The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-11-16
James j. HIPS Address

James j. Hill of st. Paul, the great
railroad man and financier, known as
the empire builder of the northwest
does not write for print often; but
when he makes a public address or
contributes an essay to one of the per-
iodicals, or gives out an interview he is
singularly forceful,' said a business
man What he says has much weight
"Of late Mr. Hill has been somewhat
pessimistic, but his address at the re-
cent meeting of the Investment Bank
ers' association in Chicago, passages
from which are printed in the Literary
Digest, was notable for its illuminat-
ing ideas and pithy sentences. The
truisms that Mr.. Hill announced were
gripping partly because of the trench
ant phrasing. His statistics were as
eloquent as they We're instructive.
Among other things. Mr.. Hill said
"Less than years subsistence
stands between man and starvation.
That is the measure of his accumuIa-
tions. Six and a half bushels OF wheat
per capita is a low estimate for con-
sumption and seed. The 97,O00,0OO peo-
pie living, according to the census es-
innate, in the United States in 1918
would require 630,500,000 bushels to
keep their stomachs and fields in con-
dition for a year. That is a little less
than the crop of 1911 and a little mora
than the crop of 1912. Subtract our
total exports of domestic wheat and
flour for the last three years from our
total wheat production, and the aver
age surplus retained for home con-
sumption is less than 1000, 900 BUSH
els per annum.
"'What is true Of our bread supply Is
more than true of most other neces-
saries that We consume and produce
We could live for few months only on
our savings. Immense as seems the to-
tai of accumulated wealth, most of 1t
is not available for consumption Even
the income from 1t must be trans
formed into things to eat and drink
and wear, and tools to work with; into
capital for future production, without
which not only the machinery of in
dustry, but the human machine itself.
would presently cease to operate, and
a dead world remain the monument of
defeat in that economic battle which
AhaAi hie'o "eeSNo vain iatui . II iOiu the
| beginning.
1.-The principal asset of the world,
aside from the land is its plant; in the
| form of buildings, machinery, transpor-
tation agencies, apparatus of all kinds
, in which capital has been fixed to en-
able the work of production to go on in
increased volume and with added econ
omy. To this every man who earns
more than he spends contributes Into
this tremendous reservoir the surplus
efforts of the ages have poured contri-
buttons from the hundreds of millions
of men who, by planning, directing ana
working, add to the margin of profit
able production all over the world.
Credit enables them to do~this. They
acquire a participating interest in a
host of enterprises through loans rem
resented by shares of stock, bonds.
notes, or other Instruments of credit
This relation OF operating efficiency
on the one side and credit support by
capital on the other, in its extent, art
! fulness, and practical working success
| is the principal advantage of modern
over ancient civilization. There is less
difference between the forked tree