The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-03
ENGLISH EXPERT |S SENT ID ASSIST IN
 BUYING SUPPLIES Means Heavy Purchases Are to Continue for a Long
 Time to Come PHOTOGRAPHY EVEN
 OFFERED BY WAR Incident at Columbia University Ban quet Showing Possible Change
 in Attitude of Government
 Toward Trusts
By HOLLAND

New York, May 2-(Special. )-Lloyd George, chancellor of the exchequer or the British government, in brief reply In the House of Commons to an accusa- ton that J. P. Morgan & Co.,, as purchas- Ing agents for Great Britain of war sup plies, had been showing favoritism in awarding contracts, stated that the American house was appointed by the British government sole agents in the United States for admiralty and war office requirements, with certain exceptions, and that the arrangements had been made so that efficiency and economy could be assured, and, furthermore. that the gov ernment had every expectation that the results would be satisfactory.
 This official announcement, coupled with another which was few days ago made informally, is looked upon here as in dics ting that Great Britain expects to continue for long time purchases in the United States of admiralty and war of flee requirements. For If, as some have thought, these purchases would soon be limited and perhaps within three months ended, the chances are that the managing director of Vickers' Sons & Maxim would not have decided upon visit to the United States with headquarters presumably at the Morgan offices.
 This managing director is reputed here to be a man of extraordinary business ca pacity and there was at first curiosity in the financial district whether his com ing at this time did not mean that he was to take absolute charge of the enor- nous purchases Great Britian is making tlx.<,tt ttsrl. tB< Mrrr ix& 1A itoI States. But those who are competent to explain this visit say that this man. aging director is coming not to take charge of this business but in a sense to inspect it, to see what is going on. At all events. these two recent incidents make it highly probable that there is to be no let-up for many months in the volume of war orders, although the char acter of some of our exports may be changed during the summer and early fall
 Those who have had opportunity to meet managers of some of the great in dustries have learned that the statistics which tell from week to week what the excess of our exports over our imports is, do not begin to tell the whole story of business now in progress in the United States due to orders from beligerent and neutral nations. These orders not only continue, but increase. They are affect ing the quotations for securities which are dealt in from the floor of the exchange and also quotations for the stock of large industries which are not listed upon the exchange Stocks which a year ago were quoted at nominal prices, with practical ly no markets, are now greatly sought, of ferings being at par better. Some of the largo industries which were compelled to suspend dividends are now contemplat- ing an early resumption of dividends.
 A Little Object Lesson
 One of the mercantile houses of the United States which is a branch of very large mercantile house in France and which deals in auto-chrom plates, ex- tensively used in photography, found its supply cut off in December. Word came that the French government had put an embargo upon the export of these plates. That was certain to occasion serious em- barrassment to American photographers One of the officers of this corporation