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Show UTAH'S PROSPERITY It is the purpose of a business edition upon the eve of a new year to recount business conditions for the preceding twelve months and forecast conditions, as nearly as possible from the data at hand, for the next twelve months; it is also the purpose of such an edition to proclaim the findings and the forecast to the widest possible public. It is naturally a supreme gratification gratifica-tion to tell the world that Utah and its tributary regions in the neighboring states have just ended their year of greatest prosperity, and to proclaim the opinions of competent judges that 1917 -will eclipse 1916. The Tribune has gbared in the universal prosperity, and its New Tear 's business edition will reach many more thousands of readers than ever before. So vast havo been the gains in every industry that it is difficult to speak in anything except the superlative. Dividends of record on mining stock reveal an increase of 145 per cent over 1915, and the records do not disclose all the gains, for many private mining concerns con-cerns do not nnnounce their dividends ' and, moreover, something must be added to the total to express what successful lenses have produced by way of profit. The total dividends, as reportc-d, amount to $24,757,480 for 1916, while those for the year 1915 amounted to $10,418,402, which shows an increase of $14,339, 07S lor 1916. High prices of metals account for much of the increase, but this has been a big advantage to the state "because the mines have materially i increased wages. Thus the money remains to a great extent within the state and adds to the general wealth. Utah 's manufactured products increased in-creased in value from $50,000,000 to $100,000,000, and the gain was reflected in wage increases. The sugar industry has prospered as never before. Factory after factory has been built in Utah, Idaho and Wyoming, but there are not nearly enough factories to meet the de- . mand. This prosperity is reflected in : the augmented prices of sugar stocks and in the higher prices of beets. A sliding scale based on the sugar content of the beets enabled farmers to get as high as $6 a ton for their beets, and a similar scale will permit them to get as high as $7 a ton in 1917, it is said. Among the woolgrowers there is much joy, for conditions never have been so favorable with them as at present. "Whereas they obtained a top price of but 20 cents in former years, they now obtain twice that uiueH, and indications are that they will receive even higher prices. It is unnecessary to dwell upon the almost phenomenal prices which the farmers and stock raisers aro getting for all of their products. All of the housewives can tell you about the high prices, .but both farmer and housewife suspect that speculation and the interference inter-ference of too many middlemen have raised prices beyond all reason. In Utah, as. eNewhcre, there has been urgent demand for relief from oppressive oppres-sive prices caused by speculation and unnecessary middle- costs. This is not the only cloud in a sky of brilliant prosperity. pros-perity. There is ouo other the car shortage. And yet the car shortage is one of the most eloquent proofs of universal uni-versal good times. The railroads have done everything possible to relievo thc-congestion thc-congestion of freight. The- havo increased in-creased their equipment as much as was humanly possible. The car aud engine works of the country simply were not equal to the tak of turning out all the equipment requircu. Undoubtedly 1917 will seo a most satisfactory improvement improve-ment in this regard. |