The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-12-06
DISAPPOINTING
 WEEK FOR BULLS

To the Editor of The Age-Herald.
 The cotton market has been a dis
 appointing one to the bulls this week.
 is the heavy movement, and the dispo-
 sition on the part of the southern mer-
 chants to hedge their purchases. Thus
 the speculative element in New York and Chicago have found themselves ] carrying the hod.
 Wall street has been extremely opti-
 mistic since MT. Taft's election. The stock market, notwithstanding it's tenn porary set-backs, due to profit taking,
 and short-lived drives by the bold bears.
 who retreat very quickly continues on
 its upward course. People who would l not buy Union Pacific at no. Southern 1 Pacific in the sos. and coming nearer
 home Sloss-Sheffeld around 80, are
 rampant bulls, and eager buyers of stocks at slight recessions on present prices.
 As matter of fact Union Pacific,
 Southern Pacific and Sloss are not much
 better today than they were a year ago. except a year ago you could not give IueH away, nS speaking, whereas today the public are gradually taking them off the hands of the in siders, showing the greatest specula- tive profit to that coterie of Wall street magnates that has ever existed in the history of the world.
 It has been my observation that bull
 markets are not without their effect
 on general business conditions through
 out the county, if only in a sentimental
 way. But sometimes they go too far,
 and the extreme works a hardship on legitimate business, because it requires
 a fabulous amount of capital to keep
 the marking-up process in Wall street in vogue. In the extreme bull move
 ments the public usually gets landed
 with the goods. Cats and dogs on the curb come into the lfmelight-you can
 market almost any old mine during these periods mo top" markets. If my experience Of many years counts for anything I would venture the predic-
 tion that the stock market has all of
 the lear marks" of distribution to the
 eager public. There does not appear to
 be any storms ahead at the moment;
 the market Is well in hand, and will
 undoubtedly be held there by the DOW CTS that be, if for no other reason than
 a collateral purpose; but the old adage
 of the unexpected so often does happen in Wall street.
 It was the Wall street crowd that
 pulled cotton recently; but they cashed
 out the latter part of this week on the wrong side of the ledger, and once, for | a wonder, the south did not follow
 them. The spinners did not take much stock in the movement, and as cotton must ultimately pass into their hands.
 the real question of supply and demand | asserted itself.
 A few years ago man engaged in l the cotton business in New York was l considered almost traitor. if he did not bull cotton all the time. But those | days have passed away. The southern | people engaged in the cotton business have learned their lesson they realize l that there are two sides to the market. | They have quit being bulls on cotton simply because it is grown at their doors; they are better posted and more self reliant; the day of the dope" writer on the market Is no longer a paying profession. The south has come into it's own and 1t is managing It's own affairs. The present heavy movement will probably continue up to the holidays; there Is not much pros- pect for a bull market until we cross that period. Thereafter with full re- sumption of business all over the world cotton will not want for friends. The full dinner pail is not exactly full yet. Business has a long way to go before we get back to 1905-6 in comparison. JOHN A. CALDWELL. Birmingham, Ala, December 5, 1908.