The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1917-08-11


justify.
OF course, not even James A. Farrell /,
himself or Charles M. Schwab could hayex
foreseen 10 years ago that the expo4
trade in steel and iron products wouN
in - months ending June 80, 1917, be on
the money value of s10O000oOoo. Mr.
Farrell began to serve the United states
Steel corporation in 1908 as world
reaching salesman for the commodities
made by the corporation At that time
the United States was far behind Great
Britain and Germany in exports of iron
and steel
When year or two later 1t was an
nounced that we had captured foreign
markets to such an extent that the
money value of our exports of iron ana
steel could reasonably be expected to
reach in short time $500, 600, 900 a year
that was looked upon as an extraordl-
nary achievement. Mr.. Farrell was some
times spoken of as the most success
full and ablest salesman in the United
States and it was undoubtedly his tri-
umph in this department that led to
the selection of him as president of the
United States Steel corporation.
| Now the Washington authorities report
| that the money value of the export OF
iron and steel commodities in IL months
which ended on June so, last, was some 4
what over 1000, 100000 OF course. this4
increase in money value of these exports
is in part explained by the high prices
| iron and steel commodities commanded.
But the high prices were themselves
the result Of very great competitive de-
mand The allies and the leaders in
| American domestic industry were so
anxious to obtain iron and steel com
modities that they bid and overbid,
/ seemingly not restrained by the newt
able rise in prices.
| For this reason $1,OO0,0O0,0O0 worth OF
iron and steel commodities exported to
other nations is to be traced to the war
in part There were, however, heavy
| exports in iron and steel to neutral ma
| lions and there seems to be no reason
for doubling the ability of the steel in
dustry of the United States to hold mar
kets we have now obtained with neutral
nations and gain other markets after
the war is ended.
i paragraph has been recently pub
| lished which tells of an income received
by an Usage Indian of $4,000 a month on
account of royalties or leases due to the
discovery of very rich oil properties upon
land of which he stood possessed. OF
this income the Indian spends only $50
month, but presumably he has been COM
PEELED to part with some portion OF II
on account of the income tax.
This case is typical however, of con-
ditions which have prevailed in Okla
homa and which tend to refute to some
degree the statement that the income
tax is so levied as to place the great
burden of it upon the states of the east
and the middle west The income tax
paid by the citizens of Oklahoma in
1916 as reported by one of the leading
papers of Oklahoma rank that state as
Z seventh in the list of the highest per-
sonal income tax paid by each state
This new state was only exceeded in the
income tax collected by New York
Pennsylvania, Illinois, Massachusetts
: New Jersey and Ohio. No doubt this
remarkable achievement was in part due
J to the development of the unsupported
. | resources in oil and it is an eXtraordi-
nary fact that the personal income tax
paid by the citizens of Oklahoma was
! greater by nearly s., 900 100000 than was
that paid by citizens in California.