The Washington herald., 1907-09-30
STOCKS STILL HEAVY
No Cheering Features to Be
Found in the Market.
KILLING FROST IS TOO LATE
Corn Crop Out of the Way and
Little Damage Is Done - Street
Railway and General Transit Prob
lem Being Faced by Wall Street.
Money Flows TO the West.

New York. Sept 29-It would have been
/ very surprising indeed II the month Of
| September had passed without the occur
/ renee OF frost In the corn belt, as the date
Of the first killing frost IN this territory
/ has been each year, almost invariably.
previous 20 September %, Nevertheless.
/ Il seems 70 be the case that the low tenn
/ perature which ranged over the Middle
/ West last week were in few localities so
| low as to injure the crops.
Opinions differ a good deal in the grain
/ trade as 70 the amount Of corn in tha
] fields that is still in a condition TO receive
| frost damage. There are those who assert
/ that the entire corn crop is so exceeding
[ ly late this year that frost, even so far
delayed as the present time would ma
terially reduce the harvest. Others main
tain-and they seem 10 be in the major
| ity-thst the years corn crop is now
/ practically made. But there are not many
critics who venture the opinion that,
however the corn crop may turn cut. it
viii amount to less than 250o, 10000 bush
els: and II this crop should be sold at the
unprecedentedly high prices now ruling
! the farmers Of the country viii receive
/ for their corn this year not far from
1880. 0.000000.
Our stock market last week was some
what more depressed than it has been re-
Gently, for which a resumption Of the
! selling by spectators for the fall seemed
10 be chiefly responsible. The issue by
the New York New Haven, and Hartford
Railroad Company Of $32,O00.000 Of new
per cent dividend-paying stock at a price
OF s125 a share was treated as a bear
/ argument, and the formal confession OF
/ insolvency by the New York City Railway
Company, the corporation controlling the
/ local street railway lines proper, while
1t was q matter entirely expected, sJiIl
did not help any 10 advance prices Of Sc
curities.
Transit Problem Serious One.
There IS no place anywhere in ths
world where the problem Of street rail-
way transportation IS one Of such stu
/ pendous adversely as il is in the Bor-
ough OF Manhattan in the city OF New
York. The business and traffic and the
movement OF travel arising from a pop
ulation Of millions Of people is forced,
with relatively small possibilities Of lat
/ eral expansion, upon what IS compare
lively a small and narrow island. The
operation Of conducting street railway
lines under such circumstances has como
to be several times as costly as II was
when the idea was first broached OF
consolidating the local lines into one
system.
The popular idea that no matter how
great the expense on the part Of an IL
dividual or a corporation n performing
a service q certain fixed price should be
paid lot it established by custom and
/ by long continuance has done much 70
unsettle business in our country IN the
last year Our street railway lines must
only charge cents for their passenger
fares, whether or not the cost Of con-
Quoting the lines has increased 1OG or
200 per cent over that OF former years.
Our railway companies. who are strug-
Cling 10 afford facilities for the i'm
mensely increased volume Of traffic that
has been thrust upon them and who find
that prices for everything they have TO
/ pay for have doubled OF trebled their
burden Of expense. must not only not
charge higher rates for the freight they
carry, but must actually lower these and
| passenger fares as we'll. Meanwhile. all
other lines Of Industry are suffered by
public sentiment TO conduct their bust
ness on ordinary lines; that IS 70 say.
to adjust The prices Of what they have
70 sell in such a way that their ratio OF
profit shall not be diminished
There IS a wrong in all this sort OF
thing that must be remedied before the
business relations OF the country can
ever be sOuudly established. There must
not be one economic law for the rail-
road lines. local transportation COM
panies and the Ike. and another for the
farmer and manufacturer, and this opens
up a field Of suggestion whether a na-
tional prosperity which permanently az
fects one part OF the population az the
expense Of the other IS a prosperity that
can he said to be we'll founded and 10
be likely TO endure.
Higher Prices for FOOdstuns.
Reference has been made 10 the disad-
vantages as well as the advantages OF the
high prices for corn and other foodstuffs
that now obtain in our land. To the ex-
tent that the vast amount Of money that
will be paid To the farmers for their grain
this year is drawn from foreign sources,
the country as a whole will. Of course. be
benefited. and this year there is happily
reason for belief that our expGrts Of grain
at a high level valuation will bring Us
in more money than we have ever so re-
ceived before. But high prices for wheat
and corn mean. nevertheless, the imposi-
ton Of a tax upon the people Of the
country as mass for their living ex-
penses. Every one admits that it would
be desirable to bring about in the country
for the time being some reduction in the
cost OF living. But how much OF a reduc-
tion is likely TO take place with corn at 50
cents bushel and the price Of nearly all
other grain in propOTtiOn2 Many COM
petent observers have long maintained
that the reason for the high rates OF
money that have prevailed In this cOun-
try during the last year has been the
disproportion that has existed between
the volumes Of business transacted in
Western and Eastern portions Of the
country. The West, they have asserted.
was using so much money in It's own local
business development the money thus
used being In large measure that which
was paid to Western farmers for their
own products, that they had no money TO
spare for the purchase OF railroad stocks
and other securities dealt in in Wall
street, and these opinions are stOutly re-
enforced by the reports made by the na-
tional banks Of the country TO the Comp
trOller of the Currency of their condi-
tion as OF August 2, the day of the
COmptrollers last call Since the same
date a year ago the bank loans OF the
West and Middle West have enormously
enlarged. and while the money due to