The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-01
Well Known Editor of Man. ufacturers' Record Visit
 ing Birmingham
BUSINESS SHOWS
 BIG IMPROVEMENT
Neither Politics Nor Presidential Year Is B0thering Business Conditions. But Pressing Demand Is More
 Efficient Railroad Service

arrived In Birmingham yesterday, will remain until Friday. He is registered at the Hillman where he had many callers yesterday evening
 Mir. Edmonds is the recognized au- thority on southern development and southern industrial statistics He speaks enthusiastically of the present business outlook
 Throughout the whole country said Mir Edmonds, ';there is decided im- provement in the business situation. Railroads are beginning to order roll ing stock and rails much more freely, anc they are doing it none too soon.
 There are very few important rail- roads in the United States that have de the present traffic properly It IS difficult to see how the majority of them will be able to meet the con- ditions which they are almost certain to face in the near future of the large volume of traffic Two weeks ago I met New York banker interested as a director and invester in southern railroads. He stated that in his opin- ion there was not a railroad in the United States that had sufficient cars for its needs. The same day I met the head of the biggest iron and steel concern in the country outside of the United States Steel corporation, and in discussing the business situation he confirmed the opinion of the bank CT as to the shortage of the cars and said that the chief trouble of his com pany now was, not in finding busi- ness, but in finding cars for it's. prompt delivery He took the ground that re- gardless of political conditions or pres idential candidates, or even the elec- tion of q president, business would con- tinue to improve. A few hours before the banker, to whom I have referred, made a statement that so far as rail- road construction and reconstruction is concerned, next year, would be the most active in the histor, of the coun- try He stated that eNe cry railroad in the United States has recently secured money or is arrans ng to do so for the purpose of be te.ments.
 Southern Railroads
 ..It is true that many southern rail roads have, during the past year or two, made many improvements and that some of the lines are now double tracking the most congested parts of their systems, but none of the roads are yet measuring up in hetterment work to tbe needs of the times.
 "If officials of southern railroads
 
 themselves in all their travelling 10 the passenger coaches of their regular trains and put up with some of tho inconveniences to which the ordinary traveller is subjected, they would very quickly bring about some radical re- forms. They would find on many of the branch lines, and occasionally on the main lines, very great need for better roadbeds, better cars, better con veniences for the public generally. and more regularity of schedules. Railroad officials have never fully realized how much of the agitation against them a few years ago was due to the fncom- petenee and to the stupid blunders made by their clerks and under of ficials.
 For some years the agitation against the railroads, some of it just and some of 1t unjust made it impossible to se- cure the money needed for bringing about better conditions. The very men who were foremost in agitation against railroads would not themselves have invested a dollar in railroad securities. Fortunately this period of agitation has largely passed away, The railroads are now in a position when money may be had for doing the things which will prevent a recurrence of hostile legisla- ton.
 The Pressing Demand
 "No intelligent man can study the movements that are now making for a broader development of the south than We have ever had and who IS familiar with the railroads of this section, without realizing there Is a pressing demand for an enormous increase in railroad Improvements, in double tracking and in other facilities for les sening the cost of handling business and increasing capacity for traffic. I believe every man of this kind familiar with present and prospective condi- lions looks forward to a very serious freight congestion throughout ,no whole south, just IS soon as we have a marked revival of business activity. experts and railroad managers in the whole country who made report last year on railroad conditions in the south for New York fnanciers. told me that if he owned all the railroads in the south he would rather seek to delay the increase of traffic and the incom- ing of new people for the next five years~feeling absolutely assured as he did that within that period the traffic of the south will so far exceed it's rail- road facilities as to bring about con ditions similar to those which existed in 1906 and 1907. when there was q general breakdown of the railroads of he south. because their business far exceeded their ability to handle it.
 Billion Dollars Required
 "To provide adequate facilities to meet the growing traffic Of the south, to lower grades and to reconstruct lines that they can do business on . basis of such roads as the Clinch- field and the Virginian, two of the best constructed railroads ever built in tho Uhited States would require within the next five years an expenditure of at least S1.000,000, 900. Unless that amount of money be spent for the benefit of the transportation facilities in the south we may safely look forward 10 five years and to a revival by reason Of that of hostile legislation against southern railroads.
 ''The men who dominate the ra.l- road situation in the south need to have a very broad vision and to un- derstand very thoroughly the extent of the south's resources and forces which ale now under way for southern de- velopment. or otherwise their roads will not be ready when the strain comes with increased facilities
 While Birmingham. by reason of it's iron and steel is especially interested from purely selfish point of view, in seeing the needed Improvements made in southern railway transportation fla e;lities, this question is of course very much broader than that of a merely local or sectional issue.
 "The late Senator German before hts death said that the question before the country is not so much that of pro- year since that statement was made h. dor ncf ro taH ia a9f ne