The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-01-01

of this country was felt early in the year by tho railroads. Always sensitive recorder of the nations i prosperity. the carriers were almost the first to feel the full force of the
 readjustment pressure. Last Janu- ary they wrote their balance in red ink. In February, they dipped still
 deeper in the red, notwithstanding abnormal freight and passenger rates During the month expenses exceeded receipts by more than seven million dollars.
 The carriers then launched an ex- | traordinary campaign of retrench- ment. Expenses were cut to the bare boards; only the most urgent sup plies were purchased; no effort was made to keep up equipment and all
 sorts of economies, large and small. were studied and, so far as possible, put into effect.
 So drastic was the retrenchment that the working forces of the roads.
 which totaled 9,S05,500 men January
 1. were cut by April to 1,543,000 men, That figure was almost 25 per cent less than the number of men the roads had on their rolls In De- cember last One man out of every four was laid off.
 Margin widened
 The margin between revenues ana expenses widened. The February de- felt was followed by a March profit of about s30,000.0 900. In June the nrofit was t51,0O0,00o; in July, s69,- o00. 900; in August, S9o,o00,ooo, and In October, best month of the year, O50OO00o. Meantime, more men were employed. Between April and October inclusive, more than 200, 900 of the discharged railroad workers were reinstated. The year goes out with the roads pay rolls showing al- most as many names as when 1t came in.
 Notwithstanding the pickup in earnings, the railroads have not earned-for the year as whole much more than half the per cent which the interstate commerce. com mission expected the new high rates
 would give them. For while the showing in October was almost what had been hoped, recessions followed in November and December and earn inEs did not come up to expectations in those months.
 All told, the railroads enjoyed in 1921 a net income of about s600,000.- 900. Their net income in 1920 was | $21, 100000 The year has not paid big dividends for the carriers, but II has been infinitely better than 1920 was.
 Much of the Improvement is due to wage reductions. Also the roads i, have so stressed the importance of paying some sort of return to invest ors that they have failed to keep their equipment in good order. One locomotive out of every four In the United States Is in the shop out of | ae nF VI cry six. Even at that, the showing Is declared better than 1t was dur ing the days of government opera ton.
 The railroads prove that all pros- perity is comparative. Their record for 1921 shows. in tonnage, that as much freight rolled over the rails as was hauled in 1915. And 1915 was considered an extraordinary year, at the time, for the volume of freight hauledl AS the writer recalls 1t, that year was a record.
 Farmer Is Emerging There is one class of American pro- /, ducer who will remember 1921 for the message of disaster it brought. to the third and fourth generation. That producer Is the farmer. To him, 1921 has been 12 months of despair, from
 which he is gradually beginning to emerge.
 The farmer has hit the bottom. The ! year dawned as year of hope, but
 mostly 1t was a year of hope un- l filled. It was not entirely black, however. cotton crossed 2i cents and the south lifted up it's head and be- : gan to sing again. The 12,oo0.oe0 | bale crop of 1920 had been followed by an 5000 0oo- bale crop. and the
 
 creasing demand from abroad, liftee cotton from the abyss of Il cents. nearly 100 per cent. While recessions have occurred since the high mark
 was reached. the year closes with cotton selling around IS cents and a measure of the souths prosperity re- stored
 Generally speaking. the farmer is still in the woods. There are bright rays here and there to guide him however. His official spokesman. Secretary Wallace, told the President the other day that the worst period vf the farmers troubles had passed and that from now on times would 1 Improve.
 Must Expand Exports Not a little of tho improvement must come from the expansion of American export trade. Here again we come to some comparisons that show how far we have travelled from the pre-war days.
 Our exports in 1921 have not yet been run up In total. For the first II months of the year. however, they ex- ceeded s4.00o. .000. .oo0-a sum which would have made even a professional optimist stutter to say In ante bell . lum days. For the first Il months of 1920, they exceeded s7.5o0 900. 900. I'm ports. January to November. 1921, ex- ceeded s2.250. .o00. .00o--in 1920, more than s5.o0o. .o00.o0 The balance of trade in our favor will pass the s2,- ooo. 100000 mark for the year. That figure. in the days before 1913. would have been regarded as the acme of prosperity. It was exceeded In 1920 by about s7oo,00o, 900. The measure, however. Is not accurate when put In terms of dollars In terms of tonnage, exports in 1921 are l almos, up to exports in 1920. In many notable cases they exceed the tonnage figures. Eighty-two per cent more wheat was exported in 1921 than in 1920; per cent more cotton. per cent more lard. 800 per cent more corn. 50 per cent more iron pipes and l castings, POO per cent more oil. cake and meal. so per cent more barley and i SO on. These commodities are size able factors in the export trade. The dollar showing is less than that of 1920 because prices have declined. Production Declines Production of most of the basic and manufactured articles declined dur ing the year. largely because of the so-called buyers strike which, in turn. was due to the necessity of pay ing off loans.
 Coal slurnped sharp V nroduc&,oo running now about 1000. .o0o tons a