The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-12-21

citizens half their lives to master, in
the multitudes do not instantaneously
and unanimously accept at the full 10(
percentage of the perfection claimed by
them, as justified miracle
Desire to Assist
There has been an earnest and a fine
hearted desire to either assist or indorse
any intelligent and broad gauged cru
sade for the replacement of old machin-
cry with creations more modern and use
full. but that is different proposition
than that of appointing an army of raw
apprentices to put the finishing touches
on a warehousefull of high class 1ewelry.
Concluding touches might be put on. all
right, but how about the finished prod
uct? How would the watches run,
bridges be built, the scales weigh, the To-
comotiye cross the landscape? What are
the promised products when will they be
produced, who will test their merits and
who do the guaranteeing? This curiosity
Is not hostile. Indeed most of Ii Is
friendly. Unbroken success would give
almost unanimous satisfaction. The crav-
ing and widespread hope is for the whole
some and finished Improvement of the
financial. political and practical working
mechanism-a movement ideal in action
and cleanest in results.
Something along that line appeals to a
powerful following of President Wilson $
heartfelt friends, hopeful for his success
fnl leadership-but alas, they are thus
far disappointed in realization, in part
They are his warm admirers but Is is
upon the triumph of his original patriotic
campaign that they are strongest in their
devotion. 1t is not that they are "sore''
i IL.
pectations; the element OF disappointment
is in the forefront, coupled with ash
draped grief lest Washington recovery
might not be in time. This is an incal-
! culably rich country and its ultimate res
toration to the fullness Of prosperity is a
certainty. Common sense, good temper,
patience and human cooperation are the
winning elements commanding force
and within control OF the right man.
Railroad Tonnage
Railroads are carrying less tonnage
than at the corresponding. period last
year. They had just about enough
equipment to handle the business and
none over. During the last six months
very slight additions have been made to
locomotives or cars, and the actual num-
Der is probably somewhat less than the
maximum of 1912-1913 July 1, 1872. to June
80, 1919. Until traffic increases in bulk
and weight few new orders will go into
the producing mills for rolling stock. II
won't order another car or another loco
motive until l am given a chance to
earn more money for my road" said the
representative of one of the biggest
trunk lines to the writer. "All the roads
but two or three that are specially fa-
vored, are running behind and the more
the receipts the thinner the profit AS a
general proposition few railroad systems
are meeting legitimate expenses. 1t
costs them more to live than they are
making" The next any little increase in
the volume of traffic will exhaust the
transportation equipment, and if not ac-
corded an expansion of earnings and
credit there will be a pinching time
ahead.
B. F. Yoakum in taking the public
into his confidence, turns some much de-
sired light upon a period of Frisco's later
organization and expansion that the pub
lie has taken an interest in that was
| never before fully gratified Mr.. Yoakunl
was a heavy weight promoter, speeula-
| tor occasionally clumsy in thought and
action. but never lacking In courage. One
| of his pieces of bad luck was when he
| Joined his Frisco interests up to Rock
Island. Something like $1S.O00,O00 of
| Frisco paper crossed over in the deal
| and it was sold on open market before he
| turned around. so 1t was alleged. When
| the Frisco and Rock Island were divorced
Yoakum received back his own. The
Frisco system increased its gross earnings
from $SO,0OO,O00 in 1905 to s46,000.00O In 1913.
Panics of the Past
There is another thing that Is engaging
the retrospective attention of Wall street
1t is that none of the several panics that
| afflicted the United States left a mark
The population is nearly 20 times (2000 per
| cent? greater than it was 100 years ago.
Its wealth has grown at a similarly as
founding rate. During that century pc
riod it has fought and won a full half
dozen wars. 1t has suppressed riots that
were given place for more notoriety than
| deserved. 1t endured the agony of ter
rors of soul stirring panics of the first
| magnitude, notably those in 1S56-60, 1867,
| lS1-4 1881, 1929, 1912 and 1907. Survival
| was on every occasion complete and gem
orally satisfactory, and the details We're
soon befogged. Something fresh hap
uened every hour. This great and gal
! liant country grew 50 tremendously that