The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-08-06
Daily Business
 Editorial
View From HouSetopS
Rx RICHARD F. JOHNSTON

FrultS or CulLlNdIIOH OI DOuJu American trade are agreeably felt. The federal bureau of foreign and domestic commerce reports imports and exports for the year ending June 30 totaling $T39, 9,427, ,000, an increase of 55 per cent over the preceding year.
 Director of this bureau, Dr. Ju- lius Klein, observes: "These fig ures indicate the evident intention of American exporters to heed warnings given out in recent months against too nasty abandon ment of their foreign connections because of attractive domestic op- portunities.
 The South American trade has come in handily. It required but few months for this country to reach a maximum of production and consumption. It is well that there has been this steady out flow to South America. That partly explains the lack of stock accumulations.
 Birmingham wass glad to get an order for $50 tons,of pressure pipe from Porto Rico the other day. fCuba and Honolulu have been talk sing it regularly. What goes out of this country is that much out .of the way for good. It does not return even in scrap material. It comes in shape of money-the cold hard cash.
 l They raised ocean rates on pipe to the Pacific coast the other day, but what of it? Birmingham still has eastern pipe bested by a rate from $7 to $8 lower. The great empire of the golden west is still Birmingham very own from an kiron and steel products standpoint
 It is the far afield business which decided Birmingham's fate Had it been forced to live on near 1 by territory there would have been mo Birmingham; certainly not such a Birmingham as there is. When Birmingham was yet a village its fron- pipe went to Copenhagen, Hon olulu and Mexico and it's pig iron to England, Germany, Scotland, Italy and Scandinavia. Eastern and western pig iron cannot enter Birmingham except when Birming- ham isynot producing the shapes de- sired
 It is we'll to know ones under pinning. That of Birmingham is the field far off. That is what saves when the nearby territory is supplied. Birmingham phosphate is causing apple trees in Australia to bloom and fruit. Its sulphate of ammonia exported to Japan means the beautiful cherries of the little brown man.
 They grind sugar cane in Cuba, Porto Rico and Mexico with Bir- ming made machinery. All-Ala- bama steel ships dug out of the red ore hills of Jefferson and put to- gether at Mobile carry Alabama products over the world B;rming- ham is an inland city geographical ly and even that is denied by her down-hill railroad haul to Mobile and her Warrior rivers ye,r eround capacity for freight burI-1 bear ing.
 Birmingham invades the world, but the world cannot invade Bir- mingham. What Birmingham makes has certain markets that are her very own. The Oriental business of the steel corporation comes au- tomatically to Birmingham to be made here and shipped via the Warrior and the port of Mobile.
 Demerara and other East Indian islands are taking Alabama coal via Mobile regularly. It is moving to Texas via ocean-going barges out of Mobile. It goes to Chile. More of it will go with the new coal merger systematically engaged in export coal business with it's united facilities at Mobile, Pensa- cola and New Orleans.
 Birmingham's trade vicinage can not be viewed from the front porch. Accuracy and realism of vision re- quire the house top.