The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-05-02
Begins to Look Like Nothing
 Serious to Worry About Nolu
 But Past Losses, Says Price
Financial Outlook Abroad Grows Brighter With Bank of England Rate Reduced to 612 Per Cent, While Con- ditions in New York Are Even More Encourag-
 ing Than Last Week

bonds for that amount due July l. 1921, the market will be called upon to sup ply only 20,000O00 of new capital, and while the transaction may involve more or less financiS1 displacement it is not quite as important as it seems.
 The commodity markets are steady. Cotton shows but little change. The ycrop reports are generally encouraging, but the extent of the acreage reduction is still unknown. Opinions upon the subject continue to vary widely, but there are many good judges who insist that the curtailment in Texas will be less than that to which the farmers lhave pledged themselves. The grain markets show no particular change.
 The textile trade is becoming dis tinctly more cheerful, and an important development is an improvement in the demand for cotton yarns Raw silk and silk goods are tending upward. A distinct improvement in the wool man. ufacturing industry is reflected in the report of the census on active and idle machinery as of April l, 1921. AL though the percentage of idle hours among looms is still high there is a great change for the better in the rec ord of active cards. combs and spindles, and an early increase in both consump-
 
 surplus of raw wool held by the Brit ish government which amounts to about 1,S00,000 bales, is disposed of the situation in the wooden trade will be much clarified
 A distinctly better feeling is reported in the steel industry as a result of a noticeable increase in the demand The shipping trade is. however, still de- pressed and Lloyd's Register puts the unemployed tonnage on April 1 at 7,0S6,766 toms. The complicated dis pute over the wages to be paid to sail- ors on vessels under the American flag seems to be in a fair way of settlement but details are not yet available. The Detroit and Cleveland Naviga tion com spany announces 15 per cent reduction in great lakes freight rates.
 RAILROAD IMPROVEMENT
 some improvement in the railroad situation is also to be noted. Follow ing the abrogation of the national agreement, wages have been reduced on some roads by what appears to be a tacit agreement between the employees and the arrangements. March earnings thus far reported are the most encour- aging in several months. Tn most cases the gain reflects reduction in operat- ing expenses, though an increase in the gross revenue is also recorded in some instances. and car loadings for the week ending April 16 show gain of 10000 over the preceding week and of S7.000 cars within two weeks These gains are due principally to increased coal shipments. Apropos of coal it is proper for me to say that in recently advising the purchase of coal at the low prices at which it can be obtain ed inssome sections of the east, I did not intend to include anthracite coal. which is still too high, in my Judgment
 The weekly trade statistics continue to reflect an increase in the volume of goods changing hands when allowance is made for the decline in prices Bank clearings as reported by Bradstreet are 29.6 per cent under last year, but ac- cording to the same authority the wholesale price average, technically called the index number" is 1137 against 2071 year ago. the decline being about 45 per cent. Many retail dealers are nevertheless asking last years prices for this years goods. and the intelligent consumer ought to be sure that he is not overcharged. The New York federal reserve bank an- nounces that 37. department stores in its district report a decrease of only 4.6 per cent in the money value of sales for March, and adds that when price changes are taken into considera- tion it is evident that the volume of merchandise distributed each month con-