The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-03-31

tries. and of industries which are not par
 ticipating directly in this new and colos-
 sal foreign trade. The influence of these
 orders will gradually infuse throughout
 all lines of business activity in the United
 States. There seems to be a suspicion.
 which Is rapidly becoming a belief, that
 the European war will not be continued
 longer than the beginning of the autumn.
 Hints come from some of the men of
 finance indicating that they hold this view.
 Business interests seem to be persuaded
 that the war will be terminated within
 the next four or five months Nevertne-
 less. demands will continue upon the
 United States for supplies of all kinds
 some of them being of commodities
 which do not enter directly into the ac- tivities of war.
 One of the large industries of the
 United States Is counting upon heavy de-
 mand for material with which to repair
 bridges, relay railroad tracks and to be
 used in the construction of buildings to
 take the place of those which have been
 destroyed by bombarding. Therefore it
 is assumed that the steel industry of the United States will, as soon as the war IS
 ended. be fully occupied with the manu-
 fracture and sale of commodities which
 are necessary for the upbuilding of in
 dustries which have been destroyed or
 impaired by the war.
 Is It Discounting the Future? Some difference of opinion is observed when the recent tendency of the securi- ties market is under informal discussion. Some think that the tendency of this market is in line with the precedents in that it reveals the operation of what here tofore has been regarded as law of this m rl< <af- hat ia la n diSpot1nf the revival of business as it is the first to discount business demoralization. Some think that money now is so plentiful that investors are willing to make purchases of securities in the expectation that these will increase in value. Others are in- clined to the view that the recent ten dency represents a sort of speculation.
 Yet from one point of view the securities
 market always reflects reasonable specu-
 lation, since investors buy in the hope that the securities which they purchase will increase in value or they swell be- cause they are persuaded that securities will depreciate. The great test is whether the public is in good faith turning its eyes toward the securities market
 At all events, the recent tendency can not be described as out of sympathy with many things which have been dis closed of business activities in the United States since midwinter.
 MT. Schwab's Vacation
 When Charles M. Schwab appeared as a witness before the master who was talk ing testimony in the proceedings brought by the government against the United States Steel corporation, little over a year ago, it seemed to those who saw and heard him as though excessive mental activity might have made some drain upon his physical strength; not that he was thought to be worn out or badly run down, but only somewhat tired. Later he seemed to have recovered his physical and mental energy and when the war began the collaboration and excitement which the opportunities for greatly increasing his business caused seemed to serve as an excellent tonic.
 Now there come reports that a form of
 neuritis has for a time mastered him, with probably one of the painful features
 which that trouble sometimes provokes, it may have caused loss of necessary sleep. At all events. MT. Schwab pur- poses according to reports received here,
 taking long vacation. including so- journ in the West Indies and also in Cal ifornia.
 It is commonly understood here that no other one individual in the United States has collected and put into operation as large a number of war orders as MT. Schwab has done. He was in position