The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-03-01

went to tho credit of the banks which were behind the movement, or to the credit of depositors and others who sweat blood because they were refused help in quarters where they had an entire right to look for it. Probably $1O0000,O00 or more was taken down in profits and split up among the nsaviors of the situation. If there had been s10O, ,6O0, GOO loss, how ever. 1t would probably have been charged differently on the books. It is a mighty nice thing to be situated so as 10 buy the market with other people money and take the profits. The prisons of the country are full of people who used other peoples money for speculative purposes and lost. They are not half full enough for all members of that class. 1t is always thus The difference between success and failure divides the line be- tween patriots and rebels, malefactors and kings of high finance. shady transactions and triumphs of patriotic financiering.
 The business situation is full of con- fusion of facts and confusion of theories as to the future A determined and con- eerted effort Is making to have 1t appear that general business is improving. The best is made of everything looking in that direction. The burden of testimony ledIlS lO lne NleN llldl lilC odiAO0h iS iot encouraging for a. wholesome and whole sale resumption of activity. The excep- tions to this great drift of proof are gen. orally local or special in character
 The railroads for instance, are at the present writhing under the harrow. Their revenues have been cut down enormous ly, and from 12 to 20 per cent of their equipment is idie. They are ordering no new cars and no new locomotives, and are cutting down expenses in every diree- ton wherever a cut is possible. when d car or locomotive becomes disabled t is side-tracked and another car or locomo- tive is taken therefrom to fill it's place. This process is going on continuously, and as there are at least 350000 idle cars, 1t can be kept up for year or more, even though 1000 cars a day are sent to the hospital and a proportionate number of locomotives.
 When business resumes, the railroads, instead of ordering new equipment, will send their broken up equipment to the repair shops. The outlook for the car equipment companies. therefore, becomes especially blue. Most of them have al ready suspended or reduced dividends, and all of them will have to. They are making no money, and the outlook for improved conditions in that particular quarter could not well be worse. That the lay brother may understand the signiii- canoe of this, 1t may be stated here that the railroad business represents about o0 per cent of the total iron and steel busi- ness of the country. Manifestly when this great interest is crippled the effect upon the general iron and steel trade is direct and in corresponding ratio to the disability of the transportation com panies
 In the steel and iron trade the big man. ufacturers, led by the United States Steel corporation, are struggling to maintain prices in the face of a reduction Of at least 50 per cent in output, and also Tn the face of a weak and declining pig iron market. There is an established quota ton for northern pig iron around Slo.oo and for southern pig iron around $l2 It IS no trouble at all, however, for buyers to get supplies under these figures, and the distinct tendency of that department Of the market is weak. The prediction is made by specialists in the steel and iron business that before the decline culmin- ates, southern pig will be 8 ton and northern pig SIP. How the price of fin- ished product can be maintained In the face of this outlook is something not cas- ily understood Nevertheless, the trust and it's allies are striving to do this very thing.
 According to semi professional reports, the United States Metal Selling company, a concern which handles the bulk of the copper production, has exported SOOo,0oO pounds of copper during the month or February This announcement is accom- panied by the statement that if other selling companies did as well, exports for the month will exceed 120,0OO,000 pounds, or 60000 tons. a record breaking movement Apparently about tO0,oOO,OOO pounds of copper have been exported from this country in the last five months. or 190OOO tons. This is nearly one-half of the entire production of the United States for the year.
 What this enormous export movement means is puzzle to the street. The inspired talk of the copper oracles IS that it is going into mysterious consump- tion in Germany and elsewhere on the continent. The opinion of the cynics, who, by the way, are in large majority. is that the stuff is simply being planted in London and Germany and large loans made on it. If this is the case 1t is barely possible that the lenders of money on the raw couper, which has been sent from this country, may be buying the stuff instead of lending on it. If such be true, the money lenders of the old world will one of these days lind on their hands big bunch of stuff not all ways easily disposed of.
 In spite of the astounding figures of the export of copper, the copper shares do not bull, although frantic attempts are made "to talk them up.' Even the barkeepers around the Wall street sa- looms have a tip to buy copper and get rich kuick.
 The market sharps agree very gener- ally that cheap money is the principal bull factor. and that it may ultimately induce speculators to borrow and buy stocks for the "scalps'' that appear to he in a transaction involving the pur- chase of 61a per cent to 10 per cent with 1 per cent to 1hs per cent call money. In contradiction to this theory a leading international banker the other day expressed the opinion that cheap money would be a bear factor instead of bull factor. and that it would break the back of the stock market He fortified his opinion by saying that when money got on a permanently low basis, it would stimulate the exportation or gold in large quantities. He also said that this agitation for all sorts of asset and other money, which is now in progress be- fore Congress would tend to degrade the quality of paper money and drive gold into the hands of the hoarders. These two theories are mentioned for what they are worth.
 Bearing on this money question. it may be said that funds on call are easily ob- tainable in any amount as low as IF per