The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-02

on the very day the announcement of the suspension of this dividend was made and, in fact. for several days thereafter there came other reports, some official, some informal. which taken by themselves would. on the other hand, indicate bust. ness activity of an unprecedented char. acter in the United States. For instance, in July of last year the pay roll of one of the great manufacturing corporations averaged about Sl4,o0o week. On the day after the Steel corporation passed it's dividend there was informal. but thor oughly reliable, information which showed that this corporation's pay roll for one or Its plants is now a little in excess of s4o,eoo week. This is true of other large industrial plants, and if it is fair to infer general business conditions from a greatly increased pay roll, then it would be reasonable to assume that the United States Steel corporation is an exception, so far as general business conditions in the United States are concerned.
 Another Paradox
 At this time the greatest export of cop per sent from the United States to other countries for a long time was officially reported. So also there were reports of
 
 cotton and, of course, of food products. Statistics of this kind stand in paradoxi- cal relation to the action of the United States Steel corporation in passing it's dividend for lack of earnings.
 Only a day or two after the passing of this dividend. announcement was made that the federal reserve board at Wash ington had approved the purpose of one of the large banks of New York city to establish branches at Rio de Janeiro and also at one or another of the large cities of Brazil. The institution has already opened bank at Buenos Ayres and it is probable will soon establish other branches in South America, possibly in Uruguay. Therefore, it has just hap pened that when a dividend of the great est of American industrial organizations is passed for lack of earnings an Ameri- can financial institution is opening branch banks in South America and is contem- plating the opening of others. Were there real distress, at least In the money markets, it would be impossible to per- feet transactions of this kind in South America. Therefore, it is reasonable to infer that here, as in England, loanable capital and banking resources are not only ample, but are in marked contrast to certain conditions which have been ere ated by the European war.
 At the very moment when the directors of the Steel corporation were voting to suspend the January dividend upon the common stock, one of the great railroads of the United States was completing a financial transaction unparalled for at least a year. The Pennsylvania railroad sold an issue of $49, 900 of consolidated bonds which bear AZ per cent interest There is no doubt these bonds will be speedily and gladly absorbed by the in vesting public. They run for long time and in this respect differ from railroad financing in the past three or four years. The ease with which this large issue of bonds was marketed is of itself sufficient indication that money market conditions here are similar in certain respects to those which Sir Felix Schuster says pre- vail In London at this time.
 In addition to this transaction the New York Central Raidroad company will probably dispose speedily of an issue of s10O, O,000,000 of bonds and there are to be other approaches of railroad companies to the money market with intent to sell large lines of bonds. A year ago trans actions of this kind would have been im- practicable. Newman Erb. who was in London and Paris just before the out break of the European war found the con ditions so unsettled and the shadow of the