The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-30

been in months, and new buying for Eu-
ropean account has actually been re-
sumeds.aA few orders dribbled in through
the international houses all through the
depression. The volume of such orders
has very materially increased recently
and has become of measurable volume.
Foreign and American money markets
appear to be working into better shape,
although there is still room for improve
ment. Washington continues to be a
source of unrest and there is not much
prospect of a change for the better for
some time to come. The bond market is
becoming more active at the lower range
TO which prices broke since the beginning
of the year. The average price of bonds
is 3 to 6 points below that ruling around
the beginning of the year. Big bargains
are offered and being taken advantage
of by investors
This is feature which pleases the
bankers and the underwriters. They are
loaded down with undistributed under
writing and would like to see big reduc-
tion in their merchandise. There must
be a big lot of heavyweight financing to
do within the next few months by rail-
roads and some of the large industrials.
The borrowers are holding off because they
do not regard ii as good business to pay
too high figure for new capital. They
believe they will serve their interests best
by further delay. Meantime available
funds are increasing in amount and the
situation is gradually working easier
that is, such will be the case unless the
tremendous losses incident to the flood
embarrass recovery
Market Full of Bargains
The market has rarely been so full of
bargains as it is now. There have been
acute moments in times of extreme panic
when buyers could get bonds at more au-
vantageous prices, but these occasions
have been few and far between. This
time there has been no confirmd panic.
simply a shrinkage of confidence, loss of
faith and development of a set determi-
nation to hold off and keep the money
in the strong box. AS the air clears and
an actual return of permanent activity
sets in. these boards will come out of hid
ing. That is what the wise men in the
back parlors of the banks and trust COM
panies are saying and what they belleve.
Hence they are going quietly ahead max
ing their plans for new bond hotations,
which have been held III abeyance Tor
the clouds to roll by.
To while away the idle moments. some
of the news inventors of Wall street are
figuring out a trans-contnental railroad
system. This is not new pastime but
there has been very little serious discus
sion on the subject since the Farquhar
combination exploded while trying to
carry out an ambitious scheme for a
great railroad combination with Lehigh
Valley as a starter. That didn't get very
far Messrs James j. Hill, G. II. Hunt
ington Jay Gould and several other rail-
road kings nourished the dream at times.
The basis of the latest idea is to blend
Southern Pacific, Rock Island, Grand
Trunk and Lehigh Valley into great
system extending from the Pacific to the
Atlantic There have been more chimeri-
cal schemes perhaps, but few that ind
their way into circulation. However, 1t
gives the boys something to talk about
and it doesn't cost them anything. 1t is
like putting up an opinion as margin on
a stock deal--tllat is, as Inexpensive.
Enormous Construction Work
One of the most gigantic schemes of
costly public service construction ever
undertaken has made considerable head
wav in New York. Five years work
has heen mapped out and hundreds Of
miles of new subways and surface tracks
will be built in and around the metropo-
lis at a cost of between $3O0.0Oo,0O0 and
500. .00o. 900. Traffic congestion, which Is
now the curse of the city. will be re-
lieved. The stupendouss expenditure will
doubtless result in still further jump
In population which now hovers around
the 100000 mark This vast outlay Is In
addjtion to fully $50 10000 spent and be-
lne spent by the Pennsylvania and New