The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-04
Borah Resolution Has Tonic Effect Upon Whole Country;
 Confidence SholUn in Markets
Flood of Gold Into America Has Caused Money Rates tc Ease Up, With Much Being Loaned on Wall
 Street Past Week at Per Cent

of the budget, is exhorting every one to economize. although he has created some amusement by simultaneously asking for more money to run his own organization.
 Trying to Sell ships
 MT. Lasker, chairman of the ship ping board, Is trying to sell 2S7 wooden ships in order to stop the losses of what he describes as the greatest commercial wreck in his tory" Later on he hopes to make a clean-up by selling the 665 steel ves sells on hand. for he says that their keep and operation when they can be operated is now costing the govern ment $35,000,0o0 a month. Most of them are. however, idle and their idleness is partially explained by the chairman of the Royal Steam Packet company of London. who says that the worlds ocean tonnage now "fn the water" exceedes that of 1914 by Ill., 900, 900 tons.
 The railroads are e little more cheerful because President Harding has encouraged them to hope that they will shortly be able to collect about $612,000,000 out of the s1,25o,- 000,000 that they claim from the gov ernment and fund what they owe Uncle Sam by giving him long term bonds. Whether Congress will ac- cede to this remains to be seen, but there never was time when Wash ington felt as much sympathy for the transportation industry as at present. The competition of the Pan anna canal has meantime resulted in a general reduction of transcontinen- fz~N lot. l. 1. lowed by an increase in traffic. If this proves to be the case, it is to be hoped that other reductions will be made.
 The bituminous coal production for the third week of June is 500. 900 tons below that of the previous week, aNd the output for the year thus far 54,l 000,000 tons under 1920. These fig ures emphasize the probability of coal famine next winter and the wis dom of buying coal now.
 Reports to the federal reserve banks Indicate an average falling off of S.9 per cent in the money value of department store sales for May this year as compared with the same month year ago. Allowing for the decline in prices the indicated volume of business Is. of course, larger than in 1920. Bank celarings, 29.5 per cent under last year tell the same story.
 Crude Oil Lower
 Crude oil Is from 15 to 25 cents a barrel lower, but the American pro- duction in May was 41,290,000 barrels, a record for all time. It will prob ably be stimulated still more if the provision In the Fordney bill for a duty of 25 to 35 cents barrel on i'm ported petroleum becomes law. This and the bother over Obregon's re- ported insistence upon an export tax of 25 per cent on Mexican oil have caused the wild fluctuations in the securities of the Mexican Petroleum company, which have so disturbed the stock market.
 The steel industry is still dormant, but most authorities agree that large orders will be placed If prices are re- duced. There would seem to be some thing of buyers strike in steel. The automobile industry is said to be picking up now that most manufac- turers have reduced prices. The tex tile markets are almost normal, though some stagnant pools into which the current of demand has not yet penetrated are to be noticed.
 The Lancashire cotton industry is optimistic upon the theory that past under production has created a vacu- um that must be filled. Other Amer ican staple markets are steady. fair business at fair profits Is gener- ally reported and the country as whole seems to be interpreting recent events as indicating not that "hard times" are coming, but that "soft times" are going, and that in nor mai future as in the normal past, con- scientious and intelligent work will he sure of a reasonable reward