Newspaper Page Text
8B
News and Views by Experts of Finance, Industry, Crops and Commerce
‘INDEPENDENCE DAY’
NEAR FOR BUSINESS AND
FINANCE, SAYS FORBES
Best Securities Are on Bargain Basis—Bank
Statement Shows Healthy Contraction of
Loans—Crop Outlook Is (rood—Proposed
Tax on Cotton Futures Is Vicious Measure.
By B C. FORBES.
NEW YORK, July s.—The United States should, within the
next few months, enter an era of unexampled prosperity.
Commercial house-cleaning, however, is not over. A good
c J a*. T
Development* of vital moment have come since last Sun
day. Nearly all have been favorable, or, where not pleasant, ex
actly in line with expectations- aa for example, the discharge of
thouaanda of employees in woolen and other industries affected
temporarily by coming tariff changes.
The Bank Statement.
First place I wonld assign to
something that passed unnoticed
ont of banking circles, namely,
the comptroller of the currency’s
report, giving the condition of
the country's 500,000 national
banks. Between April 4 and
June 4, loans were curtailed
$35,000,000, and cash increased
fully $125,000,000, demonstrat
ing clearly and encouragingly
that the iflation which threat
ened to culminate in disaster in
the autumn has been taken in
hand.
New York City was responsible for
half the train In rash and two-thlrds
of the contraction In loans.
Al compared with a year ago. how
ever. national bank loans are up 3190,-
000.000. despite a loss of 331.000.000
cash. Indicating that there is still need
for caution.
The Government's report on cotton
ivat .so gratifying that quotations for
ihe staple at once declined sharply.
The condition Is far above expecta
tlOitF. and everything points to a good
ciop Inasmuch as raw cotton is our
most valuable export commodity, this
:s doubly helpful
Grain experts." after their wont,
have Been shrieking that the growing
plants were being scorched by the
sun. killed bv frost or devoured by
insects But the Government's report
does not substantiate these calamity
tales.
Big Crops in Sight.
Gross harvests of 1913 can easily
reach 310,000,000.000, given normal
conditions from now on.
Political developments have not
been hurtful to the business world.
The astounding revelations of "Da
vid Lamar" at Washington have
opened the eyes of people to the inner
workings of certain anti-capital cru
sades. The motives behind more than
one •Investigation" manifestly have
not been solely patriotic.
Hereafter the origin of attacks upon
thia, that and the next corporation
will be traced, and It is just possible
fewer probes and fewer suits will oe
Instituted.
The tardy solution of the Unlon-
Bouthem Pacific divorce problem, al
though clumsy and not free from
cstnpMcations In the future, has re-
Month of Good IF eather Will
Assure Big Yield of Cotton
MEMPHIS. July 5. —If there ts rea
sonably good weather In the cotton
belt during the next thirty to forty
days the foundation will be laid for
a crop that should put at rest talk of
very high prices during the ensuing
fall and winter. At the present time
there is ample basis for looking for
the second largest crop the South has
ever grown, some extremists talk of
a possibility of it running the 1911
crop a close race. This, however, is
hardly worthy serious talk, for acre
age. according to official authorities, is
not equal to that season, and condi
tion at the time of the last compila
tion was several points lower. As
conditions during the latter half of
the summer of 1911 were rather ab
normal in more ways than one and are
not likely to be repeated, it is not
conservative to expect the yield to
reach within a million bales of the
•“•cot d.
There have been rains where need
ed. supplying the moisture essential
to the plant catching up its late
start and taking on fruit, yet as a rule
they have been local in character and
many areas are only partially sup
plied. Others have not had enough to
do more than temporary good, and
very soon permanent injury to pros
pects may result The high tempera
tures in the central belt were not
ideal, except where showers came and
enabled the plant to lake on size. Re
ports reaching here from the Eastern
belt have told of improvement, though
not by any means uniform.
T^han dicap to the crop continues
deal of debris remains to he thrown out.
Finance, on the other hand, has apparently
finished its process of expurgation. Recovery
in securities now is due. The probabilities are
that there will not be a fresh wave of liquida
tion, carrying prices much lower, but of course
no human being can forecast the ups and downs
of stocks.
ft can be said very definitely that the best
securities are. now on a bargain pasis; that,
be measured by all the recognized yardsticks,
prices are not too high and that sooner or later
present buyers will reap substantial profits in
addition to tho generous income they will draw
on every dividend or interest date.
moved a weight from Wall Street's
mind.
The vicious proposal to tax deal
ings |n cotton "futures" naturally has
aroused a storm of protest, for it
would embarrass cotton growers, cot
ton manufacturers, spinners and
everyone associated with the busi
ness. to say nothing of driving deal
ers In the staple from New York and
New Orleans to Liverpool, where the
advantages of a free, unfettered mar
ket are properly appreciated.
Tile manufacturer who undertakes
to make and supply so many gross of
shirts or dresses or sheets at a stipu
lated price, In order to escape the
risk, at one* arranges to have the
raw material delivered to him at a
specific price On the cotton ex
changes he can buy this material for
future delivery, as there is an active
■ market all the time for "futures."
But If evetry bale thus traded In be
taxed $2 or $3. this market will be
ruined
The manufacturer will have to pay
more for hts protection against un
certain fluctuations and the grower
will not And a ready market for his
crop.
The cotton tax Is barbaric and
should be killed before It reaches the
statute book. It would benefit no
body, but would injure everybody.
Balkans to Quist Down.
War again hae broken out In the
Balkans among the Servians, Bulga
rlans and Greeks, but although Eu
ropean financial centers were dis
turbed and British consols declined,
the chances are that the trouble will
■ not be protracted The thirst for
blood has been satisfied —and treas
uries are about empty.
Our own security markets were ex
tremely dull, as they usually are on
the eva of holidays. But the under
tone has grown firmer. Sentiment in
high places is less pessimistic. The
buying looks better than the selling.
Os outside liquidation there has been
practically none, while odd-lot pur
chases have been the significant fac
tor.
Most bankers are becoming recon
ciled to the Owen-Glass currency bill
and are co-operating to win amend
ments rather than senselessly blus
tering that national charters would
be given up in exchange for State
ones.
The measure has important merits
and certainly will be preferable to
the present system, which has fos
tered centralization of banking power
in too few hands.
“Independence Day" tn the financial
and business world is drawing nearer.
to be Its lack of size, which, the first
week In July, Is worthy of serious
consideration. The season Is at hand
for fruiting, and If the plant is not
well developed chances are against It
1 becoming heavily fruited. The rains
have helped considerably but there
have not been enough of them and
there still Is the danger of drouth
later.
Cultivation has gone ahead under
favorable conditions and the crop is
perhaps cleaner than ever known,
which is a feature of Importance as
to yield and the quality of the crop.
It is difficult to conceive how con
ditions can arise that will cause the
fields to become grassy. The crop
will be laid by under the best condi
tions In years and In many sections
earlier than usual, though it will not
• be an early crop when size and ma
■ turlty of the plant is considered
> The depredations of the weevil in
‘ the Infested sections have been
checked, for little has been heard dur
ing the past week in regard to them
I The hot sun and lack of moisture
' have helped to cheek the pest, while
the tast numbers caught and de-
I j stroyed have also been a factor. Tow ■
: ever. It Is now between seasons with
1 ! the pest and the real test as to what
I it will do comes a little later
I There has been little activity in the
I spot department, though quotations
I have held fairly steady. Movement
i has been moderate. The strength In
I the summer contracts has extended
i ] to the entire market, and is based on
J' continued good consumption and the
smallness of stocks for protection of
short z_les.
r' A,
Coal to Cost More
Within Next Year,
Declare Operators
Export Demand One Factor in Cre
ating New Markets for Product
of Southern Mines.
KNOXVILLE. Tenn., July 5 Coal
operators in the Kentucky and Tennes
see fields, whose output moves largely
Into Georgia and adjoining States, re
port that the market is In better condi
tion at this season of the year than ever
before Prices are averaging from 6c to
16c per ton higher than one year ago,
with a strong demand for all grades
It is understood that contracts for rail
roads involving between 1,000,000 and 2,-
000,000 tons have been made at an ad
vance of 10 cents per ton over the con
tract price of last year This quantity
of coal will be taken out of commercial
channels, and will help advance prices
during the next twelve months
The demand for steam and domestic
coal Is unusually good for this season of
the year, and most operators have sold
their entire output up to September 1.
and are not anxious to make quotations
for shipments of <|>mestlc coals after
that date, as they believe a strong mar.
k<»t will develop in the fall and winter
There has been a slight let-up in the
past 30 days for the finer grades of
steam coal, and the Increased produc
tion In domestic has caused 3-Inch
steam and nut and slack to be more
plentiful, so that nut and slack is sell
ing from 5c to 10c less than 30 days ago.
An unusual feature is a car shortage
Ol*rators believe this Indicates a serious
shortage in the late fall and winter
months
There are several causes why prices
on coal going from all fields into Geor
gia territory will probably be higher
during the next twelve months In the
first place, exports of coal during the
past ten months have been greater than
ever before, especially from West Vir
ginia fields
This relieves the pressure of coal from
that field on the other Southern coal
fields Alabama also is finding new
markets at Gulf coast points and for ex
port. which takes away some coal going
into the Southeastern States Alabama
is coking considerable coal and this
eoke Is going into M<>clcan and far West
points operators In Kentucky
and Tennessee a.re successfully Invading
the Central and Northwestern States
with domestic coal, which, because of
its high quality, successfully competes
in those parts with coal from all other
fields. T his diverts a large tonnage
which has been going Into Southeastern
States
Carnegie in Favor of
New Currency Bill
President Wilton Should Stand Firm
if Opposition Develops to
His Plana, Ha Says.
ZERMATT, SWITZERLAND, July
s.—Andrew Carnegie Is keenly Inter
ested in the fate of the banking re
form bill as presented to Congress by
President Wilson.
•It is the most Important and moat
necessary legislation on which Amer
ica has had to decide for years," he
says, “the present American currency
system Is a disgrace to the country,
it Is not true that bankers and lead
Ing business men are opposed to the
measure. That is nonsense. The
best bankers and business are for the
reform. The Aldrich bill is all right
nnd so long as the principle thereof
Is maintained 1 do not care about the
details.
"If opposition should develop, my
advice to President Wilson is to stand
firm. When a panto starts other
countries and governments poesies
the power to step tn and act. Some
■peculators fall, It is true, but It is
a good thing that they should do so.
Southern Railway
Fours Are Sagging
Increased Dividends for Preferred
Fall to Cause Rally Because of
Underlying Conditions.
NEW YORK, July 5. -General In
vestment conditions have operated
against an advance In Southern Rail
way's development and general mort
gage 1 per cent bonds after the pre
ferred stock was put back on its reg
ular 5 per cent basts. Around 74. the
bonds are only four points above their
lowest level. At present price they
yield more than 5.60 per cent.
However, the decline has not been
as marked as in the high-grade sav
ings bank Issues These have suffered
losses of 5, fi and 7 points, while the
Southern 4a are off only about 44
points from the high of this year.
The Southern has more mileage
with low-earning power than any
other important road tn its territory.
However, Its branch mileage is a
source of strength, as indicated by
the steady Increase in gross and net
earnings every year since 1909 De
velopment of the South tends to In
crease the earning power of Uivse
branches. As yet little new capital
has had to be spent on them.
English Carpets to
Invade U. S. Markets
Tariff Situation Closely Watched,
and Any Opening Will Be
Seized by Britain.
NEW YORK, July s.—Reports
from carpet and rug manufacturers
show that their mills are fully occu
pied in getting out orders which have
been placed for the fall season. Re
ports to the effect that certain mills
were closed, or partly closed down,
have been promptly denied The
heaviest sales for the season have
been on axmlnster rugs, and some
additional orders are still coming
from buyers who do not believe that
thej are sufficiently covered.
The opinion Is becoming more gen
eral that fall prices were opened too
low. Raw material has continued to
move upward, and Is in very short
supply. There are a good many in
the trade who believe that the tariff
bill will not be passed in time to b«*
of much service for the fall season,
in the way of getting wool in free
According to representatives of car
pet houses in this market who have
just returned from a visit to the man
ufacturing i enters abroad, there wth
be keen competition on the part of
the British mills for American trade.
HEARST’S SUNDAY AMERICAN, ATLANTA, SUNDAY, JULY 6, 1913.
THEY ALL KNOW
WHAT COTTON
GROWERS NEED
Senator Clarke and Steamship
Lines Are Busy Regulating the
South’s Great Industry.
By M. A. ROSE.
Next to corporation-baiting un
doubtedly the most popular amuse
ment of the genus reform Is regulat
ing the cotton Industry.
The Southern farmer Is held up to
ridicule as the most Incompetent of
all the tillers of tho soil. Even the
Egyptian fellaheen can give him
pointers, these reformers assure us
Either the American cotton grower
plants too much or he plants too lit
tle. according to who is talking at
the particular moment when you are
listening Then the English splnnog
takes a whirl at him. He accuses
the Georgia darky of deliberately
wetting the Inside of hie hales to
make weight. The cotton grower has
no business sense, he gives htmself
into the clutches of the supply mer
chant. and he sells his product at the
bottom resting-place of prices He Is
criminally careless in baling and
marking. In brief, he does everything
wrong.
Yet somehow he makes an honest
living, which Is more than can be
said for some nt his most vigorous
critics.
Another Good Target.
Disposing of the farmer In this un
answerable style, the critic turns to
the dealer In futures Here Is a "bird
of prey," a fine target! Congress went
so far as to probe an alleged "bull”
clique. The bulla were trying to boost
cotton prices. Plainly this was a
crime. The "bears,” who were trying
to depress prices, escaped unremarked
The very latest is the Clarke
amendment to the tariff, which would
tax cotton futures contracts, entered
into under the rules of any cotton
exchange.
Cotton men Just now arc lasulrg
broadsides declaring that this Is de
signed to put every exchange out of
business. The elaborate machinery
which has been built up for report
ing crop conditions, and which makes
It possible for Liverpool to learn in
five minutes' time the arrival of a
tiny bug in a single American county
—all will be destroyed
How Exchanges Help.
Now, every cotton farmer who cares
knows within a few minutes what
price Liverpool, New York and New
Orleans are paying for his crop. De
stroy the exchanges nnd he will be at
the mercy of those who can afford to
maintain private news service. Fur
thermore, say the cotton men, instead
of destroying speculation, such a bill
will have the exactly opposite effect
of making the spot business, now sta
ble. extremely hazardous. The buyer
will not be able to sell contracts
against his purchases of the actual.
He will have to shave three or four
cents from his price to ward against
possible declines.
All this Is a lugubrious picture.
Perhaps it la overdrawn. It may be
that once a tax on cotton futures con
tracts is made a law the traders will
And themselves not so crippled as
they now believe. Everyone remem
bers what prophecies of calamity
greeted the first news of a slash in
the tariff, and how they have quieted
now that reductions are seen to be
inevitable and walling useless.
The fact remains that while no
doubt there is a certain amount of
manipulation in the cotton rings, still
the exchanges fill a very real need.
They are necessary. They help the
cotton farmer far more than they hurt
him. They should not be harassed or
hampered
Clarke Not Alone.
But Senator Clarke, who, like many
other strange things, comes from Ar
kansas. is not the only one "taking a
whack" at the cotton Industry these
days.
The steamship men. whose impos
sible strictures on the shipment of
cotton have been explained in this
column, appear to be Inexorable.
September 1, without fail, they will
put their new rules Into effect, they
say. Seeing that the deadlock Is se
rious. the Georgia Bankers' Associa
tion is sending out an open letter to
farmers, glnners, cotton-seed oil mills,
cotton exporters and cotton com
presses. The letter gives notice that
September 1 the steamships will begin
to mark through bills of lading with
notices of bad condition. The bank
ers officially give warning that bills
so marked will be unnegntlable. and
it will be impossible for the exporter
or buyer to draw through New York
or other centers for the value of the
cotton.
Eventually this agitation against
careless handling of the crop will
work out Into good. But the high
handed method of reform attempted
by the steamship combine carl result
in nothing but hardship for several
seasons.
And. of course, the farmer will be
the "scapegoat."
HOSIERY MOVES WELL.
Hosiery manufacturers who have
put their spring (19141 lines on the
market do not anticipate great diffi
culty in selling them up quickly. In
several instances the biggest part of
the season's production has already
been contracted for.
KNITTERS MAY STRIKE.
The unsettled condition of labor In
the sweater end of the knit-goods
trade Is causing the manufacturers
some concern. Some of the mills
making these goods have already had
strikes, and It is said that other out
breaks are not unexpected.
DRESS GOODS DULL.
Business Is quiet in the dress goods
market at the moment Buyers refuse
to contract ahead until the tariff has I
been settled definitely. Cancellations]
are not so heavy as might be expect
ed in view of the unsettled condition
of the trade. £
ADVENTURERS
DE LAMAR TYPE
ARE PLENTIFUL
“The Street” Often Outwitted by
Men of No Experience and No
Capital, From Nowhere.
By BOERSANIER.
CHICAGO, July 5. —"The street"
has the reputation of drawing the
most astute men in the world of busi
ness It is accounted the essence of
astuteness, the keenest form of
shrewdness, to succeed there. Men
who have qualified for eminence in
various lines of Industrial activity are
supposed to be tested in "the street"
for a final degree.
And yet there is the paradox that
in no department of trade are brazen
and shallow adventurers more suc
cessful than in "the street." Black
guards and blackmailers who, should
they endeavor to operate In any com
mercial line, would be detected and
banished instanter, flourish unmolest
ed in the purlieus of the stock ex
change.
Lamar is only one of a myriad of
Instances. Lest his position and op
erations be underestimated, It must
be confessed that from time to time
he made himself "useful” to power
ful men For a while he was James
R. Keene's intimate. He supped with
John W. Gates and played many parts
for scaly "banking houses” arrayed In
opposition to this or that plan.
Some Rocket Careers.
But there are adventitious charac
ters In no way suggestive of the
"wolf" type as represented by Lamar;
men sincere enough in their way with
methods, if not wholly Impeccable, at
least lawful. The most part of these
have no financial antecedents. They
come from Journalism, from the law.
from the medical profession. They
arrive in “the street" comparatively
unknown, with practically no knowl
edge, certainly no experience, of
financial affairs, and in a few months
the country Is ablaze with their ex
ploits. How they do It is a mystery
England lias had several "Hooleys”
—fellows who positively terrorized
bankers and corporation managers
Into the wildest sort of speculative
schemes. At about the same time In
Wall Street a certain doctor ran an
amazing campaign In a dozen worth
less curb stocks; ran these shares to
par and over, assisted by a tramp
newspaper man who had been unable
to earn S2O a week in Chicago, who
sold out before the crash came, pock
eting nearly $1,000,000 before he hur
ried to Europe.
Two Schemes Survive.
A still higher Instance Is that of
a Chicago attorney who suddenly
burst forth as a promoter of a half
dozen companies, two of which have
survived and are highly profitable.
The gentleman was wholly unknown
tn LaSalle Street. Nevertheless his
undertakings and all oversubscribed
—and had ft not been for the opposi
tion of the Moores, who were then
busy with their steel promotions, the
attorney might have merged all the
industries of the West and Middle
West. This genius subsequently dis
tinguished himself as a novelist and
a dramatist. He also is now a wine
and art connoisseur. It is needless
to note that he began life as a Jour
nalist.
The case of "Napoleon" Ives Is a
further exemplification. Ives had
been a subordinate clerk In a broker's
office. His duties were to fill the Ink
wells and to run errands. One day
“the street" equid not believe its ears
when It heard that this Junior clerk
had captured the Cincinnati, Hamil
ton and Dayton Railroad —at that
time a flourishing property. Ives had
somehow tn some way. got out-of
town capitalists to enter a pool he
had formed to get control of the road.
No Walk Street man had been invited
—hence Wall Street's surprise.
Quite as abnipt and romantic was
A. A. McLeod’s acquisition jof the
Reading and of the New York and
New England roads. McLeod had
been a milkman In Minneapolis. He
drifted into Wall Street, and had not
been there long before he startled
everybody, particularly J. P. Morgan,
by seizing the management of two
important railway companies. Most
of these rockets —and many more—
came down completely exploded, as
suddenly as they had risen. The
amazing point Is that they should
have gone up at all tn a thoroughfare
I Inhabited by a nation's most sophis
ticated citizens.
Wheat Market Due
Rise on Crop News
Reports of Losses In South Dakota
Give Bulls Strength for Assault
In Monday’s Trading.
By JOSEPH F. PRITCHARD.
CHICAGO. July 6 —lt Is expected by
the more conservative men in the wheat
trade that Monday’s reports of crop
losses In the spring wheat country will
be sensational. In consequence, a bull
market in wheat is among the probabili
ties for Monday. While the export busi
ness of the past few weeks was noted
with no great amount of enthusiasm by
the wheat trade at large, the most ar
dent bears w’il! be obliged to sit up and
take notice in case these reports should
continue
Ven’ little will be heard from the win
ter wheat country save of the enormous
movement which will soon be under way
and of larger thrashing returns than
were looked for even by the most ardent
bear There are spots In the wheat belt
of the Southwest where there have* been
losses but there will be more than enough
of this grain to go around when final
returns are made.
There is still a big long interest in
corn and oats as shown by the persistent
buying on all the dips There will be a
day of reckoning, however, and unless
new buying pow’er is to be seen in the
market, price recessions are among the
probabilities. >
Stock Exchange Working
Hard to Restore Confidence
Old Secretive Attitude Gives Way to Campaign
of Education—Queer Deals Cease.
NEW YORK, July s.—Nearly a
half-year has gone by since the New
Yortt Stock Exchange began meas
ures of reform, and It is possible to
gain a retrospective view of the re
sult* obtained. It may be said that
the leaders In the movement are sat
isfied with what has been accom
plished toward Improving the general
morale of operations in securities, and
the groundwork laid for lifting the
exchange above public reproach they
believe to be secure.
The government committee has, In
the first place, made application in
recent months of the old adage about
an ounce of prevention and a pound
of cure. The committee has worked
to eliminate incipient evils before
they grew large enough to be sub
jects of general comment in the
Street. The infliction of discipline—
and there has been much discipline
Inflicted—has been gone about quiet
ly, with the purpose of curbing In
fraction of the rules before greater In
fractions could occur. The effort has
met with much success.
In consequence, largely, the ex
change Is entitled to considerable sat
isfaction over the fact that while re
cent sharp declines in the interna
tional markets brought in their train
a number of failures in London. Paris
and Berlin, not a single New York
Stock Exchange house got Into trou
ble.
"Manipulation is dead on the ex
change,” said a prominent member
yesterday. “The governors have
placed themselves so rigidly In op
position to every possible method of
creating a fictitious market for a
stock that no one would dare make
the attempt. An outside operator
might possibly try it. but the odds
are greatly against any Stock Ex
change house keeping his account if
his trading became a matter of sus
picion. There Is no doubt about that.
The committee on business conduct
would take tare of that end of the
problem."
The committee on business conduct
Is, without doubt, the best adjunct to
proper management of the exchange
that has been added to the executive
power In many years. The commit
tee's function is to enforce proper
conduct between members and their
clients, to prevent reckless or unbusi
nesslike transactions on the board
room floor, and to throttle manipula
tion The scope of its Influence Is
clearly seen In these three Items.
The business conduct committee
consists of five members, all of whom
are members of the governing com-
Crossties Wanted,
Even at High Prices
Savannah Dealers Report Heavy
Movement —Woodsmen Pressed
to Keep Up to Demand,
SAVANNAH, GA., July s.—With
crossties ranging at the highest price
levels of years. Savannah Arms report
an unusual volume of business. The
woodsmen are hard pressed to keep
pace with the demand.
One of the best contracts for cypress
erosstlee has been closed with the Gov
ernment, the ties being destined for
use in construction work in the Pan
ama Canal Zone, and the American
steamship Jaeob Bright reached port
Friday morning to load cargo. She will
sail early next week with 20,000 ties,
which were sold on a basis of 95 cents
each.
The railroads of the North and East,
which have been experimenting with
oak and chestnut crossties, have found
them unsuitable and are rapidly re
turning to pine.
The values now quoted are 58 cents
for standard heart ties of pine, while
sap ties are ruling at 38 cents. These
are the actual prices paid to cutters and
contractors.
More than 114.000 ties were shipped
out of the port of Savannah during the
month of April.
NEW YORK BANK STATEMENT.
NEW YORK. July s—Average state
ment of the New York Associated
Banks to-day follows:
Excess cash reserve. $26,473,650
Increase, $5,614,550
Loans, increase $25 190.000
Specie, decrease $5,525,000.
Legal tenders, decrease $4,742,000
Net deposits, increase $22,299,000.
Circulation, decrease $726,000
Actual statement:
Loans, decrease $127,000
Specie, decrease $12,969,000.
Legal tenders, decrease $4,668,000
Net deposits, decrease $13,003,000.
Reserve, decrease $17,637,000.
Ladies Will Find This Bank a Great
Convenience When Shopping
c f n a . Situated in the heart of the shopping Dis
a e ueposit trict , this p rO g ress j ve extends to its wo-
Boxes men patrons exceptional advantages and con
fer Rent venience.
Bring your account to us—no matter how
AA small. You will find us always at your service.
* A Checking Account will enable you to keep
Per Year yourself better posted on your expenditures—
and encourage you to save.
Interest Paid Semi-Annually on Savings
AMERICAN NATIONAL BANK
W. L. PEEL, President. R. F. MADDOX, Vice President.. T. J. PEEPLES. Cashier
J. P. WINDSOR. Assistant Cashier. J. F. ALEXANDER, Assistant Cashier.
CORNER ALABAMA AND BROAD STREETS
' mittee. The members have the power
of examining the books of any Stock
Exchange house at any time, to sum
mon members of the exchange to ex
plain acts which have been called
into question, and to inquire into re
lations between members and cus
tomers.
If a stock begins to act strangely,
the committee finds out who Is buy
ing and selling it. and the buyer and
seller have to explain all about their
transactions.
The committee reads carefully mar
ket letters sent out by commission
houses. If it be decided that the con
tents are too much on the order . f
"tips, " the house responsible therefor
Is warned that more matter-of-faet
statements must be substituted for
prophecies.
The formation of the committee on
business conduct was one of the first
products of the reform movement. The
idea of having a number of responsi
ble members In a position to get
closer to the Inner workings of the
exchange than the larger board of
governors was able to do was con
ceived by a special committee ap
pointed to "consider the matter of
handling margin accounts and re
hypothecating securities and devise
measures which will serve more fully
to protect the public.”
It is doubtful If the rank and file
of Stock Exchange members realized
how widespread would be the duties
of the new organization. It was
dubbed the ''police committee” at first,
and an impression prevailed in some
quarters that the most onerous work
of the members would be to prevent
horseplay on the floor. Those who
allowed this thought to submerge
more weighty considerations were
quickly disabused of It.
Another direction taken by Stock
Exchange reform which stands out
prominent In the history of the past
six months Is in the way of education
There was a time, not so very long
ago, when Information about opera
tions on the board was extremely hard
to get. The attitude of the authori
ties seemed to be that the public did
not need to know anything about a
lot of matters. Such is not the case
at the present time.
A committee has been formed which
supplies inquirers with answers to all
reasonable queries as to stocks, bonds,
earnings of companies and methods of
business on the exchange. Further
more, this committee has carried the
campaign of education to the public
instead of waiting for the public to
appear in Wall Street.
No One Will Help You
UNLESS YOU SHOW A Disposi
tion to help YOURSELF to get
ahead financially, it is certain that no one
will TRY to help you.
It is meet, therefore, that you invite the
confidence of others by starting an ac
count with this bank, and systematically
save a part of your earnings.
Besides winning the confidence of
others, such a system will increase your
principal to surprising proportions; it
will teach you the value of money and
how to use it, and will prepare you. mor
ally and financially, for an honorable and
eminently successful business career.
Atlanta National Bank
The Oldest National Bank
in the Cotton States
PROPOSED TAX
DIVERTS NOTICE
FROM MARKET
Cotton Men Too Busy Fighting
Clarke Amendment to Notice
Closely Daily Fluctuations.
, NEW ORLEANS. July s.—Pending
the outcome of the proposed legisla
tion at Washington, which would
place a prohibitive tax on contracts .
for the future delivery of cotton, com
paratively little interest is being
taken in the cotton market itself. Cot
ton men, who realize that the system
of contract trading In New Orleans
and New York is absolutely essen
tial for carrying on the immense for
ward business In the South's great
staple, are more concerned in th*
fight for the maintenance of contract
markets than in temporary fluctua
tions, which, however, continue to
show a steady undertone, with sup
port on all easy periods.
It has been clearly demonstrated by
men here who are experts on cotton
matters that while all lines of the
cotton business will be seriously af
fected by the enactment of the Clarke
amendment into law, the man who
will suffer most from such ill-con
ceived legislation will be the cotton
producer himself, in the first place,
the wiping out of the contract mar
kets would do away with an army of
small spot buyers who are accus
tomed to hedge against possible
losses by selling contracts against
their purchases of spot cotton, and
thus deprive the farmers of the bene
fit of competition for their cotton.
The logical consequence would be
that the control of the spot markets
of the South would pass Into the
hands of a few rich Interests, and
eventually, It Is argued, would lead to
the formation of a gigantic cotton
trust somewhat on the order of that
which now has the cattle raisers of
the United States in its grip.
No less an authority than Colonel
Henry G. Hester states that If the
Clarke amendment Is adopted the
value of cotton in the South will be
lessened two to three cents a pound.
Buyers of spot cotton, unable to pro
tect themselves against losses by
hedges In the contract market, will
necessarily allow a margin for possi
ble fluctuations in the value of the
staple by reducing the prices paid to
the producer. With the aid of the
contract market spot buyers are able
to pay full market values for cotton
and can always find an outlet for
their purchases.