The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-02-16
Present Building Activity
Principally Confined to
Completing Old Plans
HENRY CLEW's OPINIONS

"SS7-SuNlty Nd1 OIIy BE ITO
NOTED by Allowing Values to Settle
Down to Normal, As is Natural At
ter a Panic.
New York. Feb. 13-Extreme quiet
ness pervades all lines of business,
and there are no ymptoms of early
recovery Many Of the big financial
leaders are absent, and in general
there IS a disposition. to await the turn
of vents.
Confidence has been unsettled by
various means. Much concern is
shown over the tariff situations: for.
though no injurious changes are anti
clpated, the prospects of delay cause
pOStponen1ent of many negotiations.
the numerous attacks upon large in
dustrial corporations is also unsettling.
Publl utilities securities are especial
~ affected by these movements. which.
however much they may be justified,
inevitably injure stocks which have
been selling unusually high on account
of monopoly profits. Regulation of
these public utilities must be expected
in future, and the fact that such reg
ulation is not always fairly and judi
clously applied naturally eXcites more
or less distrust of the securities af-
feCted. Railroad shares have been
neglected, chiefly because prices ruled
so high as to practically stop invest
ment buying. To some extent, also,
the legal restrictions which are being
vigorously applied to railroad manage
ment exerted an unfaVOrable influ-
ence, but the small returns upon
present market prices nave unQues-
tionably been the chief deterrent to
buyers. Bonds received a special pre-
ference for a time, partly because with
present easy money the returns SEEM
ed fairly attractive, and the chances
of loss through depreciation We're
much less than in stocks. This invest
ment demand for bonds, however, APP
pears to have been fairly satisfied, and
though recent large issues were read
lily subscribed for they have not been
Well distributed. but remain in the
hands of dealers. In many cases the
public buying power has been exhaust
ed. and time will be required for the
accumulation of a fresh supply Of cap
ital from savings n profits. In a
few cases demand might no doubt be
accelerated by slight concession. but
the abundance of easy money tends to
the support Of values generally.
The prospect Of an early adjustment
of the tariff problem is now more re-
Giote thar st any time since the move
ment for revision began. Already there
is a sharp conflict with powerful in
terests that spells nothing but delay.
AS has been aptly said the tariff is
simply a question of profit: n this
being true it follows that each in
terest will fight to the utmost for
80 - IN 49,
cannot from their very nature be set
tied by any commission. Advice from
all disinterested bodies will be sPurn-
ed. and it is only through the test Of
battle on the floor of Congress that
q solution will be found. Neither the
politicians nor the people will sur
render Their say about the tariff, and
there is no good reason why they
should. Talk Of a commission comes
chiefly from those who wish to
strengthen their influence in tariff
making for themselves. and is pOliti-
cally impracticable. The Ways and
Means Committee has taken a mass
of testimony that may enable 1t to
frame some sort OF q measure for
Congress-; but Congress will as lii5ely
as not disregard its recommendations,
and the present outlook is for a hot
and long debate in both the House and
Senate, lasting possibly into the carry
summer months. The SCI .emen OF
the tariff, moreover. is greatly CONF
plicated by the governments need Of
revenue by the necessities o1 u de-
Tendencies, the Philippines, Cuba ana
Porto Rico. and by II reciprocity
arrangements with foreign countries,
the importance of which has been
temporarily o~vershadowed. 1t would
be extremely unfortunate if a war OF
tariffs would break out as a result or
the burden we place upon Foreign
trade. Talk Of retaliation grows, and
much harm might follow: for trade
prospers best under freedom and not
under friction.
A somewhat firmer tendency
been how in money, chiefly as q re-
suit Of the drop in bank reserves, the
withdrawal of, government deposits
and further gold exports. The latter
have received at least a Temporary
ment money, however, will continue
owing TO the great excess of