The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-09-29
COTTON AND STEEL MARKETS WILL HAVE RUNAWAY THIS FALL
 70. W. UNDERWOOD Alabama's Junior Senator Addresses Local Ad
 Club
 HOLBERG SAYS JOUR FUTURE PRESIDENT" Senator Underwood Thinks Coming Winter Will Witness One of the Most Prosperous Bras in His
 tory of Birmingham
70. w. UNDERWOOD

Declaring that the indications pointed strongly to runaway market for iron and steel and cotton this fall, Senator Oscar w. Underwood yesterday told the members of the Birmingham Ad club at their luncheon at the Newspaper club that this fall and the coming winter would witness one of the most pros porous eras Birmingham ever has had He said that there would be more ad- vertising than for many months, and that conditions would be all the better because of the strict economy that has been practiced by practically everybody for more than year past.
 Senator Underwood was introduced to the members of the club by President Holberg as "our former congressman our present senator and our future President" which statement was hailed with delight by the unusually large crowd in attendance.
 "I think it Is not necessary for me to say to this crowd that we have not only had cheaper pig iron and lumber and building supplies during the past year, but the newspaper men and the adver- tising men have felt the effect of gen. eral economy.
 But today, with cotton selling for II cents on a middling basis, and pig iron selling for SIP, there is every in- dication of a runaway market for good times. It is not only the war conditions that are going to send the markets up. Men can economize in iron and steel for certain length of time. When de- nreaaad C., year or two years the buying of new cooking stoves. The railroad can make its rails last little longer; the cars are lying on the sidetracks and they can only use the best of them.
 But the longer they economize in the use of iron and steel, the more they will be compelled to buy when prosperi- ty returns. When conditions have be- come better they all go into the field at once and buy at the same time, and instead of iron being a drug on the market, 1t brings any old price the | manufacturers care to ask for it. Tn my judgment we have got a run | away market ahead of us in iron and steel, and the same thing is true of the cotton market. We can safely predict 1 that more than 15,000,000 bales of | American cotton will be consumed this year. The consumption last year reached that figure.
 | think the man who predicts
 that we will have an 11,000.0 .000- l bale crop this year is exceedingly l optimistic. We have the actual fig 1 ures on fertilizer used, and they | show that it was only Al per cent of l the total of last year. The fertili- 1 ger manufacturers for 30 years past 1 have assured us that cotton can only
 attain certain growth without the | use of fertilizer; that the so-called | nar mo fttr xxrit hon ha | use of fertilizer and reports from l all the southern states show that 1 this big top crop is dropping off the stalks before reaching maturity.
 The cotton crop this year will be confined to the lower crop. and in my judgment, it will not reach Ill., 100000 bales
 In October the bulk of the crop
 will be picked and carried to the | gins. The ginning reports will tell | the story and when they begin to come out in October 1t will be re-
 alized that We have a very short
 crop. The market will immediately
 advance. Spinners will get into the | market and purchase their raw ma terial. and I believe there will be runaway market in cotton after October.
 Tn view of these facts, can see nc reason why the ad man and the newspa pers should not make a killing thi
 fall. and I hope to the Lord that the. may have their chance"
 MT. Underwood referred to the trutl seal the use of which the Ad club i promoting among local merchants, ant
 said it was the greatest thing tha
 could be brought into newspaper ad
 vertising. He said. With the activ
 CO., operation of the men who constitut the Ad club, the truth seal offers great field of opportunity for the pub lie, for the advertisers and for tn newspapers"
 President Holberg expressed the ap lpreciation he felt for MT. Underwood address, and announced that the speak
 CT for the luncheon next Tuesday woul,
 be J. P. H. DeWindt, general manage of the Birmingham Railway, Light ant Power company
 The attendance yesterday was tn
 largest In months, and it was necessar,
 to extend the tables halfway acros
 the main dining room of the club il order to care for the crowd.
 DEDCnMAT