The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-11-14
RAILROADS STILL | INDEX OF GENERAL l BUSINESS ACTIVITY Their Prosperity or Adver-
 sity Best Apparent Guage
 of General Conditions
BUSINESS PROCEEDS
 ON CAUTIOUS SCALE
First National Review Specially En- couraging in Its References to Birmingham and the South
 .S in General


 dustrial conditions, issued by the First National bank of Birmingham, was given out yesterday. It reads;
 we have known for some years that the operations of railways have exerted a great influence upon the commercial and industrial conditions of this country. There has been but little substantial im~ provement that has not been accompanied by their activities, and the extent of their favorable earnings reflected upon the supply market and in the employment of labor reaches into even the remote parts of the country, with a subsequent betterment of times and manifest re- viva1 of confidence.
 Measured by this test, we may confi- dently assert that the present lack of idle cars, and the more or less frequent purchases of rails and equipment of to- day may be regarded as the best evidences of the increasing stability of the future outlook. Should present conditions con- tinue to veer somewhat to the advantage of railway properties, the problems of readjustment yet to be solved by the pro- dueing and commercial interests would be lessened, and the future prosperity of the country would be relieved of some of the burdens of the past, when even before the war the adverse financial en- vfronment of railway activities was dis tinctly realized and acknowledged as a depressing effect. May the reports of in- creased traffic and earnings continue to inspire the hope of wider influence in the general prosperity of the country. notwithstanding the number of new re- ceiverships, if we are to continue to &C., cept the railroads as the best indices.
 Business Proceeds Cautiously
 H "There is great deal of encourage ment in the fact that during the pe- riod of unsettled conditions which must last with the continuance of the Euro pean war general business affairs have made some progress by cautious and conservative methods. The ultimacy of such season depends upon the gen. era1 acceptance of such policy and the adoption of the principles contained in the wisdom of it, expanding only in justifiable and defensibIe transactions and guarding against the immutable laws of speculation. This includes lay ing firm hold upon all the legitimate business at hand and making such commitments as will redound to the welfare of the community Such times call forSthe intelligent exercise of cour- age and the conscientious discharge of responsibility, whether of a negative or positive nature, and perhaps no oth- CT line Of commercial endeavor just now Is fraught with greater opportu- mites for constructive work than banking.
 Il South Solving Its Problems
 Tn the south there have been but few changes since the publication Of our las tissue beyond the progress we are making in the solution of the same l problems with which we have been confronted since the outbreak of the | European war. We are in the middle of the accustomed season of liquidation from crop movements and in addition to the encouraging experience of debt paying through prevailing prices for cotton and good returns for cotton seed we are enjoying the novel sensation in spots of a greater food supply and more live stock production, constitut- ing better preparedness for another season. The banking interests are still concerned about the important problem of Liberalization and not withstanding the economy of the pres ent crop and the increased production of other things tlran cotton, they pro. pose following up the educational cam paign begun some months ago, and have called a second meeting of the southern states cotton conference to meet in New Orleans early in Decem : Ter. One or more members of the fed eral reserve board as we'll as officials from the southern federal reserve banks are expected to be in attend Rnce. while the southern representa- tive of the governments cooperative extension work in agriculture and house economies will avail himself of this opportunity to urge not safety first" but "safe farming always" as a better motto for the producing seC- tions of the country. This bids fair to be an important meeting. as the range of discussions will include all of the chief problems of the southern cot ton states, interwoven as they are with the affairs of the producer
 l Birmingham Situation Favorable
 The industrial situation in the Bir- The production of pig iron reached it's high water mark in October, being in ex- cess of 30o,o0O tons. and bids fair to go beyond that for the current month, with two additional furnaces lin blast. Stocks in the yards are at a minimum, and the output for the balance of the year all practically under contract to the con- sumner Number foundry Is being quoted at $14, with but little inclination to accept even this price beyond the first quarter of the new year.
 'Steel plants, machine shops, cast iron pipe industries, and the by-product con- cerns all are enjoying excellent business. ana CISDuTbln8 NcaVy pay TOllB. Ouo may almost conclude that If a mill or a mine lis idle now the cause must be local, as general conditions are favorable for the disposition of the output of all iron and steel production. This activity has had its influence upon the production and sale of coal and while the earnings have not lyet reached a satisfactory point the coal producers are distinctly encouraged over the tendencies toward better conditions.
 'The yellow pine lumber industry has experienced somewhat better prices, and ] Iccnsiderably better demand.
 Some large realty transactions have been consummated. and while there is little construction of important structures, small building has become fairly active.
 ''The last several weeks of continued warm and dry weather has restricted the volume of retail trade. but as this is being written, the approach of winter is felt with the falling of the first Novem- l. i &1,n s1n~. xIxr