The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-02-18

 COMING AGAIN Business Continues to
 Improve. DEPENDS ON COTTON CROP Bradstreet's Representative Makes Prophecy of Cheering Nature. Prosperity of This District Very Large Iy Takes Its Tene From the
 Wholesale Heuses Of
 Montgomery.

tE0k AiaoAma VIII return. by Noveu- Der or December. to the prosperous condition that prevailed before the panic. provided that we have medi. umly good cotton crop this year." was the cheering prophecy made yesterday by George M. Willians. superintend- end for Bradstreet's.
 From the immediate point of view. however, depression is still very pro- i uounced in financial and business cir- eles. but the outlook is gradually im- proving. It should take a marked turn for the better during the summer and fall.
 "The prosperity of this district very largely takes its tone from that of the wholesale houses in Montgomery and these have been having e hard time of it. During the past year. they havo best they have been able to pay s0une- thing on the interest invested. and there win not be much profit this year when the books are balanced. Coilec- tions are very slow. The wholesale merchant has expected that the retail merchant would be able to settle. but the retailer can make no collections where the farmer has no money. Many expect that once the cotton on hand Is sold, the required money will be obtained. But those who figure this fail to realize that nine out of ten bales that are held back are tied up with bankers. etc., who have already advanced funds on cotton certificates. This leaves very little for settling the hilis.
 Fortunately, however, the whole salers have been very conservative in filling their orders and in granting credits. As a result they have less on their books than they have had for years. Whenever country merchant or retailer ordered ten barrels of sugar the wholesaler would fill only half of the order so that smaller mer- chants would have >to cut down coz respondingly on the amount that he trusted out to his delinquent custom- CTS. It can be emphattcally stated that the business of the wholesale houses is on a very sound basis. They never owed less.
 Trading. however, remains dull in their line. The wholesale grocers and hardware firms have had some fnI-s provement but that Is only slight. The noteworthy exception is in drygoods, notions, etc. Here there has been an increase of 25 per cent. in the whole sale trade. It seems that not only were there depleted stocks. but thas the actual demand is picking up.
 Tn retail lines in Montgomery, there has been gradual resumption of bust. ness. Here the effect of the panic was less felt as practically all peoplestA the city are working for as much salary or wages as they were.
 "Money is easier than 1t has been since the panic. The prevailing rate Is now seven cents.
 '+The fertilizer demand is becoming excellent. It was @ little slow in start. ing bat in the last month 1t began to stride ahead. We are rushed with In. Quiries from the chemical firms re. gavding people who have sent in orders to them. Thls Is a reliable indicator of the output. And. of course, the fertilizer output is an indicator of the extent of improved agriculture.
 '"The saw mills have all resnmed work and are throwing out their pro. ducts as fast as their capacity will al- low. The other industries in the dis. trict are also working at full time and report a good demand for their pro- ducts.
 "The cause for the continuance of depression is due primarily of course to the delay in the effect of the panic on Alabama. But the recent State leg islation has retarded the natural re- action to prosperity. The railroad laws and the trafic reductions have caused the railroads to refuse to take any chances on investing capital here. Then, too, the State has increased the IbCStlBS On IOEeI8u corporations akIOs gether too much. This with other an- Incorporation measures is legislation restricting the normal movement of capital. such as the State needs more than anything else in developing her magnificent natural resources.
 Prohibition has injured the city f. nanciafly and caused further sete back to the way of prosperity. You pass down the street in the lower and commercial part of the city and you will find one store in ten vacant. There were never more ITO Rent signs. Most of the HE or 116 saloons are closed and those that are doing busi~ ness. get barely enough to pay their running expenses. The wholesale and distributing interests. some twelve dis- tlnot firms in all. with property in- vestments valued at over $300,0Oo have all moved away and Jacksonville and Pensacola are thriving on business that we should have. This Is saying nothing of the loss of revenue of $40,- 900 a year to the city.
 "rhen as still another cause of the continued depression, and by no means the least important, is the low price of cotton. Alabama Is suffering ex- tremely on account of it, as the farm CTS here did not have the bumper crops that were raised elsewhere in the South"
 Indicative Of the improving financial condition of the district Is a compari- son of the failures in January, 1908. E and January, 1909. I
 The number of failures in that month"; last year were thirteen, with liabilities Il of S225,094 and assets of S116,BeO ! There was one more failure during January of this year, but the losses were less than one-hah those of the corresponding month in 1908. The lIa- hfItffAa T0N that month G1I9RY and the assets, &s3.sB7. Thus far in February there have been only four small failures. Of the eighteen since January l. four were those of Mont- gomery firms.