The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-05-10

eonduees to a further restriction in the buying power of the multitudes and the further prolongation of depression. Noth- ing will satisfy them.
 MT. Jacob schff, the great Hebrew banker has returned from his trip to Europe. where he formed the proudest al lance of his long career-a combination with the great house of Rothschild for more than 50 years represented by the Belmonts MT. Schiff does not talk in the most cheerful vein and says that the situation abroad is similar in many re- spects to that in America.
 He also mentions that Europe is wait ing for conditions here to take some deti- nlte form for the better before them selves taking an attitude toward the fu- | ture. Among other things he refers to the industrial depresison in Germany. This statement is out of harmony with reports industriously circulated by spokes- men for the copper trade, who have been telling everybody that the enormous ship ments of copper from the United States have been chiefly to supply German man. ufacturers who are supposedly in the midst of a stupendous indgstrial revival.
 The incident revives again the query as to what has really been done with the 575,000,000 pounds of copper exported
 
 ten months. The exact whereabouts of this vast store of undigested copper is one of the mysteries of the hour. It rep resents d value at current quotations ol not far from S75,0000O0. Who is carrying it and where are things which everybody in Wall street would like to be advised about. Curiosity on this subject is in creasing every day.
 Meantime those in market control of Amalgamated and other kindred stocks are Loyalty supporting the shares and so far as can be aseertained they are not making any violent effort to disd1bdte their holdings Possibly this is because they realize that a campaign of distribu- ton could not be successfully waged. Wall street is complaining that Congress is sloveny and improvident of it's treat ment of the business interests. They would like to see some financial legisla- tion before adjournment, but have not as strong hopes in this respect as they had awhile ago. They are beginning to worry a little because of the prospect of an embarrassing shortage in the treasury funds.
 The defict is growing at the rate of many millions of dollars a month. By the end of the present fiscal year in June it will be about $65,0OO0O0. When the autumn and winter need for gov
  ury is likely to be too nearly empty for Secretary Corteyou to render important aid. The outlook in this direction is not good and as Congress is very likely to quit without making any provision for such an emergency the disposition to crit icize the inefficient statement grows apaee.
 A mitigating circumstance, however, is found in the steady increase in the sup ply of gold. This is a silent force which is going on everlastngly for the good The worlds production is approximately S4OO,- 000,000 a year. In hard times more of the l gold output goes into money and less into arts and manufactures. It is safe to say that the annual increase in stocks of gold money for the whole world will be $35O,- l 000.000 from current production. Of that amount the United States will get prob 1 ably S1OO,0OO,0o0 as it's share and as much | more as it cares to buy and bring in.
 That will help some even though Con- l gress should fail in its duty. This con- | tinuous reinforcement of the worlds SUD- | ply of gold is a process which is at work | 2i hours a day. It is busy while you l sleep. Not much is thought or heard l about this feature of the money situation, | but it will be recognized as live factor | whenever the tide really turns again for | prosperity.
  for a general uplift in freight rates the | prediction was made in this column that | the programme If actually attempted i would meet with tremendous and in- | fuential opposition on the part of shippers | and the public at large. This very thing l is coming to pass and the forces already l put into action against the movement Is | having an appreciable effect on railroad managers. They are not nearly so cock sure as a week or two ago that they could move up rates and make the public stand E for it. Indeed not q few of the leading railroad men of the country are taking position against the proposed action holding that it would be unwise and inn polite to make the play now when every body is grooming under burdens of over taxation in every form. IL IS beginning to appear that the contemplated upift | in rates may be confined to very few things.
 The street has been indulging itself this | week in a rather more than usual politi- cal discussion. There has been return of speculation looking to renominatlon of Roosevelt. Strange to say the possibil ity does not fill financers with half as much alarm and fear as would have been the case a few months ago. This is at tributable in large part to a feeling that MT. Roosevelt has seen the error of his