The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-29
RECORD YEAR
 SEEN BY GARY
(Continued From Page One.)


 one of hostility to one of. friendly CO., operation, which contributed vitally to the record of 1923.
 4. Established advisory boards of shippers, cooperating with railroad of ficers, who settle matters of mutual con- cern before friction or irritation can arise.
 "5. Reduced loss and damage pay ments to freight $23000 per day.
 "6. In ten years tuded with 1925 reduced fatalities to persons in train and train service accidents 34 per cent and injuries 35 per cent. Transporting 9S7 .OO0,0 900 passengers with but l3S fatalities is the lest on record.
 "7. Saved S2S2S1 ,000 by more ef- ficient use of fuel.
 "S Paid $40,O00,000 less cash divi- dends to owners in 1923 and $192,O00,- GOO more taxes than ten years before. % Spent substantially $3,O00 100000 on additions and betterments in the four years ended in 1924, although their in- come was $2,117,00O,000 less than congress intended it should be.
 10. Carried nine-tenths of ton, or 1,S00 pounds, an average distance of one mile for one cent in 1925.
 FaVOr fFIVdUb OWntTSHIp
 Mir. Kruttschnitt. viewing what lay ahead of the railroads, said: At the end of the war the public pronounced emphatically against government and in favor of private ownership of railroads. In it's transportation act it determined to secure:
 q. Adequate transportation facilities to keep pace with the growth of the country through the agency of privately operated rail roads by prescribing rates that would secure a railroad income suf- ficient to raise capital for needed facilities.
 "2. Freedom from interruption Of transportation by creating tribun- al to settle controversies with labor, on which it retained the balance of power.
 Because" Mir. Kruttschnitt con tinued, "the act has never been allowed 10 function freely, neither aim has been attained"
 Much Oil In Storage
 eve are nearer the high road of re- turning prosperity" said Walter c. Teagle, president of the Standard Oil company of New Jersey. If we frankly admit that most of our troubles are of our own making; that we are all in varying degrees responsible, the larger companies, including the one 1 repre- sent, perhaps, in greater proportionate degree" He expressed solicitude in the light experience in what he said was a distinct overproduction in the oil industry. He called the disposition of 53O 100000 barrels of crude oil and it's products now in storage in the United States pressing problem.
 This overproduction. Nlr. Teagle said, was in part due to these vast stores of oil themselves which had been accumu' lated at higher than present prices, and in being under-sold by current produc- ton, had failed to stabilize the market In part it was due also to the fact that gasoline was producing more power per gallon through improved production science. Then, considerable portion of the requirements of gasoline were being supplied by sources other than straight-run gasoline, such as casinghead gasoline, cracked gasoline The influx into the oil industry of wal milliOnaires had boosted production from 1.1S6,0OO barrels in 1918 to 2, 930,000 barrels in 1923.
 Banker Sees Boom
 "The people of the United States have seldom if ever been presented with $ greater promise of prosperity than to day if many of the current bushes. analyses and forecasts are to be takeI seriously" said William E. Knox, presi dent Of the American Bankers associa tion.
 "There are several main factors.
 Mir. Knox pursued, "tO which thIS
 favorable outlook is attributed. OnC
 is the fact that we have won poll
 tiCaJ peace, with an administration
 that guarantees economic sanity so
 far as the national government IS
 concerned. Another is that our
 banking and monetary situation
 was never in a better position to
 serve expanding business. Indus
 triaHy also the country has ample
 plant capacity equipped with mod
 ern and efficient machinery. COndl-
 tiOns in employment and wages
 are such as to insure large buying
 power from the general public. In
 agriculture the position of the
 farmer has been improved by
 splendid crops and good prices. Fi-
 nanciaI conditions in foreign cOun-
 tries. whose purchases are required
 to take Iii, the slack of surplus
 production of this country. promise better foreign markets.
 "Granting that this optimism soundly based it may be pointed ou that there is one other factor as i'm portant as any of the foregoing if W are to have an era of prosperity tha will continue for any length of time This factor is the mental attitude q our people and the consequent use the make of the opportunity of prosperit hat is presented. Many a good team Ina ost iCs game throd&n oyer-confidenc nd prosperity is sometimes impaire y optimism.
 Copper Outlook Bright The outlook for tine copper indu' " was deemed most encouraging b ] k. l.. Agassiz, president of both til ' Calumet and Hecla Consolidated Go