The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-11

panies are trying their best to strengthen their combination and make a grand stand for sustained prices, but there seems to be many leak in the arrangement through which copper finds it's way Into the hands of buyers The gentlemen s agreement to keep up prices is in a state of perennial rupture.
 Amalgamated Copper and Shelters have been the targets for an active bear cam paign. In both cases stock seems also to have been freely supplied from inside sources. Some of the bearish literature which is going out on Amalgamated Cop per contain convincing exhibits. In these letters the unpleasant statement is made that when the stock of Amalgamated was only $75 000, 600 in 1899 1t could not keep up the dividend rate of 8 per cent; that with copper for the last year averaging 23 cents the net earnings were about $l4,Ooo,OOO or only $2,00O 600 above the present dividend requirements; that on basis of 20 cent copper earnings would fall nearly $4,0oo,oOO short of the amount needed to keep on the per cent basis. Every one cent de- cline in the price of copper lops of s2.- 100000 from the net income of Amalga- mated.
 The willingness of Alabama and other states to follow the lead of Governor Glenn of North Carolina fin forcing rail roads to their knees Is another cause or stock market uneasiness. There Is some thing very catchy in the idea of meeting
 railroad schemes for holding Up state laws with counter threats of local legisla-
 tion that will stick and with with confis- cation of charters. The Idea seems to be
 becoming epidemic. It is a novelty, and
 seems to have knocked the railroad people off their feet for the time being. Rail
 roads have been so accustomed to the
 employment of technicalities and legal de-
 lays that they had to come to look on this
 sort of thing as a vested right. To ind state authorities ready and willing to meet
 this sort of fight with counter action Of
 exceedingly exasperating force and effect
 is more or less paralyzing. For the mo-
 ment the legal talent behind the railroads
 is nonplussed, and there Is almost unl-
 versal willingness on the part or the cor
 porations to bow head to the storm. Ihe
 net result down to date is seeming recog-
 milton of the dawning truth that law IS
 intended to apply to the rich and poor alike knowing no favorite and bearing down on the rich outlaw as well as the nauner The lesson may be needrul and
 useful It may mark further step In the evolution of the day. All is not lost because the railroads may be interrupted in their long pursued policy or suspending operation of law when It napPeh9 'o oo adverse There are those wno are ioonsn ay,o,,gb to think that all this trouble which ,s now confronting railroad and other cor norations is A direct consequence of the arrogance and moral obession of the rich c,InTits This. of course. is against the accented theory under which the big men have been doing business for years. and
 a change of front may work hardship for the time being to people who have imag- ined themselves to be above ana beyond tba ,aw-to occupy a higher plane than common everyday folk walk.
 TInfriendlv tokers find amusement in the s+atoment of pr. Bfggar that John D. Rockefeller is scheduled to live to be a hundred years old. They say that if the doctors estimate Is correct the old multi noillionaire may yet live long enough to get in jail. Standard On Is going to fight back. That