Birmingham age-herald., 1895-09-09
TOPlCAILT TALKS.

Wholesale Dry Goods Merchant-The price of cotton goods has advanced 1 cent since April, but think the price VIII fall again shortly. The manufacturers have large stocks of cotton on hand. Mir. Lane gives poor advice to the farm CTS when he tells them to hold their cot ton. As a rule. the man who sells hrst gets the best price. Cotton does not ad- vance once in ten years. There will be at least 600 bales made this year. and
 that, put with the stock on hand, will make the supply equal to the demand.
 Politician-It seems to me that the free silver democrats in this state are at loss for a leader and in danger of falling out among themselves. They can't center on any one man. Bankhead seems to have more followers than any one else. John w. Tomlnson is a candidate for leader4 ship. but he has not as many supporters as Bankhead.
 Meat Dealer-The big coin, crop win cause meat to be very cheap by Christ mas. If 1 had the cash l would invest in futures. The farmers will have to feed their corn to hogs, and also to cattle. Corn-fed beef is considered more desira- ble than grass-fed, and New York won't buy anything but corn-fed beef The low price of corn will cause a reduction in beef as we'll as hog meat.
 Operator-The miners at Warrior are paid , cents a ton more than at Pratt mines.
 Young Lady-Last winter went out to a card party, and at , o'clock in the morning the game broke up. When we stepped out on the porch the snow was G inches deep! Going along home, we mo- ticed that it was showing; that the snow was on the ground, the moon was shining and 1t was lightning. Did you ever see such sight?e
 Real Estate Agent.-This time last year I had l5O houses for rent, and now I have only one, anu two men are looking at that. This demand for. houses has slipped up on us unexpectedly. It is due to new people moving here, and also to the desire to-get in near the center.
 Mir L.-The basic iron now being made in this district is no new thing. MT De Bardeieben says he made basic iron at Oxmoor several years ago and shipped to Connecticut He says the making of this iron is like washing clothes all that is necessary is to wash the silicon out of it, and to do this it is necessary to put in more. lime. The lime absorbs the silicon The burden of the furnace is changed, more lime being added and other ingredients taken off. The lime eats out the lining of a furnace, and hence in making steel iron the furnace must be lined with dolomite or fire brick. It is more expensive to make this iron for it is more uncertain. but it brings 
 cent making of basic iron is a great thing for this district, and, while it is not a new discovery. it has attracted the at tention of the large manufacturers of the east and secured their orders. There are some who say that it will not prove profitable to make steel in this district of basic iron because there is no market in the south for steel. But this is a poor argument. The south is a new country and is being rapidly developed and there will be a great demand for steel and ar ticles made of steel New cotton mills are springng up all over the south and they need machinery and repairs con stantly. It is also said there is no scrap in the south for use in making steel. This will be supplied as the demand in- creases. MT. Weller. the scrap iron dealer, says there is an abundance of scrap, and he is selling 1t at old prices, although everything else has gone up.
 Mir. 1.-The free silver papers are afraid to say anything about the last treasury statement although the state ment shows that there are $430 900 less in circulation now than at this time last year. The free silver papers are all ways saying that there is not enough money in the country, and it would seem reasonable to suppose that they would bring up this treasury statement as evil dence, but they can't afford to because 1t is a complete answer to one of their arguments They argue that the more money there is in circulation the higher will prices be. So you see the present as compared to 1894 answers their argument. Prices of everything are now higher than last year and yet the money in circulation is less. Really, however, the amount of money in cir culation does not indicate anything specially. When business is brisk, checks exchange, and other evidences of credit, take the place of money. While the treasury statement shows decrease in it does not mention the S53- O00000 that have been coined the past year. This amount has been added to the volume of money, and as the govern ment has not retired any of it's notes there is more money in existence now than ever before.
 Mine Operator.-There is some truth in the assertion that mines are not mak- ing any more per capita now than they did last year. The most of them only work half time While they get more for their work, they do not get as much work to do. It seems to be the policy of some mine owners to keep as many men u-ound the mines as possible, so as to have plenty of extra help in case of a strike. If there was no danger of a strike these extra men would not be kept on hand, so, after all the miners are to some extent responsible for the extra men as well as the operators.
 PHRENOLOGY.