The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-05-26

and in Great Britain. The foreign mar ket for this product Is likely to be ex- banded greatly in the course of a few years. Very likely this in part explains the fairly good condition which Is reported to prevail in the copper industry of the United States. The great corporations which mine, smelt and make commer- cially practicable copper are investing a great deal of money in the establishment of new plants, especially in South Amer lea.
 Another Factor
 Another gratifying factor is discovered in the latest of the official reports winch tell of our exportaton of wheat. Three or four years ago the apprehenson was great that the United States would be found in the course of a few years to have lost the export business formerly furnished by the sale of Amesican wheat in foreign markets This apprehension was voiced by some of the leading men of the country in addresses and informal communications which, nevertheless, were
 made for the ear of the public. Some
 went so far as to predict that we had
 reached the climox of our wheat pro-
 ducng possibilities and that within the
 next 10 or 15 years British North America
 would take away our prestige, at least
 as an exporter of wheat.
 This changed condition can be ex-
 Washington bureau showed a steady de-
 crease for several years in our exporta-
 ton of wheat, principally in the form of
 four estimated at four and one-half
 bushels of wheat to the barrel of flour.
 Two years ago there was change in
 these figures. We began to export larger and larger amounts of wheat and the pre- diction now is made that the United States will this year export not less than 200. .OOo.0 900 bushels of wheat and possibly 50. COX. GOO more. So it is also reported, not by Washington authorities, but by com petent experts that North America. in- cluding Canada and the United States, win this year have possibly 300,000, 900 bushels of wheat to export and the money value of this is likely to be not far from $50 CO., 900.
 This changed condition can be ex- plained only in one of two ways-either those who were apprehensivei that our wheat exportation would steadily decline until in the course of few years we would be compelled to import wheat were mistaken in that view or else the good counsels which these men gave have been taken heed of by the wheat farmers of the country Those who are accustomed at this period of the year to make gloomy reports of crop conditions have. within a few days, been faithful to the precedents. They have sent to this city reports which profess to show the deterioration of the winter wheat and have intimated that the promise of 900, 0Oo,000 bushels which was made few weeks ago will be found very far from the event. But 1t is ob- served that even these gloomy prophets do not make reports which foreshadow a harvest of winter wheat of much less than GOO, GOO bushels. It was to be ex- pected that as the time for garnering the wheat was near at hand there would be some falling off in the condition of the harvest. But it is now confidently be- lieved by the experts in this city that our total wheat harvest will be approxi- mately S00.000.000 bushels, perhaps a lit tie less. A harvest of this kind will tend considerably to effect some of the depress- ing influences which are now reported to prevail in American business life.
 The outlook now is that the harvest of this year. unless there be a great falling off in the cotton crop of which at present no estimate is possible should yield about 10000, 900 of new wealth. It |is also practically certain that a month
 hence, which brlngs us to the end of the
 present fiscal year, the Washington a,l-
 thorities will report that the visible bal
 ance or trade In favor of the United StAtea accumulated In the 1z months of the pres ent fiscal year will be not far from NsO,- 0o10oo. Statistics of this kind. when read in compar1eon with the somewhat 9ioomy reports that toll of American industrial conditsone. cause perplexity and prove the truth of than aseertion that American business life ae . whole contains factors that are paradoxicalIy inconslstent. .I