The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-07-16
ROADS ARE DOING
 BIGGEST BUS|NE ESS
 IN THEIR HISTORY
Car Loading At Highest Point Ever Recorded With
 Surplus Accommodating
Ny WALTER B. BROWN
 Editor New York Commercial. heased Wire To The AEr-HernId

NEW YORK. July 15.-The rail- roads of the country are doing more business than ever before in their history. Car loadings reported by the American Railway association for the week ending June 30. has never before been equaled. They amounted to 1,021,770 cars. exceed ing the previous high mark of Oc- tober IA, 1920, when tlre total was 1,01S,539 cars. The total for June 30 was the fourth consecutive week in which loadings exceeded the mill Ten mark and the fifth. time this year. The railroads also are steadily accumulating a surplus of freight cars in good repair as reserve and at present have about 60,000 on hand. In the meantime they are earning a higher percentage on their valuation than they have at any time since the pre-war period, and if they could only be granted a legislative holiday tor the next five years, they would be safe for generation.
 Fearful Of Elections.
 Wall street also is trying to get itself into a state of mind in regard to. the presidential election. It will be year before the conventions are held and four months more before the elections take place. It is a fact that the stock market is more or less in the doldrums during the cam paign, especially if there is any doubt as to the outcome, but that is no reason why stocks should be sold at this time. It is rather a long stretch to construct a bearish argu- ment out of the possibility of a stump in business next year, while It waits to find out what the elections will bring forth. An Unpleasant Factor.
 A factor that looms up rather un- pleasantly is the decline in wheat during the week to below the dollar mark, the lowest it has been since 1914. It would not be so serious if proportion. As the writer has re- peatedly pointed out, comparisons with pre-war figures cannot properly be made without including as d factor the dollar was reckoned at 10J when the dollar was reckoned at 100 at $2.20 in war times with the dollar worth 40 cents in purchasing power the equivalent of SS cents bushel Wheat S1 today with the dollar worth 62 cents is the equivalent of 6gs cents in 1914. Hence, land pur- chased or obligations entered int in, war times yielded value then in dollars worth only 40 cents apiece The buyer must repay these obliga- tions with dollars worth 62 cents apiece instead of in 40-cent dollarS and is therefore sustaining loss o1 S2 cents on each dollar repaid.
 O O O
 CS-oueration Necessary.
 Naturally these conditions vii give rise for all sorts of Legislative remedies and the farmer will, as us,1al. be exploited by the crafty pol itjcian. The only possible remedy l: economic The farmer must be given all the assistance possible to market Fla wheat in an orderly manner throughout the 12 months, but this can only come through cooperative n;arketing. The federal reserve hanks are offering all the credit fla cilities possible, which nave been greatly enlarged by recent legisla- finn There Is no lack of available credit and 1t cannot be put to more ieritimate use than in helping the