The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-26
INTEREST IN RAIL- ROAD BOND ISSUES Absorbing Power of Bond
 Market Limited HIGH COST OF LIVING Is Shown to Be Decreasing by Fig ures in Branstreet's Index-Op-
 timism Attitude of Rail-
 road Men
By PRESTON ADAMS.

l deal of interest the plans of some of the I big railroad interests for the issuance of 1 millions of dollars of short time notes which must be replaced later by bond ,s- sues. Announcement has just been made of such an issue, amounting to s30, ,000, OO0 1 by the New York Central and an addi-
 tional slo.ooo.ooo by the Baltimore and Ohio
 1 The issuance of these notes is taken as pretty clear indication that the absorb l ing power of the bond market is still linn l tied. It is hardly probable that these roads would offer notes running for two or three years if long time bonds could be placed on anything like satisfactory terms
 1 To those of us who have been caught by the increased cost of the necessities of 1 life, and who of us have not, the an nouncement that the prices of commod- ites as measured by "Bradstreets' index number are receding is a matter for congratuation. It is particularly note- | worthy that this decrease, amounting to nearly 5h per cent during the year. has been caused by the reduction in the prices of food stuffs, butter, cheese, eggs an l flour, showing relatively the greatest drops.
 slumped during the period January 1 to February 1. contrary movement. or all upward tendency, was displayed in con nection with beef, hog and mutton car casses Perhaps the packers could tell why if they would.
 Sixty railroad and industrial stocks on the New York stock exchange have de- preciated in total market value since De- cember, according to statistics compiled by the Journal of Commerce and Com merciaI Bulletin, mo less than s57S. .675, ,95S, or an average of s9,e44,60 for each com pany. The advance averaged s.sO points. The railroads have improved more than the industrials. Thirty railroad is- sues have increased in quoted value s36S,- 116,s05, an average of $7,01Se9O.
 The quotation for the railroad stocks Is the highest that it has been at any time since the latter part of May, last, while the industrials are up to their high level of October and only slightly below the maximum attained last June.
 Optimism Is the correct attitude for the railroad man, according to President Loy- ett of the Hartman lines
 President Lovett says: "The Hartman lines are going to complete the s75,0O0, 900 worth of Improvements from Omaha to the Pacific coast regardless of any de- csions of the interstate commerce com mission on the rate question. These i'm provements, the double tracking of a number of lines from Omaha east, were decided upon some time ago.
 50 far as we are concerned any de- cision of the interstate commerce com mission in the matter won't affect our Improvements" f44s
 Ex-Judge Charles F. Fishhack of Chi cago, who is a partner in one of the biggest bond houses in the west, was in the city recently. Judge sFishback is chairman of a committee of 100 of Chi cago's prominent citizens which is boom ing the National Irrigation congress that will hold it's nineteenth session on the shore of Lake Michigan, next Decem- ber -r.T <.
 Financial conditions in the west are on the mend,'' said Judge Fishback "Ev- erybody recognizes that since January there has been an upward trend. My firm is interested in bonds on the natural resources of the country, and I can say that the market has improved and is still improving, to tho qualification of all our people. have never known better outlook than there is today. Some of the railroads have had an idea that rates ought to be raised, but sthe annual reports of the Hill system, the Hartman group, and the, Santa Fe show their earning power is increasing and that general conditions, as between the rail- roads and the people, are very much bet ter in every way"
 There are directors and directors. A mans technical Knowledge may render him a valuable acquisition to a board. Another may be selected merely because he owns a large block of stock. third may be we'll versed in finance. But in these days of expansion the director most in demand is the one who can bring to the company an unlimited supply of capi- tai. '. In other words, the desire now Is to seek affiliations with the strongest banking groups. A member, say, of J. F. Morgan & Co.,, may know nothing about running a railroad, manufacturing steel. making agricultural implements, building automobiles or manufacturing textiles, yet he would be regarded as ex- tremely desirable because of his influence in floating needed loans. The same re- mark applies to members of Kuhn, Loeb
 
 tional banking houses. as we'll as to the heads of rich banks and trust companies. An examination of changes in directorates during the last five years would bring out vexy strongly the tendency to se- lect influential bankers. After all, 1t is money that makes the mare go
 'T understand that J. P. Morgan has in view some big plans for the railroads of the south, especially the Southern rail- road" writes one well informed com mentator. "The southern states are in a new era. For years cheap cotton kept them poor. new economic conditions have made planters rich The value of cotton exports in 1910, as recently told by this government, reached. the unprecedented total of $53O 0O0,O 900. one of the ablest ex- perts in the country. tells me that all in dications point to an increase in these figures in the current calendar year to over $6OO, 100000. The cotton crop of 1910. with by-products. was worth $1,0O0,0oO.0 .0OO These figures speak for themselves Mo- where has there ever sb@en made such a record of expanding wealth in the same length of time as stands to the credit of the cotton states during the past de- cade. These plans of Morgans as hav3 indicated, relate principally to the South ern railway. A dividend on the preferred stock of this company right away is not likely, but a dividend Is in sight. Pay ments of dividends on Southern railway preferred before they were justified was one of the big mistakes of the Morgan management ten years ago. Inadequate outlays for physical upbuilding was an- other. Had the Southern railway mana gers pursued the policy of Hartman in Southern Pacific. in the matter of divi- dends Southern railway preferred would LA IIxx 11~ klz- Jt-k A.