The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-05-22

For several days before the loan was made to Russia there was some. anxiety | occasloned by what was feared to be
 eluctance of the people to subscribe to l this loan.
 l That reluctance was said to be due to a l lack of confidence and not to a lack of
 ability. Probably the full effect of this loan to Russia upon subscriptions to the I liberty loan will not be well known un- 1 til some days have passed. Yet there are good many evidences that the peo- | pie throughout the country, rich well
 as those of moderate means, are now 1 preparing to give adequate support to this l offer of the Secretary of the Treasury. Another influence which is believed to | have served somewhat to restore conf- | dence is occasioned by the belief that whatever the peculiar characteristics of l the crops may be-, especially that of the wheat crop, nevertheless an abundant I supply of food is to be harvested in the United States in the late summer
 and fall.
 Word reaches New York from many parts of the country and especially from the vicinity of New York which justifies the belief that an enormous crop of po- tatoes will be harvested all over the coun- try. In fact, the prospect for a record making harvest of potatoes seems now so good In view of the great extent of planting, especially in hitherto untitled
 lands, that it seems likely that the price of potatoes next winter may be very low. That is something, however, which the government, if Congress gives it full powers, can so regulate as to make it certain that those who cultivate potatoes will receive in marketing them a suffi- cient price to bring to them fair profit.
 There are also intimations that the
 chances are better than was the case a
 week or more ago for larger harvest
 of wheat than was thought possible. It
 Is a common estimate, too, that the farm CTS are likely to harvest next fall at least 3,500, CO., eco. bushels of Indian corn. including white corn. Now that a better
 view prevails respecting the food sup
 ply of the next 12 months there is sym
 pathetic growth of confidence which is
 likely to be reflected in subscriptions to
 the liberty loan.
 Recently Secretary McAdoo justified his
 belief In the success of the liberty loan
 by his view that the United States, when
 the occasion arises does big things in
 a big way. Since he spoke those words
 there have been many illustrations of
 the truth of his statement.
 One of these was furnished by his relief to Russia, which will indirectly, at least, react in favor of the United States. An other illustration of the bigness, so to speak, of transactions now under way comes from the south by way of Wash ington Richard F. Edmonds, editor of the Manufacturers Record of Baltimore, a day or two ago gave a concrete illus tration of the magnitude of a single transaction now in progress He said that if all the southern pine timber which the United States has contracted for. chiefly for shipbuilding purposes, were placed upon a freight train the locomotive of that train would be at New York city while the train would be unbroken until the rear car reached to New Orleans. c tn fnpt of southern pine, entailing thereby very great activities in the lumber industry in the south, and this purchase alone will represent an expenditure of Sl00,00000o.