The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-10
ARE BUYING STOCK IN CORPORATIONS People Are Rapidly BecOm- ing Stockholders GROWTH DURING YEAR  Some of the Problems Faced by the Great Railroads in Conduct
 ing Their Model
 Farms
 
GROWTH DURING YEAR
By PRESTON c. ADAMS


 poration as rapacious all devouring monster whose main delight is tearing at the vitals of the common people. Being strictly impartial I shall not at tempt to defend or attack the corpora ion.
 What I want to say Is that from sta- tistics which are now being collected it would appear if the distribution of stocks of the various corporations continues in the same rate as for the past 10 years 1t will not be long before a big percentage of the heads of American families will participate in corporation games whether
 i'll or well gotten. A list or something like 25O corporations, including railroads and industrial, shows that these concerns had in 1901, 226,956 shareholders. This had grown in 1906 to 4So,279 and in 1911 to S646S4 In other words the number of stockholders just about double each lus- trum It would not take many decades at this rate of progress to make the heads of a family who did not own stock in some corporation the exception rath- CT than the rule. It Is possible too that this wide distribution of stock may have an important bearing on the settlement of the much discussed question of the proper handling of the trusts.
 One interesting development of this movement is the steadily increasing num- Der Of corporations which are making 1t easy for employees to become part owners. The first great corporation to inaugu rate this policy I believe was the United States Steel Corporation. The list Is being added to constantly.
 Occasionally a new phrase Is coined which because of its patness and truth hits the popular fancy. For instance, Judge Lovett of the Union Pacific when asked of the business outlook spoke of the civil influence of the Lie Factory in Wall Street" as the most dangerous factor in the situation. The phrase has stuck. In commenting on it a financial authority remarked the other day:
 wall street is the one blue spot in the greatest country on earth. Every where beyond a radius of about half a mile from the corner of Wall and Broad streets there is a feeling of confidence, if not of positive optimism. In this feel ing the Wall street broker obstinately refuses to share. The outsider who meets him goes away with depression of feeling which only contact with his own business can rub off. The pessi- mism of brokers as class has become chronic A merchant or manufacturer tells his story of a bright outlook for business; and the broker at once begins to recount all the disturbing things that have occurred in politics, in the labor world, everywhere in the world, and all that his fears can Oonjure up for the future. As a consequence, the man who came to Wall street for advices goes away and gives his attention to business of another kind, and the broker in talk ing afterwards with his friends has other instance to relate of man with money who refuses to put any of it in securities.
 In what contrast is the talk of the men who really make the business wheels go round.' While they do not see prospects of a great business boom in the near future they do with hardly an exception tell of sound conditions the country over with every prospects of a good safe business.
 Discussing the subject of model farm ing in which certain railroads have in- terested themselves within the past three or four years with view of ultimately building up increased tonnage, T. E. Martin, superintendent of the 70 acre farm, established in January of last year by the New York Central at West Der gen, N. Y., says:
 "rhe one weak point in this general of model farming by railroads is that methods have been employed en- tirely out of reach of the ordinary farm CT to accomplish results. Of course farm of 70 acres with the credit of a railroad corporation behind 1t Is an en- tirely different position from a farm of 70 acres half covered with a mortgage and owned by farmer with limitetd fi- nancial resources. Therefore, the care has been on the Centrals farm to en- p1oy methods available to the rank and file of the farmers; in a word, to get re- suits by practical methods.
 "Ip the first place the railroad paid the ordinary price per acre for the land, precisely as if the buyer had been a the farmer was in need of under draining, and since the railroad acquired 1t about four miles of ditching have been dug. and as much more remains undone It is probable that when the work is completed it will represent an average additional investment of about s25 per acre on the 55 acres to be drained, or a total of about $500. one-half having al- ready been invested. It is thus appar- ent that nothing more has been done than any wide-awake farmer could do. And the work would all be classed as practical
 Tn the rotation of crops we propose to blow up about one-third of the till able acreage each year We shall fol- low wheat with clover. clover with al- falfa, and alfalfa with potatoes We shall raise little corn, perhaps none, and 1t is not proposed to raise any oats. We will not keep any more cows than necessary to supply milk products to the tenant.
 The question will at once rise. how are we to maintain fertility or raise it's standard without live stock, other than the few work horses kept2 Having once gotton clover to grow by some fertilizing and secured what may be termed a run ming start, l look for no difficulty in turning the trick with alfalfa and clover.
 The farm is only year and a half old and visitor to 1t can hardly ex- pect to see the results of five years con- densed into less than two years Per haps some will challenge the plan as i'm practical, notwithstanding that we are trying to do what is possible for any farmer with ordinary means but given reasonable length of time, we are willing to abide by the results. The first cost of the farm, the Improvements and all the expenses attached to it's operation, are charged up to the farm and on this must pay reasonable dividend, if it is to do what Is expected and I say it is practical"
 Dividend and interest disbursements for September are estimated to approx innate s9i.C00000. In the compilation of these figures 1t was noted that dividends ex- ceeded interest charges by s16, 45OOS6.
 Dividend disbursements will exceed s55,- o0o,o00 made up as follows: Railroads -0. if1d etricI Ic and