Show TRADE AND FINANCE LETTER GENERAL not for or two years has so cheerful cheer lul a sentiment prevailed in the east as during the past month doubtless the most important single item warranting is the winters heavy precipitation particularly throughout the middle west the crop outlook is good ia california and the intermountain country it could hardly be improved greater activity among tile the steel companies comps ales with better prices for their product good sales and stiffening prices in the dry goods lines a february increase in both exports and imports as compared with the same month of a year ago a strongly favorable balance of trade a 22 per cent increase in february building operations and falling prices for provisions are all favorable on the national balance sheet honey aloney prices are firm with an I 1 increasing demand tor for funds for use in in manufacturing fac turing and merchandising the western union telegraph companas Comp anys statement lor for the first quarter of 1912 is expected to show shove earnings at the rate of about 6 per cent for the bhole year this will be the best showing the company has ever made and while it Is partly dartly due to superior popa gement by its new owners it jala f 0 o reflects the improved state ol of busing business 4 generally jene rally it points to a large of confidence among in vesters ve step bat dyring doring january and february ot of new securities were ie sural a higher total than for any previous two consecutive months in the history ot of the country the fear almost amounting to hysteria or of the results of 0 political maneuvers and judicial action la ili rapidly waning and people ino are disposed to entertain a more sane bane businesslike opinion as to the outlook LOCAL throughout the general depression ot of the last year or oll two and and while extreme dullness preva prevailed in many sections of 0 the united states both east and west the intermountain empire has held its own and more at this moment when general trade shows a revival the advances in our own territory are far outstripping the average As may be inferred from the facts and figures which follow there is no warrant warr i nt tor for pessimism 1 here CLEARINGS last weeks clearings were 53 55 per cent larger than those ot of the same week last year a greater increase than shown by any other american city and the ae totals tor for jand jana ary and february show an increase oer the same two months in ili 1911 ot of 3 per cent that the inter intermountain moun country is faring better than its immediate surroundings is indicated by a comparison of this percentage with the gain shown by the two closest business centers to tile the east au an d west i e denyer denver aud and spokane which show gains of only per cent and 26 per cent respectively salt lakes february clearings were twice as large as Sp and nearly as great as danvers Den vers though this city is smaller than spokane and less than halt half the size of denver |