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Show BURTON'S SPEECH. In the opinion of former United States Senator Burton of Ohio, the European Eu-ropean war will result in an enormous decrease in capital available for investment invest-ment in the United States; a temporary shrinkage iu the aggregate volume of commercial and industrial activities; expenditures ex-penditures for rehabilitation and reconstruction recon-struction to have preference over those for the development of new enterprises; higher rates of interest; certain classes of domestic enterprises, including the building of electric railways between cities, and probably the building of steam railroads, to experience a material mate-rial decline. Former Senator Burton is also of the opinion that interest on high-grade bonds will probably decline; that here will be a great degree of discrimination on the part of the investing public and a wider disparity in the rates of interest inter-est among the various categories of investment. in-vestment. This summary of what he thinks is going to happen was made by the Ohio statesman and banker in the course of an address before the Investment Invest-ment Bankers' association and probably represents the views of many close observers ob-servers of the trend of affairs in the United States. At the same time we see no reason for shrinkage in the volume of commercial com-mercial and industrial activities, except ex-cept that we shall not manufacture munitions mu-nitions of war upon a grand scale or supply the world with such vast quantities quan-tities of foodstuffs. While the wbrk of rehabilitation and reconstruction is going on in Europe we shall be called upon to supply a largo amount of material ma-terial and it is certain the steel indus-tcy- will be booming for years to come. Oredifl may have to be extended, but the business will be ours. There will be no occasion for discrimination discrim-ination against the railroads, either steam or eiectric, on account of the war. The United States is the world's banker bank-er at the present time and as the struggle strug-gle bids fair to last two or three years longer the greater part of the cash capital cap-ital of the world will be controlled on this side of the Atlantic and we shall be drawing interest on several billions of dollars as well. We do not regard it as possible that;- with nearly all the gold in the world at our command, home industries will be allowed to lauguish for lack of capital. Of course ex-Senator Burton's opinion as to a higher rate of interest 1 ' listened good" to the investment bankers and may have been intended to bring joy to their hearts as they sat around the banquet board. However,- for reasons above mentioned, we do not see why interest in-terest rates should be any higher than at present. The bank vaults are full of money and even if the Anglo-French loan of from $600,000,000 to $300,000,-000 $300,000,-000 is concluded it will be a credit transaction trans-action and the gold will remain on this side of the Atlantic ocean. The same thing will hold true of all future loans to the belligerents and in the meantime more gold will come over in "payment for munitions of war. Bearing these facts in mind the opinion of Mr. Burton does not carry any great amount of weight. We still have faith (hat only good will come to the United States as a result of the war if it succeeds in keeping out of the conflict. |