The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-03-13
HEADERS WORRIED
 OVER SITUATION Our Exports Two Small for
 Economic Purposes STEEL RAIL PRODUCTION Large Increase Is shown in 1909 over 10OS-Maximum Reached in 1906. Large Tobacco Concern In the South
STEEL RAIL PRODUCTION

09 and S432. GOO GOO for 1907-08, is giving no little concern in the financial district as to how we are going to meet our obli- gations abroad without the exportation G more gold than can well be spared without disturbing our own monetary sys- tenn. At a glance the fact that we are selling more than we are buying by some s325, 1000 year would indicate that the shoe was on the other foot and Europe should be worried by the balance As a matter of fact this balance does not take into consideration the interest on Amer ican securities held abroad, which runs away up into the millions, nor does 1t include the hundreds of millions we are compelled to pay freights and insurance and the expenditure of American travel CTS abroad. It is estimated that these two items alone will amount to $6G1, 900, 600 at the least, so that instead of having a
 balance of a third of a billion in our fa- vor, the balance against us reached pretty nearly if not quite that figure. In speaking of the situation Vice Presi- dent John E. Gardin of the National City bank, an authority on foreign exchange, said:
 ''The condition of affairs is one that is well worthy of thought. The popCia- ton of this country Is increasing by i'm migration and by births to an extent that has never been equaled; consequently the power of consumption and the sandard of living of the people are becoming greater and greater, so that sooner or later we will find ourselves in the position of consuming the entire output of our wi then be placed upon the plane of an i'm porting nation absolutely. What. would be the result of such a condition of af- fairs?
 'Enropes power over the United States in the possession of so many of our securities Is almost appalling and In times of stress abroad naturally these will find their way back to this country and will have to be disposed of at price, which, however, would affect all other securities. Now, having nothing to export other than the manufactured articles, it sim ply means that we will have to send our gold in liquidation of our indebtedness. But where is the gold to come from? Our production annually does not exceed $100 100000, and if within the next 10 years we shall have to liquidate a debt of from $30O, ,00o,000 to $500, ,O00tO0 in money, where is 1t to come from? It possibly
  l tured products at greatly reduced prices | in competition with the European manu- | factured articles. The whole question is | a proper subject of thought and ought to | be well considered at the present time. | The New York state banking depart
 ment is, about to ask the legislature to
 enact a law requiring all commercial
 banks that accept savings deposits to | ga anr anof frnr fhoir af,anr n icl1
 deposits and restricting the investment
 of these funds in the same manner that
 savings banks investments are now re-
 stricted.
 The new movement was initiated by A.
 H. Cheney, state superintendent of bank | ing. who also declared that theire is no
 demand for postal savings banks from
 the citizens of the Empire, State, whose | savings institutions contain more than
 one-quarter of the entire savings of the
 United States.
 | The American Iron and Steel assoca- | tion reports the production of all kinds of rails in the United States in 1909
 amounted to 3062,5S2 tons, against 1921, . 611 tons in 1908, an increase of 1,1N971
 tons. or over 59.3 per cent. The maximum
 production of all kinds of rails was
 reached in 1906, when 3,077,SS7 tons were rolled.
 Concerning the business outlook Willis
 L. King, vice president of the Jones & Laughlin Steel company, says: There is every reason to believe that 1910 will be a year of large consumption in steel products; in fact, there is strong probability of a record produc- ton.
 There has been for the last month or p10r radu n ho of new business, which can be accounted for, first, because buyers have large ton- mage due and on ship on old contracts; second, because of the severe winter third. because of the fear on the part of some that legislation at Washington may injure railroads and other corporations and make 1t impossible for them to do business with profit. The first reasons are natural and logical, but the third is sentimental and without foundation in fact"
 Steel men are greatly interested in the work of the Bethlehem Steel company in Texas. Iron experts recently estimated that the lands purchased will yield about 90, 100000 tons of ore, and upon this esti- mate the Steel corporation based its nego- tiations with the Santa Fe railroad for a low rate on ore from Daingerfiesd 70 Port Bolivar. the shipping point from which the company purposes to convey by water the tonnage consigned to it's smelters in Pennsylvania.
 As the original estimate were made with care 1t Is understood that the min- ing engineers do not anticipate material reduction in their first approximation in consequence of the more exact chemical tests which they are applying to the ore beds. They have calculated sufficient de- posits of ore to provide two train loads daily for 50 years
 Out in Manchuria they are growing a | bean to compete with cotton seed, and SO lustily does this same bean grow out there that it was reported in Vladivostok when August Held left there on the last trans Siberian express connecting with a | at Hamburg, that between 50 and 70 ships have been chartered to ship | the beans to Denmark. France England and Germany, between the 1st of last October and May next
 MT. Held has been in Vladivostok for a year. 'The Soy bean,' said MT Held has been mentioned several times in con- sular reports, though in an industrial way it Is an entirely new article. It is ] about the size of the ordinary white bean but f1atter and yellow in color The soil for the bean doesn't have to be very fertile, and Manchuria is raising an enor- nous quantity They press the oil out, and this will come into competition with cotton seed oil in many ways. The resi- due, which they call bean cake, is used for food for animals and for fertilizer
 The Illinois Central has issued a book