The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-11-27
STOCK BROKERS
 ARE WORRIED Outside Public Has Not Come Into the Market FOLLOWING ELECTIONS Trading Is Largely Professional and There Is Not Much Money in This Sort of Game-Lnmbs Are
 Very Cautious
FOLLOWING ELECTIONS
BY PRESTON c. ADAMS

| M hoped with the passing of the election the outside public would come into the game and they would have a chance to make expenses, anyway. But the hope has been | in vain. The lambs have not been at rracted, and the market remains largely professional. And there's mighty little money in a professional market
 Now. the date of revival is put off until after the holidays, by which time 1t is hoped the freight rates, the antitrust cases and all other vexations for the souls of honest brokers may be out of the way.
 That the railroads will keep their pur- chases of rails down to the lowest possi-
 ble point for 1911 seems to be admitted in both railway and steel circles. but they can scarcely be smaller than they were during 1910. Since the 1st of January the | railroads have contracted for 1,2S0,00O ] tons, of which 900,000 tons were placed during the last quarter of the year. Some of the 1910 rollings, however, were pro vided for during the latter part,~of 1909, but 1t is doubtful that the rail mills win
 have rolled over 100000 tons by the end of the current year, whereas the capaci- | ty of the mills is little under S00O,O00 tons annually, about half of which is ac- counted for by the Steel corporation, in eluding the Carnegie. The, Gary plant alone has a capacity of about 5000 tons per day. It is thus evident that rail con 1 tracts during the current year were only about one-third of total mill capacity It is expected that greater activity will be | experienced during 1911, but thus far the outlook Is not very favorable.
 Apparently the situation, viewed broad ly, is beyond the hands of both the rall- roads and the steel companies, and even the financial aspect is dependent upon
 public sentiment abroad as well as at l nome. Thus the situation may be re- lgarded as international. The contracts for railway equipment other than rails are also dependent upon the same condl- Itions. Orders for bridges may be in ldefinitely postponed, but purchases of Trails and, care will be neoessitated by
 maiptenanoe requirements if nothing else. Commodity prices are falling. Already
 the housewife finds her butcher easier
 to deal with. The retail grocer may try
 to hold up prices for. a little while long Ter, bur the tide is flowing against him, | Only beginning, 1t Is true, has been
 made in lowering the cost of living, !, yetssihere arc accomplishing evidences
 
 made. It costs a great deal less to-
 day to feed cattle, sheep and pigs than 1t l did last year. The numerous products manufactured from corn, wheat and
 other cereals can also be more cheaply produced.
 This lowering of the price Of raw ma terial ought to make itself felt through
 the jobbers and wholesalers to the retail fers. and ultimately to the consumer. The process usually is slow one, but there
 is still sufficient competition left in most fields to bring about reasonably early
 read1ustment.
 Managers of our great corporations de-
 clare that they are heartily glad the
 tendency is toward normal price levels. They perhaps are actuated by the knowl- | edge that, if the publics lot be made
 more comfortable, the threatened tariff | revision will be kept within bounds, | whereas if the discontent should remain at white heat the schedule might be re- vised reclSlessly especially as both lhe democrats and the republicans are bent
 upon winning popularity through cutting | the tariff
 L.. F. Loree. president of the Delaware
 and Hudson, who was a member of the party which has returned from a 10,O0O-
 mile inspection trip of the Hartman
 roads, in discussing his experience re- I west men ask you how to get in touch lwith people who have money to invest. tThe need of capital out there for deve- Ioping resources is apparent on all sides. All I could tell is for them to make | friends with men who had control Of cap | ital and then play square.
 An inspection of the Union and South ern Pacific lines certainly makes the eastern roads begin to look out of date. This applies to the way business is handled, as well as to the equipment. | For example, the Pennsylvania does not own single Mallet locomotive, and the Baltimore and Ohio has one, bought in | 1GO0 On the Hartman roads powerful l locomotives of that type are not only used to haul all freight over heavy grades, | but they are used about the yards as pushers. imagine most eastern rail road men would be greatly surprised to sec how smoothly freight is handled out 1 in that territory"
 | Worcester Mass, manufacturers are deeply interested in the plan to establish steamship line between Boston and Texan ports, as they think it would give them a splendid opening to increase their trade in the southwest being enabled to ship their goods more economically. | The plans for the proposed line are | outlined in letter President Charles T. Tatum of the Worcester Board of Trade has received from President Bernard J. Rothwell of the Boston Chamber of l Commerce, and the practicability of the project is described in an accompanying report made by Robert Rantoul, Boston, who made a thorough investigation of conditions. This report was considered