The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-11-02
SOUTH CONFIDENT
AHEAD OF OTHER SECTIONS ON
Manufacturers, Record Advices Say That Banks of Dixie Are By No
 Means Tn Danger of

Manufscturers' Record Advfces Say
 That Banks of Dixie Are By No
 Means Tn Danger of
 Panic.
 Baltimore. Nov. 1--(Specia1. )--Isetters from representative bankers of the South. written within the past ten days and published in this weeks issue of Tho Manufacturers Record. sound a strong note of confidence and reliance rather notable at this time of stress in the money center of the country and of consecuent uneasiness in other parts.
 Few of She letters undertake to vicw the South as a whole. but, dea ing with neighborhood conditions as related es- pecially to the cotton crop. they present an encouraging prospect generally :. From Atlanta comes the statement mat the money situation in the South is favorable in comparison with other sec tons, as Southern banKs as q rule have placed themselves in good position 70 handle the cotton crop and currency is not as scarce as is usual at this sea- son. Tn Georgia the manufacturers and merchants are thriving. the textile industry is in good condition as 10 fu. ture orders and cotton is bringing e remunerative ori.s.
 Banks at Wilmington. N. C.. have larger deposits than ever before. the railroads are doing large freight and \ passenger business, and although tr one or two lines some decrease in the volume of business Is indicated. busi- ness Is still healthy. At other points. though money is scarce, legitimate lines of trade are being properly cared for and there Is prospect of good bus mess for some months to come. in spite Of tendency to slow down. Over trading and unwarranted expansion of credit have not prevailed to the ex. tent as they have in the East and while persons engaged in outside spec ulative operations have felt the tight ness in money, no one has suffered ir1a- terially for legitimate business needs, Banks in Arkansas. where everything seems to be prospering. have, in view of the disturbed condition of the money market. become inclined to scrutinize security values closely. to reduce the lines of credit and to advise their cus- toners against undue extension of op- erations.
 As to the ability of the South to finance the present cotton crop. there is a general consensus that more or less money Is needed from outside. The South is growing richer every year, it's farmers are building improved ware- houses and are marketing their crop much more scientifically than they ever did before. but while the necessity for outside aid is becoming less impera- tive and will continue to lessen with few years more of good crops at the prices now prevailing the South Is hardly ready vet even to hold back very large part of it's cotton without aid from outside. At present. if the crop were placed on the market all at once. there would not be sufficient available funds in the whole country to move 1t and neither the banks of the South alone nor the banks of the East alone are able to furnish the vast amount of money required to move the crop under existing conditions, and the good prices for 1t this year call for a greater amount of money than ever be- fore. Conservative bankers are en- couraging the growers to dispose of their crop gradually until their debts are paid, inasmuch as such procedure helps the credit of the farmer and that of the retail merchant and assists the merchants and banks in putting &C., counts into shape for an extension of credit the next season. After obliga- tions have been liquidated. there is an inclination to aid the farmers in hold- ing, and one Mississippi bank has even offered the farmers of the neighborhood that sort of assistance. while some in Texas have been known to call in oth-