The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-11-29
South and Southwest Bright
 Spots In the Situation
MONEY WILL BE UNSTABLE
Wall Street. Expects FlurrIes During Month of December-commiss Houses and Brokerage Firms
 Are in Trouble Now.
BY W. c. NICHOLAS.

clean and clear addition of $25o,O0o,ooO or more to the wealth of the cotton states of the south. Besides cotton, crops or every description throughout the south and southwest are large this year and good prices are obtainabie for the sur plus The south and southwest feel less than any other part of the country the industrial depression which Is just now being complained of. The people of that part of the world are consequently In bouyaht spirits and reports which come from every state south of the Ohio and southwest of the St. Louis are Of the most encouraging character.
 Wall street has not been in the habit of looking to the south for stimulation and consequently the good times which prevail there are not given their full measure of importance as great factor in the making of broad conditions. This will come later and 1t will be proud day for the south when it can meet on even terms the dollar-proud sections of the north. The industrial development Of the south is but dimly realized in the north' and especially Is this true of the north east The awakening to the facts will De 8 SLOW process put It IS BOii6 OA. fie south has already drawn heavily on the manufacturing strength Of New England and the middle eastern states and the end is not yet The resources of the south fin the matter of water power and other natural advantages for manufacturing are almost without limit and there has hardly. been a commencement Tn 'tneir utilization The difficulty in obtaining skilled labor is one which time will ob- tlofi Qf northeast is in sad need of course of education as to what has been going on in the south during the last five years. The develop ments of the next five years will un- questionably bring about the needed en- lightenment and place the south where 1t belongs In the grand industrial, commer- cial and financial equation. That Wall street should be turning it's face inquir- ingly toward the south is an encouraging sign and shows that that long handi- capped section is beginning to command respect and attention more than at any time since ante-bellum days.
 If the month of December escapes with out one or two flurries in the money mar ket Wall street will be surprised. The bankers and money lenders take advsnt- age of the movements made by corpora tions during the four or five weeks pre- ceding the January disbursements to mark up the rates on borrowers. There is if- variably during this period general shifting about of loans and credits and a concentration of each The accumula- tion of the profits of the previous three and six months are collected for distribu- tion to stockholders and in the payment of interest on bonds. The great bulk of this money remains in the banks of New York either to the account of individuals or in the balances of outside banks. The distribution this coming January will ex- ceed 000,000. To the uninitiated it would seem almost impossible that this immense sum could be paid out without disturbance to the money market, but as a matter of fact the transaction is gone through twice year without oc- casIoning serious inconvenience in the financial world. The occasion is seized upon, however by money lenders to give borrowers little scare and to go through the periodical process of house cleaning. Weak accounts are weeded out and there is a grand call for fortifcation of mar gins and strengthening of collaterals. It so happens, therefore, that there is more or less compulsory liquidation at these seasons and professional traders on the stock exchanges look for sharp breaks in specialties and for declining quotations in the general list.
 The latest phase in the evolution Of the great industrial combinations is the pass ing of operative control from Wall street bankers. insurance agents and other am- ateurs back into the hands of practical men who have grown up in the rnanufac- turing business. This is conspcuously the case with United States steel, and it is a good thing for stockholders that the change is taking place. It was long ago realized that one of the Fundamentally weak points in the big steel trust was the dictatorship of banking and insurance interests in the actual management of the property-a vast business with which the men in control had no experience and no practical knowledge whatever. The result has been proved to be most unfor- tunate to, investors in these properties. This basic weakness was pointed out to MT. Morgan and his immediate banking and insurance associates more than a year ago by MT. Rockefeller and others who have been identified with the devel- opment of industrial enterprises for more than quarter of century. At that time the suggestion was received in Ill., part by MT. Morgan. But the fact exist ing, nevertheless, was mainly responsible for the wholesale unloading by insiders the original owners of the mills and mines and factories. They did not have full faith in the ability of strictly finan- ciai interests to run the business to its best advantage. It would appear that time has, in a measure justified the skep- ticism and lack of faith.
 There is felt to be encouragement, how ever, in the prospect of partial reorgan- ization of not only the big steel trust, but of the minor industrials, and the re- storatien of control in actual manage ment to the skilled men who built the properties up and who have been identi- fled with manufacturing all their lives sharp pruning of expenses is in pro- eress, high salaried figureheads are being dropped from the rolls, fancy salaries are being cut off and favorites who were given sinecures because they happened to be relatives of influential people in the corporations are finding themselves out of jobs The imperative need of practical men at the helm is being recognized. For this reason the increasing power of the Standard oil in steel and other industrials is felt here to be a good thing, because if thefe is anything these men know 1t is how to conduct industrial projects to the best advantage. They have given in many quarters practical tests of their ability in this direction. The RockefelIers may not be lovable propositions from a human standpoint, but they at least un. derstand their business when it comes to indhstrials. Within the past few days I have met number of practical iron and steel men and almost without execution thority of the Standard oil people in the steel trust as an encouraging indication.
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