
 President Wilson: at the same time | forcing upon the mind of the Kaiser
 the futiilty of further resistance.
 | Slight relief has been afforded the money market by completion of the loan, and the situation is still one that calls for strict conservatism. The blanks are carrying a heavy load. Credit, though sound, has been large ly expanded. and the high prices of all commodities have had little to
 do with this expansion. Our govern
 ment will continue to absorb large
 sums during the balance of the year
 both through bond subscriptions and
 taxation. The crop movement is
 about over, and this fact will release
 considerable funds, but the Loan 2 Committee at New York is unable to
 materially relax it's control over the
 money market. On Thursday $780,
 O00,O00 were paid out at this center on
 account of the initial payment on the
 Liberty loan. The stock market had
 started off on a rather wild and haz-
 ardous rise, transactions reaching over a million shares per day. Consider 3 able of the funds for this movement s seem to have been obtained from the interior, where stringency was less
 marked. There was however, more or less calling in of loans, and liquid 7 ation promptly followed. Profit talk
 ing on an extensive scale became nee
 essary. The action of the Money
 Committee in advising that 30 per
 cent. margins be the rule on the Stock
 Exchange is an unpleasant but nec- y essary restraint upon oyer-enthusias- e tic speculation. As the committed = wisely points out. the credit of the r country must be used in aid of the e government, and excessive stock mar 0 ket operations at this time are inad- q visable.
 e Peace prospects, though distant a have brought about remarkable
 change of undertone in the security Is markets. Distrust has sfven way tc g widespread optimism and to the he. l. lief that the stock market is bound l. for a considerably higher level The V latter theory is probably true; but ii Q the advance is pushed too rapidly, ol II without regard to financial limita- if tions and the danger Of undue dis
 tuubarce to credit, the present n strength and activity may be quickly o checked. A moderate, orderly and a steady advance, accompanied by req Y sonable reactions and profit tl,-irg, is . the only way to a satisfactory re ov- co cry in values at this time. There ha. ,, already been an advance of 10 to 2t . points in the better class Of railroads '0 and industrials; but even these fig. ures do not represent any imitation for prices are still subst7 ntial,y below S the high points of 19t6. The correct. IL ness of our previous suggestions thar It railroad shares and peace industrial! III were entitled to a considerable rise
 in order to bring them to a parity o with the advance in other values ha: e, been proved. It is also now beins -d recognized that the fundamentals il '., railroad shares have changed vastly
 for the better; that the roads are nov IS under government protection; tha k the administration is according then Id better treatment than they have hat e. for many years; that stockholders aQ, " receiving a fair deal, as well as ship 1r pers and employees; that traffic prob
 lens are being solved that financia n necessities are being met, and tha ot important economies are being gener T. ally introduced. These revolutionary d changes do not mean that a railroad le millennium has arrived; but America, m roads are on the way to better finan ct cial conditions; established dividends
 are assured, and the companies pros ht poets are infinitely stronger than & year or two ago when bankrutc, " threatened several of the once strong ,a est systems
 n. As for the industrials those ben is citing by peace have already show is a marked recovery which has not ye
 entirely discounted the future Afte f7 President Wilson's reply to German Jd the war tndustrials recovered a DOT ', ton of previous losses The copper
 oil, steel and kindred issues will nat
 urally benefit by peace. Co0carr