The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER. MONDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1913. THE INDUSTRIAL OUTLOOK.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVII, Issue 89, 15 December 1913, Page 4

The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER. MONDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1913. THE INDUSTRIAL OUTLOOK.

Dealing with the Board of Trade returns for October "The,- Financial Times" remarks that there has been for some time past a general belief that slacker times are ahead the whole world over, and that the returns referred to confirm the belief that a reactionary movement has begun and that there will in all probability be a material reduction in industrial activity in the coming year. This decline was manifesting itself when the, last mails left England, for one writer remarks that it is in mercantile work that the dearth is felt, and whilst much yet remains to be completed, the fear is entertained that the spring will see more vacant than occupied berths in Clyde shipyards. Employers are battling against rising wages, breaking of trade agreements, highpriced raw material and scarcity of fuel supplies; yet labor agitation more than ever, makes difficult the path for employers to maintain trade activity. Steelmakers, after having enjoyed a long spell of full running, are now finding specifications difficult to procure and, were it not for a widening in export business, mills would be rolling indifferently. The Steel Company of Scotland has just conclud- - -:d a record year as to output, yet the' board was unable to increase the dividend distribution, as the substantial increase of lis lOd per ton in their enormous output was wholly swallowed up in increased on costs. Malleable! iron makers are still suffering from outside competition, and some of the] works remain closed. Makers are free to admit that the recent reductions in I list prices have done them no good, i, as consumers will not enter a fallen:, market. !,