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Survey o
TRYING INTO BANKS.
New York bankers who have seen
copies of the Pujo letter asking for detailed
Information of their loans, securities,
underwriting operations, interlocking
directorates, and many other intimate
matters, differ widely In their opinions
of the first attempt on the part of
the House committee on banking and
commerce to discover a money trust. It
appears certain that some of the most
important institutions will resist the
effort to get them to yield up information
ordinarily regarded as confidential.
The ground on which most of the bankers
base their opposition to Mr. Pujo's
printed demand for information is that
to comply would mean the disclosure of
private-relations between the banks and
their customers. For Instance, one of
the Pujo questions calls for the name of
every borrower who has put up stock
of a financial institution as collateral, together
with the amount so borrowed,
and a description of the collateral. To
prevent publication of this information,
it is said some borrowers propose to
bring injunction suits, with the Idea of
preventing the banks from giving out
any information which might affect She
complainants' credit or disclose their
purely personal business affairs.
THE SOUTH*S PORT OF EXPORT.
Speaking at the centenary celebration
of the State of louisiana at New Orleans
April 30, Secretary Knox declared that
New Orleans and the 'South could not
enjoy to the full extent the Increased
foreign commerce which the opening of
the Panama canal was to bring them
unless the commercial development of
certain of the Central American states
was made possible by their financial
regeneration and the establishment of
stable governments. Continuing, Mr.
Knox said: "The opening of the Panama
canal will make New Orleans the
logical port of export to the Orient for
all the products of the Mississippi valley,
Which region is today the greatest
producer of products entering interna
uonai commerce, liy trie breaking down
of the barriers which, have separated
the Atlantic from the Pacific, the Mississippi
valley, through New Orleans, will
have a direct route by water to all of
the wes<t coast of 'South America; a
route to Japan 5,000 miles shorter than
at present, to Shanghai 3,500 miles
shorter, to Hongkong 2,000 miles
shorter, to the 'Philippines 2,000 miles
shorter, to Australia 5,000 miles shorter
and to New Zealand nearly 8,000 miles
shorter. It will place New Orleans
nearer to most of these ports than is
London."
lTII* IjATI - A .TIK KIC A > TRADE.
The Pan-American Union has prepared
some Interesting statistics on the development
and posslblltles of trade with
LAtln-Amerlca after the canal has been
opened. It polntB out that there are 70, 00,000
people In the 20 republics south
of us and these countries have an area
appreximate-'y three times that of the
United States, exclusive of Alaska. They
have Immense areas of undeveloped
lands that are as fertile as any to be
found anywhere. They have enormous
mineral and other resources that await
. development. The Union Investigators
contend that the Latin-American market
Is much more important and promising
to us than is that of the Orient. And it
<o ? * xt I- IV.
id cvi uur uuui. ue arc ill me position
of advantage and Should Improve our
opportunity.' In fact, we are improving
cur opportunity. Statistics show that
the 'tourist traffic from tfhils country to
tbre nations south of us is three times
greater then It was Ave years ago. The
foreign commerce of the Ijatln-Amerl-d
THE PRESBYTERI,
f Curren
cans last year was $2,344,000,000, of
which $690,000,000, or more than onefourth
was with us. Our trade with
them 10 years ago wias $236,000,000, an
increase 01 nearly zvu per cent, in a
decade. The 20 republics have increased
their foreign trade at the rate of
approximately $100,000,000 a year during
the last five years. The trade on
the west coast has been about $509,000,000
annually, and it is estimated that
it will expand to $1,000,000,000 a year
within five years of the opening of the
Panama canal.
FREE TRADE PENALLY.
Universal free trade in time was predicted
by Secretary MacVeagh in a
speech at the annual dinner of the Natonal
Metal Trades Association. The
secretary pointed out however, that the
problem to-day was tihe further revision
and reduction of duties. The absence
of the taTiff as an issue in the
presidential campaign waB attributed
by Mr. MaoVeagh to Mr. Roosevelt, who
"has preferred to Introduce other issues."
The Democratic party no longer
oeneves in rree trade. lmt. MacVeagh
said, and thus change has brought both
of the great parties to working in one
direction?the downward revision of the
tariff?but only from different theories.
The end of all tariff systems, in tthe
judgment of the secretary, was ultimate
free trade for the world and the cessaton
of industrial wars.
CHEAPER MEATS BY AM) 11 YE.
The devolopreet of the B*? stock in*
dustry in South America may tend to
lower the price of all meats in the
United States if the plans of an organization
of American capitalists for
the exploiting of the live stock business
in Brazil materialize. The comnoMr
Viia 1 A AAA AAA
1/aiiij uao jiui^uaofu xv,ww,vw UCICQ
and has options on nearly as much more
land. At present the syndicate has 500,000
head of sheep and 1,000,000 head of
cattle on the several ranches embraced
In the tract. The plan is to increase the
output as rapidly as conditions warrant
and, if possble, 'bring the output to the
United States instead of shipping to
Europe.
OCEAN TO OCEAN HIGHWAY.
Application for a decree of incorporation
for the National Old Trail's Ocean
to Ocean highway was made in the circuit
Court of Kansas City, 'Mo., recently.
The purpose of the promoters is to build
a transcontinental road along the line of
th? Wnshlnf+ntl n. frnm
Washington, D. C., to Cumberland, Md.;
the National pike or Cumberland road,
from Cumberland to St. Louis; the Missouri
state highway, from St. Louis to
Kansas City, and the Santa Fe trail,
from Kansas City to Santa Fe, N. M.
The route from Santa Fe to the Paotflc
coast will be projected later.
PARCELS POST HAS AN INNING.
Authorizing the appointment of a joint
committee of the two houses, which
shall report a general parcels post at
the beginning of the next session of
Congress, the HouBe after long debate
a/t a late session approved an ex
perimental parcels post for strictly
rural routes and a general parcels post,
wihlch extends to domestic shipments of
fourth class moll matter at the International
Postal Union rate of 12 cents a
pound for packages weighing not more
than. 11 pounds. The rural route parcels
post: will handle packages of the
same weight limit at a rate of 5 cents
for the first pound and 1 cent for each
additional pound. The action of the
House is a compromise - between tlhe
ifferent advocates of various schemes
A. N OF THE SOUTH
it Events
of parcels post legislation. These divergent
plans range all the way from
the condemnation of the express companies
and the establishment of an "express
post" to the "^>ne system" and
linllfmlfpH noivolfl rvr?af Wile TKa Will
I^/Wb Uill u. A UQ UIU
also contains a provision which would
compel newspapers, magazines and
other periodicals to publish the names
of their managing editors and stockholders
who own stock valued at more
than $550. The Barnhart "bill also provides
that all editorial or reading matter
for which money has been received
must be labelled "advertisement."
BEXCH AND BAR GET SHAKY.
William Nottingham, president of the
State Bar Association, of !New York, has
named Alton B. Parker chairman of a
special committee So represent the bar
as8ooiation in opposing the recall of
judges p.nd judicial decisions "and to
investigate the causes leading to the
present feeling of discontent with our
judicial system and with the manner in
which justice is administered, and if
any evils are found to exist, to make
recommendations for their abatement
and for the correction of any weakness
found in our judicial systems, in lieu of
recall of judges and their decisions."
The committee will co-operate with a
similar committee of the American Bar
Association, and the plan of campaign
is to explain the judicial situation to
the public.
ANTI-diX J UN CTION BILL.
Chairman Clayton of the judiciary
committee has reported to the House
such an anti-injunction bill as has long
been advocated by labor unions throughout
the country. It provides that Injunctions
in labor disputes shall be issued
only after the defendants have baS
opportunity to answer the complaint
against them. It also provides that
courts shall issue restraining orders for
only seven days, and these only where
the complaint shows that he will be
done Irreparable injury if the order Is
not issued. Blanket injunctions are
specifically provided against and the
right of workingmen to peaceful assoni'bly
is reiterated. Striking employees
are given the right of meeting, giving
financial assistance to their fellow
strikers and otherwise aiding them in
every lawful way to win. The right of
boycott and the right to refuse to patronize
is established In one section of
the Mil.
AMERICAN PHYSIC FOE FOREIGN
1LUS.
Posaibly with the hope of better success
with foreign trusts than has been
accomplished so far with native combines
in restraint of trade, AttorneyGeneral
Wickersham has conferred with
the House committee on merchant marine
on the Humphrey bill to exclude
from American ports any foreign-owned
ships adjudged guilty of violation of the
Sherman anti-trust law through a pool
or combine. A sub-committee was appointed
to act with Mr.. Wickersham In
drafting an amended bill, to be presented
for congressional action. With our
tedious, stilted and arbitrary court proceedi'ngs,
let us Imagine foreign shins
being held up while investigating committees
are sitting, witnesses are <be]ng
subpoenaed, depositions are being taken,
appeals are being considered, and adjournments
and recesses are In progress.
IMMIGRANTS MUST BE LTTERARY.
Senator Dillingham's itnmigration
bill, with the educational test restored
in modified form, passed the Senate
without division on the final vote. The
test adopted requires that every male
[ May 8, 1912
immigrant must read and write, and
manes mat provision applicable to Immigrants
from Canada and other countries
of the western hemisphere who
were excepted by the original bill. Religious
refugees would be exempted.
Senator Williams, of Mississippi, moved
to exclude all persons of African descent,
but hte amendment was lost, 28
to 25. Senator Root's amendment to
provide for the deportation of aliens
conspiring to overthrow other governments
was passed.' This was said to be
intended to apply especially to antiMexican
agitators.
FNSINKABLE SHIPS.
A compressed air system, designed to
mnko thfl vassal nr-apHpqIIv nnalnVoKlo
Is being installed on the armored cruiser
North Carolina, at the Portsmoutn
navy yard, under direction of Capt. i)
M. 'Marsh, commanding the vesse .
Captain Marsh believes that the apparatus
would keep the cruiser afloat i,i
case of a collision with an iceberg such
as sank the Titanic or any similar accident
which might damage her hull. The
principle, Captain Marsh said, is the
creation of such an air pressure within
the vessel that water cannot enter. That
is, if the hull should be punctured, the
compartment affected would immediately
be filled with air, driven at such a
pressure as to forca the water out until
temporary repairs could be made. A
firm of New York engineers is installing
the apparatus.
GERMAN SQUADRON COMING.
Official notification that the squadron
of German warships, which is to visit
American waters in June, will come to
New York for a ferw days' stay was
received by 'Mayor Gaynor through the
German ambassador at Washington,
Count Von BernBtorff. The notification
was in reply to an invitation extended
by the Mayor some time ago, the ambassador
stating that the German Emperor
had ordered the squadron to call
at New York after the official visit in
Hampton Roads. 'It is expected that ^
the squadron will arrive here June 9
or 10.
ASBESTOS TO BURN.
According to an official report, Canada
produces 82 per cent, of the world's
supply of ashestos. The companies operating
asbestos quarries and factories
in Canada are capitalized at $24,290,000.
In 1880 only 380 tons of asbestotos
were produced in the Dominion, valued
at $24,700; in 1909 the output was 63,000
tons, valued at $2,300,000. In 1909
2,000 men were employed in the asbestos
industry, and received wages amounting
to $1,350,000. In the Black Lake quarries.
In the providence of Quebec, there
are 45,000,000 tons of asbestos rock In
sight. The Russians are the only real
rivals as regards extent of asbestos resources,
but are heavily handicapped
by the excessive cost of transportation
of $35 to $40 per ton from the Russian
mines to London. Serious competition
Is not feared 'by the Canadian
companies on thiB account. The asbestos,
slate or shingle industry is being
developed by the plants in Canada and
predictions are made that in a short
time 75 per cent, of all the asbestos produced
in the Canadian quarries will be
used for asbestos shingles. The asbestos
slate business is only five years old,
but during that time the demand for
this article has increased enormously,
and large factories are being established
to supply the demand for this new
roofing material.
WANTED.?Position as governess i?r
young children by young lady,
mer pupil of Mary Baldwin- Semlnar-;Normal
School, graduate In Klnderga"*
ten. first grade work and music.
_ Box 666, Newport News, Va. GUJfSTOJr
HALL
1900 Florida Ave.. N. W.
Washington, D. C
A SCHOOL FOR OIKL-S.
Mrs. Beverley R. Mason, Principal:
Miss E. M. Clark, ? L, A., Aaso. P"n