Evening star., 1920-02-15
u. s EXPORT TRADE PROMISING,
DESPITE EXCHANGE SITUATION
Bradstreet's Asserts That Foreign eau
tionary Signals Are Still Seen and
Conservatism Is More Manifest

! In spite of the serious exchange
situation. which threatens to be an
| adverse factor in. our foreign trade
! for some time. il is the prevalent
opinion in financial circles that the
! United States will continue to do
| large export business for some years
. 20 come.
| In commenting on the general busi-
ness situation for the past week Brad
streets says:
"tautionary signals displayed last
week by the foreign exchange. money.
securities. grain and provision mar
xets. la'er joined by the big primary
lines of textiles. particularly cotton
and wooden goods. are still in eVi-
1enre. and the area of country report
ing conservatism more manifest has
widen d some what. THIS is most
percept;ble in the large centers of the
EAST and central west. in the former
aided appreciably by the disturb" ne"
to shipping and forwarding caused by
! after effects OF the big storm OF last
week and by the s;jll prevailing in
auenza epidemic. and in the west by
tighter money and the fears of pos
sihle cOuntry-w i'd tie up of traffic If
the predicted strike Of railway en-
wori arep sHoull occur. The quieting
down is stil l'itIe in evidence in the
hie rorSuu'i ing districts Of tn" west
and south. ami is not unanimous even
I tho east and central west. as shown
ny the str. n"th of delnard and OF
prices noted in the big basi" indus
es such as iron and steel and lum-
her. in which buyers are bidding
ra%erly. in some cases it would seem
wiI:'y. for nearby aud distant de-
liveries Of nearly all kinds ot pig iron.
structural material. finished Steel ami
hard and soft grades of lumber. Coal
feels the effect of urgent efforts to
speed up iron and steel production.
which is still little above so pr cent
Of capacitv owing to delayed deliver
es of fuel. although coal production
recently has been and is large meas
ured even by the best records of the
past.
"Brioav Summarized II r,av hA said
that wholesale and jobbing trade has
tane-eG off. most r";"h'v at the east
and east central markets: that retail
trade is q,:ic ter in the same regions
party as tn" result of bad weather.
roads and health conditions. and that
manufacturing output is still affected
by tho intinarya eDida,ni" which lattnr
is, however. losing it's force and sub
id;nc At r-oSt pont TN''o"tions too.
have shown slight shading. But
and this fact is not to he obscured-
while a few cities report retail trade
affected by the high prices ruling. 9TH
ers still report demand eager and the
main worry still is over the question
of adequate supplies for the expected
active spring buying in final distribu-
tive lines.
Business failures for the week ending
February u number 104. which COM
pares with 100 last week. 1O6 in the like
week of 1919. 24S in 1918. 2Sa in 1917
and 369 in 1916"
Dun'x cites Effect OF Weather
Pointing out the effect that weather
conditions have had on general busi-
ness conditions. Duns Review says:
The severe storms in the east and else
where have caused great inconvenience
and considerable loss to commercial in
terests. and have been an important fac
tor in the recs mt slowing down of busi-
ness in various quarters. That financial
movements have also had something
moro than a sentimental influence in
mercantile and Industrial channels. there
is accommodating evidence and a condi-
ton is developing where sellers no
longer dominate about all markets. and
buyers nearly everywhere compete
sharply for available supplies of raw
material and manufactured products
Although demands in some impor-
tant lines. as in iron and steel, dis
close little. if any. abatement, vet in
numerous instances a policy of wait
ing has made its temperance. and an
undercurrent of caution is plainly dis
cern1ble even in those branches where
activities are unabated. More than
any other single element. the expecta-
ton that foreign exchange conditions
will ultimately force widespread
lowering Of commodity prices in this
country explains the present disposi-
ton in many directions to limit en-
gagements to well-defined reouire
ments. and the tendency among not a
rev dealers to avoid overstocking with
hlSh-pr1ced merchandise.
That the main course of prices mas
recently been downward, Dun's list of
wholesale quotations has demon
strated; but predictions that a general
decline. is imminent may prove to be
premature, and some iron and steel
prices this week are up anywhere from
81 to 81. Much as price reaction is
to be desired. it is not likely to come
other than gradually in markets where
an actual shortage of supplies exists.
unless there is a sudden shrinkage of
buying power. and it is not clear even
now that the peak Of some prices has
yet been reached"
Labor. the Question in ENGLAND.
While Great Britain. according to a
statement just issued by Eugene !.
koop. foreign representative of Spencer
: Irask d Co.. is facing more or less
an tne problems now common to
EUROPE, there is one, production. or in
other words. labor, which stands out
boldly because of it's surpa ssing i'm
portance. Will labor work. or will il
not? That is the question.
Mr.. koop points out that notwith-
standing England has come out of
the war financially stronger than any
or the other European belligerents
and will acquire great stretches of
territory which will vastly enrich
her. it will avail her but little unless
her people buckle down to work for
she will be unable to produce the ex
ports necessary to correct her falling
exchanges.
The British public is heartily sick
OF railroad strikes. he says. in the
recent disturbances people of all
classes loaned their motor cars to
/ help in the emergency. which highly
disconnected the organizers of the
strike. and it seems now as if the
public will hereafter have good
deal more to say in the settlement of
strikes than it has in the past.
| So far Is surface indications go. the
, love of work is by no means general
i yet in England. and the pursuit Of
pleasure seems paramounrsln the lives
| of many people. Bond street is a
fairyland of beautiful jewels and rare
works OF art. Taxfs run night and
day. Congestion in the street is ter
| rife. Motor car builders have long
waiting lists. Not infrequentiy those
at the top Of the list are offered hun
| 6reds OF pounds for their place in the