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Show TRADE AUTHORITIES LOOK FOR AVERAGE CUT OF 10 PER CENT IN BASIC COMMODITY RAIL RATES I in 11 IRDl N 1 oi.l . Special Oorrmpondoni "i the Stund nrdJ ixamlner ; (Copyright, 1!'22. by the standard-f':i standard-f':i miner. WASHINGTON. March 11. - Reports Re-ports trom al'mosl yvary lllie of Activity Ac-tivity to natlonnl ti-.ide aeaociatlons and to sdvernmant officials hro state ; thul husinr-Hx iliii lnp the past week has continued t" pick up :ind that Indlca- tious point lo still further Improvement. Improve-ment. In Washington inter.-: is . .-ntorlnK in iho fdrthcomlns decision on freight hratea. This declaldn la expected soon. Da effoci on business 111 be extremo-i extremo-i ly bene! Icio i "Wc arr looking for a general 'freight rate reduction on all basic commodities with th poaelole eccp-: eccp-: t ion of grain 1 1 i m u which already I have been reduced." Ihc representn-tlve representn-tlve Of B large trade organization told the writ, i- todft "S'o lifllovo that the Interstate commerce commission will hand down Its decision Within I ho next three weeks and tlv the dc-. dc-. ii.it will reduce rates' on coal, lumber lum-ber building tnaterlale. Iron and steel and some other essential conimoditlea by an average of 10 per rent." COAL MltlK.: REPORTS This view is rhured by other tradtt aaaoclatloh representatives hero and by the executives of sorhe railroad, ompanios. A reduction on rates on manufactured articles, however. Is not regarded as likely I The coal situation seems to be olooring. Coal oporators and govei4l-ment govei4l-ment officials believe nllko in iew of the changed conditions In Illinois that the soft coal strike will fall. Tho writer is reliabl informed that coal operators In Weal Virginia, Pennsylvania Pennsyl-vania and elsewhere, nre convinced' that there will be no miners' strike In Illinois. HARD GOAL I ROl MLF Unless the Illinois minors go d'lt the soft coal strike is broken bcfor! it starts. In the pinion of observers here Oeologlcal survey statistics inditfl that industrials are stocking bltumin-1 ous coal at a Ynster rate than ever be-j fore. By April 1 the date for the threatened Strike, those figure show, consumers will have on hand from I 65,000.000 to "0.000.000 ton". The country's stock pile today is almost ns largo as at the time of the armistice. armis-tice. ; A long strike. howe, r. is feared by, operators In tho anthrnclte field. There has been no Industrial upheav-i al of magnitude there for so many, years that on general principles, as some anthracite operators see it, a t big strike is overdue' The meeting in New York next Wednesday between men and operators Is regurdod as the', beginning Of a controversy that may i Irtsi for months Financially, tho stage is set for an industrial revival The custom of the federal reserve board discloses the' heartening situation; Within B week tho twelve federal re- aarve harks have increased their gold holdings by nearly JCO. 000,000. During' I the same period they have reduced: tho amount of their loans by more! than $70.000 000 The total of these loans today stands, according to the .report al $732,000,000. A year ago t he. total was 12.51 5.000.000 In the face of this remarkable show-j show-j ing. the chief national banks 807 In number pu an additional 167,000.-,000 167,000.-,000 to work In developing business en- terprlses within tho week Further. the business men added f 101,000,000 1 jto their accounts with these same in-, st it ii t Ions. The federal reserve system ()one at this time, according to the board's report could safely extend more than fifteen billion dollars in additional credit it Ml. Tit M I i LARGER rrelghi traffic continues to improve. im-prove. The latest statement of the! Association of Railway executives j shows an Increase In the number of) cars loaded during the week of 7 .'. - ', 1 4 ier the corresponding week In I l l Steel prices have hit bottom on th- i urrent movement. The entire re- ductlon since January 1 is estimated about a dollar a ton. An upward trend in prices is expected, especially in view of increased deninnd In almost every specific line. Pig Iron already has advanced about a dollar a ton Great activity is reported at some of the automobile plants At five representative rep-resentative factories, sales during Jan-! uary and February were more than! double of tho major instances of In-! duatHal trouble. In the meantime1 the south looks forward lo another small cotton crop The department of agriculture, estimates that (here nt present four to five times as many boll, weevil larvae In the ground as there have ever been before, In ono big Industry, business is fairly launched on what appears to ho a real roturn to prosperity. This is' the hardware business. The demand is reported to be the best in many1 years. Mone continues easy and plentiful! SCI "rding to the federal reserve hoard, and securities still are climbing slowly slow-ly upward. |
