Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-11-02
MONTHLY REPORT OF CROP and
BUSINESS CONDITIONS IN The. I
NNTHFEDERAL RESERVEDETRICT

trtct as a whole, and remembering
that dairy products, live stock, grain
and other food stuffs are quite as es-
sential as manufactured products, the
total that can be classified as war pro-
duction is very large. and at this sea-
son OF h year is putting back into
large disbursements -of
government fund. With "a compare
lively small manufacturing output,
this district has notsbeen in position,
except In the crop moving period, to
receive the benefit /of disbursements
similar to those made by the govern
tment in the more important manufac-
turing districts of the country. With
the present heavy demand upon the
northwestern grain supplies, the gov
ernment's expenditures have, however,
become important, and will continue
to be an important factor for, the re-
,mainder Of the, year. Considerable
amounts Of wheat are being stored
subject to government order at termi-
nal elevators to be drawn upon as
future demands may necessitate.
In line with the slow adaptation OF
the Industrial resources and produce
ing capacity of the country to the
needs Of the government, parallel
work OF very great Importance is also
in progress. It is the evident inten-
ton of the government that funds that
are available for investment in de-
velopment and industrial enterprises
should not be wasted or diverted.
Government supervision Of the issue
Of securities is gradually increasing in
effectiveness, and as the problem is
studied and Analysed, federal au-
thority is .reaching out more and more
effectively to put an end to the dissi-
patton of the of private in
dividuals through bad investments in
the stocks OF securities Of enterprises
that are without merit or without
hope of success.
Excellent as is the supervision of
the various state blue sky commits
%sions,, there arc still a large number
Of enterprises selling. stock and Of
contracts or other forms of investment
securities which if not fraudulent,
are, at least, highly and sometimes
hopelessly speculative, or on the other
hand, based upon unsound assump-
tons and under poor business or
financial management. ~ %
Whether such stocks and securities
were issued with fraudulent intent or
not, it is obvious that they waste. funds
and compete with the government at
a time when it is carrying an ex-
IIC14ySAy 4Acdty OuIU0I VI 1ludIlCluS.
Under the control Of the capital issues
committee such projects are being
subjected to more and more rigid
supervision, with the promise that a
condition will shortly be created I'M
der which the greater part Of the
worthless or doubtful forms of invest
ment Of this general character will be
eliminated. What the saving to the
government and people would be Of
any plan which is effective in driving
these investments out of the market,
it is impossible to estimate, but within
this district alone, it would unques-
tionably run into many millions Of
dollars. r.
Banking and business conditions re-
main about the same. Deposits show
the influence Of seasonal liquidation,
with a corresponding deduction in
the outstanding obligations of banks
scattered throughout the district.
Rates are still firm with no prospect
of material change. A satisfactory
year and extremely favorable fall have
produced excellent conditions through
out the rural districts where trade is
in satisfactory volume Inc the out
look promising. Very favorable
weather has permitted farmers to do
a large amount of fall work.