The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-13
EVERY FACTOR IN
 MARKET BULL|SH Crops Are Greatest Ever Produced in America REVISION OF TARIFF Impression Is General That the Re- vision Will Be Broad and Along
 Moderate Lines-Lawson's
 Latest Campaign
REVISION OF TARIFF
By ". G. NICHOLAS

By W. c. NICHOLAS
 | New York, October 12-(Special) )-Bal-
 kan wars, tight money and national poll
 tics may temporarily depress the stock
 market, but nothing can long overcome
 the bullish effects of the greatest crops
 ever raised in this or any other country.
 The government in the report of its agri-
 cultural department this week gives of
 fcial confirmation of the most hopeful
 estimates that have been given. The
 highest authority places the production of the three leading cereal crops at 6,153,00o
 bushels having a value at current quo
 tations of 8, ,2oO,Ooo,OOo. The increase
 over last year Is 100000 bushels. Corn
 again crosses the 30O0.0o0000 bushel line
 the second time on record. Wheat yields | 72O, ,000,000 bushels and oats break all rec
 ords with 1,417, ,000,000 bushels. Fruits. veg etables. hay and every other production
 on the farm mark new figures. It is the
 greatest year for the farmer in the his
 tory of the United States. and for that
 matter in the history of the world. Of what account are politics, comic opera,
 wars In foreign countries and the success l stupendous domestic prosperity. The
 crops of 1912 represent the creation of
 nearly s10,000, ,OoO,000 of new wealth: It
 is not all profit, of course. but the values are there. They spell a reduction in the | high cost of living and speak for whole some, general improvement and advance ment in all business quarters. They mean good times. They put a solid foundation 1 under the boom which everybody feels
 is beginning-has begun, for it is here. | It has been very difficult to put stocks
 down and keep them down in the face of all this prodigious national prosperity. There was extensive liquidation and prof | it taking on the late advance in prices and reaction of to 6 points, occurred, but below that 1t was seemingly impos- sibe to crowd the market. There was complaint that the public had quit and would buy no more until after the cleo tion, or until after the banks were again | in an easy position. This statement was partly true and partly mistake. The public was not out of the market by any
 means, but it was not in the business of | making high prices for spectators to shoot at and for traders to unload their
 long stocks on. The public has become
 wise to stock market methods and rarely l buys wholesale on the booms. It has been | educated in that respect, and having paid
 dearly for it's experience, is at last profit | ing thereby. The public these days sells on the bulges and buys on the reaction. | It has acquired mercantile sense in that regard. The halt that took place in the market was entirely legitimate and can not be construed as meaning that the bull
 movement has come to an end. The gen
 eral situation is too strong to admit of any such possibility.
 U -rln of f-cta pkc l1fpu Q market as result of the calling of | loans by the banks around the first Of October was much larger than commonly estimated This fact is shown by the | bank statement and by the status of the brokerage and commission houses on the exchange. The process of digestion of the | big load has been slow. and has aroused l considerable pessimism among those whose minds are trained to look at the | bad side of affairs. It Is a fact, how | ever, that on every reaction or soft spot | in the market waiting orders in large aggregate bulk are encountered and the securities once more pass into strong and patient hands. These stocks are not like | ly to come out again until there has been another important advance. The lower prices go on casual Impressions the great | CT the absorption and the higher prices will go when real recovery takes place. Banks are not yet encouraging an immed- tt They prefer to wait until they can see their way more clearly for the financing of Wall street. The demands upon their resources for crop moving and other legit- innate purposes makes 1t for the moment rather difficult to supply Wall street with capital for expanded speculation. At the same time the daily total of sales on the Stock exchange show that the public Is maintaining lively interest in current action, and is not going to sleep despite claims of incipient stasnation- The burden of news that comes in from every direction Is extremely bullish. There | is not a discordant note, Every indus try is throbbing with activity. Manufac- | turers are having hard time filling or ders and consumers in many directions are paving premiums for immediate de- livery of goods. The steel industry 10 holeing the lead and promises to con tinue in the forefront for an indefinite period. All of the steel companies. big and little, have about worked off their lower priced orders and are getting into a profitable season. From now on their net returns will be in every way iavor- able Several important independent com- panies that have been straining and tug ging under pressure for two or three years are seeing daylight and their stock | holders are being given to understand | that dividends are again in sight where none have been paid for long time, and that existing meagre dividends Will De increased. There has been strong buying of independent steel stocks on these ex-
 pectations and substantial advances have been made. The hope is entertained by
 hundreds of thousands of holders of
 stocks in the steel companies that the ad- vance in prices has only commenced. There is certainly a very strong bull feeling in the steel stocks, and for that
 matter in every allied industry in the
 metal class.
 Railroads are put to 1t to handle the traffic that is pressed upon them. They
 could use great many more cars than
 they have. and if they had better ter minal facilities it would be good thing for the business of the country. H&-
 ever, this Is deficiency which will be
 overcome in time. The equipment com
 panies are pushing out new rolling stock
 to the utmost limit of their capacity and { that is saying a good deal. Production
 of freight cars is now going on at the
 rate of about 350000 cars a year. and al-
 ready at least one important company
 Is getting ready to carry out deferred plans for the construction of big ad- dtion to the present plant. Equipment companies are looking forward to at least ] three or four years of active business. Railroads have more cars at the pres
 ent time that ought to go into the scrap
 heap than ever before. With assurance
 of heavy traffic ahead. the carrying com
 panies will find some means to increase their rolling stock. Tn fact. the project
 ed financing for 1913 includes heavy ex-
 penditures for that account.