Current Situation

The past week saw no new devel- opments in the U. S. There was a continuation and even a deepening of tendencies already recognized. Wheat continued to soar in one of the most sensational recoveries on record. Farmers were cheerful. Rural bankers breathed easier, and bank failures in the West were halted. Mail-order houses, farm implement people and others who sell to farmers reported a distinct turn for the better. North and middle west- ern roads were optimistic because of increased freights, not only of grain going east but heavier farmers' purchases going west. In the Atlantic states, business liquidation seemed about completed, although new dark and new bright spots continued to appear in the business outlook. Easy money continued, with small prospect that crop-moving or foreign loans would soon firm up existing low interest rates. Commodity prices, leaving out such obviously exceptional cases as staple grains, seemed to be fully firming up --but whether as a result of the long-predicted "gold inflation" or not cannot yet be determined. Industrially, it is a sluggish Summer. Agriculturally, it has been surprisingly prosperous. Financially, most signs point to a broad recovery in the Fall, particularly if Mr. Coolidge is reelected. Politically, this seems most likely.