Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-03-10

gathering somewhat In strength, but
the activity Is greater and more i'm
pressive in the rarer metal for the mo-
Every ora ranch Of nd.r
Roadway, and the telephone and tele-
graph business. which is allied with the
copper industry in the popular mind.
increases and expands with every new
ing. and there is every indication Of
continued enlargement and expansion
in that field as far ahead as the eye
can see. Copper stocks and telegraph
with a decided rising tendency. The
copper situation has undergone a re-
markable change, and IL now squarely
on It's feet once more. with firm
foundations under the structure. Iron
ton, but slowly. for the reason that
productive capacity Is still far ahead
OF the consumptfve demands. and
manufacturers are competing cruelty
for whatever new orders come in sight.
be no tariff revision for at least an
other year, and for q much longer
election. gives courage and faith and
thought and action.
Railway Business Increasing.
Every day brings the railroads near
er to the time when they will not be
able to handle the business of the
country with their present equipment
and facilities The number of idle cars
has been reduced to almost nothing,
and many railroads are already finding
1t hard to move the tonnage offered
them. Any considerable increase in
traffic would reveal the unpleasant
fact that the railroads, as a whole, are
actually short Of rolling stock and un-
able to contribute to Improvement in
general conditions. The country could
not make much Roadway toward q big
revival or progress in another boom
with railroads as poorly equipped as
at present. Hundreds OF thousands Of
new cars would have to be made and
put on the rails. The manufacturing
capacity OF the equipment companies
Is approximately 100000 cars q year,
and double that number might be need
ed the first six months Of returned
prosperity. Whether Intentionally or
not. the railroads are organizing q
very impressive object lesson for the
country, who have been insisting on
loading down the transportation COM
panies with onerous charges and re-
strfcttons, and, at the same time, de-
handing better service-tying the
hands OF the railroads. ordering them
to do double work.
Compromise With Miners Expected.
The threatened strike among the coal
miners has not as yet made much OF =
market impression. The belief is strong
that compromise will be reached, and
that whatever advance may be made in
wages will be promptly assessed against
the public by an advance in the cost OF
fuel. It is not believed that the rail.
In
handling OF coal traffic, even though
strike should develop. Account IL being
taken Of the fact that in the event OF q
protracted deadlock on the part OF or
soft coal roads would not be damaged.
They would. in fact, be benefited for the
reason that West Virginia miners are
non-uf13pn. West Virginia is the second
state III the list of soft coal producers. Its
annual output now amounting to about
6O.OoOO 600 tons year. Its working mines
have capacity OF probably 20O. O00, 600
tons a year. which is more than double
the quantity the railroads could take care
Of under highest pressure. 1t win be
seen, therefore, that the group OF West
Virginia carriers might come in for a
very considerable market boom should
the union miners actually go on strike.
Recent Railway Alliance.
The alliance between st. Paul and Union
Pacific 10 merely a formal move in the
big war for territorial advantages in the
far northwest organized by James J. Hill.
Mr.. Hill took the first step few months
ago when he openly ;oaned issues against
the Hartman combinations by entering
upon q traffic contract with the Chicago
and Northwestern, a Vanderbilt system.
This latter incident was recognised at
the time by big Wall street insiders as
a move Of the highest Importance, and as
q sharp alignment between
the big opposing powers west of the
Misslssippi-a reshaping OF the railroad
map of that vast empire.