The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-03-22

mand. Railroad and industrials are be- ing discriminated against in most marked degree. They are still obliged to pay or per cent, plus commissions for whatever money they must have, and lenders are none too anxious to supply funds even at these rates.
 Corporations are under the harrow and the effect of political disfavor is seen
 in the interest rate which owners of money are exacting. This matter has been discussed in these letters several times and it may be referred to many more times as it is a distinguishing fea- ture of the financial situation.
 A stop has been put to railroad exten- sion, except where plans were too Tar advanced to be abandoned. St. Paul IS a notable case of work commenced which | must be carried through. It is committed to the construction of a line to the Pa cifc coast and is putting it through with a reasonable speed. The Pennsylvania, ! New York Central and New Haven roads are compelled to go on with their ter minal improvements in and around New York at a cost of not less than $2Oo,0o0 0o0 all told.
 They would, no doubt, be glad to quit, but are driven by stern necessity to finish | the improvements under way. The only chance they have for getting returns on 1 the money invested is to go ahead. Kali roads are ordering almost no new equip
 ment, and as long as they have hundreds of thousands of idle cars and tens or | thousands of idle locomotives there IS no need for them to think of replenishing | rolling stock.
 | The reduction in New York Central | dividend struck a chill to the very mar row of the bull contingent. The last
 official statement of the Baltimore and , Ohio helped to still further lower the | temperature The street construed the
 exhibit as foreshadowing reduction of | dividends in that quarter also, and in- | cidentally directed attention to Pennsyl- | vania and Union Pacific. It was noted that political announcement of improv- | ing business is not having any marked 1 encouraging reflection on the balance l sheets.
 The very strongest kind of bull tips | on Union Pacific are1persistently in cir 1 culation. They seem to be based on | the general theory that MT. Hartman is | bringing to head grand plan for the distribution of Union Pacific assets. prob | ably along the line adopted by Mir Hlll | in giving his stockholders certificates of | ownership of the ore lands worked off on the big Steel trust. To hear the talk one might almost believe that by a stroke of the pen or a twist of the wrist MT Hartman could create values ad lib. According to popular idea the Union Pacific distribution will be tantamount to a loo per cent dividend, which, to use a current slang phrase is going some." With n 100 per cent dividend already within grasp it is passing strange that Union Pacific should be selling under 200. Mr. Harriman's enemies are saying that the difference between the current mar 1 ket price and POO represents the volume and extent of the Hartman blight. Some of them describe it as the Hartman curse.'
 Despite the urgent efforts of the Steel corporation and its allied companies, to hold up prices of finished products the pig iron market continues weak Inspired re- ports are to the contrary, but everybody , in the trade knows that practically all the
 business done in that department Is at concessions from quoted prices.
 Copper stocks continue to sell plus mystery" From inside sources the news agencies get a stream of bulletins of enormous sales of metal accompanied by
 broadest inclinations that things of high est Importance are doing and that pres ently the copper industry will hum. These rumors for the most part relate to the | foreign situation. During the last five | months more than 400.0O0.000 pounds of copper have been exported and the stuff continues to go abroad In large quanti- ties. What they are going to do with it over there is mystery" There is certainly nothing in the home situation to warrant expectation of phenomenal | trade revival. On the contrary the cop- per industry remains stagnant.
 For time Wall street was impressed with reports from Washington of mo- mentous conferences which were to re- ieve the business and political situations and restore confidence in every quarter Latterly reports of this nature arouse | smiles of incredulty. It is not clear that 1 Congress has asked Messrs. Gompers, 1 Gary, Low and their associates to ar range for it and for the country at large | any programme of legislation.