The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-09-04


 gloomy and disquieting, and it would be
 idle to assume or argue otherwise. The facts are there and they speak for them selves.
 As a measure of self preservation it
 would not be surprising to see series of
 bulish demonstrations, as suggested above. The market Is not broad enough
 to stand any considerable liquidation at
 present, and 1t is manifestly to the inter-
 est of those who have great masses Of
 securities to sell to step in and check the development of demoralization. To ac- | complish this there must be more or less
 unity of action among the important peo- pie in the street. This is not as difficult matter as might be supposed. The lead- | Ing banks and financial institutions are more nearly in combination or blend now than ever before. Working with this combination and in a reality part of | it are the homogeneous of dozen or
 more of the larger industrials, at the head of which may be named United States Steel. The leading banks and this pow
 erful group of industrials are In abso- lute control of the New York banking situation and their branches and connec- tions are found in the more important cities of the country. Within limits they can at any time manipulate the stock
 markets as their larger interests may dic- tate. Naturally 1t would seem that their policy would be to prevent a preciptate decline in securities prices. The weight
 of experienced opinion is that if the mar
 l1et is In for a long decline the descent
 will be gradual and orderly, with possibly here and there sharp market action to relieve the monotony.
 By common consent the bulk of the
 floating supply of stocks Is lodged with
 the big people and 1t Is the big people
 who feel most acutely this attack of po- l ltical fright. Commission houses with very few exceptions will tell the inquirer that they are carrying very few stocks The public has not been in the market
 for a good while and therefore the ab- sorption of floating stocks could not have come from that quarter. The rich men who have the first call on the loanable funds of the banking combine have there- fore been picked out as the large hold CTS This has been done by the simple
 process of elimination. They seem to have yielded to the temptatioft to borrow and 2 per cent money and put 1t into
 stock where they could make scalp of 2 to and per cent on the transaction. In doing this they would appear to have put themselves In the perilous position of losing more than they make by de- preciation of principal. It is a risk which everybody takes who engages in that kind of speculation, but the people who are now most heavily entrapped could afford to take the risk and stand whatever loss may result.
 Meanwhile there is noted a moderate improvement in some lines of business. In the iron and steel trade a greater de-
 gree of activity is reported, not enough so to be revolutionary. but enough of movement to be remarked. This Is the season when there must be improvement in this industry or something Is wrong. With almost automatic regularity the Iron and steel trade begins doing better in August or early September. In some other lines of manufacturing a kindred improvement Is observed. The mercan- tile division is feeling the impulses of the early fall buying The great New York department stores, for instance, are damned and packed with people from morning till night, surprising and well come change from two months of stag nation.
 Railroads are failly started In upon a season of the customary fall and winter activity. Tonnage is increasing in volume and there are already signs of car shortage on some of the western roads. This symptom has not attacked the east ern systems yet, but as a rule they have |1nore adequate equipment, or rather they are not subject to these periodic gluts of business. Their traffic is more uniformly spread out. The outcry among the rail- roads Is that large as their business Is, and much as it may increase they are being eaten up by increased operating charges. They wall that unless the in- terstate commerce commission gives them the right to raise their rates there will be no dividend for stockholders. The battle Is now fairly on between the rail- roads and the shippers associations and the roads are not losing point that they can make. Decreased net earnings and the causes that produce them are the strong cards that the roads are playing and making the most of. Bookkeeping ingenuity contributes ably to the railroad side of the campaign, as reflected in the weekly and monthly reports of earnings that are coming in. The harmony of corporation bookkeeping whenever there Is an important campaign on has always been a feature of management When MT Hartman was running his historic bull campaign two years ftgo bookkeep- ing statistics were all the other way. At that time it was important to influence speculative opinion so as to induce buy ing by the public. Now it is important to educate the public to see that their investments are in danger and that the interstate commerce commission will be committing a great injustice by refusing to give the railroads a chance to add to the tax on transportation.