The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1926-12-31

L&nGOn baclc which in
any ordinary year year would have
mad rational consequences.
the railroads. ''the country'5
larGes@ sperdors, - have enjoyed the
hcTs Tcar since the palnny days Of
13i9-12. E'o- the frs. time since the
Wa net earnings have reached g
TGl, Mhica affords the carriers q
ci%@..cg 10 raiao additional capital re-
r&-rcunents ~ means Of common
zoe, Issues.
Public utilities, now a group Of
FIST Importance, have had the best
year II their history. Their growth
to meet the increasing demands OF
tae country seems we'll assured.
Industry in general has had much
fcr which to be thankful. The ag-
iiroSase of the country's industrial
profits viii surely be higher than
ever bofore in peace times. The iron
ana steel producers will show the
keaviest output ever attained and
prices have been we'll sustained. The
s9Gtile Industries have not done so
We'll, but low priced cotton has
1cAused q market pickup toward the
era o. the year, and the industry is
NOW operating at close to single
a'.ift capacity. The automobile in
Grssry, as whole, has held up be-
.o1l expectations; but the strong
companies have monopohzed the
llrger share OF the prosperity. and
there has been slump or rather
disconcerting proportions during the
last two months of the year.
Retail Trade Good
Retail trade has been moderately
GOOD, IL somewhat spotty. Mail
cgder houses and chain stores have
Tone record volume business.
Labor has certainly had a most
prosperous year. The index of en-
ilcyment has beeAs steadily high
throughout the year, and the work
CT has received the highest wages
ever paid in this or any other
country.
The really discordant note in this
harmony comes from the farmer.
4aien the country over he has had
GOOD crops, but he certainly has not
FAD the combination of good crops
and high prices which makes for his
satisfaction. Government estimates
indicate that he will receive bill
lion dollars less for what he has
produced in 1926 than he received
in 1925. half of which falls on the
cotton farmer. This cut of II per
cent in the farmers purchasing
power is a really serious matter.
But Americans are not much in
terested in retrospects. Man never
IS but always to be blest." There
will be fairly general agreement that
1925 has been prosperous. The in
Lteresting inquiry is as to 1927. ''Will
|the good times continue?" is what
most men want to know:
1t is not easy to give an entirely
satisfactory answer. Business con-
ditions as 1926 draws to a close are
quite different from what they were
ut the end Of 1925. That was a per-
iod of great activity and the trend
was definitely upward in almost
every type Of business. Now build
ing activity, automobile output and
steel production, while still large,
are showing evidence of having
passed the peak. And the drop in
bank clearings in the twenty-three
leading cities Of the country in
dicates clearly a slackening of the
pace in general.
Fundamentals Sound
Nevertheless the fundamentals
are sound. This has been a period
Of restrained and prudent prosper.
ity. In spite of abundant and easy
credit there has been little apparent
disposition to speculate in inventor
lies. Doubtless one explanation of
his lies in the fact that the trend of
n Sholesale commodity prices has
Dozen a gently declining one during
the whole two year period. At any
rate business generally Is not ex-
panded; employment Is good; pur-
chasing power is high. The con-
tracts already let insure a continu-
ance of building construction at APP
proximately the present rate during
the next five or six months. So 1t
is reasonable to expect that there
VIII be no marked change in the
pace Of business in the first half Of
/ 1927 The trend should be slightly
IL building contracts con-
tinue to decrease as they have in
November and December. This
downward trend should be augment
cd II the expected revival in the
automobile industry does not ma
terialize promptly in the first quar-
ter OF the year. 1t may be further
augmented II the change in the for
eign trade situation continues it's
present unfavorable trend. Stabil-
ity is being effected abroad In cur