The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-03-07
STREET LEAVES BIC
 SIGH OF RELIEF Fears No More Turmoil and
 Agitation LABOR TROUBLES NEXT Steel Corporation Seems to Be Getting Large Amount of New Business. Independents Already Show
 ing Signs of Distress.
LABOR TROUBLES NEXT
By w. G. NICHOLAS.

heaved a sigh of relief when the inaugu-
 ration ceremonies were over and new
 administration was ushered in. Whether
 or not the change will have the decided i market effect that many looked for, re- mains to be seen. The prevailing Wall
 street opinion is that with the big stick ! ont of the way, there is nothing more to
 fear from turmoil and agitation and l.lat
 as soon as Congress acts on the tariff l the country will start in upon a long i period Of cumulative prosperity. This
 sentiment and hope is everywhere ex-
 pressed. Coupled with it is an abiding
 belief in Mr. Taft. Rarely has new
 President taken hold of office and gone
 upon the big stage with more Friendly
 audience to play to. It is altogether pos sible that the population of the financial
 district is misleading itself with the idea
 that the entire country Is in sympathy
 with it's feeling of relief over the depart
 ure of MT. Roosevelt from the scene of Washington activity. Doubtless the coun- try will hail with satisfaction the assur- l ance of a reign of peace and caimness, but back of it all there is no lack of
 loyalty to MT. Roosevelt and apparently small desire to minimize the earnestness of his efforts for the general good With
 the man himself out of the way, there seems to be a tendency to enlarge upon this phase of Rooseveltism.
 Trade conditions which more or less
 hinge on the impending tariff legislation, and the possibility of labor troubles are
 taking the place of discussion as to the
 N tioro attituda Tba
 inaugural address settled the last feature
 for the time being. Its contents had been
 pretty well known throughout the Wall
 street district for two or three days be-
 fore it's delverance Consequently it's
 chief interest lay in confirmation of what
 had already been talked about It is
 singular how stock market discussion
 shifts from one subject to another and
 tine rapidity with which the Washington
 change of administration has been
 dropped and other subjects taken up, is
 an illustration of this peculiarity and
 habit. No sooner does thing which
 has been considered of vital importance
 pass into history than the speculative
 community turns its back thereon and
 devotes attention to new matters ahead,
 likely to have bearing on prices. Thus
 1t is that people are now talking most
 about conditions inA.the iron and steel
 trade and allied industries and as to
 whether labor will rebel against threat
 ened outs in wages as consequence of
 business depression and lower tariff pro-
 lection. There also comes up as a topic
 of active current debate speculation as
 to what the anthracite coal roads will do
 with their coal lands in the event of de-
 clsion of the supreme court upholding the
 validity of the commodity clauses of the
 Hepburn bill This latter action by the
 court is looked forward to as a near
 certain development of the next few days
 or weeks. Court decisions everywhere
 seem to foreshadow such action. The
 general belief is that, no matter which
 way the decision is, the result will be
 beneficial to prices after the first excite
 ment is over. If the law is upheld in
 whole or in its main features, then the
 coal roads will have to find way to get
 rid of their lands. The feeling obtains
 that a plan will be decided upon some
 thing along the lines adopted by James
 J. Hill in the iron ore matter--namely,
 distribution to stockholders of the sew
 eral corporations of certificates represent
 ing the lands. These certificates would have no named valuation and would be-
 come marketable separately from the
 stocks of the divorced companies. The
 plan has worked all right in case of MT.
 Hills roads; the iron ore certificates have
 recognized market standing and are
 slowly going into bank loans as collateral. The two cases are not exactly on all fours however. The Hill iron lands were leased to the Steel Corporation on terms
 that insured dividends. It is not clear
 how any similar arrangement can be
 made with regard to the coal lands and
 apparently coal certificates would have
 to stand on their own merits as to earn ing capacity. That would render their
 future more problematical. The breakup of the anthracite coal monopoly might re- lease from inertia large tracts of anthra- cite coal lands in Pennsylvania which
 are still held independently of the trust
 and which might be very easily sprung
 into active competition with the mines
 already operated by the trust. Such a
 course would tend to reduce the price of
 coal the wages of mine workers and the earnings of the properties. That is something, however that will have to be thrashed out later on. For the moment the ruling opinion appears to be that any kind of a settlement of the anthracite | controversy will furnish a motive for buying the stocks of all companies con | cerned.
 Tn spite of widely expressed skepticism on the subject, the open market for iron and steel products is resulting in large amount of new business in every direc- tion. Of this new business the independ- ents are getting by far the smallest part. Selling agents of the big Steel Corpora tion were sent out to get everything in | sight regardless of price and are comply 1 ing with instructions in the fullest sense. | They are getting the business all right and the independents are already begin ming to show signs of distress Every | thing was lovely so long as the Trust let | them have their own way and cut prices | at pleasure, but Cow with the giant | aroused to action the complexion ot | affairs is different. Reports are already l in circulation, having most excellent ori- | gin, that many os the independents are | getting ready to bow to the yoke and | admit that they have been naughty, cou- | bling such proof of humility with prom | ises to be good hereafter. The Steel Cor | poration, howeveE, is not likely to be in l too great a hurry to extend the hand of l forgiveness. It was sorely tried and it's | good nature imposed upon. It's position as umbrella holder over trade brought f ft into open ridicue and the policy 1t
 stood for was being attacked as against economic laws and the public good. It 1 was being assailed from, every quarter l as being the arch conspfrator and main | stay in a combination for holding up 1 prices artifcially In face of 8 general l tendency downward. Finding it's attitude | uncomfortable the Steel Corporation is | apparently willing to let there be full l test of the onDosfte nolirv of cutting and