The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-04-06
HENRY CLEWS'
 WEEKLY LETTER

While there has been compara- lively little indication of improve ment in the disturbed condition of affairs in Germany, international re- lationships have been slowly pro- gressing during the past week or more as the result of natural pro- cesses- Trade returns published by the Bureau of Foreign Commerce. and giving details of our information al business for the month of Febru- ary, show very distinct evidences of improvement in economic power in many of the European countries. Some are still much retarded, but the progress made in at least a few di- rectionS is such as to furnish genu- inc encouragement, taking the situa- ton as a whole. The disposition of Congress to adopt a resolution sim ply declaring the United States at peace and thus automatically terni- hating the war, although without any treaty agreement, may result in clos ing up the present unsatisfactory sit uation and in giving us at least a nominal basis of intercourse win other countries. This prospect has naturally had a good effect upon the international investment situation as well as upon foreign exchange.
 AEOSBSTOlS SIITIHS ouI1OOk
 Continued reports Sf prosperity are received from the interior districts, and as spring work has opened up in the agricultural regions of the West and Southwest it is seen that crop prospects are of an unusually ia vorable description for this season of the year. The principal sources of anxiety are found in scarcity of farm labor and in inadequate equipment of i the railroads the latter tending to prevent both satisfactory movement of supplies to the farms and ade- quate return movements of agricul- tural products to the consumer. As for the labor shortage, that is a two sided situation Manufacturers all over the country have been urgently demanding a. greater labor supply, complaining that they are unable to ! carry their productive power up to i 100 per cent. efficiency unless they i can get such assistance. This great need of labor and the fact that it has taken form in apnormaIly high wages has powerfully tended to bring workers from the extractive industries to the factories and to in. door work in general In one way this is another index of prosperity the demand for goods both for local consumption and export being SC great as to neceSSitate the full em. ployment of capital of every descrip. ton. Reports from the steel, iron automobile and textile trades show not only a fuller employment thar at any time in recent months, bu
 also a smaller degree of labor un. rest and probably a lesser number O: strikes than on any recent date, while
 rJo
 operating at as full a capacity as pos
 sible, but have booked orders fa1 ahead, in many cases up to or beyond
 the calendar year. These facts hay,
 become a familiar story within tn,
 recent past, but they have never
 stood out so prominently as they d.
 today in the business condition re,
 ports of the producing regions. It i
 no wonder in these circumstance
 that industrial earnings have heIc
 their own remarkably well in spite o the heavy burden of taxation t Il which they have been subjected, an,
 in spite also of the high prices 0 labor and materials with. which the have had to contend.
 Interest and Money
 Indeed, the chief difficulty in tn way of the stock and securities mar ket today is not found in anythin
 relating to production or trade, bu
 presents itself almost exclusively i the financial side of the outlook
 There has been little change in tn
 banking outlook for a week past, eS
 cept the definite realization of pre-
 dictions concerning the inward move ment of gold. As an earnest of thi projected movement some S10,000 "on was received at the opening c
 week, while probably double tha
 a! lount is understood to be on it's wa
 and an even larger sum is likely i
 the near future to be shipped. Thes receipts of gold will go far to off-se the heavy losses which the Unite States has sustained during the las few months. The now gold has gon dsroctlxr intn tha uau1ts of tha E,nd