Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-03-25
balkan PEACE To
.BETTERF|NANCES
Millions of Hoarded Gold Will
Be Released at End of the
War, Says Expert.
BY q. c. FORBES.

.,r smile when everything goes dead
wrong
Pin that invigora ting motto on your
sost right in front of your eyes. If
-rngs flow along like a song, it will do
m harm If dscord arise, If troubles
r7ne. If your worries multiply, read the
motto. bite your under lip, resolve to
move Yourself man worth while, and
rasyme the struggle with a stout heart,
with confidence in yourself and solaced
Inv the reflection that while you may not
command success, you will deserve 1t.
This is not a prelude to a recital of
voes financial or commercial. The finan-
rial community everywhere has been
meeting trouble more than half way.
Some Eastern bankers have actually
beckoned it TO come along. They have
worked themselves into a weakening
state Of nervousness over things that may
never happen-our worst troubles are the
ones that have never befallen us, you
know.
nv advice would be this:
Bankers and other men of finance Be
calm. courageous and optimistic.
Business men: Be cautious, slow to as
sumo fresh Indebtedness, prudent in lay
ing plans for the near future and frank
IN your interviews with your bankers.
Take them into your confidence and learn
definitely and explicitly how far you can
depend upon them for facilities.
Financial pessimism is being overdone.
Business optimism has been overdone,
hut that is no reason for excitedly flying
10 the other extreme.
MONEY SCARCITY DUE
TO WAR IN THE BALKANS.
Scarcity Of money, of liquid capital, is
the present bugbear of financing and DO
l.tlral hostility the prospective bugbear.
Well. what are the facts? April is al
ways a critical date on the financial cal
endar for enormous payments have then
to he met both abroad and at home. This
year the conditions have been aggra-
waited by the costly and unsettling wars,
for small investors. the backbone of
financial Europe, have Withdrawn their
cash from the banks and have boarded
not less than half a billion dollars $780,
600 000). This sum in ordinary times
would form the basis of some two billion
dollars $4,000, 900 ,00O) of credit You can
zee how serious the effect of this hoard
ing has been, can't you?
In their efforts to raise funds foreign
ers have sent huge masses of American
securities to New York for sale, and al
though we have a trade balance of near
10y $500 100000 in our favor for the cur
rent fiscal year, we have been called
\ upon to export almost $50 900, 900 gold
since New Year. Business here has been
so active, and so many Industrial, mer-
camille and public utility enterprises had
been fioated with huge capitalizations.
that our bankers were in none too strong
q position in the matter of reserves-the
loans of national banks alone are more
than s3OO, 900, 900 in excess of a year ago,
Notwithstanding that they held a smaller
amount of cash than they did then.
NEEDS OF RAILWAYS
ALSO TO BE MET.
The monetary tightness Is also intensi-
fed by the tremendous sums that must
shortly be provided for the New York
city subway schemes, for the Pennsyl-
rana New York Central the Hartman
and other railroads, as well as for indus
trial and miscellaneous concerns, not to
mention states and municipalities, whose
borrowings are rapidly assuming alarm
ing proportions.
However, April should bring marked
relief abroad Let the Balkan war be
settled and see how quickly the hundreds
Of millions OF hidden gold would rush
back TO banking and investment chan
nels. A complete transformation could
be wrought in one week. And that such
a transformation will be wrought Is en-
tirely probable
This would have substantial effect here,
although capital will not fall to low
price. Credit has been extended over
700 much to permit of that, and, more
over, the overhanging demands are OF
unprecedented volume.
Business men should not count upon
unlimited assistance from their bankers.
Purse-strings are already being frightened
and weak concerns will in some cases be
allowed to go to the wall.
But bankers will deserve severe cen
sure if they act as despondently as some
Of them now talk. They have response
hlues. Their duty does not stop at TAX
ing in money; they must pay money out
and pay it ungrudgingly when by so do
Ing they can tide a solvent customer over
temporary difficulty
FALL OF INDUSTRIALs
POINTS A WARNING.
have repeatedly warned investors
against buying at fancy prices the shares
of new and grossly overcapitalized manu-
featuring and mercantile ventures.
Good will" patents" leases and
slchke items have been placed on some
balance sheets at wicked igures-as high
As $4,000 900. The inevitable IS happen
ing at the first mild blast of adversely
The market quotations of these shares
have tumbled demoralizingly.
The promoters apparently accept no re-
sponsibility in the way of providing
market for the questionable wares they
palmed off on the public. And now that
Intrinsic values are being closely scru-
hnzed by banks, such stocks are being
thrown out of collateral envelopes that
Is TO say banks will not lend on them
Look how certain of the newer indus
trial stocks have fallen:
High. Low. Fall;
california Petroleum. Y As 70
General Motors ............ 81 80 Y
Goodrich (B. F. Co... 81 80 81
hresge IS. So Co.......... So So Is
Loose Wiles Biscuit Co... Al 30 Il
May Dept. Stores. ......... IS Sc Y
Mexican Petroleum ........ go 81 70
Rumely tM) Co...........1O1 As Sc
sears Roebuck & Co.....221 17s 4S
Htudebaker ................ 40 &c AZ
Norwood Typewriter lie 81 %
NNOIWDrth IF " % 11S Sc 80