The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-12-28
BULL NEWS NOW PREDICTED
Common Report That Plttsburs Sold Immense Lines of U. S. Steel, Especially Preferred-santa
 Claus Donation.
eY W. G. NICHOLAS.

|
 adjustment, of course, means a general advance wherever it can be made with out arousing vigourous protest. The un- deriving object of the movement is re- l imbursement for the large amount pald out to the army of railroad workmen Tn the form of advance in wages. By the middle of January or first of February the new schedules will be in operation i and very soon thereafter the results Will show in=the reports of net earnings which are issued weekly and monthly by nearly all the corporations. For the last two or three months net earnings have shown up poorly in comparison with 1901, fact in the stock market. and used as text which has been made much of by bears for preaching by bear orators and writer's The decrease in net earnings is entirely traceable to the wage increase referred to, and when 1t is offset by enlarged rev. enues due to marking up of freight rates, a change the other way would take place and market bulls can again point with pride and satisfaction to enormous net returns. 1t looks very much as though conditions were shaping for a wealth Of bull news during February and the early spring months. Corn tonnage is begin ming to make itself felt in railroad re- ceipts, and this will be increasingly in evidence as the crop moves more freely. l The decline in the price of corn is nor ally certain to be followed by a big in- crease in export movement, something l the financial people are looking forward to with anticipations of keen delight. 1 The small exportation of corn last year cut an important figure in the interna- tional trade balance. Renewal of ship ments of this cereal on a large scale will restore the equilibrium and widen the bal ance in favor of the United States
 There is a great ado in certain quarters over the apparently unfavorable interna- 1 tional trade drift of late as shown by de- crease in exports and increase in imports. This condition is likely to be corrected in natural and legitimate way. The de- creased exports were almost entirely due to the stoppage in corn shipments. The l United States had no corn to spare for l the outside world on account of the par tial crop failure of last year. The in- l crease in imports was attributable to a very large extent to the inability of the iron and steel manufacturers to supply the home demand for products, compell- l Ing American customers to go abroad for their goods Consumption in the l United States having measurably over l taken production in iron and steel, there 1 has been a decline in prices, a process which is seemingly going on, and which l Is sure, sooner or later, to stop the inn portation of metal products. Thus. with 1 increased corn exports and decreased iron and steel imports, it Is easy to see that 1 the trade balance in favor of the United l States must grow. This adjustment will l enable America to pay off it's foreign in- l debtedness, which is considerable, with further disturbances to home finances. It will easily and naturally dispel the biga- l boo which has served to frighten invest ors and force liquidation of large lines of securities In this connection. a very in- l teresting piece of inside news is current 1 in financial quarters here. It is to the ef- 1 feet that considerable percentage of the supposedly formidable floating indebted ness to Europe has already been settled 1 in bonds, large quantities of which are said to have been quietly placed abroad during the last thirty days This tidbit is given upon the best kind of informa- ton and may be relied upon as correct
 The public may not be fully advised as to the details for some time to come.
 Unadvised and misinformed gossip con- l tinues to retire Charles M. Schwab from the presidency of the United States Steel l Corporation, and to elect his successor, Henry c. Prick, E. H. Gary, George W. Perkins of J. P. Morgan & Co., and others | being variously named as his successor. The source of this gossip is usually trace able to the intrigues of persons who would like to be raised to the presidency | of the big steel trust. MT. Schwab Is un- l der a ive-year contract, and as he Is i'm proving in health his retirement is very | improbable. If it comes at all it will be voluntary on his part, and not influenced by the maneuverings and schemings of those who would like to inherit his job.
 Should Mir. Schwab retire, MT. Carnegie
 will have more to say than all other n-
 terests combined in naming his successor.
 Mir. Schwab was placed al the head of the corporation as the personal representa- tive of Mir. Carnegie, and MT. James Gay ley was given second place through the same influence. MT. Gayley Is now acting president in the absence of MT. Schwab, and should the latter resign, would, in all | human probability. be promoted to the first place. MT. Gayley is a thoroughly practical man and enjoys not only the ao- solute confidence of MT. Carnegie, but also of the active management. A prac- tical iron and steel man must be presi- dent of the corporation to entitle 1t to trade standing. The financial manage ment would probably, under any circum- | stances. be continued as J. Perpont Nor gan might decide. As the largest holder Of the unuerlylnS SecuretleS the selection of an operating head would. without doubt be left largely to MT. Carnegie.
 Tn the nnrrowness of their vision many people continue to wonder at the market
 effect of the formation of the $50,000. 900 money pool organized by Messers. Nor
 gan. Stilman and Baker. To those who think more deeply and understand the laws Of cause and effect, no explanation
 is necessary. It is well-lSnown fact that at least ninety-1ve per cent. of the business of the country Is conducted on
 credit to five per cent. or less in cash.
 Some contend that the cash is the founda-
 tion aud others that the ninety-five per cent CT edit is the foundation Of the busl- nc ss structure. Credit is an expression of confidence. and without it there would
 ba no panic and chaos in the business
 world. Tlc five per t<at. cash that Is | employed is the liquid medius of ex- l change for the vast mass of transactions
 If 1aily ocouri once. The creation of the l s50O00.0O0 fund above spoken of, while thus far not entering to the slightest ex-
 tent in the cash transactions in Wall
 street. serves the useful purpose of re-
 establishing confidence and, therefore di- l rectly affecting the ninetyI5sVe percent. | credit. at the same time lifting a burden | from fha five per cent cash. There is no