The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-11-30
Men And Markets
 By P. F. B.
By P. F. B.

Those who fear an inflationary devel- opment from the present business and stock market improvement should find some comfort in the fact that the Amer ican business machine Is equipped with four-wheel brakes. The federal reserve system can slow things down at any time by applying very slight pressure through the rediscount rate. An in- crease in rate tightens the whole credit machinery instantly and puts a stop to speculative borrowing. Likewise a de- crease in the rate tends to ease credit conditions and encourage expansion. we are much better off than in the old days when excessive speed almost al- ways landed us in the ditch. Accord ing to treasury officials, the present in- crease In activity has just succeeded in taking up the slack for the individual banks. They have made no great de- mand as yet upon the federal reserve system for further credit. When they begin to draw heavily on this central source, the federal reserve board may apply the brake or not, just as they see fit. There Is no immediate prospect of an increase in rediscount rate.
 Corn and hogs present a problem in proportion that should appeal to some of the expert puzzlers. Last years corn crop was distributed as follows: Live stock. 2,55O,OOO,OOO bushels; food, 1OO,- OOO,OOO bushels; industry, 75.00o,000 bushels; exports, 21,000,000 bushels; seed, 20,O00,000 bushels. and miscellan- eous, 155, 900 bushels. Almost the en- tire crop is used in this country and most of 1t goes to market. not as corn but as meat This year we find corn about the only major crop that has not yielded an abundant harvest. All told, we will have about 2,500,0 bushels, or total of less than we fed to live stock last year. The price of corn has risen | sensationally and is still strong in tone. Lately every cent of rise has caused farmers to sell the corn they had planned to feed and to sell the hogs it was to have been fed to. Result, the hog market is glutted, and we are re- ducing our total of live stock to a point that threatens serious meat shortage. Now will the farmer win by selling both corn and hogs in the present mar ket, or will he gain by feeding high priced corn to what may easily be higher priced hogs?
 Car loadings for the week of Nov. 15 totaled 1,015,704, scoring the tenth mill lion car week for the year. Merchan- disc Is moving in record quantities.
 Fire losses in the United States and Canada amounted to $27,944,000 during October. While this Is $2,000,000 less than September and s3, 900 less than October of last year, 1t still totals loss of almost a million dollars a day. We are improving slowly, but carelessness collects fearful toll.
 Gasoline consumption is running 22 per cent ahead of last year, according to the American Petroleum institute +, ,toI, fAv, RAr ntx A i months in 21 states with that of a year ago. September shows a slackening in rate, as it's total of 227,490,392 gallons is but 20 per cent above the 88,569, ,4S1 used last year.
 Seventeen hundred and seventy loco motives and 137, ,369 freight cars were placed in service on Class American railroads during the first 10 months of this year, according to the American Railway association. Shippers should certainly get all the service they want and investors should find expenses for new equipment during 1925 below those of this year, netting corresponding in- crease in earnings.
 Prices are up another point, according to Irving Fishers Index, which stands at 154.8 for the week ending November 22, as compared with 153.8 seven days earlier. We must go back into 1923 to find an equally high level.
 Copper production for October was Il, ,262,000 pounds above September, ac- cording to a calculation by American Bureau. of Metal Statistics. Exports, meantime, are running 40 per cent ahead of the first nine months of last year. The copper business Is decidedly better,
 Increased efficiency from coal is ex- pected as a result of equipment being installed by the Philadelphia Electric company in a municipal power plant, Escaping flue gases will be caught and used to pre-heat the draft to 800 degrees