The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-11-04
HENRY CLEWS'
 WEEKLY LETTER

Work during the past month has carried the process of ratification of the treaty of peace further toward practical completion abroad, while the United States still refrains from expressing itself definitely one way or the other. The progress that has ibeen made enables foreign countries to begin the task of settling down upon a peace basis and of determin- ing what they must do in the way of taxation and borrowing in order to re-esta blish themselves. In the course of this process very considera- ble demands are likely to be brought to bear upon the United States and much of the financing of the next few months will inevitably be con- nected with the problem of exports and the making of provision for the needs of foreign countries.
 It is evident that foreign countries want practically all the assistance they can possibly obtain sn the Amer ican market and that very moderate computations of this assistance would place the figure well toward two bill lion dollars in the immediate future. Meanwhile Congress has practically reached the point of passing the Edge bill which provides for the creation of new enterprises, supervised by the Federal Reserve Board, whose func- ton it will be to take the obligations of foreign concerns guaranteed by the governments under which such concerns are operating, and use them as collateral for their own obligations to be sold to citizens of the United States in order to facilitate exports which cannot be paid for at the pres ent time by those who receive them abroad. It would seem now as if a number of these corporations would be organized and it may be that 11uch of the borrowings asked for by for eign countries may take the form of advances to be made to these Edge bill corporations.' This may be a convenient way of handling the financing rather than through straight government loans on this market. However it may be disposed of, the chances now favor large issues of foreign securities here in one form or another and serious drafts upon our resources available for home use, while a new type of securities is of fered in considerable quantities to our investors.
 Investors Earnings.
 Meanwhile, investors are obtaining very large rates of earnings upon the new securities which are issued by home concerns. Both stock and bonds are being placed upon the do- mestic market in great volumes, and as money loses it's purchasing power the rate of interest which must be paid in order to induce owners to forego present use in favor of future has to be corresponding raised. The rates for both call and time funds during the past week have shown a stronger tendency, and long-term borrowing is -ow being conducted upon a basis cf high return The fact that the new British loan pays 6A per cent, with an additional ex- change profit to be made from pos sible conversion, is in itself sympto- matic of the whole situation. Not only foreign securities but borrowings in behalf of domestic enterprise are likely to be called upon for very much greater payments in the form of interest and dividends than here fore, and those which are unable te make them will find themselves Jeff behind in the effort to get new capital
 Speculation Rampant
 In the meantime, moreover, specu. i lation has become rampant and the speculative spirit is spreading rap. idly throughout the country. This i: {! not merely true of operations in se curities and on the exchanges, but i. also true of dealings tn lands, good: i and values of all descriptions. Int stock market became at times nor,
 = ass feverish during the past week l ' a successive advances being re corded in many stocks. If these ad | vances in all cases corresponded t, l earning power, the situation woult >ot necessarily be serious, but it mus
 be considered that the maintenanc of such values cannot be paermanen