The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-01

and the banks appear to be discouraging
 any movement in stocks until the crops
 are out of the way. It is known that the
 treasury of the United States has a large
 amount of cash available which could be
 deposited in banks should money rates
 continue to advance, but the majority Of
 banks in financial centers are averse as
 yet to receiving these deposits, feeling
 that the money is not needed for legiti-
 mate purposes, and that the effect of any
 large special deposits by the government
 would be to unduly stimulate stocks.
 'The head of one of the largest dry
 goods concerns in New York expresses
 himself as we'll satisfied with the general outlook, and comments upon how much
 better conditions are than could reason- ably have been expected at the beginning of the year. In the opinion of this au- thority, the country Is on an upgrade and barring unforeseen complications, sus- tained improvement in general business may be looked for.
 The Railroads
 "The railroad people, although they are being called upon to handle the largest voulme of business ever offered them are not so optimistic. They are hampered by a great shortage of cars, and are urg- ing shippers to assist in overcoming this difficulty by unloading cars promptly. In many Instances, besides not having cars enough for their traffic the railroads lack adequate terminal facilities The manager of one of the western lines esti-
 mates that the railroads will be required to handle this season not less than 7oo,- l 900 bushels of wheat, approximately 5000, d00000 bushels of corn, and 800 GOO 900 | bushels of oats, and he states that rela- lively speaking. they are not in much bet 1 ter condition to move this crop than they were some years ago, when the tonnage was about 60 per cent of the present fig ures. While gross earnings of the rail- roads show a large increase, the net re- turns do not show up nearly as well, ow- l ing to increased cost of labor and sup | plies.
 | "The high cost of living is attracting 1 the attention of students of economies all over the world. and has forced itself as practical problem upon the attention Of millions who are not students. but who are brought daily to a realization of
 how much less a dollar will purchase than was the case a few years ago. There are numerous reasons for this high cost of living: the chief one. perhaps, being the growing disproporton between the number of consumers and the number of producers There is a steady increase | every year III tOnSuiilptlpii, OWlDk tO tnt | accretlon of population, which is not off | set by increased production. Agricul- ture must be stimulated, farm life rem dered more attractive, and it's costs re- duced. tlr Concerning Interest Rates
 "A well known industrial leader has re- gently pointed out in a magazine article that while the farmers In France and
 Germany can borrow money at 419 to 3 per cent, the average rate paid by the American farmer is S1a per cent, all though manufacturers and merchants are | accommodated at from to per cent. These figures cover the whole of the United States, and it is probable that Alabama farmers pay oyer 12 per cent. The French system, known as the credit | foncier, which provides for long time
 loans on land. and the German plan of | cooperative banking known as the raif-
 feisen system, which provides facilities l for temporary loans on farm products at low rates, should, with proper adapta- | tlons, be introduced in the south and | west. Under the French system the | farmer can secure q loan for as long as | 50 years by mortgaging his land and pay | ing back u part of the principal in ad-
 dition to the interest each year the en- tire payment being a little over half the
 annual charge for interest In this coun- l try. In Germany the ralffeisen system | has been in successful operation for more | than 60 years. and has proved itself to
 be tho salvation of the farming claas in | that country. The successful establish
 ment of these systems here would be a matter of many years, but steps should | be taken for a beginning
 "A financial journal which has made a study of the cost of living in all it's i phases has recently tabulated figures showing the burdens that are laid upon American taxpayers from all sources other than the protective tariff. The re- suit is impressive and shows that the
 cost of government is no small item in
 the annual expense budget of the average citizen Ii also shows an alarming ten dency toward increased taxation, which if not restrained will crush private enter prises of every kind. The figures show ! that in 10 years, from 1901 to 1911. the
 taxes collected in all the states for state purposes alone have increased from SlS9,- | o0oo00 to si23. .0000 GOO. In 1901 the county and municipal taxes amounted to s917,-
 00a0o0, and allowing similar rate of increase, about 12T per cent, which Is probably less rather than over the actual proportion. the total for 1911 was S2.0S2,- 00o,000, making a total for state and local purposes of s2,505, ,0o0,000 The increase is noted in all states except Florida, which shows an actual decrease in amount of taxes collected in 1911 of s1.3es BOG. against sl,79lSs for 1901. Figures for Alabama are s5,sa7,oS9 in 1911, against saSS2.2O0 in 1901, and about s1,100oo0 in 1891. The an
 nual expenses of the United States gov-
 ernment now amount to about ,Sl.100.o GOO, : coo, so that it appears that the total amount paid by the people of this coun- try for governmental purposes Is about
 $3. .605, 900 per annum.
 Assuming an average family to con-
 sst of five persons, the proportion con-
 tributed by each family would be nearly
 S200 year. The journal which complies
 these figures says that we may boast that
 our tax burden is greater both absolutely
 and per capita. than that of any country
 of Europe, and sees in this tremendous
 burden reason why the cost of living
 has increased faster in the United States
 than anywhere else in the world.
 FIRST NATIONAL. BANK sOF BIP- MiNGHAM'