Bisbee daily review., 1911-01-19
BsgE ARIZONA THURSDAY 1911

country rates are unGueSuOnaDly LOW and some roads are much better able to keep up under existing con ditions than others. The load comes heaviest upon such companies as are
 still laboring under the excessive
 fixed charges imposed by the un- scrapulOus financing of previous gen erations. Dealing justice to the rail- roads is a problem that calls for the highest order of talent; and it should not bee forgotten that if S100,000,000 or more are to be taken from ship pers to compensate railroads t IS still a proper question for the Gov ernment to ask, what will be the
 ebect of such an increase upon shippers and consumers, who finally pay the bills.
 The business situation demands more serious attention. 1t is certain. iy not entirely satisfactory On all sides there are indications of con traction. No improvement can be recorded in the iron trade, which continues to run at about half it's full capacity, leaving many hands out of employment. Prices are be- Ing continually cut by the independ- ents. and the great Steel Corpora tion persists in the questionable policy of resisting the natural condi- tions. When Mir. Carnegie was at the head of the steel business he was noted for the promptness and skill with which he met the natural 10 and fro movements of the mar ket, the result being much health fer situation than exists today Con sumers cannot and will not pay present prices. The only true policy is to meet actual changes in condi- tion and lower prices to a point that will bring orders. Activity will then be restored, closed furnaces will be started and idle labor will be re-employed-possibly at lower wages, but better than fdfeness Should the railroads procure con sessions in rates from the Interstate Commerce Commission the placing of pending issues will undoubtedly b. greatly facilitated, and a large pro portion of the funds thus raised will of necessity be spent in the steel and allied industries. This would give a powerful stimulus to these tardes and naturally have a bene- hcial effect upon business at large. Presumably the Interstate Commerce Commission will take this into con sideration in reaching their decis- ion. For years the steel organization has endeavored to resist economic law and run upon a policy of re- stricted output and high prices rather than keeping the market full at the price it can pay. Its present policy of restriction, If carried to a log ical conclusion, would mean that famine was the basis of prosperity. which is of course absurd.
 The cotton industry is also suffer ing, not so much from artificial re- stricuon as from the high prices necessitated by shortage in the cot ton crop. Manufacturers are iD an exceedingly awkward position for the reason that consumers will not pay present prices, and any reduc- ton would simply wipe out all mill owners profit in view of the pres ent price of cotton. In consequence both Northern and Southern mills are seriously discussing further shut downs. The leather industry, too, is in a critical state. and is suffering from overproduction of hides. An extensive shut down movement is now being inaugurated In copper the situation fails to improve. oyer production here also bein a serious menace. What the outcome Of such conditions in our industrial world will be it is premature to forecast. Fortunately the business situation as whole is sound. The over-expansiou in credit is being corrected, and there is good reason to believe that. as soon as our captains of industry are ready to meet the situation by making price concessions. demand will revive and business will go on. perhaps upon a lower, but safter and more satisfactory basis. In these advices it has been repeatedly in.
 sisted that readiustment was s1 imperative in the commodity markets as in the security markets. I would appear that We are now passing through this stage