The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-23
POLITICIANS WILL
NOT HAVE GENERAL
TRADE OF COUNTRY
Wild Proclamations About
Democrats Have Had De-
cided Modification
STOCK EXCHANGES
HAVE AWAKENING
Have Begun Cleaning House, But
Several Other Important Abuses
Remain to Be Corrected-Bal-
kan War Affects Prices
BY w. G. NICHOLAS

BY w. G. NICHOLAS
New York, February 22.-(Special )-Poli
tics, war and finances have been the three
leading factors in the stock market thi:
week Wall street continues to be in g
state of mind" and refuses to emerge
into the freedom of courageously facing
a future which is by no means as bad a:
it has been pictured.
In the first place, general industrial and
commercial business throughout the coun.
try has had no such reaction as represent.
ed for the past few weeks. There has
been some let down in certain branches
OF manufacture, but not nearly what the
headlines would have it appear, and moth.
ing like what the fears of Wall street
have painted The net result of this slow
change to healthier sentiment has beer
slight recovery in securities prices anc
some little increase in investment buying
Realization is coming over the street thai
matters might be very much worse, ano
that come what may, the country is going
to survive all attacks and misfortunes.
The newspaper correspondents do moi
seem to have found out as yet that the
politicians are seeing new light and thai
some of the wild proclamations that have
been heard as to future radical actions bS
Congress and the incoming administration
arc in process of modification. The busl
ness interests which, when you come dow
to an analysis OF the situation, represent
about three-quarters of the voting popu
lation, are proving to be exceedingly in
fluertial at the nations capital. They arr
not as noisy as the spellbinding element
but 1t is weightier on political actor
when the time comes for actually doint
things. Wall street is hearing all abou
this before the Washington newspaper
men have realized the strength of tho
forces behind the scenes-in the congress
mans home district.
No Idea of Committing Suicide
Up to very few days ago Wall stree
has been in a blue funk. 1t has beer
actually saturated with gloom. Congress:
and the New York state Legislature, unde
the guiding hands of Mr.. Wilson and Mr.
Sulzer, respectively, were going to put tn,
knife to business of all kinds, big and lit
tie, according to the talk that was hearc
everywhere and by everybody. 1her,
was no salvation in sight or hearing. Ther
the people who would be hurt by rash leg
isiative action got busy and moved OF
Washington and Albany The results
have been Frightening in the main, al
though it may be some time before thu
glad news reaches and sinks into the gen
eral public that the politicians in realit,
are not as bad as they would have it ap
pear. At heart they are neither for thu
commission of murder or suicide, and vii
hesitate a long time before committing
actual injury to property interests. Back
ground conditions are unquestionably OF
the mend.
In Wall street the big banking inter
ests are still preaching and practicins
caution. They have not entirely recovered
from their fright and nervousness, bu
realize that they have been exaggeratin.
the Importance of what looked like ulsas
trous political action. The prompt meas
ure which business men throughout th
country are taking TO teach the states
men that maintenance of solvency is Il
reality paramount and must be safe
guarded. Woman suffrage, variou
schemes of currency reform and variou
more or less immature and half bake'
schemes for the heavenly uplift of man
kino can wait. Unrebuked and undis
bread and butter and clothes for 100000
of people is an ever present necessity,
fact which the politicians are already haV
ing impressed upon them.
Experienced Rude Awakening
The spectacle of the various stool
and commercial exchanges Throughout
the country moving to correct abuses
which have turned the public agains
them. shows that the powerful and ar
rogant financial and brokerage inter
ests have also experienced the sensa
tions of rude awakening to unpleas
ant realities. Not all of these peopl,
have been guilty of wrong doing il
their operations in Wall street ant
al axx-I,o 2,
not actually indorsed enterprises fol
the exploitation of the public which
SAVIOR of wrong.
Unpleasant as this may be, the fac t.
are there to prove about all that ha.
been said about the hoggishness oi
Wall street and it's Indifference to thu
rights of the public which is compelled
to buy and sell it's securities through
the organized machinery OF the marker
places. The essence of the demands o.
the public is that protection be giver
against future robberies and imposition
along old lines. In this campaign tho
public is very likely to meet with sub.
stantial success. Driven to the wall, th,
ruling factions in the New York stocl
exchange have come out into the oper
and announced number of very mucl
needed changes in the rules of thai
powerful organization whereby the Gus.
toners may receive fair treatment.
Several gross abuses will be cor.
rected through the voluntary action oi
the stock exchange. Individuals will
hereafter be safeguarded against hav-
ing their shares and bonds dumped into
a Jackpot and used as collateral fol
general loans. That has been an abuse
strenuously contended against Peti-
tions and demands that the practice Of
hypothecatihg individual property r
this way have been treated with opef
contempt and those who did not like
1t were told to go to the devil, OF
words to that effect. The stock ex.
change governors are now earnest il
assuring the public that hereafter theil
interests will be carefully protected IL
the matter pointed out
This is reform which will tend tt
make good impression but there Ii
still another abuse in the Wall stree