The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-10-01
GREATEST FIELD LIES IN AMERICA
Business Men Should Show Firmness Now In Order to
 Reap Future Harvest

AA1 itfACN VA taAS 'ta mingham Trust and Savings company as issued last night is as follows:
 It is unnecessary for us to report to our clients that business during the past few weeks has been unsatisfac- tory and in small volume The change in business due to the European wars has been evident to every business man, but while we have general knowledge of the decline in business, it is necessary to the proper planning of our future moves to be definitely informed on the actual trade depres sion in the various fundamental lines and to get a clear understanding as to which of these lines will recover first and which ones will ultimately benefit from present upset conditions.
 The larger part of the. newspaper space devoted to commercial possibili- ties has been given over to the pros pective increase of our south American trade. South America imports ap- proximately si,0o0,ooo,0 ,0yO worth of goods a year and it Is unlikely that this country could get more than one- fourth or one-half of the total under any conditions. Our 1913 exports to South America were $147,000, 900 and our imports from there were s19S,000, ,000. It would not be diff cult matter for us to increase our ex- of trade against us last year, as this would necessitate no further provision as to credits. Exp orts in excess of that amount would require financing which would be difficult, although branches of American banks now pro- vided for would assist materially European countries which have en- joyed the South Americ Ill trade have provided the money es well as tne goods, and if this country expects to increase its South American trade t1 Iany great degree. | mus be ready to finance public works. public service col porations and msrcaaiIdiaing insti- tutions in those counties South America needs money as much as she | needs merchandise and she lacks a substantial credit system.
 Leading business men are of the opinion that the great trade opportu-
 
 merchants is in North America Trade possibilities in Canada and Mexico ar, large, but the greatest possibilities l lie within the boundaries of the United States.
 With cotton crop of about 15,0o0,- 900 bales, fully S,000,000 bales oi which would normally be exported, al | immediate increase in the spindles and looms of this country demanded Dur | ing the past two weeks the number of spindles operating has decreased and, although we grow nearly 75 pei cent of the worlds cotton, we have les. l than 25 per cent of the worlds spin 1 dles and hundreds of thousands of ou own are idle even now. Europe can.
 not use much of our cotton becaus l she cannot manufacture it, but sh
 can undoubtedly use all of the cottor l fabrics we are prepared to supply t her.
 1 We have at present around tn,
 western hemisphere a trade wall whiel l is almost as effective as an absolutel, lprohibitive tariff. This wall is not o
 our making like the tariff laws, bu American manufacturers cannot pes sibly supply our own home demand fol
 merchandise because our manufac ltured imports have been greatly sex lceeding our manufactured exports The greatest trade opportunity whicl has ever presented itself to manufac turers of the United States lies within the borders of our own country ant l the business Is waiting for the mel l who can see it.
 During August bank exchanges to taled s9,942, 100000 compared with SIP, 1 Inat aola aan Atert ret
 I Railroad gross earnings for July wer $262 COG, 900, a falling off of nearly sl0, GOO, ,000 or almost per cent, compared wit July of last year. Net earnings, however were $76,000 900, showing a decline of les than $1,OO0,000, or slightly more than per cent While far from satisfactory this is much better showing than tn railroads have been in the habit of mak T ing lately. Six railroads actually shove an increase in gross earnings compare
 with last year and II showed an increas in net, the majority of those showing a increase in net being important trun lines The middle western roads shove
 loss in gross but gain in net; tn
 southern roads showed a gain in gros and a gain in net, and the southwestern roads also reported a gain in both gros and net The other groups showed d cline in both gross and net earnings fe the month. The railroads have petitione the interstate commerce commission ft
 a reopening and reconsideration of the
 per cent freight rate advance case in u
 hope that the commission will now see tf
 extreme need of additional revenue |
 the railroads east of Buffalo Railroa
 gross earnings for the first six montf
 of this calendar year decreased nearly
 per cent, while net earnings for the sam
 period decreased nearly 13 per cent.
 ''The total volume of all crops is sati
 factory and practically all of them al
 finding ready sale except cotton. It WI
 be necessary to manufacture our cotto
 in order to sell it, although 1t will
 possible to carry a few million bals
 over until next year, as manufacturir
 facilities can hardly be extended suff
 ciently to take care of all of 1t.
 I Tn view of the fact that the easter
 world has just now plunged into u greatest war of all time and the po
 sibilty of still other European and As atis countries becoming involved. presel , conditions in this country must be col
 sidered as notably good. Fortunate we have for several years been steadi } adjusting ourselves to a more substanti l basis of trade and our present stabilit is the result.
 ) This is distinctly not the time f' } business pessismism or downheartednes ) before us lies the greatest trade oppo
 tunity which we have ever had and ol ] immediate and future prosperity depent
 almost wholly upon our ability to acce
 the situation as 1t stands and make in