The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-06-12


Everybody is now entirely willing to
postpone this rate uplift until the inter-
state commerce commission can pass on
the reasonableness of the proposed ad-
vance-that is. everybody excepting Will
liam Rockefeller, President Ripley of the
Atchison and a few other gentleman who
will not be reconciled to the failure of a
plan to make 10 to 90 per cent increase
in revenues in order to provide means
with which to pay small incr ease in the
operating expenses. Wall street has been
quick to see that the railroads will be a
gamer to the extent of whatever advance
in rates may be ultimately allowed. In
der no circumstances will they be Obliged
to reduce rates, and there seems to be
disposition to give them a fair deal
For the railroads to have insisted upon
bulling through the advance as first pro-
posed would have been to admit an at
tempt to foist upo nthe public an at
reasonable" raise. That Is something thew
could not afford to do in the face Of the
awakened wrath of the multitude of ship
pers. Davie Crockett Taft had only to
point his gun at them and like the coon
they came down. 1t wns the only thing
LII tHciii " ". lleTe Is RrumDllnO that
the railroads will not be able to finger any
of the profits from the increase for pos
sbly four or five months. but this is not
going to be very vital thing after all
and the roads will have to stand it, 1t is
surmfsed that there will be neither a cut
ting down of wages nor of dividends In
consequence OF this hold-up.
Foreigners were first to grasp the arti-
II In
ket During the five or six days of de-
preston there was bought ION the bal
ance' 100000 to 100000 shares Of our choic-
est stocks for foreign account. The bar
gain hunters at home were also very busy
picking good things off the bargain count
err Probably not less than 1000 900 shares
of good dividend paying American railway
stocks were bought by bargain hunters at
home and abroad and taken out of the
market. The investing and speculative
public is becoming highly educated For
merly 1t was the wise guys" In Wall
street who sold at the top and bought
at the bottom. Now 1t is more often
that the wise ones get stuck at their own
game than 1t is for them to win. Be-
yond question important inside interests
we're tremendous sellers of stocks on this
break around the bottom. They were
bent on teaching those d-n politicians
at Washington" a lesson The break in
the market did not go half as far as they
had programmed. They were met half
way down by a mass of buying orders
they could not break through. They bonn
barded the market at the bottom with an
avalanche of stocks and with loud procla-
nations of the ruin that was to overtake
the entire transportation system If the
administration did not instantly change
front.
As consequence, several railroad bank
ing combinations have sold stocks in suf-
ficient quantities to endanger their con-
troll of important railroad systems. They
have denuded their strong boxes Of the
real certificates and If there should be a
showdown it would be found that the
people who are In official control are in
reality very minor holders Of the roads
over which they exercise domination
Not only have they parted with control
but they sold at low prices and they are
in mortal fear that they can only replace
their lines at a loss. They have sold
themselves into a hole and are at this
very moment engaged In the painful task
of climbing out. The exhibition they
make of themselves is not one to in
crease the respect or reverence of the
public for the powers that be. This Is one
Of the times that the powerful banking
Interests have entirely misjudged the in
telligence and the cold nerve Of the in