The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-12-10
BUSINESS HAS AN ATTACK 0F SEWERS More Pronounced This Year
 Than Usual CANNON ON BUSINESS 
CANNON ON BUSINESS
Willis L. King Interview Caused Caused Large Comment-New York Always After Big Men
 of Other Cities
By PRESTON c. ADAMS

|
 about the time of the meeting of Con-
 gress prior to the presidential election
 and right now the attack is rather more
 pronounced than usual because of the
 fact that it has been many years since
 there was really much chance of a rad l ical change in governmental policies l It is not to be wondered at, therefore, | that nearly all business craft are sailing pretty close to the wind. So sound is the | fundamental condition of the country, | however, that outside the purely specu- | lative lines trade reports are almost uni
 versaly better. The fact is, general
 business for months has been larger than
 has been generally admitted. There has
 been no trouble as to volume; the out
 has been the low prices and reduced ] profits.
 There has been decided improvement
 in the price of copper, the result of a
 steady demand which has at least made
 inroads upon the surplus supply. The ;. same conditions that exist here may be
 near fruition in other lines.
 l It is fair to assume that as soon as the
 business world believes that prices have 1 | be a demand for future wants.
 In some directions the fear of the tariff still operates to deter broad oper-
 ations, but even this is losing it's force. The iron and steel trade is more active l by reason of price concessions. Large orders for railroad equipment have been a factor
 l In the textile industry there is still
 much irregularity. The tone however is gradually growing better. There is more 1 activity in the print cloth market and an | advance in prices is noted
 l In brief there is more confidence. The markets are being watched carefully and there are indications that further inn
 provement would cause more general buy ing.
 Few men have a better grasp on the business situation of the country than
 James G. Cannon of the Fourth National
 bank. On his return from the bankers
 convention at New Orleans, MT. Cannon
 said:
 There were 400 delegates there, rep
 resenting all sections of the country, and
 from conversation with many of them I found that the general underlying busi- |
 ness conditions were good. The volume |
 of business is not large and there is no speculation to speak of in any of the inn portant commodities, but the business is being done on what you would call a good substantial basis. Take cotton for
 instance, which is selling at cents We 1 are going to have the largest crop that | this country has ever produced-about1 | 15,000,00o bales. Consequently there is no speculation to amount to anything in this
 product The low price and the large crop
 have made collections in some parts of ( fl,.r 1st+ hand, have enabled the New England and southern mills to open up and buy cot ton to manufacture goods in which they see a profit"
 MT. Cannon said the western and south-
 ern banks are in splendid condition. and, in fact, the whole banking business in | the country is in fine shape. The south has paid off a large portion of its in | debtedness which it borrows every year, | It may possibly need to borrow a little more to carry the large cotton crop. q | don't know of single weak spot in the | entire banking situation of the country" Mr. Cannon said.
 | No interview with corporation man. | ager has attracted more attention than | that recently published with Willis L. | King, who is vice president of the Jones X Laughlin Steel Co.,, president of | the American Iron and Steel institute. It was MT. King who called the turn when 1 the steel business started downward. He now says that another turn has come | in iron and steel There has been no over production, he says, but in the las 1 four years there has been an under consumption and he adds: Judging | from personal contact with representa- | tives of commercial, industrial and transportation interests, the character | of increase coming intot our office, the | buying of equipment and supplies by ! the railroads, the desire of consumers to buy for more forward delivery and | the reversal of trade sentiment since | the beginning of November, I believe l the turn has come in iron and steel
 and that there will be gradual but
 steady improvement in business" When a man covers himself with glory in any city outside of New York
 and continues to stand above his feI- | lows he invariably brings upon him | self offers of lucrative employment from l the metropolis Most frequently dis tinction is gained in the government service-Washingto indeed, is sort of gateway to the upper regions of the | financial and business world. Lawyers | too, not infrequently bound into favor | cut of town as preliminary to mi | grating to the east. George H. Earle, | the Philadelphian who has persisted in doing big things in thoroughgoing fash | ion is the latest to be approached py New York to come here to fill a prom inent position. MT. Earle would be an acceptable member of the Congress of Commerce." which, MT. Perkins, not with the best of diplomacy, recently de | clared held sessions every day in New York. MT. Earle has achieved brilliant results as a reorganizer of moribund concerns. As financier of original
 parts he has won name far beyond the
 Quaker city. When New York wants
 u man it usually gets him. Equipment officials are pleased with the
 outlook owing to the large orders placed recently and because of current reports to the effect that roads will come in the
 market for from 24.O00 to 55,000 new cars within the near future. Prices for equip-
 ment are feeling the effect of the in- creased demand and are somewhat higher than during the early part of the month. In completion of the first year of oper- aton of the new station, Pennsylvania railroad announces that the station was used by approximately 10.000,000 passen- gers, that there was no single serious acr cident on the New York terminal division and that, of the 11,942 trains operated in
 and out of the station, 99:59 per cent of them made schedule time over the divi-
 sion.
 There are 750 employees at the station
 whose duties have solely to do with oper- ating trains and accommodating the roads passengers. During the year 1.929,-
 e20 tickets were sold and approximately 1.E1o.Co9 pieceS of baggage handled