The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-07-14


 The bulk of the news that comes into Wall street is of the encouraging sort Private and official reports as to crop conditions are in substantial agreement The agricultural outlook is exceedingly favorable a whole, and the forecast Is for a larger bulk and greater variety of farm production than in many years. It would not be surprising if the total valuation of all the crops of 1912 will be greater than ever known in our na- tional history Forel1nowledge of the probable huge aggregate value of farm products has become a mighty stimu- lant to the courage of business men generally. and they are already moving to expand their enterprises and branch out. To this fact is undoubt tedly due the slow hardening of money mark ct. New York banks are discovering that they made a mistake in the time large demands upon them would begin to he felt, and they have been curtailing their stock market loans to very considera- ble extent This is one of the things that has forced commission houses to shorten their loads and make demands upon customers, which fin the end com pei bulk of liquidation. Local money rates have advanced, and the banks are gently pulling in their funds from all directions The pressure has not
 
 be. but it has nevertheless been mar ket factor of importance during the last week or two Tn dull times banks are apt to get careless and over-extend their Wall street loans. This is what they have been doing during the late spring and early summer months.
 The report of the United States Steel corporation showing thrilled orders on it's books for 5,S07 900 tons was for some unexplained reason given a bear ish construction. It is explained that the steel companies are nearly through with the low priced business taken on during the period of depression, and that from now on, net earnings will be larger. There is nothing new in this, however and traders who specialize in steel stocks do not become enthusias- tic It was upon this prospective de- velopment that most of the buying of steel stocks on the upward movement was done. The improvement appears to have been discounted in the advance which culminated a week or two ago. Steel trade authorities do not agree as to the future of the steel industry One set of wise men are buoyant in the faith that the industry is going from good to better and that another six months or a year will see a great boom In that division of activity. An other set of wise men hold that not only iron and steel but q great major ity of other industries will be depressed until the tariff Is revised and the worst Is known in that respect. This theory is based on the assumption that the White House and Congress will be car ried by the democrats next fall, and that the revisionists will be in full con trol. This sentiment appears to be growing lately in Wall street-ever since the Baltimore convention in fact Various unofficial but authorized statements of the earnings of railroads for the fiscal year ending with June are beginning to find their way into circulation. one of the first is the Baltimore and Ohio. That road had q wonderfully satisfactory year. consid- ering the handicap under which all transportation companies have been la boring It's gross earnings are said to have been fully s4,000,000 greater than the year preceding, and it's net earn ings a fraction above ' per cent, Ex- penditures on property and in mainten- ance have been on very generous scale Practically all of the eastern trunk lines, and other systems in the eastern territory which do not quite reach the classification of trunk lines. are also doing well. Norfolk and West ern takes the lead among the smaller roads which havH not yet attained full growth, like Lackawanna and Jersey