The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-17
BUSINESS INTERESTS ARE WELL ORGANIZED Getting Good Line on the
 Political Situation STEADIES THEMARKET Stocks Have Been Holding Up All
 Week in Spite of Fact That
 ''News" Has Not Been
 Favorable
STEADIES THEMARKET
By W. G. NIcHoLAa

By ". G. NICHOLAs
 New York, March 16-(Specia1)-Th
 prompt and sweeping response to the suggestion for organization among
 business men, in opposition to wild and woody radicalism, has been a revela- ton to the politicians. and is prov ing a mighty stimulant to the stock
 market. It Is a workable elixir. and tonic effects are felt in every quarter
 The banking interests are kept in close touch with outside sentiment through
 their innumerable correspondence with country bankers and with individuals In every state and county. Bankers in large and small communities have their
 hands on the pulse of feeling and are
 quicker than politicians to detect de-
 velopments in popular sentiment. and to properly appraise the significance, im- port and force of every change in cur rent. In every important emergency or
 climax of nation wide action. the Wall
 street interests have a decided initial advantage over the politicians Wash ington is perforce obliged to look to Wall street for its inspiration when any
 great movement Is on or being formu-
 lated. That is not because of the money power of important people in Wall
 street, but because of force of circum- stances and surroundings, they are kept in closer and more continuous contact with the people and interests that con l trol and direct affairs in states and communities Politicians do not lead; they follow. Those who are quickest to ascertain what the important people ia their localities want are the suc- cessful ones. provided they act prompt ly and with discretion. Those politicians who believed the country was about to be revolutionized by so called progress ives, seem to be finding a new light. and the newspapers and stock market are refecting a fresher and stronger development-an uprising something like that witnessed in 1896. only deeper and stronger, if that be possible
 What is generally characterized as | news" has been very generally unfa- vorable and disturbing all week, but the stock market has shown continued firmness of undertone and prices have slowly but surely moved up Actual visible conditions do not justify any
 bullish excitement in securities It has
 been the deep underlying in- visible forces that have controlled. That
 gives to the market situation an ap- pearance of mystery and those who do not indulge in deep thinking, attribute the daily manifes tations to manipula- tion, although they are totally at a loss to discover or identify the lead CTS. In point of fact leadership is the
 one thing that is notably lacking in the stock market at the present time The great majority of men of affairs in the financial district lean to the opinion that prices are high enough at present | They do not discourage the buying i'm I pulse, and, at the same time. are free acti bot frr1,f
 well to go slow; that ,he boom, if one
 really be generating, will not be of volcanic and instantaneous action, but 1 of slow and careful process.
 l For one thing, 1t has been discovered that the dissolution of unlawful combi- nations in restraint of trade does not | spell ruin Standard Oil American To- bacco and other big trusts are quietly going through the process of readiust- ment in conformity with the decree of the supreme court, and their properties
 instead of going to smash have greatly increased in value. The disasters that were to follow the enforcement of the law are proving to har- been imaginary The awful things that were to happen have failed to eventuate. Standard oil shares, for instance, have increased fully 30 per cent in aggregate market valuation since the courts decree To- bacco stocks are worth tens of mil d ago. Other trust stocks are getting stronger instead of weaker in the face | of certainty of dissolution and recon l struction. Even Stees. the biggest and one of the new combinations is taking on courage and is undismayed at the
 prospect of having to go through form | of reorganization. The Anthracite Coal trust one of the most stubborn of all | Illegal com mbinations, is stronger than ever in it's integral parts, and stock holders are impatiently awaiting when | they may be given fragments instead of being obliged to retain ownership in | pa rent shares, and given no show at the 1 hidden assets which have been piling up 1 in the background for many many years. The men who have grown in crdinately rich in the management of | those hidden assets are. holding out against the inevitable. but they will have to come in and obey the law as
 others are doing. Most of them, how ever, are getting old. and they are l rich, they can afford to retire. Others will be found to fill their places.
 The changed attitude of the Standard Oli crowd is one of the most noticeable developments of the times Down to within very recent period they were grouchy and Respondent. They looked With mixed feelings Of sorrow and lndg- nation at the movement of forces which were shaking them from the control of | ,her unlawful combines They had worked themselves up into the belief that the country was really ia danger of go- ing 10 the bow-wows, if they were un-
 horsed or their methods changed An
 advance Of $300 a share in the price of standard OH stock has been a most DOW er1ui agency for bringing about change Of mind and of heart They are discov ering that, big as they were, they are only very small fraction of the whole country and it's industries The biIe Ia
 working out of their systems They find
 that the treatment they have been sub
 jected to has done them good The whole stock market and business situation is feeling better for this change of front
 and improvement of temper.
 Railroads as a rule are coming out of winter in better physical condition than
 anticipated. It is true that they are la-
 mentally short of rolling stock and that hundreds of thousands of new cars will
 have to be built before they are fully re- cruited in this respect, but a year or two will fix that up. Millions or tons of new and better rails will have to be made
 and laid. and the roads will find a way to do that also, although they are bit terly complaining of poverty, oppressive
 restrictions, calculated to curtail income
 and bottle up resources. An appalling