The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-11-30

remains at least 90 per cent courage and
determination. This national habit of
quick recovery from weak heart is a
guarantee of certain return of specula-
tive activity in the stock market.
No Excitement Over Mexico
For some unexplained reason, Wall
street refuses to become further excited
over Mexico. Time was when reports OF
assassinattons, few wholesale killings, in
the open, a fresh consignment of proc
lamations and ultimatums or a threat
ened assault of the Monroe doctrine
stirred up the stock market nightly, but
no longer do traders enjoy fluctuations of
or } points over such frivolities-not
while Tom Lawson retains his conf
dence in the efficacies of the advertising
page and pays full advertising rates for
the privilege of enlightening the public
on the future prices. Steel has engaged
his latest attention, and there have been
signs of real activity in that quarter
of late. One handicap on the Lawson
campaigns is that traders forget what he
is prophecying about 30 seconds after
publicity.
1t would appear that between 1893 and
1913 the production of pig iron in the
United States Increased 7124000 tons to
D,OOO00OO and that in the two years 1908
1909 production increased from 100000
tons to &,00O,000, a prodigious growth.
The production of copper and of oil show
extraordinary gains during the last five
years.
A general decline In the price of shares
in banks is mentioned as illustrative of
the weakness of the big situation Usually
this brand of securities sell at a price
| that yields the buyer 31a to 41a per cent.
purchases can now be made in good
banks at a figure that yields the buyer
5 TO 51a per cent. AS a side light 1t may
! be mentioned that some capitalists who
| have taken special pride in being large
| holders of bank stocks and also directors
| in big institutions are singing family.
They are less anxious than formerly to
advertise their official connections with
New York banking institutions. Merely
| being connected with a bank does not
carry immunity unless the offense was
committed more than seven years ago.
Wilson Keeps Street Guessing
President Wilson keeps Wall street
guessing During the first few months
of his occupation of the White House a
great many people imagined they had his
exclusive confidence in important public
matters, and that they were about<the
only custodians of state secrets. They
were very likely to read the remark or
remarks a little later in some one of the
Presidents messages or public utterances
1t began to appear that the President
had no secrets and that he was as read
able as the open pages of book. Yet
down to this day Wall street cannot re-
call any instance where he was actually
"hitched" where he would be embar-
rassed in the slightest degree by a slight
shift in position. Therefore, the best that
Wall street can do is to keep on guess
ing what the White House will uti-
mately decide TO do in such matters as
currency reform and other measures de-
signed for the public uplift.
y development that is increasingly dis
quieting to not few of the heavyweights
is that the administration will persist
in Its campaign against trusts until more
than one individual sinner is subjected to
punishment for alleged misdeods commit
ted years ago. Things were done in the
promotion of pools and combinations that
might not be in exact conformance with
the highest sense of business honor but
which in the whirl of the excitement
of wild speculations on the stock eX-
change and elsewhere were considered
''all right" The promoter who could not
buy control of a business for 81 and sell
it to the public for $2 in few weeks
or days was not looked upon as
''financier"
There is one case known of all men
where profit of nearly $75,000O00 was
cleaned up by INSIDERS within few
weeks The transaction was public prop
efty ana is even TO TINS day looked upon
as a wonderful achievement-one for
which there need be no apology. That
was probably the most prodigious
achievement in its line in the history of
Wall street, but other deals involving
many million dollars each were put
through and praised as evidence of WON
derfully clever business achievement
! Some of the heroes of these great deals
are dead Quite a number remain in
the land of living, and at the present
writing they are an uneasy set. They
are keeping as much as possible in the
background and are keeping entirely out