The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-01
PROSPECTS FOR
 THE COMING YEAR All Sorts of Construction May
 Be Put on Signs Every Small Trader Can Tell When Business Is Good and When It
 Is Bad-Sizc of
 Barber Tips
Fly PRESTON c. ADAMS

cast or prosperity or the reverse Tor the
 year just beginning. For example, the man who sees through dark glasses hears that the steel trust is running 75,000 men short of It's capacity. that the railroads
 are figuring on reducing wages all along the line, and these together with other
 signs portend gloom.
 l On the, other hand the optimist sees | the big railroads beginning to order rails | and other supplies. He sees record break | ing crops all along the line, with the 4 farmers getting good prices, business In
 necessities and even luxuries going along steadily and satisfactorily and the outlook
 for 1911 seems good to him.
 One of the most encouraging develop rnent is the broadening demand for bonds. This movement may easily go far both at l Home and abroad. Conditions would ap- pear to be ripe First of all, income yielded by high-grade issues Is better than the return obtainable by lending
 money on stock exchange collateral. h. vestors have held aloof for so long that they should now be In position to make extensive purchases. The fact that trade at home has been declining and that there is a widespread aversion to em-
 barking upon new enterprises need not
 limit the absorption of bonds, but should
 mean the release of vast amount or capital for investment It may be that
 the recent incipient activity, as reflected
 by an increase of nearly 100 per cent In
 transactions on the exchange, merely re-
 fleets the unemployment of the January dividend and interest disbursements, but there are solid grounds for believing that the movement has a broader foundation.
 The odd-lot buying now in progress has stimulated an agitation for bonds of lower denomination than $1000 The United
 States Is so accustomed to dealing and
 slking ins thousands and millions, that scant attention has been paid to small things or small nvestors-the ''take-care- of -the-pennies' motto has been applied
 in practice. to the investment markets.
 But several of our principal railroad sys- tems have learned from their experience
 in raising money abroad that the small investor is not to be despised, and the
 prospects are that before long bonds for $500 or even $100 will be freely used in
 this country. There Is no adequate reason
 why all bond financing should be done by the 5000 denominations. In the stock market the importance of the odd-lot
 buyer is rapidly being realized. and near
 ly every we'll conducted stock exchange
 firm now caters to this class of customer. Why should not bond houses do the same? The excuse that a multiplicity of bonds for small amounts would increase the clerical work entailed in handling new fiotations is not sufficient, as the advan- tages of securing wider distribution of bonds throughout the country would be attended by the most beneficial results All sorts of people have ways of their own of telling how things are going in Wall street. The downtown barber knows exactly when times are good and when they are bad from the amount of patron age and the size of the tips he receives.
 The high class jeweler believes his busl- ness is an unerring barometer, for it is
 well known that financial people do not stint their expenditures for jewelry when
 funds are plentiful, even though they
 mayfflave to scurry around to dispose of their purchases when depression comes
 along This week the clerk at soda
 water counter whose trade comes chiefly from curb brokers and their friends, com
 plained with a shake of his head that the
 curb was having hard time of it, as he
 knew, to his cost. His sales, he declared, had fallen off to only half what they
 should be at this season and to only a quarter of what they were in the summer months. Restaurants also judge by their
 receipts whether Wal street is prosperous or not When commissions and profits are plentiful the expensive places are crowded but when the reverse Is the case the lower priced eating houses get the trade. At present every one agrees that the stock market game Is scarcely paying the candle.
 Surveyors posing as geological engin- eers, who have been working from Sal mon City to Lewiston, Ida, are now said
 to be in the service of the Gilmore and
 Pttsburg. Their operations are regard cd as confirming report from Portland,
 Ore. that this road is about to begin the building of it's line between the points
 where these men have been at work
 Another fact having the same effect Is the
 purchase of 1000 ties to be delivered at
 Salmon City.
 The Gilmore and Pittsburg is an under
 taking that up to this time has been subject of more or less speculative gos- sip as to whether 1t Is independent or has behind 1t some established and strong railroad interest. At one time the latter idea did not seem to be warranted, owing to developments suggesting that it's pro- motors were in trouble. or else had had differences with financial house in Pitts burg, through which its obligations were being settled. t5tr There still remains an element of un- lcertainty relative to the enterprise that not few people would lke to see re- moved. This much is conclusive-if it Is
 really to be an independent road eventu- ally the Hill and Hartman systems have some strong competition to meet later on New York city will disburse nearly $20,- CO0O00 among investors in January against less than S7.000.000 a year ago. In
 addition to interest payments. revenue
 warrants will be paid of.
 Figures specially compiled by the Journal of Commerce and Commercial
 Bulletin show that in January new high record total of $226. 747,S ,S50 will be paid 1 in dividends and interest by railroads, and
 industrial and traction corporations, banks and trust companies. the national government and Greater New York. This compares with s200, 1915 last January, an | increase of $26,219,536. Next month the sum of $93, 456,100 will be disbursed to | stockholders in the way of dividends or ! s, ,349.535 more than in January, 1910. In brief, many corporations were enabled to resume or increase dividends. while others hwere enabled to make initial payments. l A few reductions are noted. As custom. ary, industrial corporations furnish the
 most striking changes. Concerning the
 showing 1t should be mentioned that the
 current dividend returns are more com plete than In the opening month this year. Interest payments amounted to
 SIS, 291, ,250. or an increase of $17.S60000, due
 to large output of bond and note Issues