The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1923-01-04
MOSCOW BUSINESS men OPTIMISTIC
over PROSPECTUS FOR COMING YEAR

The star of optimism for th
financial future Of the new year hal
been polished and cleaned until nov
1t shines forth in all the resplendenc
~of it's glory, If the predictions of pro
minent business men Of the city re
garding the prospects for the yea1
just begun, are any criteria by which
to judge. And banking figures fol
the year just closed and the new one
begun bear out this contention.
From survey made Of the loca
financial condition, as affecting this
community, the signs of the times are
more hopeful than they have been
; since 1920,' as one competent OBJ
server stated, and things generally
have reached the state of normalcy
and begun anew the upward trend
From the opinions and figures col
ilected the year has indeed begun aus
pfciOusly and with a good crop will
end with this district fully bathed
In the warm flood of the rays of
prosperity. Prospects for a bumper
crop have never appeared so good at
this time of year and if they but
materialize the Palouse will have one
of the crops for which it is famous
and which will dispell every cloud of
financial doubt
Conservative Policy Adopted.
The problem of retrenchment from
the ravaging effects Of war has been
fairly well solved locally, according
to the best information available.
Although it has meant the adoption
OF a conservative economic policy on
the part of the people, they have re-
sponded to the needs of the hour and
are now in a position where the crop
which seems assured by the favorable
weather conditions will put them on
8 their feet again.
The hopeful signs of the times as
7 viewed by the business men Of the
city Is the fact that the situation Of
, the farmer Is steadily improving, de-
spite the handicap of the past year
because of the abnormal drouth which
reduced the harvest to less than half
crop. But as the bankers Of the
: city affirm, the financial difficulties
OF the present year have already been
provided for.
The financial situation of the region
is bound up in the welfare of the
farmer, all are agreed. Moscow is
essentially an agricultural community
and the business interests Of the city
fare for better or worse in relation to
!. the prosperity Of the producer.
Credit has been re-established on
firm basis, the farmers are
retrenching and looking to di-
versified farming with less overhead
expenses, business is healthy and the
prospectus is reassuring in practically
every detail. This is the way in which
the new year has been summarized
by almost every individual inter
syiewed.
Bank Showing Is Good.
A glance at the status Of the banks
of the city itself would tend to dis
pei any pessimistic attitude that may
prevail Every banking institution Of
the city has weathered the storm of
financial depression and has emerged
with its finances in a strong and
healthy condition.
Bank Deposits Increase.
The combined deposits of the Mos
cow banks for the year ending Decem-
ber 20, 1922, show net increase over
the deposits on December 81, 1921,
of $131 ,OOO The figures for the end
of the year 1922 were $2,591 900 as
against s2,460,000 for 1921.
by a corresponding decrease in the t
loans and discounts to the amount /
of $94,00Q. This has had the bene-
of the banks and placing finances on /
a secure basis.
From the bankers standpoint the
year has, despite it's inadvertencies de-
monstrated that the country banks,
Ixx ox,I FaV~
mers have, passed through the financial
crisis and are emerging slowly but
surely on solid basis that will fultf
mately prove highly beneficial.
They are proven to speak conser-
vatively about the outlook for the
year, although they are generally
agreed that it appears to be better
than any since the war depression.
AS J. S. Heckathorn, of the First
National bank succinctly put it:
;" From national standpoint the
period of surfeited markets has prac-
tically passed and the demand has
reached the place where the output
is rapidly being brought up to nor
NAL in order to supply the market.
For instance, labor has about reached
the bottom in wage reduction and
slightly on the advance upward. The
steel mills are today working at 70
to 80 per cent of their capacity and
other industries are in similar condi-
tions.
Moscow and territory has come
the postwar defation of cur
rency period exceptionally well and
is perhaps in better circumstances
than most other places. The banks
have been able to avoid disaster and
the farmers generally are cared for
so far as the 1928 crop is concerned.
Further, credit has been re-estab
lished, until now there is plenty Of
money to loan the producer for legi-
innate purposes. AS said provision
for this years crop has been made
and with the prospects apparently as
sured there is every indication of a
good year"
Harry Whittier, cashier of the Mos
COW State bank, sums up the situation
4