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ft oL.NUiU AAlfciivlcAft, AlLAftlA, UA., oUftUAl, Ax itiL -0, lDlo. News and Views by Experts of Finance, Industry, Crops and Commerce t IS DOE 10 Old Crop Holdings Moving Fairly Well Foreign Buyers Take Memphis Spots. Domestic Spinners Staying Out of Market Entirely. WEATHER REIGNS SUPREMEQVER Slackening of Imports Will Alleviate Stringency in Fall, Hence It Is Not an Unmixed Evil—-Outcome of St. Paul Bond Issue Disappointing. By B. C. FORBES. NEW YORK. April 19.—The United States every day during March, Sundays included, bought <15,000,000 worth of merchandise from foreigners. Purchases will Tall off in the next six months. Leaders in the business world have begun to go a little slower. True, we have sold the. wholly -unprecedented total of $2,400,000,000 of commodities to other- nations in the last twelve months, as compared being drawn much darker than really I MEMPHIS, April 19.—Disposal of the unsold portion of the cotton « rop proceed** at a moderate late, with exporters creating* nearly all the de mand. Buyers for domestic splnn''’*** have been almost entirely out of the market for weeks, although It 1« felt that sooner or later there must be Iderable buying if the mills are g like present op- rating time. The inactivity of spin ners In this country about takirg more of the raw material ts due lo their fear of the effects of the tariff changes. While the proposed change's are about the same as outlined for months past and have been taken into account before. It seems that the ac tual facing of them has given the mills another attack of pessimism. The .stiffness in the money market and prospects of its continuance be cause of the admitted needs of large interests fcfc* some time to come also perhaps has been a potent influence in causing the mills to confine their purchases to actual and immediate necessities. It is the opinion of the trade he/e that there is something more than basis for real fear in the attitude of the spinners, the hope of being able to influence legislation being one m t- tlve ascribed to their extreme views. It Is further felt that the picture is Tariff changes, when finally made effective in law, may mark the be ginning of a substantial revival, al though the present belief among our financiers is that general business will not reflect confidence and pros perity for some time to come. Quieter trade and smaller imports will tend to alleviate, if not obviate, monetary stringency in the autumn, and, therefore, should not be regarded as an unmixed evil. DELUGE OF SECURITIES. The state of our own, ns well as of the European money markets, can not be contemplated without misgivings- All foreign bank rates are abnormally high, and our own credit position is unpleasantly extended with purchases of $1,850,000,000. This leaves a credit balance of $550,000,000, which, although large, is below the corresponding figure of last ypar, and also of 1008. March imports and also March exports show decreases from a year ago and all indications are that our foreign trade, after its period of ex traordinary expansion, will contract considerably, particularly on the import side. offering was left on the Underwriters* hands. gloom now hanging ovet the _ At the same time the world never was confronted with a heavier deluge of new securi ties. The amounts of capital urgently wanted are appalling. "Wall Street" can not be blamed for having monopolised America’s sup plies of ready cash. Does it astonish you to learn that transactions on the New York Stock Exchange have, since January 1, fallen off $1,600,000,000, as contrasted with last year, while the shrinkage in bond sales has been al most 40 per cent? Yet banking loans have increased alarmingly throughout the country. The gross expansion for all classes of institutions probably has been in ox- cess of half a billion dollars in the last twelve months, without a gain of one dollar in cash. STOCK MARKET SCARED. With Federal investigations, a pleth ora of State laws aimed at the in stitution. more rigid regulations by the stock exchange governors, and genuine scarcity of funds, the stock market has about given up the ghost entirely. Jt trembles in every limb. The exchange’s “police committee” has struck mortal terror into the hearts of brokers who used to handle the speculative account of such men as James R. Keene, Daniel O. Reid, Judge Moore, Bernard Baruch and other heavyweight operators. Moreover, the acceptance of ac counts on fain margins also has just been frow.*ed upon by the exchange’s detectives, and it is understood that this will further curtail the business of man> firms who have not hesitated to trust well-known customers. The Stock Exchange, no doubt, will regain its courage some time. It has really little to fear. Such bills as the one introduced at Washington the other day to forbid the use of the mails unless certain drastic condi tions are complied with are scaicely likely to be adopted. To stop the machinery of the New York Stock Exchange would bring on a panic such as even this land of financial upheavals has never J et known. The sooner this elementary fact pierces the heads of self-seeking politicians the better for themselves and the country. CURRENCY REFORM. A scientific currency system can not be adopted a moment too soon. Happily the Democratic leaders are manifesting an intelligent desire to bring forward currency legislation without unnecessary delay. The Al drich plan is, of course, dead and hur ried Some system of dividing the country into a number of large sec tions anpears to be favored, yet it is not easy to foresee how a cohesive, national scheme can be prepared without setting up some sort of cen tral authority. To divide the country into a dozen districts and set up wholly independent machinery In each would scarcely solve the problem However, so much thought has been devoted to the subject and so many plans have been proffered that the administration should be able to draw up a sensible, workable system, not too revolutionary. The public can have no idea of the magnitude of the disappointment suffered by banking, by railroad and by stock market interests last week through the failure of investors to subscribe for $30,000,000 St. Paul rail road bonds bearing 4 1-2 per cent in terest and offered slightly below' par. The influential bankers behind the flotation had moved heaven and earth to insure its success. The terms were the most attractive yet offered by any important railroad system. The intention was to score such a triumph with this sale that the whole investment market would be turned upward. Tw°-Thirds Taken. . Th f naked fact, however is that tne Issue was not fully subscribed ior indeed, nearly one-third of the world is over black as Thf .local investment night. “If St. Paul can not sell 4 1-2 per cent bonds below par, what WILL the public buy?” is the despondent wail of bankers and brokers alike. Some things become so bad that they can not grow worse. My own belief is that we are now passing through the darkest hour which pro verbially precedes the dawn. Investors have been corrupted by a superabundance of offerings of indus trial preferred, stocks yielding 7 per cent or more* and other .securities ol. varying degrees of merit, no that they have come to look upon gilt-erlged se curities paying normal returns as un necessary luxuries as .something which may be nil very well for old fogies in their dotage and for sav ings banks, but as something entire ly unsuitable for the wide-awake in vestor. Strange Gods Deceitful. This notion is in a fair way of being dispelled. The losses sustained by those who ran after strange gods have been so serious that there prom ises to be a return to sanity. Tiie stock market, too, gives every evidence of having been thoroughly sold out. Elimination of tariff un certainty, the releasing of the $500,- 000,000 hoarded gold in Europe on the declaration of peace, and definite intimations that a sound 1 currency system will be established before many months have passed should, and probably will, transform sentiment in the near future. The. country may not he steaming full speed toward immediate pros perity, but it certainly need not be steered toward ruin. Once Nature begins to work won ders on our farms, most of our trou bles will look relatively small. exists and that after a little whi • there will be a different attitude. • Holders Unconcerned. Among the producers and those who sell the crop, this alarm on the part of the domestic spinners is not a market Influence, for it is known that, whereas the consumption in this country may possibly be slightly re duced, there will he a corresponding increase in other countries. It mat ters not to the grower to whom he sells his crop. The demand for export has encour aged hope In the breasts of those who own the remnant of the crop, for it is believed that one cause for the long spell of inactivity has been the tightness of money and fear of a general war in Europe. Now that the situation is better and peace seems reasonably assured, there is more willingness to take cotton at current prices, which have been regarded as reasonable by the foreigners all the season. Some recent opinions from Liverpool that estimates on what spinners will take are being reduced are taken “cum granum sails,*' as actual consumption is still heavy and stocks in Great Britain and on the continent are smaller than a year ago. Crop Progress Satisfactory. Progress in new’ crop work is gen erally satisfactory, though conditions are seemingly not favorable enough to encourage much selling pressure with prices of the new crop months under 11.50c. Reports reaching thi-s center tell of preparations being well advanced in practically the entire belt, though weather has been rather cool and In the western part of Texas it Is said moisture is not plentiful. In the districts where breaking .f levees would result in overflows, there has been little preparatory work done while those sections that have been f f \ inundated, naturally have to wait un til the waters recede. There is ample time for this, and last reports say the levee situation below’ here is en couraging. The flood has been prac tically laid aside as a market in fluence. It has at no time been as important as some of the speculative traders have led the public to be lieve. In this territory planting will soon be in full swing, very little having been done yet. It is not known yet whether there will be an increase in acreage, but thp presumption is that there will he a small increase. T ie use of fertilizers is not general in this territory, hut is increasing each year. COTTON SHORTS UNEASY; LIVERPOOL BUYING MAY new ORLEANS, April 19.—Tile by the stubborn attitude of Southern liquidation an/ short selling com bined, which set in last week, when the market touched 12.64 for May, ex hausted itself when May contracts sold as low as, 12.22 here Tuesday of lari week. Since that time the market has displayed a reactionary tendency, which has caused much uneasiness among shorts who had been confident ly predicting that the market would break below 12 cents for the old crop months. A feature of the trading in the early part of the week was the relative weakness shown by the May position. At one time In the recent paRt, May was commanding a premium of 15 points over July, but the premium since has been reduced to about 10 points, some trades lately having been made at a difference of only 8 points. The weakness in Mnv was caused here b ya report thut the Liverpool straddle Interests, which had been expected to take up the entire New York stork on May contracts, had abandoned their Intention of doing so. The result was heavy pressure on the May position in New York, which was reflected to a certain extent in this market BUY JULY. The report regarding the May deal in New York lias been confirmed by letters from prominent Liverpool houses, stating that while it hud been the intention of some Liverpool houses to take up May In New York, they had found too many straddlers "rid gg on their backs," and had deemed it advisable to sell out their May and buy July, which has been at a dis count in New York. The trade here had about aban doned all hope of May again strength ening, when, lo and behold! at the opening of the market Wednesday of the past week, immense buying or ders for May contracts appeared This buying was done through houses hav ing strong Continental connections, and It was at first thought to be for FYench interests, which have been our of the market for some time past. It has since developed that a syndicate of interests has been formed to take up May contracts, both In this market and New York. At least this'Is the repefrt no a current in this market, and. accounts, in a measure, for the renewed speculative Interest shown in the May position. The Interests hack of the May po sition are rendered more confident spot holders, who absolutely refuse to follow tiie decline in contract values. Time and again this season, the hulls have been rescued from what appeared to be impending spec ulative destruction by the strength of the actual article. There is a limit beyond which bearish speculators dare not go in the selling of dis counts, and it Is the "little farmer” of the South who has drawn the deadline which the biggest bears have been afraid to cross. Tuesday, when contracts were at the lowest level they had been for some time, the local spot market ac tually advanced 1-16 cent on sales of about a thousand bales. This advance in spots immediately had the effect of calling a halt on bearish opera tions, strengthened the May position and started the reaction which has since taken plale. While the weather, as a whole, has been fair and dry. temperatures have been rather too low to permit prop er germination of the seed recently planted. In fact, the ground has been so cold that planting has been delay ed In many sections. From South west Texas, complaints of damage by frost have been received, hut it is believed that the damage, if any. has been light. The one bearish argument which is having some effect on the trade here is that the tariff revision as applied to the cotton schedule Is unsettling the dry goods situation. According to reports received here from the North, the textile outlook is consider ed distinctly discouraging, and the mills, it is reported, are receiving many cancellations of orders. As the American mills, according to the re cent Census Bureau report, are car rying large stocks of the raw mate rial. any slackening In the demand for the finished product is likely to cause them to sell contracts against their raw material. Any pressure of this sort on the contract market would have a sharp and Immediate effect upon values, and, if it came at a time when weather conditions were favorable might result in a serious decline in the market. The speculative ele ments here, therefore, arc inclined to keep close to the shore, until sure which way tiie wind will blow. In other words, they are waiting for the market to develop a trend, and then the rings will roar once more with activity. E Everything Discounted Except the Whims of April, on Which Depend Immediate Activities. EVEN DRY GOODS MEN WAIT Money Is Easier and Demand for Loans Slackens as Customers Learn Policy of Banks. BY M. A. ROSE "it’s i weather market.” This expression, common enough in the grain pit and the cotton , ring, seems to describe in few words ex actly the attitude of general busi ness in the South just now. Everything else has been discount ed,—even, to a large extent, the new tariff. The whim? of April cannot be guessed, however, and for tiie mo ment, the weather man is supreme. And April was unkind for most of the week, giving raw, chill days, no* had enough to prevent preparation of seed beds, but offering (.‘hill welcome for seed. Seed Beds Ready. Farmers, according to the best re ports have done everything that plow and harrow can accomplish. Now they wait for th*j sun to warm the ground for seeding. In localities where the seed already is in the ground, the weather has not favored germination. In the most southern portions of the <otton belt, wmere the plant is up, it has progressed little. Vegetable crops have been retard ed somewhat. At the same time, wintry days have slackened the de mand for fruits and produce. The peach crop, It is said, has been harm ed Homcv hat. though most of th* mischief possible already had been wreaked by the previous freeze. The weather has held back the movement of summer dry goods. Lin ens, though promising to be in great demand this year, have not begun to move as freelv as the calendur warrants. Jobs For the Sun to Do. Here is what a week of warm, sun ny weather can cio for the South: Operation Cost Rises Faster Than Revenue Reports of Railroads and Other Cor porations Under Control of Com mission Show Increased Expenses. Earnings of Georgia Corporations RAILROAD COM PA N1 ES: 1910. $44,171,668.14 30,367,657.63 Gross earnings .. Operating expense 1911. $47,262,459.2 7 1912. 32,980,674.28 $50,813,550.22 36,051,962.56 al- Get the cotton into the ground Germinate what seed has been planted. Hasten growth of the plant ready lip. Stimulate both movement and de mand in truck and small fruits. Awaken trade in summer fabrics and wearing apparel. Quicken the movement of supplies lo the farmer, whose merchant ex tends credit in exact proportion to the progress of the crop. Spot cotton is moving a little bet ter— n ot a greaz deal better, but just a little. Domestic mills seem to be holding off. but from all indi cations, Liverpool plans to take up a great deal of the New York stock on May contracts. The New York stock is estimated at 106.000 bales, and England may take nearly half of it. In the futures market, the pros pect of floods along the lower Mis sissippi continues the most important factor. One day. the market is in a spasm of apprehension. The next day, everyone thinks reports are ex aggerated. Net changes have not. been startling. Money is easier. The demand has slackened perceptibly. Bankers say borrowers are reconciled to a shor ter line this year than last. At flrst each thought he was being made the victim of discrimination. This caused considerable complaint. Since customers have learned that all meet the same treatment, the requests for unusual accommodations have died down. Big Firms Prepared. The larger uni more conservative institutions, both industrial and com mercial, are well prepared. One big manufacturing concern carried a cash balance of close to half a mil lion last year at a time when its plant sorely needed enlargement and when its stocks of raw material were jow. It foresaw’ a period of econo my. and acted on Its prevision in plenty of time. Commercial houses, well-establish ed, tell of working on their capita! alone, and say that until July 1, w hen crop prospects can be reckoned with tolerable accuracy, they will seek no funds from their banks. It midsummer promises a splendid crop, they will be In position to take full advantage of the opportunities. If not. they are in good shape. These are the big fellows. Nat urally their policy is enforced on the retailers. “nolens, volens.’’ and through the retailers, on the indi vidual consumers. This will be a most inexpensive crop, everyone agrees, and Southern students of economic conditions think this the healthiest sign that has appeared for a long while. Provo Faith in Outcome. Faith in the outcome !s abundant. One huge trust company, a large institution to loan on farm lands, and Railroads operating in Georgia made less profit in 1912 than in 1911, by $120,000. Telegraph and express companies in the State made $25,000 less profit. Telephone companies earned a trifling $4 4,000 more. Street railway, power, gas and electric light companies boosted their earnings more than a half-million. Compress companies made much larger profits in 1912 than in 1911, This information is embodied in a 2'ummafy of financial operations of corporations subject to the juridic- tion of the Railroad Commission of Georgia, which the commission com pleted Saturday. Companies under the jurisdiction of the commission include railroads, ter minal companies, telegraph and ex press companies, compress companies street railway, power, gas and elec tric light companies and telephone companies. Expenses Grow Fast. Gross earnings of all these for 1912 were $67,198,472.81 as compared to $61,511,409.81 in 1911 and $55,976,272.39 in 1910. Operating expenses of all companies in these lines'* increased as follows: In 1910, $37,653,544.20; 1911, $41,328,889.59: 1912, $46,406,517.75. Operating expenses of all public util ities thus increased as rapidly as the gross revenue, leaving profits on the increased business no larger than they were on the smaller amount of business. The case of the railroads is par ticularly interesting. In 1910 the rail roads in Georgia earned, gross. $44.- 171,668.14; in 1911, $47,262,459.27; in 1912. $50,813,550.22. Gross earnings from 1910 to 1912 increased $6,641,- 882. But in the meantime, operating expenses jumped from $30,367,657 to $36,651,986. an increase of $6,284,305. The profits were $357,577 more in 1912 than in 1910. To express it more graphically, the railroads cleared net earnings of nearly $14,000,000 on $44,000,000 worth of business, while on nearly $51,000,- 000 w’orth of business the net earn ings remained practically th«’ same. Interest Charges Bigger. Net earnings take no account of fixed charges, such as interest on bonds and notes. In order to care for the vastly increased tonnage, the railroads have Yound it necessary to increase their equipment. This has meant issuance of more securities, and consequent steady rise in interest charged. It is very likely, therefore, that the seven millions more of busi ness actually has cost the railroads money. Higher wages are blamed by railroad officials for most of the in creased cost of operation. Out of every dollar received in rev enue. the Atlanta, Birmingham and Atlantic spends 79 cents for operation, as against 75 cents in 1910. The Atlanta and West Point spends 72.6, as against 77 cents in 1910. The At lantic Coast Line spends 67 cents, as against 66 cents in 1910. The Georgia Railroad spends 76.4 cents,, as ^gainst Net turnings $13,804,010.51 TFRM INAL (’()MPAN1KS: Gross earnings $55,667.74 Operating* expenses 218,575.07 $14,281. $66, ;S4.99 605 296 i 9 87 $14,161,587.63 JS2.932.75 April Make of Iron May Exceed March Blast Furnaces Show No Slackening of Pace—Quotations Continue Around $13 Per Ton. J41.D22.2J Deficits $162,907.33 $160,691.08 $158,589.47 TELEGRAPH AND EXPRESS COA11 A XIKS: Gross earnings $1,561,115.44 $1,692,408.75 $ 1,916,705.08 Operating expenses 1.475.952.49 1,629,626.08 1,879,275.86 Net earnings $85,162.95 $62,782.67 $37,429.22 i.’(IMPRESS COMPANIi :s: Gross earning. 1 $787,350.47 $783,637.21 $1,222,581.64 Operating expenses 494.542.56 520,724.18 804,047.20 Net earnings j.. $292,807.91 $262,913.03 $418,534.44 STREET RAILROAD POWER. GA S AND KLK< •TRIG LIGHT COMPANIES: Gross earnings $6,928,320.82 $8,868,233.22 $9,998,490.58 Operating expenses 3,631,213.79 4.455.017.97 5,032,242.97 Net earnings $3,297,107.03 $4,413,215.25 $4,966,247.41 1ELEPHCIN E CO M PA NI ES: <Dross earnings . . $2,472,149.78 $2,888,065.5 7 $3,164,212.74 Operating- expenses 1,465,602.66 1,515,550:21 1,797,466.94 Net earnings TOTALS FOR ALL Grot’s earnings Operating expenses Net earnings . . . . $1,006,547.12 COMPANIES: $1,322,515.36 $1,366,745.80 . $553676,272.39 $61,51 1,409.81 $67,198,472.81 . 37,653,544.20 41,328,889.59 46,406,517.75 .$18,322,728.49 $20,182,520.22 $20,791,955.06 Floods Upset All Credit Calculation Lumber Manufacturers and Jobbers Waiting to Know Whom to Trust In Ohio Valley. 70 cents in 1910. The Ventral of Georgia. 67 cents, as against 66.3. The L. & N. uses 80 per cent of Its gross earnings for operation, and used only 68.7 per cent three years ago. The Seaboard has to devote 80 cents of every dollar It gets for operation, as against 68.7 cents in 1910. The Southern only has maintained a fairly steady ratio between expense and earnings, the percentage running 73.8 for 1910, 73.1 for 1911 and 82.3 for 1912, The Southern is the only system, by the way, to show a gain In net proportionate to the gain in gross. The State line, the Western and Atlanta, operated under lease by the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis, is operated very cheaply compared to most of the others. It spends 69.1 cents out of each dollar for operation, as against 62 cents In 1910. The expense of operating terminals is decreasing yearly, it appears, drop ping from nearly $163,000 In 1910 to $138,500 in 1912. Tabulated returns of all public util ity companies are given In the ac companying table. a bank have been launched In Geor gia within the past few days. Sev eral large bond issues are said to be contemplated for this fall. Sails are set. in other words, to catch the flrst breezes. There has been little snap to trade for the week. “Fill in” business continues fair in dry goods. In view of the tariff re duction which seems certain, jobbers are making concessions in woolens, and with this shading in prices, such goods are moving out satisfactorily. Summer fabrics and apparel are not moving as well as desired, but the expected genuine spring weather will remedy this. Jobbers In the grocery line find it necessary to push sales, a little. They are not pushing hard enough to use up customers’ full lines of credit, but an effort is being made to clean out stocks in certain lines rather than carry them over into another season. First quarter’s reports for most groc ers showed satisfactory business. Vegetables Retarded. Small fruits and green vegetables have moved slowly for the week. Cool weather In the trucking regions has retarded growth, and cool weather in consuming centers has slackened de mand. Later, it is fairly certain that there will be heavy shipments. Crops of such favorite articles of diet as tomatoes, egg plants and string beans are large, even if a little late, and while high at the moment, are due for a decline. XEVY ORLEANS. April 19. —Manu facturers and jobbers of lumber are playing a waiting game. Floods in the Ohio valley and bad weather in the Middle Western States have stop ped business for a time, pending knowledge as to the credit status of a small army of retailers whose stocks have been practically wiped out by the calamities. As one manager put it: ”\ye are waiting until the North - emers can make their inventory ;o see how badly they have been hit. Me feel charitably towards them, but ue cannot be expected to keep selling our good lumber to men who have been financially extinguished” This is the attitude of the yellow pine and cypress trade, although in quiries from the stricken districts are coming in daily by the score. Deal ers expect that it will be thirty days before they will know whom to give credit. In the meantime they are making preparations to fill orders for bridge timbers and lieavv stock of all grade to the railroads of the cen tral states. In spite of this avalanche of pros pective business, prices have not yet begun to advance materially. Opera tors are holding stiff figures but out side of a general lining up of prices on common lumber* amounting to 50 cents per hundred on the average, the anticipated increases have not come Mills through this state, Blast Texas and Mississippi are doing a rushing business. Larger mills are working 24 hours a day in two and three shifts and the requisitions for cars are pil ing up on traffic managers. Floods in the North have relieved the car situa tion on the east side of the Missis sippi materially as equipment was shunted down here to get it out of the congested Ohio valley district. This has been a God-send to the lum bermen ami will give them thous ands of dollars. Much of the present run of the mills is being sent to Gulf ports for export. This appears to absorb a large part of the output of Louisiana and Mississippi and New Orleans dur ing the past few weeks has male remarkable progress in export lum ber. High charter party rates are responsible largely for this condition, as tramps have disappeared from Southern waters and the liner busi ness is concentrated this year at Gal veston and New Orleans. Conse quently millions of feet of pine, hard wood and cypress have been booked through New Orleans that under oth*r conditions would go through Gulf port, Mobile, Port Arthur and Texas City. The opening of the Lake Borg- ne canal is also a contributing cause so far as the southern Mis sissippi and Alabama mill output is concerned and much complaint is heard from Mobile. In North Louisiana some mills are working double time and employing double their ordinary force to take care of down timber destroyed in the recent hurricanes. For a time some apprehension was felt among cypress men as well as the yellow piners on account of Mis sissippi river conditions. This ;»as not disappeared entirely but mill owners are sure there will be no breaking of levees in Louisiana. Ris ing waters on the Atchafalaya may tie up the Frisco, T. & P. and Louisiana Railway & Navigation Company, but this congestion ought to be over in thirty days, as a rapid fall is looked for when the crest of the Mississippi passes the Red river- country about April 30. BIRMINGHAM, ALA., April 19.— Pig iron is being made in quantity throughout the Southern territory, and still there is no apprehension that too much of the product is being turned out. The make during April promises to be equal, if not better, than it was in March when the rec ord was broken. So far there has been no public announcement of a curtailment of tiie production, and. as far as can be ascertained, the manu facturers are going to cut down the production only when the yard* aro overcrowded. The quotations still are around and under $13 per ton, No. 2 foundry. There is but little inquiry for Iron. Now that the figures on the tariff re vision are known, it is expected thefe will be a general change for the bet ter in the conditions. That there irf some need for pig iron the manufac turers art 1 positive. The cast iron pipe manufacturers recently received some inquiries that give them encouragement, and it is believed that what little pipe they have stacked on their yards will move out quickly. Good prices still obtain for pipe, with prospects of a strong quotation through the balance of the year. The melt this year will be every bit as good as it was in 1912, when a record was announced. Foundries and machine shops are not doing as much as the proprietors would like to see. There is no state ment made as to the prospects with these concerns, only hopes ot some thing better coming along in the near future being expressed. Charcoal iron is selling as quickly as it is being manufactured in the South. The production is not very extensive. The charcoal iron quo tations are over $23 per ton. Steel activities continue, with rec ords being broken in various depart ments at the big steel plant of the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company at Ensley, near Birming ham. There are orders on hand for rail that will give the plant at Ens ley work for at least 60 days to come. It is understood that negotiations are on for additional business that prom ises to result in trade. There is a good demand for fabricated steel be sides wire, rods and other shapes. The steel trade is in a better condition than any of the kindred metals in the Southern territory. Coal operations in Alabama, are very active, and the production is large. There is a good demand for coke also, and the production is most healthy, with bright prospects for the future. It is announced that if the demand is not so strong there will be an accumulation so as to be prepared for future contingencies. Pierced name souvenir spoons are the latest novelties to be offered in the Jewelry' trade. They are made with saw-pierced names of many cit ies, colleges, birth months, States, and other combinations. The names are pierced in the handles. CUT THIS AD OUT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE Your Multigraph Sooner or Later You Will Q-ive Work to Our LETTER CRAFT SHOP Why Not Sooner? Phone Ivy 7011. THE BUSINESS SERVICE CO., io 1-2 A-hum a„. Auditors, Accountants, Addressing, Multigraphing. AMERICAN NATIONAL BANK ALABAMA AND BROAD STREETS ATLANTA, GA. Location In the heart of the city’s business, convenient to retail and wholesale districts. Equi-distant to the Post-office, ('ity Hall, Court House and Terminal Sta tions. Service Ample facilities, modern equipment, up-to-date methods, courteous treatment and considerate accom modations. Cash Capital $600,000; Surplus and Profits $600,000: to tal assets over $5,000,000. Deposits A total of $3,500,000 divided among 6,000 depos itors, representing the leading firms, corporations and individuals of this city. Departments , Com ^ r « al Banking, Savings, Foreign Ex- change. Safe Deposit Vaults, and- a Women’s Depart ment, where ladies will find banking as familiar and easy as shopping. Management * Kx P? npne P fl Officers who devote their entire time monasemem to the affairs of the bank, and Directors who direct—a Board composed of men you know personally—men who have always taken an active part in the progress and upbuilding of our city. THIS BANK HAS MET THE REQUIREMENTS OF DESERVING CUS TOMERS AT ALL TIMES, AND IS NOW SEEKING NEW BUSINESS OFFICERS. WILLIAM L. PEEL. President. ROBT. F. MADDOX, Vice President, THOS. J. PEEPLES, Cashier. JAS. P. WINDSOR, Asst. Cashier. JAS. F. ALEXANDER, Asst. Cashier. DIRECTORS LEWIS H. BECK. WILLIAM S. ELKIN WILLIAM H. KISER GEO. A. NICOLSON THOS. J. PEEPLES BARTOW M. BLOUNT. JOS. T. HOLLEMAN, ROBERT F. MADDOX, WILLIAM L. PEEL, BENJ. L. WILLINGHAM. upp \ i h ■ V-