The Washington herald., 1910-05-30
WALL STREET NEWS
Business Revival Indicated
by Review of Week.
COMMODITIES ARE NERVOUS
The Conditions FavOrinE wheat and
Cotton Cause Speculation, and
Stocks and Bonds Are Receiving
Unusual Attention for the Season.
Corn Not SO Promising.

New York May &-Suostantlaiiy all
developments Of fundamental character
bearing upon financial and business con-
ditions last week were favorable, and
many of these were more favorable than
they have been at any time thus far in
the present year.
As the country's general crop outlook
gradually unfolds, it brings a promise Of
abundant harvests, and there are many
people who assert that the indications of
the moment are for the largest yield on
record of the country's great agricul-
tural staples
1t may be conceded that this latter be
lief is hardly justified. inasmuch as no
assurance can yet be had concerning the
corn and cotton CrOps-two OF the coun-
try's most important articles of staple
production.
But even in this respect data. so far as
they are al hand. are encouraging A
great acreage Of both crops has been
planted and through the medium Of
high prices for the commodities there
has been every stimulus FOR an enlarged
planting and a careful cultivation of the
soil
More will be known about the cotton
crop two months hence. but it Is already
known that in addition to the large acre
age the crop has had plenty of moisture.
that there is a strong probability that
the cold weather OF the winter was
heavily destructive to insect life, and
that II spell of warm and dry weather
now spreads over the South the prospect
for large crop will be excellent.
Corn Not So Promising.
In the corn belt the weather so far has
been a little too cold and wet To be per
feet But the moisture OF the past will
be I'm the highest degree beneficial if
warm weather comes along In due season.
and IN general as regards an crops. a cold
wet May is usually the precursor Of agri-
cultural plenty later on. The best com
mentary upon the situation in wheat
was the collapse last week OF the great
speculation for the rise i'm the article
that mas so long been carried on.
Mr.. Patten and his friends, who bear
most Of the responsibility for the fact
that the wheat prices have been held
here for many months away above the
export level and who have been filling
the air with assertions that the country's
supply Of wheat this year was TO be
again comparatively short Of require
ments. were forced TO abandon what for
them was losing game and sell i'm the
open market the surplus stores of grain
they had accumulated. The upshot was
wholly the result OF continued and in
molly obi
country's grain production sections. The
decline was also brought about i'm part.
perhaps, by large crop indications in for
eign countries.
Naturally under the circumstances. a
strong feeling has been eugendered that
much of the same smash that has taken
place in grain may also occur in cotton.
But the situation in cotton Is somewhat
different than I'm wheat. because in cot
ton the crop outlook is not yet wholly de-
fined, the shortage of the article is more
pronounced, and the current visible sup
ply OF the commodity more concentrated
in the hands of the operators for the ad-
vance
Cotton Demand Enormous.
There are many good judges who think
that at least a 100000 bale crop Of
American cotton in the present year will
be necessary TO meet the demands Of the
worlds consumption and 20 reasonably
fill up the holes IN reserve stocks made
by last years scarcity Admitting all
this. the tide seems to be running against
the men who are trying to keep cotton
prices at their present high level At
any rate the weather for the cotton crop
up 10 the present time has been vastly
better than IT was last year and has
been I'm no way sufficient 10 Justify pre-
dictions OF less than a normal yield. A
large crop Of cotton this year Is more
important to us than large grain harvests.
The greatest necessity of the country lust
now In a financial sense is a bringing
back 70 its oid-time proportions. or some
thing aproxlmaung these. Of our present
diminished foreign trade balance There
are Few economists who think that this
can be accomplished i'm the future by in
creased exports OF grain. The country Is
slowly passing from the stage OF an agri-
cultural nation 10 that Of a mapufactur-
ing nation, at least in respect to food
stuffs: and although under intensive
farming methods, which will come I'm
time. and which are even now making
good progress. il is reasonable to expect
that our harvests VIII be enlarged il is
yet wholly improbable that these will be
SO much larger I'm the immediate future
as TO make our exportable surplus Of
grain for Europe decidedly greater than
it lately has been 1t is entirely possible
however, that the size of the yearly cot
ton crop may be greatly and quickly in
creased.