The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-10-22
Hamlin Calls Attention to Change Coming When
 Banks Are Organized
AID OF BANKS IS
 URGENT NECESSITY
Sudden and Overwhelming Increase In Exports Requires Financial Aid to Meet the Current
 Expenses
By HOLLAND


 Charles S. Hamlin. governor of the fed eral reserve board at Washington, care
 fully refraining from committing himself
 to precise figures, did say to the members of the American Bankers association in annual convention at Richmond last week that he and his associates are con- ident that with the organization and op- ] eration of the new system there will be l an increase of credit-utilizing facilities in the United States aggregating hundreds of millions Governor Hamlin apparently
 is of the same opinion as President George G. Reynolds of Chicago respecting the
 amount of money in circulation For Pres ident Reynolds seemed to be apprehensve that there might be overexpansion of
 money, while Governor Hamlin asserted
 that money is plentiful, the United States
 treasury has gold in abundance, the fed
 eral reserve board will be in position to
 control the export of gold. but what is
 needed at the present time is not more
 money, but satisfactory utilization of
 credit. It is to that end that the American
 bankers, through voluntary cooperation,
 are establishing strong gold pools
 %-'
 alton which may become ,cute and may
 be caused by the change without precedent either with respect to time or magnitude in our International trade situation. On the day which ended the meeting of the American Bankers association at Richmond, President Wilson is reported to have spoken with qualification of this swift and happy change in our interna- had of ficial proof of it, although one of the de- partments at Washington will be able to furnish him soon after the first of Mo- vember statistics which vii prove that his unofficial intimation was ac- curate.
 This sudden and almost overwhelming increase In our exports and In the demand which has come from foreign nations for American commodities will make it essen tial that American manufacturers seek the aid Of the banks to enable them to meet current expenses, provide pay rolls and to take care of the other contingencies which an increase in output occasions un- til they receive payment for these com modities.
 It is now apparent that among the other features occasioned by the outbreak of war in Europe which are to become tra- ditional will be the story of the sudden change in our foreign trade and the mag | nitude of that trade. We are already
 making records in comparison with which there is none other in the past. From | the port of New York and in mid October, exports were recorded at the custom house l aggregating s4,o00,000 for each day. These | figures are likely to be maintained dur l ing the fall and winter Some of the de- l mands upon American manufacturers which are reflected in recent exports from | New York and from Boston have come frny aatT .fpfn war. Norway and Sweden. Spain and I Italy are through representatives in the American markets ana necessarily here | because they now unable to buy the commodities they need in England, Ger many or France. Belgium was the bee I hive of industry on the continent of Flu rope and it's exports for years have been large. But there is no longer any Belgium and, whatever the outcome oi
 the war may be, years will pass before Belgium will have recovered her industry l Therefore nations across the sea whcl have been accustomed to buy in Belginn are seeking the American markets. Jus
 at this time the demand is upon the man. ufacturers of knit goods, and there ar, 1 some indications that American cottor
 goods manufacturers will have opportuni. | ty to sell their commodities to other ma I tions.
 The Rapid Recovery
 1 How rapid the recovery from the pa l ralysis in our foreign trade which be gan the first week of August and con I tinued until mid-September was Is demon strated by the reports made by the de
 partment of commerce at Washington l Our international trade received stag gering blow in August. The visible trad, balance against the United States in tha l month was nearly $20,000. GOO. That is { | month when our exports of food products l begins usually, but there were no exports
 in any amount in August of this year
 Suddenly, in mid-September, change was 1 noted. It first came under the official l eyes of the custom house officers and oi the department of commerce at Wash ington. It Is, of course. explained by the | fact that in August and early September l Great Britain and other nations, espe- cially Russia, were not ready to enter the American market. The representa- | tives of these nations appeared late in l August and the result of their demands became evident through custom house rec ords by mid-September. The money value of the exports in September, made ur chiefly of the exports of the last few weeks of the month, was nearly $46.0 ,00C
 more than the money value of the August 1 exports.
 | One hundred and flfty-six millions stand
 to our credit in the September interna-
 tional trade, and while this is nearly $6O. 1 100000 less than the money value of the
 exports of September of last year yet
 the record made last year was normal II excepting that 1t may have been some- ! what influenced by the fact that the new I tariff law went into operation October 1, 1 whereas the record made in September ! of this year is abnormal in comparison
 with the money value of our exports in | August ! We were behind so greatly that we were nearly $20,000,o00 to the bad in our foreign
 trade in August, whereas in September We had gained so greatly that our favorable l! trade balance was nearly 100000
 i There Is good reason for predicting that | this change in our foreign trade from the 1 situation developed i'll August will be so
 great that on January 1t will be possible for the Washington authorities. to report
 that the money value of our exports for
 the year 1914 will be found to be not less
 than 5000, oO0,00O.
 Continued Heavy Exports
 | By November 1 it will probably be pos-
 sible for the Washington authorities to
 report that the exports of October com pared favorably with those of last year. l The reasons are excellent for believing | that the record of our exports and the excess of the money value of exports over 1 that of imports will contribute greatly before the end of the year to the restora- 1 tion of fairly good foreign exchange con-
 ditions. Some of the bankers who are in l al m o<,l f,t., ntof ffv,<x