Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-05-21
ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

ECONOMIC conditions IN Mon
Il tana are slowly improving,
though we note that all the Rocky
mountain states are painted black
in our industrial condition map
recently printed in the Literary
Digest. Yet Montana is not as
black as it was. The industrial
and financial skies have been clear
ing ever since the Anaconda Cop
per company started up its plants
a few months ago. The full effect
Of this resumption of metal mining
and refining will not be felt for
some months yet, perhaps until
next fall, but its reviving influence
is by no means negligible right
now. The first income of the state
from wool sales will soon be in evil
dence, and fortunately the price of
wool this year is satisfactory and
attractive to the wool growers,
many of whom were nicely pulled
out of the hole in recent months by
the increase in the value of their
flocks and the wool clip.
Taking the country generally,
conditions are favorable, though
not quite as rosy as it was hoped
they would be at this time. I'M
proving is perhaps an adequate de-
scription of economic conditions in
the United States. The Spring
field Republican prints from time
to time reviews of the trend of
business in the country that are SO
written as to convey the facts to
the general reader. Under date
Of the IS instant, they write as
follows:
Steel merger developments took
on a positive aspect last week in
the purchase of the Lackawanna
Stell company by the Schwab inter-
ests, not without a response in the
increased activity of the steel
group in the stock market. Aside
from steel stock, however, the mar
ket appeared to be losing its edge
all the week; even bonds were
rather less firm although the money
rate fell to 3H per cen at the
week end. On the whole, securities
were less active. the total sales of
both stocks and bonds in the New
York exchange showing a substan-
tial decline in volume.
THE stock market phase of the
spring revival seems to be nearly
over and, as summer approaches.
a seasonal quiet may be expected.
The battling European situation
aside, such a modest boom as we
have had GEMS to have been fully
justified by cheap money, and the
fresh industrial activity in several
basic lines. Irregularities are not
yet eliminated and the country is
still far from producing at its capa-
city, but there can be no minimiz-
ing the gains in the building. iron
and steel and automotive industries
The United States Steel corpora
TONS April report was excellent.
the bookings being the heaviest
since March. 1920.
April building permits in l0l
cities exceed in value April last
year by over 40 per cent. Although
employment in factories in New
York state decreased 2 per cent in
April as compared with March, sew
eral lines of industry showed big
Improvements. The largest gains
were in the metal group, which has
reported increases every month
since August of last year, except
for January. Total employment
will increase as farm work ex-
pands. April bank clearings show
ed a large acreage abandoned and
forecast a yield in the wheat states
west of the Mississippi $4,000. 900
bushels under last years harvest.
1t is from that section that the
wheat for export is mainly drawn.
Cotton is UP to 20 cents a pound
and the crop outlook is still of
course very uncertain. The tendency
of food and wool prices is upward.
while our export trade shows
rather more encouraging features,
British exports declined in April,
being the smallest since last Sep
TENDER. The slack condition of
British foreign trade is believed to
account for Lloyd Georges desper-
ate effort at Genoa to establish an
economic modus vivendi under
which both Russia and Germany
could reenter the society of trad
inc nations IN a stable basis free