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While holding so large a proportion of the Bank’s assets in liquid form does not tend to large profits, it is a source of great strength not only to the Bank, but to the whole of Canada, The Annual Report shows the Bank of“ Montreal in a position of unpreceâ€" dented strength. With assets of $302,980,554â€"an increase for the year of $38,800,138â€"it takes rank with the most pOWerful banking insti- tutions in the world. Of this enor- mous sum, no less than $170,007,568 is in cash and liquid assets. This is over 64 per cent. of the Bank’s total public liabilitiesâ€"a ratio whose sig- nificance will be better understood when it is compared with 55.4 per cent. last year, and a little less than 50 per cent. (considered a high pro- portion in normal times) in 1913. in these trying and difficult. times. The profits for the year, however, were most gratifying. Amounting’ to $2,108,631, they provided for the usual quarterly dividend and two 1‘1- bonuses on the Capital of $16,» 000,000; the War Tax on Bank Note Circulation, $127,347; and left over $60,000 to he added to the Profit and Loss Account, bringing the balance of the latter up to $1,293,952. This, of course, is in addition to the Rest Account of $16,000,000â€"equal to the Capital. Owing; to the reduced volume of commercial business in the country, the current loans dropped from $108,- 845,332 in 1914 to $90,078,506. Loans to municipalities, on the other hand, show an increase of over two mil- lions, reayhing‘ the figure of $11,203,- foxfi by special tr: be regarded as l and an especial m dence. In reviewing the laid special stress vest in the West, increased area um given the h matec Manitob: , he placed laysâ€"a 51 these seven men Canadian prodm $326,430,000, or 1’1 bonuses on 000,000; the W2 Circulation, $15 Manitoba, Alberta and Sas he placed at four hundred I} larsâ€"a sum which could be upon to liquidate much in and stimuiate current trade Referring to the remm'ka in Canada’s position from a a creditor nation, Mr. Men “In the seven months en ber 3lst, 1913, the value i of Canadian products was 000, and in the same perix was $226,757,000; while th that this year’s bountiful harvest may not only be expected to stimulate cur- rent; trade, but to attract renewed emigration to Canada. BANK OF MONTREAL Exceptional interest attaches this year to the Annual Report of Canada’s leading Bank, and the addresses deli- vered at the Annual Meeting by the President and General Manager. They afford an insight into the financial consequences of a year of war on the country generally, and into the out- look for the future, as interpreted by men who have every opportunity to judge it. Mr. H. V. Meredith, the President, pointed out that the efl’ect of the. war on Canadian trade had been less in- jurious than had been expected, and NINETY-EIGHTH ANNUAL RE- PORT SHOWS BANK IN VERY STRONG POSITION. ed are the hi ven months Mr. H. V. Meredith g the year, the President ress on the record har- Vest, where a greatly I under cultivation has ghest average yield in the country. The esti< of the grain crop of mat-ta and Saskatchewan our hundred million dol- vhich could be depended late much indebtedness current trade. 00,000,000 - t1} hav M0 change debtor to dim said: ling Octo- exp Octo- xports (331' 19 of more 314 in “Comparing the foreign trade of Canada for the seven-months’ period ending with October, imports have declined from $390,544,000 in 1913 to $253,107,000 in 1915, while exports of domestic products, as I have said, have risen from $245,550,000 to $326,- 430,000; and adverse balance of $145,- 000,000 being converted into a favor~ able balance of $73,323,000, or a bet- terment in respect of foreign trade of no less than $218,000,000 within the short space of two years." - Taking a prudently optimistic view lof the future, Mr. Meredith said: “The position of Canada is a highly favored one, with an assured future of growth, development and general prosperity. At present, however, we live in the shadow of the great war, to which all else must be subservient. What its duration will be, and the position in which its termination will find us, can be matter of the merest conjecture. The vast armies now en- gaged in the struggle cannot be kept in the field indefinitely. The financial factor is daily assuming increased importance, and in this respect the advantage is unquestionably with ,Great Britain and her Allies. Larrey, who wore a thermometer during Napoleon’s Russian campaign, has left records showing that as early as November 14 the “Grand Army” had to endure a temperature of 12 below zero Fahrenheit on the line from Vilna to Moscowâ€"the retreat having been begun October 18. From November 17 the thermometer went down rapidly to ‘22 below zero; De- cember 3 to reach 34 below zero when the retreating army reached Malode- cyn. Equally low temperatures, acâ€" cording to Abbe Moreaux, are almost certain to prevail over considerable parts of the German front if it is maintained on the present line and are almost certain to overtake the German forces in retreat unless they abandon their positions immediately. Examining the situation from a meteorological point of View, Abbe Moreaux finds confirmation of the pre- diction of naturalists in reviewing, in his opinion, a period of cold winters, and he thinks that the German sol- (liers may experience the same vicis- situdes as those that cost Napoleon 450,000 men from the “Grand Army.” Abbe Moreaux, of the Bourges (France) Observatory, points out that a curve indicating the European 10- calities where the average tempera- ture in January is zero centigrade, or 32 above zero Fahrenheit would pass along the coast of Norway, protected by the gulf stream from greater cold, aSCend abruptly along the west coast of Denmark, and follow a line consid- erably westward from Berlin, turning eastward in the region of Trieste to the Black and Caspian Seas. Another curve marking a zone where the aver- age temperature is 14 degrees above zero Fahrenheit would comprise Berâ€" lin, Vilna, Riga, Dvinsk, Moscow and Petrograd. To make up this average, however, zones of greater cold are comprised, the maximum at Petrograd being 38 below zero, and at Moscow 47 below zero Fahrenheit. Predictions that the approaching winter \‘vill be very severe have in- spired comparisons between the Ger- man campaign in Russia and Napo- leon’s Russian campaign of 1812. his condolences. “I am sorry to hear, Danie he, “that your good wife is ( “Sure, ’tis a sad day for r replied the Irishman. “The 11 rocked the cradle has kicl bucket." “After the war, a readjustmentpf trade conditions is to be expected. The flood of wealth which has attend- ed the export of munitions and war supplies must of necessity be largely curtailed, and a new set of problems will have to be faced. As I have said on former occasions when I have had the pleasure of addressing you, if economy be exercised to meet the in- creased burden of taxation, of which We must bear our share, and the pro- duction of exportable articles inâ€" creased to the utmost extent, to pro- tect our gold supply and minimize our borrowings, and if we keep strong in Working capital, then no matter what difficulties the future may have in store for us, we can look forward to them with a degree of complacency. Our agricultural resources and unde- veloped wealth will.enable us to bear the strain which may be imposed upon us, and we shall in the end come safe- ly through the period of economic upheaval and world-wide conflictâ€" with a larger debt, it is true, bUt with our ability to meet it unques- tioned and our economic position not seriously impaired." GERMANS FACE HARD WINTER. than last year, and the great surplus has still to go forward. and the great crop employ of a Ver- 1man who recently tic affliction. As for me, sir,” The hand that : kicked the advised, i offered dead said [DOOMS GERMANY T()« CERTAIN I DEFEAT. There would have been no blockade of the North Sea. What of that? it may be said. Well, it would have meant that the Germans could, with slight risk, have transported troops to any point on the French coast. The value of superior sea power in amphi- bious warfare is the element of strw tegic surprise which it confers on its possessor. The French fleet would have been tied in the Mediterranean by the menace of Austriaâ€"Hungary, and the German navy would have had no difficulty, owing not to superior seamanship, but to superior numbers, in seizing the command of the North Sea and English Channel. Destroy French Commerce. But that is not all. The Germans would not only have obtained this overwhelming military advantage, but would have been able to shut off all French oversea commerce. Nor again is that all. France and Russia had no men of war of great fighting weight in the outer seas; the Germans were represented by some of their most powerful and swift crui- sers. What would have been the fate of the mercantile marine of France? These merchant vessels represented in value many king’s ransoms. About sixteen thousand sailing ships and two thousand steamships would have been in danger, together with their cargoes. Russia's merchant ships would have shared the same misfor- tune. Cause of German Hate. For the period of the warâ€"how long would it have lasted? Russia and France would have been, to all intents and purposes, besieged. Nei- ther country would have been able to use the sea for. any purpose. That condition would have reacted on their military and economic power. They would have been in a position to bring in no food, raw materials, nor muni- tions. The Germans, and not coun- tries of the Dual Alliance, would have had the run of the neutral markets of alone Cruisers . . . . Destroyers Torpedo boats Submarines . Barred German Landing. Sea command is still exercised by armored ships and cruisers. In the first line of battle, the dreadnoug‘ht class, the odds were twentyâ€"four to four at the outbreak of war. In the second, thirty-two to twenty-seven, but of the Russian ships several were shut up in the Baltic. In armored cruisers the strength of France and Rlissiaâ€"the ships being mainly obso- lescentâ€"was more apparent on paper than real, and in scouting ships the central powers had no mean advan- tage. Even if Italy had joined the powers of the dual alliance, Germany and Austria-Hungary, with stratege- tical advantages of no mean value, would have possessed a sufficient mar- gin against their opponents. DIODE Cruisers Destroyers . Torpedo boats Submarines Dreadnoughtsâ€" Battleships . . . . . . Battle cruisers .. Dreadnoughtsâ€" Battleships . . . . . . Battle cruisers Pre-dreadnoughtsâ€" Battleships . . . . . . . 2 Armored cruisers . Pre-dreadnoughtsâ€" Battleships . . . . . . . 11 Armored cruisers . 1€ 011‘ BRlTlSH COMMAND OF THE SEA How Great Britain Upset Emperor he William's Hopes of Con- On th( there w million Who can the munitlons quest France. Rus. Total. 150 1 G supplied 1e armie 9 95 25 25 22 179 175 78 lding. xercised by rs. In the lreadnought nty-four to Iar. In the venty-seven, everal were In armored ' The predominant influence on the history of the world has been not the soldier, but’the sailor. A Frenchman {once said that it was the ships of Nel- son which won the battle of Waterloo. England has never possessed a great army, nor has the United States. :When the'German Emperor read the books of the American seaman, Adâ€" miral Mahan, he determined thalt he must have a great fleet, because from the days of Xerxes and Themistocles navies have decided the fate of em- pires. It might be said that all the men, an n continen areâ€"abou SUI‘OD Aus. Total 145 138 27 l Soldiers and sailors have severalldifferent changes i; ingenious ways of forecasting wea- and feel of his favo ther. Clouds provide commanders l can foretell rain or ( Iwith» valuable clues as to the condi-l ther, or clear, fair i ltion of the weather likely to takezrain. place in the near future. A flan! -â€"â€"-I‘. widely-extended cloud, streaked like) Do They Sle the markings on a mackerel, is ai women evidently sure sign of approaching rain or snow. I men, Small, well-defined, rounded masses of; Why so? clouds, in close horizontal arrange-i wen’ we seldom' ment, are sure forerunners of storms.‘ talking in her sleep a Fair-weather clouds are those which pile themselves up . in picturesque heaps high in the sky, although when decisive battles of the world have been fought on the seas. That would seem a bold statement, but it is a clear approximation of the truth. Without sea power, land powerâ€"that is, sol- diersâ€"must be imprisoned, and in modern economics conditions may well be reduced to starvationâ€"starvation for want of shells as well as food. Sailor’s Weather Tips Gathered From Favorite Leaf. Why do the Germans hate the Bri- tish people more than French or Rus- sian? It is not because of the wealth of England, or her trade or her e01- onies or her shipping or her armies of 3,000,000 menâ€"it is because the Bri- tish fleet so decisively turned the scale that from the date of the British ultimatumcthe $300,000,000 which the enemy had spent on naval expansion became profitless. Germany realized as in a flash that, owing to the ma- jesty of the greatest sea power, she could not obtain the rich dividends on which she had counted with complete confidence. ' Empire were eager for war, because they believed that even if Italy joined Russia and France. they could count on using all the seas to their advan- tage, drawing from them everything they required. Were their calculations ill-founded? In one particular they were. They assumed with confidence that the Bri- tish fleet would take no part in the war. They were wrong: That one error of judgment made all the differ- once: it is more than probable that it cost the Germans the victory they be- lieved, in the last days of July, 1914, to be within their grasp. Why? When the war broke out the relative strength of the British navy was al- most in the proportion, of two to one in comparison with that of Germany. Think what that meant. All the con- ditions at sea were instantly reversed. German hopes were doomed when the German anticipations as to the use which would be made of the British navy proved unfounded. men to make munitions and other men of great financial and industrial ex- perienceâ€"some of them millionairesâ€" to assist Germany in getting gold, raw materials for all purposes, and even luxuries. Life behind the lines of the German armies would have con- tinued much as under peace condi- tions. The population of the German TOBACCO TELLS WEA'l‘H ER. HIEEEEEEHEEEMEHIEEEEHKE Navies Win Land Battles. Why flame Pains? “If I had mv will it would be advertised 6n every street corner. The man or woman that has rheumatism and faiia to keep and use Sloan’s Lini- men: is like a drowning man refusing a rope."â€"â€".4. J. Van Dykr, Lakewood, N. J. Séean’s Liniment Here is a testimonial unsolicited I Sailors regard tobacco as a valu- iable barometer. It only requires a imere running of the fingers through ‘the small pieces of shag to tell an experienced Jack Tar what kind of “weather to expect. ‘ If tobacco is left uncovered where 1the outside atmosphere can reach it. iit will indicate very accurately the {probable condition of weather for ‘ several hours ahead. When the tobacco becomes very dry, it is a sure sign that rain will not come for several hours. Should lthe tobacco seem tough or not dry and not very crisp to the touch, rain is near at hand. According to the different changes in the appearance and feel of his favorite weed a sailor , can foretell rain or damp, cloudy wea- lther, or clear, fair weather devoid of 3 ram. ragged at the tap they forcshadow mild thunderstorms. Soldiers are largely guided by the dawn in their opinions as to future weather conditions. A high dawn which is first light behind a bank of clouds foretells wind, whilst’an un- usual clearness near the horizon in the early hours is a very sure sign of rain. A grey dawn is a reliable fore- cast of fine weather, but the red dawn means bad weather or rain. Red sunsets tell soldiers that fair weather may be expected‘ on the mor- 1'ow, and bright yellow at sunset fore- tells wind and a pale yellow ‘sunset rain. Cider gets sour with ageâ€"just like some of us. Do They Sleep Less? Women evidently sleep 1e Why so? Well, we seldom hear of MVweE' Chappcd' hands and lips always come with cold weather, but brings sure and speedy relief. Children especially need Vase- line'Camphor Ice for their rough and smarting hands. Our new illustrated booklet de- scribes all the “Vaseline” pre- parations. A postcard brings it. sist on "Vaseline" in original packages bearing the name, CHESEBROUGH MANU- FACTURING CO.. Consoli- dated. For sale at all Chemists and General Stores. (Conlolidnled) 1880 CHABOT AVE..MONTREAL AVOID SUBSTITUTES CHESEBROUGH MF’G CO. CAMPHOR ICE Chapped Hancis Quickly Healed Made in Canada 1 the "Vaschne" pre- A postcard brings it. SUBSTITUTES. In- Vglscline" in original bearing the name, auduspecdyA [glief g (I Vi; woman than