The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-18
PRICES OF STOCKS
 MAKE FEW CHANGES Trading Is Marrow and Nearly
 All Professional SOME STOCKS ADVANCE Financial Dealings for the Week Have Been Unimporfant and Conditions
 Have shown Very Little
 Improvement
SOME STOCKS ADVANCE
BY RALPH EMERSON

BY RALPH EMERSON
 New York, December 17.-(Special.)-- Trading was narrow and to some extent professional on the stock exchange to-. day. Price changes in most of the lead ing issues were unimportant for long in- tervals during the time the market ap- peared to be at a standstill. During the late trading sharp advance in Norfolk and Western. which carried this stock above 101 from closing of 991s on Fri day, elicited sympathetic response from Panhandle and to certain extent from Chesapeake and Ohio.
 Earlier in the day there was sharp advance in Southern railway preferred on a small volume of buying, serving to sustain interest in the rumors of a re- sumption of dividends upon the stock.
 Tennessee Copper made no response to the increase of the dividend, which ful- flied predictions made many, many months ago.
 The Associated Banks again reported an improved condition surplus reserves in the actual weekend showing increased $3,600,00O.
 With this weeks increase in the sur plus that account is raised to s9,SOo,0OO. which compares with s5,900,000 a year ago this week, and Is not so far below the s14,10o,00 surplus of the similar week, even in the comfortable money market of 1908. Excess of loans over deposits Is reduced from $3S 900 of week ago to $3S00o,- eco today; year ago 1t stood s1S,300,O 900.
 The weeks trade and market develop ments have been a repetition of those ex- isting for month or more. The financial collapse effort to force securities to high level in the face of conditions that should have restrained such movement, has left the stock market in a passive state Going into the more legitimate field of investment, we find the usual year-end tendency toward an upbuildins of quotations and an increase in demand which somewhat discounts the replacing in this market to s175ooO.OOO to s2OO, ,0Oo,ooo to be released after January 1.
 There has been a desire to ~Hait devel- opments of business by the investor and promoter as well as the speculator. The buyer of materials in industrial lines has shown disposition to keep out of the market, therefore the manufacturer slows down. Some of the larger ones like the United States Steel corporation have been compelled to close some of their plants. But this will doubtlessly soon improve, especially in the case of Steel, as the railroads are now placing the years or ders for rails and bridge material, as well es road equipment. Among the roads that have recently placed large orders for rails are the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the Chesapeake and Ohio.
 Financial government estimates of the country's grain production has been quite a stimulus to business in general. While the totals of domestic trade are failing more month by month, there is a steady Increase in the size of our trade with other countries. This shows In the No yember record of exports of $20S. 00o,0oo. which have seldom been approached AL ready there has been exported of the new cotton crop nearly $3OO.ooo,Oo0 value. Wheat exports since July 1 are only about half those of a year ago. or 6s,- ooo,ooo bushels as compared against So.- W0000. but there is considerable gain in the shipment of corn. although its actual money value is nrnall. Coming to manufactured articles we find the sur plus commodities of many of the plants being used in competition with European goods, which explains some of the large monthly export figures.
 While selling more abroad. the country is buying less Its imports in November were s1O,o00,00O under those in the same month of 1909. The result is credit of very substantial nature against which this country will soon be able to ask pay ment in gold. This credit balance in the last two months has been $16oI000.000. It would not be surprising if 1t amounted 10 $500, 900 for the four months to Feb ruary 1.
 Under these circumstances the ques- tion of money supply resolves itself in that of totals only. It Is on this founda- tion that the banking interests. who finance railroads and industrial enter prises, are building their hopes of period of profitable distribution of bonds in the early part of next year.
 The railroads reflect the irregular con- ditions of trade In very good gross gains in some sections and very poor returns In others. The net results are also varied. Of 50 prominent railroads that have maide their reports for the four months to October 31, 30 of them show net losses as against 1909 and 20 have made gains.
 Many railroad managers believed that the day of large transportation profits is passed and that a road that earns per cent on its capitalization in the future will be few. Many others the cloud of government ownership floats over them and restricts their policies for develop ment.
 No one can listen to the private talk of railroad managers or to the ques- ticn propounded at the hearings in this