The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-20
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and manufacturers, in fact all who are interested in trade, should talk up busi- ness for print It is this attitude that often makes trade reviews misleading. There is an art dealer in New York patronized by the wealthiest people in the east who complains that his Christ mas business is the worst for many years. His patrons come in. he says, and examine his offerings praise them and then go away without buying, ex- plaining that times are hard and that they cannot afford to spend the money on luxuries they formerly did. The jew elers have similar complaints to make
 They say that patrons who formerly thought nothing of spending $25,OOO for a bauble, now spend S1000 and haggle over it. The tendency high and low seems to be towards economy. The falling off in imports denotes smaller expenditures for the luxuries of life. It is not that there is less money in circulation than there was two years ago, but that a vast amount of paper wealth has vanished. A man who was long a line of 10000 shares of stock out of which paper profits of say 20 per cent had accrued felt just $200,O00 richer two years ago than he feels today with no less actual money, perhaps. But that 20 per cent of paper profits has gone into thin air and possibly the stocks themselves. He felt two years ago that his profit of $200,000 could be converted into cash whenever he wanted to do it, and so it might have been except for the fact that he and thousands of others similarly situated sought to convert such paper profits at the same time where upon the profits vanished and there was nothing left to show for them.
 M,1pb has hean pripted fhie vUaalx ahOut the economies contemplated by the United States Steel corporation. It is announced that the employees of this vast concern, numbering about 5000 will have to accept wage reductions on the first of the year ranging from to 20 per cent The wage contracts now in force contain clause permitting the corporation to reduce wages by posting notice of its intention three months in advance. Such notices were posted on October 1. Certain contracts with mem- bers of the Amalgamated Association did not contain that clause and wages in those cases will continue on the present basis until July 1. The employees have the alternative of accepting the reduc- tions or losing employment. The steel corporation says simply that it cannot continue to operate it's plants and pay wages at the old rates
 1t would be very interesting to know how the situation is viewed by more than 270O0 United States Steel corpora tion employees who were induced to sub scribe for the preferred stock at $s2. 50. It is stated in "Poor's Manual that nearly 49,000 shares of the preferred stock were so distributed to the em- ployes. The stock has been selling this week between 52 and 55 It has sold as low as 493z. At 55 there is a loss on the 49,O00 shares of stock distributed to the employees at sS2. 90 of nearly s1,5750OO. It is true that the United States Steel cor poration guarantees the employees who hold their stock for a given number of years against loss but the loss is never theless apparent and must be felt by the employees who used their savings to buy it on the terms proposed by George w. Perkins the life insurance solicitor whom MT. Morgan took into his firm three years ago.
 As previously stated in this corre- spondence the Standard Oil influence is now dominant in the affairs of the United States Steel corporation. The un- willingness of the Standard Oil people to publish reports on any of their com panies is generally known. The Stand ard Gil company has refused to give in- formation to the department of com meree and labor at Washington and is expected to make a test case of the governments right to exact such in- formation as other corporations have been willing to give. It is understood now that the Standard Oil faction in United States Steel will insist that re- ports of what the trust is doing be dis continued. The publicity feature of United States Steel is MT. Morgan's own idea of what a corporation owes to the public. The United States SteePs quar-