Newspaper Page Text
ITEARST’S SUNDAY AMERICAN, ATLANTA, 0A., SUNDAY, AUGUST 31, 1913.
15 D
V.
I
A
ews an
id Views by Ex
per
ts of Finan
ce, ■ Indi
ustr)
/, Crops and
Commerce
lUNURHIUS
hid rifisi nnrm
One Hundred IV
lillior
i Bushels of Corn 111
iutiST BULGE
MOr Tstckholder ™ GULSSLH!
A stockholder rynrnT ntinrn
run Ntn LHDP |
Could Be Grow
n on
Georgia Swamps y
^EXPECTED 8?
At the stockholders’ meeting of * A | | 1 1 1 Fn J jlfl 1 rl
the Now Haven Railroad A. Max- L/\l LU 1 U U I B Lit
Banks Demand Clean Export Pa
pers—City Needs Nearly Six
Million Dollars for Season,
Era of Canal Diggers Here Making Richest TractsTillable—Reclaim
ing of Lost Bottoms in Piedmont Valleys and Coastal Plain Possible
With Great Profit.
CHARLES A. WHITTLE
By M. A. ROSE.
Aew crop cotton bills of lafling for
export made their first appearance
In Atlanta during the week.
Their advent this year has been
awaited with much interest and some
anxiety. The remarkable proposal of
the steamship companies to deface
them with notations of bad condition
of the cotton made it something of an
enigma what course the banks would
* take. Such bills they declared not ne-
J gotiable.
There has been no solution of the
problem.
The banks have taken the export
bills only on condition of guarantee
that there shall be no such notations;
In other words, that they shall be
clean. Apparently nothing but per
fect bales can be exported under such
conditions. What will be done with
. Imperfect bales remains to be seen.
* Probably the best that can be done is
to find a market with domestic mills.
Money in Keen Demand.
Demand for money is nearing its
climax Atlanta every year borrows
between $5,500,000 and $6,000,000 to
move the crops, and with deposits at
rather low ebb, this year’s borrowings
will be nearer the $6,000,000 mark.
Seven-eighths of this is reloaned to
country banks. Atlanta is paying 5 1-2
per cent for the funds In New York.
How much the $800,000 Secretary
McAdoo proposes to deposit here will
help, can be estimated from these
figures.
At best, the Secretary’s motives In
offering this accommodation to the
South and West were mixed. Doubt
less he was glad to aid in moving the
crop, and he did inspire helpful sen
timent by the use of comparatively a
email amount pf money. On the other
hand, when Government 2s went to-
bogganning on announcement of a
currency bill which threatened to rob
them of much of their value, some
thing had to be done. By requiring
10 per cent collateral in Governme.it
bonds against the proposed autumn
deposits the Secretary hoped to make
a market for these securities and
bolster their price.
C. F. Childs' Comment.
C. F. Childs & Co., of Chicago, spe
cialists in Government bonds, make
no bones about It. They say:
"Bankers now feel that Congress
will recognize its moral obligation to
provide some form of satisfactory pro
tection for the outstanding 2s in the
* nature of ultimate retirement in cash.
,* This, of course. Is entirely dependent
upon the possibility of the present pro
posed currency bill being enacted.
Should a prolonged debate or a pro
nounced opposition or a radical change
in the bill result, we may expect a
revival of the uncertainty respecting
the future course of the market.
“The recovery In prices In a large
• measure also has been helped by the
./ ruling of the Secretary of the Treas
ury respecting his distribution of
. about $50,000,000 Government deposits
whereby he requires 10 per cent of the
deposit must be secured by Govern
ment bonds. Although banks in gen
eral have evidenced a preference to
borrow the necessary bonds for this
purpose ot the customary rental of 2
per cent per annum, few have suc
ceeded. It Is, therefore, likely that
any increased demand to purchase
bonds will contribute temporarily to
still higher quotations during the nex;
30 days, although too much depends
upon Congressional action with ref
erence to the currency bill to permit
of even a hazardous prophecy for a
longer period."
Georgia Stale College of Agriculture.
Southern Railroads
Moving Much Grain
Wheat Exports Through Galveston
Large, but Com Figures Are
Smaller Than in 1912.
NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 30.—Rail
roads leading to Galveston and New
Orleans have had a most active pe
riod of grain trade In which wheat has
figured largely. For the year ending
July 31, John H Upschulte, chief
grain inspector of Galveston. Texas,
renorts 13,019,884 bushels of wheat
if handled there, of which 1,776,800
bushels were received during July.
>' T h e corn inspection for the year was
only 197,223 bushels, and Kaffir corn
439 446 bushels. Last year's Septem
ber and October trade ran little under
1 000 000 bushels a month and there
were six months out of the twelve In
which Galveston handled between 1,-
, Oil' 1 00(1 and 2,000,000 bushels of wheat.
' A factor in moving grain freights
' to the seaboard Is the backwardness
nf European harvests. Rains have
delayed field work in Scotland, on the
continent and in large parts of Rus-
31 The result Is a fight movement to
norts a delay in threshing and an
urgent demand for dry wheat fit for
milling purposes such as the dry July
!n America as well as the dry August
furnished to our growers of winter
"’iulv exports of wheat and flour as
wheat were nearly five t,imes as large
1 in Tulv 1912, at 12,607,000 bushels,
compared with 2.778,000 bushels In
July, 1912-
As much as 100,000,000 bushels of
corn could be grown on the overflow
an Q iwamp lands of Georgia. One
could nearly duplicate that for each
t i? e Atla ntic and Gulf States of
the South. Six or seven hundred mil-
bushels of corn is worth while.
Or course, it might be expressed in
terms of cotton, potatoes, etc.
The fact is that the best lands of
the South are overflow and swamp
lands. The swamp lands are the
black belt lands In process of forma
tion. How long ago we do not know,
but sometime quite a way back all
the black soil region of the South
was a big swamp. Either it was
humped up and drained itself by some
internal Impetus of the world, or It
continued to All up with its own veg
etation and the wash from higher
lands till it became tillable.
It is neither necessary for man to
wait nature’s process of filling up the
swamps nor an earthquake to elevate
it. He can dig and drain, occupy,
plant and gather the fat of the land.
In Florida the era of the canal
diggers is well on its way. The water
Cyprus, the bullfrogs, the water moc
casin snakes, the malarial mosquitoes
with all the dismal sounds and sights
which they suggest, give way to the
industrious chug of the steam shovel
nosing into the soo-o-y 'soil, channel
ing a canal, drawing off of the brack
ish stagnation, the letting In of sun
light and life, the upturning of th^*
muck, the planting and wonderful
reaping.
“Look Before You Buy.*
By way of a slight diversion. It
may be here suggested that before
you buy of the Florida land agent,
take a look. Sometimes the canals
that are supposed to do the draining
of the particular land now on the
market—when the canal is due-—does
not serve the purpose. An invest
ment in swamps, mosquitoes, snakes,
etc., does not pay, as a rule.
Not only are there great opportu
nities In drained swamp lands, but
great things are possible In the re
clamation of lands which were once
the glory of the South for big yields.
Along the valleys of the Piedmont
region, as well as on the prairies of
the coastal plain, you will find trust
worthy citizens who can tell you when
great crops were being raised where
now the water flags and frogs are
luxuriating. These are the overflow
lands. These were once the rich al
luvial bottom lands now lost to pro
duction.
Why? Because of the wash from
above. Look upon the gullies of the
red hills of the Piedmont region’
There is the answer. Look at the
bare lands in the winter with no cover
crop to check the leach and erosion!
Ivook at the absence of terraces :>r
the carelessness with which, they are
maintained! Look at the carelessness
of landowners In permitting the
streams to become clogged with de
bris!
South Must Pav by Ditching.
Now the South must pay for these
mistakes by ditching. Fortunately the
South can pay for its mistakes and
get for the payment the richest land
of which it can boast. It is not often
that one can recoup losses with so
great a success.
But why has the South not been
ditching and draining its overflow
lands, and why is it not taking pos
session again of its best lands which
it has beeit compelled to abandon and
retire to the hills? The reason is
that it is too big a Job for single
farmers. If it were only the ditch
ing and draining of his own farm,
that wmuld not be too much; but
draining one farm, If that farm does
not extend from the source to the
mouth of the stream w r hich has been
consuming land, is not practical.
If the farmer next below' does not
also ditch and dig the right depth,
the first farmer might as well have
saved his money. If all of the farm
ers along the stream do not ditch in
exactly the right way the reclamation
work will soon be lost.
Thus it wili be seen that reclaim
ing overflowed land, is a stream-long
and watershed wide proposition. If
the farmers are going to succeed in
winning again their best land, they
will have to co-operate, employ an
engineer, put an efficient contractor
to work to follow engineer’s sur
vey and recommendations.
Government Offers Engineer.
During the last two years a great
deal of interest has been taken, espe
cially in the Piedmont region, In
drainage and reclamation. The move
ment has Just started and promises
to assume large proportions. With
adequate State financial assistance,
these enterprises would have gone
ahead much more rapidly. As it is
the initiation is slow because the
farmers must educate themselves to it
and agree with each other over an
area of many square miles in places
and raise money by prorating before
anything can be started.
With a better appreciation of the
vast public good that will follow, the
Federal Government has provided that
wherever a body of farmers will meet
the expense of a survey, that an en
gineer will be furnished, the expense
being that which Is over and above
the salary of the engineer. This, of
course, is an attractive offer and is
eagerly appropriated by the farmers.
As a direct result of drainage en
terprises, alnds which heretofore
could have been purchased for a
nominal sum, perhaps from $5 to $10
per acre, are now being sold as high
as $200 per acre, and they are worth
It.
It is a plain financial proposition,
that if drained land is worth, say from
$50 to $100 per acre, and it costs only
a fraction of that amount to ef
fect the drainage of it, the sum de
pending upon how many acres are
drained and the size bf the channe*—
that an inviting field for investment
is afforded.
If overflow lands could be optioned
at their present values, they could be
drained and sold In many Instances
before the option time expires, netting
the drainage company all of the in
crease in the value of the land.
Overflow Land Different.
This very thing is being done in
swamp lands by promoting compa
nies whose actual capital tied up nev
er becomes very much. The only rea
son’that it is being done in swamp
lands is that the swamp lands are
owned by very few people and can
be easily obtained, while the over
flow land has numerous holders, all
of whom have to be lined up to a fair
basis before the enterprise can be
financed. In many places, however,
overflow lands can be handled suc
cessfully In thisf way.
The co-operative undertakings
wherein the farmers affected join in
the expense, a system of bonding the
land to be improved at so much per
acre, these bonds to carry as low a
rate of interest as possible, with tne
land itself backing it with a mort
gage, has been successfully worked.
Of course, before any financier will
put up the money he must first know
how much will be required to improve
the land, whether or not the scheme
is plausible and whether or not the
land is to be sufficiently enhanced to
make the security attractive for the
money to be advanced
Therefore, before the farmers can
carry their proposition to a banker
they must first obtain the services of
an engineer, whose report will nm
only estimate the cost of drainage,
but will approximate the resultant
value to the land. The services of
such an engineer can be obtained free
of salary, from the Government. Ills
living expense, materials and assist
ance must be met by the co-operating
farmers.
Cash Outlay Is Small.
The actual outlay of cash on the
part of the co-operating farmers,
therefore, need not bo large to meet
the cost of the survey. After the ex
penses of ditching and draining should
be met by the bonds.
Ditching a deeper and better bed for
a stream will not mean a permanent
improvement of the adjoining land, if
care is not taken to check erosion or
the flowing sand and gravel from the
slopes of the watershed with every
rain.
To keep the channel from filling up
again in a short time, there must be
well kept terraces on the slopes, each
terrace constructed on a water level
and War enough to each other to
prevent an accumulation of water
that would break over and cause a
wash. «
Supplementing the terraces should
be the winter cover crop of oats,
wheat, rye, clover, vetch or some oth
er suitable kind. These will serve to
catch the rainfall, turn It downward
into the soil and hold by its roots a
large amount of moisture which oth
erwise would serve only to leech away
the fertility of the land.
Permanent hillside pastures would
afford a happy solution of the ero
sion problem, as well as^ a means for
a live stock business. No better per
manent pasture can be found in a
greater part of the South than Ber
muda grass, and none is so well adapt
ed to worn-out gullied lands which
are the cause of the choking and fill
ing up of the streams.
How to Save Waste Land.
The grass will grow Qn most any
soil, as will Japanese clover, which
grows wild in the South. Sowing
Bermuda on the land and filling the
gullies with the scrub pine which has
sprung up on the land will not only
check the wash, but start the waste
land toward reclamation. The drop
pings of the cattle in pasture will
eventually bring the land back to a
cultivatable state.
Bermuda pasture will put on one
and a half pound of flesh a day on
tick-free and fairly good types of beef
cattle, as has been demonstrated at
the Georgia State College of Agri
culture.
When it Is considered that the pas
ture which is doing this Is land which
was gullied and long since abandoned
for agricultural purposes, and when,
in addition it is considered that the
hitherto worthless land is now cred
ited with $1.50 per month pasture for
each head of cattle, It can be under
stood how easy and profitable it be
comes to reclaim gullied land and
check erosion. A pound of beef pro
duced at 1 1-2 cents per day will sell
at from 6 cents up on the hoof. It’s a
good argument for stopping the wash
and waste of land.
Penalty for Neglect Urged.
The public welfare demanding it
very certainly, and the washing of
land being for the most part both
preventable and profitable, there ought
to be a law to compel reasonable pre
cautions in this regard. County en
gineers should survey terraces, and
farmers should be required to con
struct them, or else put their slope-
lands down to permanent pasture.
Where gullies exist they should be
filled with brush, and it should be an
indictable offense to permit new ones
to be formed.
This is no trivial matter. It con
cerns slow death and destruction of
a vast acreage of faim lands in the
South. -The State of Georgia alond is
many million dollars poorer to-day
for the sands that have been creep
ing down from the slopes.
It will spend many millions of dol
lars to lecover its submerged fertil
ity, not to mention its denuded fer
tility of the uplands, and when these
millions have been spent they also
will be lost in time, If a right policy
of agriculture is not pursued on the
higher lands. This right policy prob
ably will never become effective with
out law.
Enemies of High Prices Count on
Heavy Early Movement, Which
Fails to Develop.
Big Building Pays
Savings Institution
People Judge the Size and Prosperity
of a Bank by the Home It
Boasts.
ELEVEN-CENT COTTON
FOR OCTOBER DELIVERY
I
NEW YORK, Aug. SO.—Spinners
who made contracts for delivery of
vams to hosiery and underwear mill,
at the 11-cent basis are said to be
confining themselves for delivery this
side of November 1. There is not much
disposition to hazard terms beyond
that date. The maturing crop is still
uncertain, and they may easily lose
before that.
It does not appear that the yarn
contracts have a tariff schedule con-
.tlngency. but that the mills as buy
ers or sellers of yarns are preferring
leave months after November 1
tree And there is In that very fact
,eod deal of speculative risk In-
The knitting industry may be
facing a boom wher somemills are
nov v running day and night.
NEW YORK, Aug. 30.—It pays to
build a good savings bank building
in a prominent place as a means of
impressing the depositing population
with the character and standing of
the institution, says a prominent New
York official. A board of directors
recently reviewed the questions and
agreed that the policy which its pres
ident opposed ten yeas ago—of put
ting $300,000 into a bank building on a
leading New York street corner—wa«
one of the best investments they ever
made.
The bank was in a populous dis
trict, and the people judged the in
stitution’s prosperity by the size, dig
nity and attractiveness within and
without the building itself, rather
than by any financial statement.
Immediately after the new building
was opened the deposits began to run
up rapidly and have kept going ever
since in impressive fashion.
INDIAN COTTON SLUMPS
IN GRADE SECOND YEAR
The Times of India has some in
teresting comments on the recent
deputation from the International
Cotton Federation to Lord Crewe. It
is true that in several parts of the
country there has been distinct suc
cess in producing cotton of an im
proved staple, and the Bombay mill
owners have shown themselves readv
to take as much of this as they could
get.
The trouble is that in the second
year of cultivation there is a marked
tendency to fall back to the low< r
grade; this is not confined to a par
ticular case or even to one part of
the country.
The question is whether such de
terioration is inevitable, and “the cot
ton trade” says that It is not. attrib
uting it to “an alleged erroneous wav
of selecting seed from one year’s crop
for sowing the next crop.”
Arkansas Diamond 1 Gulf and Lakes Nov/
Fields Developed
Total of 1,375 Stones, Weighing 550
Carats, Found Since
August 1, 1906.
Diamonds were first discovered in
Arkansas August 1, 1906, near the
mouth of Prairie Creek, in the vicinity
of Murfreesboro, Pike County, and
since that time approximately 1,375
stones, aggregating 550 carats, are re
ported to have been found in this lo
cality.
The diamonds in Arkansan occur
in a rock known as peridotite, and for
this reason search for further areas
of the rock has been made. This
search has resulted in the finding
of three new areas, the known ex
tent of which is much smaller than
that near Murfreesboro. They lie
within an area of one square mile,
about three miles from Murfreesboro.
The Kimberlite Diamond Mining
and Washing Company Is erecting at
Kimberley a plant to wasli the dia
mond-bearing earth to be hauled on
a tramway from its peridotite area
and from another tract near the mouth
of Prairie Creek. Four diamonds of
good quality are said to have been
picked up on the surface, the largest
weighing 5 carats. Further develop
ment work to ascertain the extent of
the peridotite Is now under way.
On another tract, where a little
washing lor diamonds has been done
in a crude way without machinery, 20
diamonds have been recovered
Crowd Coast Exports
NEW ORLEANS. Aug. 3#.—Quite
unexpected by the majority of traders
in this market, a squeeze of consid
erable' proportions has developed in
the August position, which sold Wed
nesday as high as 13.76, although
middling spot cotton was officially
quoted at only 12 3-16. The short
lntere.^ in August does not appear to
be very large, but speculators who
had the temerity to remain short of
that month until the actual -cotton
was demanded have been punished
severely.
These August shorts probably
counted on a heavy early movement
depressing the price of August con
tracts, but the development of drouth
conditions in Texas and Oklahoma
caused such an active demand for ne*v
receipts in that section of the belt
that practically no new cotton has
come to tins market for delivery on
contract. ,
Warten Misses Chance.
The sensational advance in August
after the fiasco in the July deal, which
was abandoned by Henry Warten. the
Alabama operator, has caused con-
.sidemble comment here. Friends of
the Athene man expressed their re
gret that he had not attempted to bull
the August position, which would
have yielded him greater returns in
the way of profits than did his opera
tions in the July option. Any strong,
aggressive interest in August could
have forced that month to 15 cents, as
the amount of certified cotton in the
local stock is very small, and It is
now too late to bring cotton ' here j
from the interior for delivery on con
tract, even if the class of cotton need
ed for tender purposes were available
in the country.
One advance has followed another
in the market this week, and shorts
have been severely pounded in the
new crop months, as well as in Au
gust. Reports of severe deterioration
in the condition of the crop in Texas
and Oklahoma have been coming in
from reliable sources, foreshadowing
a very bullish Government report
September 2. Deterioration also is
reported in Alabama, Mississippi and
Louisiana. In Alabama the crop has
deteriorated on account of d:\ $th.
while in Louisiana and Mississippi
the principal damage has been caused
by the boll weevil.
The market, having advanced above
the level of 12 cents, has paused to
see how the trade will accept the I
higher scale of values. The demand
lot ally for actual cotton, except for
immediate delivery on contract, is not |
very keen, but it is thought that the |
bureau report will have the effect of j
stimulating the spinners into buying
more freely.
Triple Holiday.
This market, as well as New York,
was closed Saturday and will be Mon
day, on account of Labor Day. With
three days of holiday on a stretch,
with a bureau report following, the
market Mhows a disposition to even
up commitments and await further
developments in the situation.
Sentiment now is as bullish as r
formerly was bearish, and any furthei
setback to the crop, either in the
Eastern or Central belt, probablji j
would start a bull campaign of con
siderable magnitude, unless legisla
tion should prevent.
ey Hiller, a stockholder, had the
very bad taste to ask J. P. Mor
gan, one of the directors of the
road, how much he charged the
company for organizing the syndi
cate to guarantee the new issue of
$67,000,000 bonds at par. Such a
question was unprecedented in New
Haven meetinas. It shows that in
tf is new era of puoucity any
stockholder is likely at any time
to ask impertinent and rude ques
tions about matters hitherto consid
ered purely private and personal
matters by high finance, into which
no stockholder has any right to
intrude.
REPORT 171!
Mr. Morgan replied promptly and
- 'y. Hi
politely. He explained that “the
conditions of the security market
were very bad.” Bonds were hard
to sell. When the issue was pro
posed a few weeks ago he under
took to organize a syndicate to
guarantee that any of the bonds not
taken by the stockholders at par
would be taken by a Wall street
syndicate at 98. For his services
he charged 1*2 per cent on the en
tire issue; that is to say, $335,000.
The underwriting syndicate get3
$1,340,000 more for its services. In
the meantime the 6 per cent bonds
are recognized as a prime invest
ment ana are eagerly bought by the
ublic at 106 to 107,*' although the
onds are not vet issued.
e
Mr. Morgan will not have to take
any of the bonds; the syndicate
will not take any. The risk taken
in this case was negligible. If the
bonds had been offered to the pub
lic they would have been eagerly
taken at a premium. The New Ha
ven road would have received $5,-
000.000 or $6,000,000 more than it
will now receive. The large profit
of the issue now goes to Mr. Mor
gan and the syndicate. Mr. Mor
gan is a director and, therefore, a
trustee for the ( other stockholders,
but he fixes his own terms for the
bond issue, nas no competition, and
“does what he thinks right” for
himself and the company. There is
no one to say “nay,” no public au
thority whose sanction and approv
al is necessary, no stockholder
strong enough or independent ,
enough to object in behalf of the
other stockholders.
Whenever the New ITnven Rail
road or the New York Central or
the Southern Railway or the Gen
eral Electric Company issue new
securities Mr. Morgan fixes the
price absolutely and charges the
companies up to 2% per cent of
the entire issue f(/r doing so.
Other great companies, like the
Union Pacific, the Southern Pacific,
the Baltimore and Ohio and some
times the Pennsylvania Railroad,
go to Kuhn, Loeb & Co. Mr. Mor
gan never interferes with the Kuhn
Loeb companies, and Mr. Schiff and
Mr. Kuhn, of Kuhn, Lo©b & Co^
are much too polito ever to bid for
any issue of any company of which
Mr. Morgan has the monopoly in
Wall Street. The National City
Bank has its own list of clients and
also always co-operates, but never
competes with the two private
banking firms.
ALL THIS IS PERFECTLY
REGULAR AND LEGAL. It has
been the rule since railroad financ
ing began as a purely private, in
dividual enterprise. It used to be
nobody's business what private
terms bankers made with railroad
promoters for the issue of new se
curities. BUT TIMES HAVE
CHANGEO.
Iron Stocks Lower
Because of Sales
Chicago and Cincinnati Take Good
Orders and Home Business
Picks Up.
Entire Atlantic Seaboard Controls
but 56 Per Cent of the Total,
* Says U. 8. Report.
BIG RICE EXPORT DEAL
MEETS SUDDEN SETBACK
BEAUMONT, TEXAS, Aug, 30.—At
a meeting of the board of directors
of the Southern Ri‘ e Growers’ Asso
ciation and representatives nf the
Louisiana State Rice Milling Compa-
nv, the contract hetween the associa
tion and the milling company, pro
viding for the export of 20 per cent
of the rice crop of 1913, was by mu
tual consent canceled, because of the
failure of the rice farmers of Louis
iana. Texas and Arkansas to furnish
the rice for export under the contract.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 30.—Gulf apd
Great Lake ports In the United States
are rapidly pushing the Atlantic
coast ports to the background in the
matter of volume of export and im
port trade, according to a statement
from the Bureau of Foreign and Do
mestic Commerce.
In 1900 the Atlantic ports controlled
69 per cent of the export trade and
In 1913 only 55 per cent. In 1900 im
port trade in the Atlantic ports was 81
per cent and in 1913 76 per cent.
The percentage of differences had
gone to the Gulf and Great Lake
ports.
BIRMINGHAM, ALA.. Aug. 30.—
Further sales of pig iron were mad)
during the week, though the aggregate
was not large. There is further re
duction of accumulations, and if the
movement keeps up, which appears to
be a certainty, there will be but little
iron on the yards of the furnaeu and
warrant companies by the end of the
year. There is a large amount being
shipped to Cincinnati, Chicago ■ and
other Western centers. The home con
sumption is picking up a little ami
there is promise of a strong melt in
the very near future.
The quotations are firm at $11 tier
ton, No. 2 Foundry, as the minimum.
There is still special brand and spe-
I clal analysis iron sold at premiums of
$1 to $1.50 per ton, while small lots
of iron, immediate delivery, sell at
$11.25 to $11.50 per ton.
Steel operations are active in the
Birmingham district and there are in-
; dicatlons that the industry is going
| to be active right along, not only
through the year but into next spring
I All shapes of steel appear to be in de-
I mand.
Charcoal iron is quoted between 5--
The Pennsylvania, the New York
Central and the New Haven Rail
roads are now public institutions.
The Pennsylvania is owned by 85,-
000 stockholders. The issue of new
securities affects the public inter
ests, involves questions of rates,
taxes and practices SUBJECT TO
THE CONTROL OR SUPERVI
SION OF THE GOVERNMENT,
through the Interstate Comemrce
Commission.
The evolution from the old era of
addition, division and silence—of
private privilege in corporate
finance and banking—to the new
era of publicity and public regula
tion is shockinq to many high finan-
“ir. Mi
ciers, but Mr. Morgan, by fiis frank
and polite response to the imperti
nent, radical stockholder, Mr. Hiller,
in the New Haven meeting showed
that ho is of the new and younger
generation and that, as'the world
moves, he moves with it.
It is a hopeful sign.
Credit Man Answers
Discount Grabbers
FLORIDA CONCERN STARTS
ELABORATE ROPE FACTORY
! and $24.50 per ton
| i
ST. JAMES CITY, FLA., Aug. 30.—
The Sisal Hemp and Development
Company has completed its 80-spin
dle mill, driven by steam and electric
power, with a ten-hour capacity of
six tons of rope and twine. It has
also completed a machine shop and
tar plant for tarring the lath yarn
manufactured. Both manila and sis i!
hemp are beinp- used, most of the sisal
being Imported from Nassau and the
manila coming from the Philippine
Islands.
The company is proceeding rapidly
with its hemp planting, and proposes
to grow it in sufficient quantities to
meet its factory consumption. About
100 men and women are now em
ployed in the sisal fields and the mill.
Granger' Roads Hit
By Drouth in West
Rail Lines No Longer Entirely De
pendent on Crops for
Their Earnings.
PENNSYLVANIA'S STRONG BANK
The Financier’s roll of honor jf
national banks of the country is head
ed by the First National of Union-
town. Pa. f which has a capital <,f
$100,000 and surplus and undivided
profits of $1,526,420. The National
Deposit Bank of Brownsville. Pa., is
second with a capital of $50,000 and
surplus and undivided profits of $547,-
549. Of the first ten banks seven aie
Pennsylvania institutions.
The railToad shares affected most
by deterioration of corn and other
crops have been sol^ rather more
freely than others.
There are no longer any roads
which depend almost wholly on the
crops for freight, as was the case
twenty-five years ago with the four
“grangers.” St. Paul, Burlington.
Rock Island and Northwestern, hut
agricultural products still constitute
a considerable percentage of the
freight of these and other railways.
Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Mis
souri and North Dakota seem to be
j the States hit by the drouth.
The geographical position of Atchl-
; son and Rock Island should make
j them particularly sensitive to the pre-
I dictions of the private crop experts
I Northern Pacific, Great Northern, St.
Paul, Northwestern and Missouri
Pacific also have large mileage within
the area where the rainfall has been
below normal.
Has Excellent Letter for Those Who
Try to Get Deductions After
Date Specified.
A credit man who has established
something of a reputation for his po
lite but effective handling of troubl
some debtors has evolved a form let
ter which Is attracting no little at
tention.
The letter is for use in connection
with those customers who seek to take
advantage of discounts after the ex
piration of the discount period, par
ticularly upon the plea that the ship
ment of goods was in transit beyond
the discount, period. The credit man
puts his argument as follows:
“If the purchasing house is the re
cipient of the confidence of the selling
house, there is no good reason why re
ciprocal confidence should not be
granted by the buyer, In the belief
that any error in the execution of the
order will be promptly corrected after
being adjusted.
“We firmly believe that there is no
justification in varying discount term*
on the ground that the time required
for shipment exceeded the discount
period, or for any other reason. If
the purchaser believes that he should
he entitled to delay remittances for
invoices until the goods are received,
this should have been made clear at
the time of entering Into the contract
and either agreed to or declined by the
selling house.
“We take the liberty, therefore, of
returning vour check, believing that
you will concur in our ideas upon this
subject and mail us a check for the
full amount of the invoice.”
Oklahoma and Texas Will Yield
Five Million Bales or Less,
Is Trade's Opinion.
Prices for 1913 Pack Opened
Monday—Jobbers Clean Up
Business by Week-End.
MEMPHIS, Ang. 30.—Reduced ideas
of the aize of the cotton crop arc in
vogue since so much confirmation of
losses has developed, although esti
mates n.s to the number of bales still
are vague. One feature of the past
week in the market has been the sev
eral private condition reports, the av
erage reduction shown compared with
a month ago being 9 to 10 points. At
first there was a disposition to re
gard such estimates as extreqie, but
the trade at last has come to the
opinion that all of them hardly can
be so far amiss. Usually the Gov
ernment report comes very close co
the average of the private figures,
which should mean a report next
Tuesday around 70. This would com
pare with 79.6 a month ago, 74.6 a
year ago and a ten-year average of
74.7.
The condition of the crop August
25, 1911, was given by the official
guessers as 73.2, yet the crop turned
out over 16,000,000 bales, which leads
the traders who are favorably dis
posed to the bear side to contend that
there is time yet for the crop to turn
out better than to warrant the recent
high prices. However, conditions in
1911 w'ere abnormally good during the
latter part of August and through the
entire month of September, and there
has been a suspicion since that time
that the Government made a “miscue”
In putting its September report so
low.
Losses Unimpeded.
There has been no cessation during
the week to the deterioration in Tex
as and Oklahoma, and. the chief
source of concern to the spinning
world has come from that Plenty of
people now think that the crop 1a
those States will not go to 5,000,000
bales, and some set their expectations
even lower. There have been no
rains of consequence and tempera
tures have been high, the maximum
average for Oklahoma Tuesday hav
ing been 106 degrees. It is believed
that rains right away would do some
good, though for such rains to help
much, there also must be late frost
and good maturing weather.
There has been some further le-
terioratlon in sections of the central
belt during the week, though it has
not been important, most of the loss
In condition having taken place ear
lier in the month. It still looks as if
this district will have the largest crop
In the belt.
The feeling continues that the east
ern belt is going to come up with a
large yield, provided there is some
more rain and the frost is not too
early.
Picking soon will be in full sway
over the greater part of the belt, and
new bales no longer are a novelty.
There is nothing to hinder rapid prog.
re»s, and labor is reported ample in
every direction.
Spot Situation Indefinite.
The spot situation is not well
enough defined to allow many positive
statements, though the outlook is for
good demand from the start. Forward
commitments on the part of buyers
and middlemen are moderate, as the
spinners have been lullefl into a feel
ing of security by the belief that the
crop was going to be large. There
hns been evidence, however, during
the past week of a changed view of
the situation, for much of the help
toward 12 cents and better for fu
ture's has come from the consumers.
The local buyers report that they
have been getting numerous inquiries
from the domestig spinners, chiefly
those in New England, and that it will
be necessary for the Easterners to
buy very soon If they are going to
run their mills. There has been no
evidence in Texas, where receipts
have been fairly heavy, of cotton ^o-
Ing begging, and,quotations have been
advanced until middling Is quoted at
12 cents or better at all the chief cen
ters.
Money conditions are not expect »u
to be abnormal, and there will not
be any occasion for more urgent sell
ing than is usually the case. With
prices up to present levels, however,
the chances favor free marketing.
Chinese Knit Goods
Shipped To America
Customers All Orientals—Products
of American Machinery and
Yarns Are Preferred.
The export of Chinese-made knit
garments (made in Hongkong of
American cotton yarn) to the United
States, is the latest development of
Hongkong-American trade, according
to Consul General G. E. Anderson. The
export of these garments is made al
most entirely for the use of Chinese
in the United States, but it has grown
to considerable volume and Hong
kong factories are paying considerable
attention to the trade. One factory
reports that almost half of Us entire
output is now being exported to the
United States.
The growth of the knitting factory
Industry In Hongkong is of decided
significance in the clothing and cotton
trade of this part of the world. The
factories have been developed almost
entirely within the last three years.
The chief factory in some respects Is
a foreign concern known as the Wei
San Knitting and Spinning Company,
which has been in existence seven
years and has a daily capacity of 100
to 120 dozen sweaters or pieces of un
derwear. This factory employs about
125 people, mostly girls and young
men, whose wages run from 48 cent.:
to $4.40 gold a week, the greater num
ber earning about $1 gold a week.
All of them use American knitting
cottons almost exclusively, claiming
that the American yarn runs better
in the machines and otherwise suits
their needs.
PITTSBURG BOND PLAN FAIL3.
PITTSBURG, Aug. 27.—City Comp
troller Morrow’ has admitted his plan
to sell city bonds to the people has
fallen through, the issue of $150,000
> for street improvement going in all
probability in a lump sum to the Un
ion Trust Company. Offers from the
people amounted to only $35,000.
n’
“Salmon week” ended Saturday. At
lanta jobbers bought from Wednesday
through Saturday practically all of
the 60,000 oases of the succulent
canned fish which the city and its
jobbing territory uses annually.
The modern salmon trade, from the
time when the fish are caught in the
cold rivers of the Northwest to the
time when the goods are delivered,
presents one of the romances of the
business world. \V. M. Burke, of H.
11 Whitcomb & Burke Co., Atlanta’s
foremost grocery brokers, gives an In-,
teresting account of the trade—a line
in which a year’s business is done
in tw’o or three days.
“We represent Libby, McNeill &
Libby,” sa> s Mr. Burke. “Other firms
represent other packing ho ises. The
competition for this business is keen
er than in almost any other line. By
concerted plan, prices for the year s
pack of salmon are announced on a
certain day, usually during the third
week of August. This year we re
ceived telegrams August 23 quoting
prices.
Orders In Advance.
“We had orders for thousands of
cases, subject to these quotation?,
from dealers who wanted Libby quali
ty and prestige. But most of the Job
bers wait to learn the figures quoted
by the competing packers. When the
price is announced, there is a scram
ble. The whole year’s business is
do^e in a couple of days. The job
bers know Just about what they will
need for the year, and usually buy,
though some wait to see if there is to
be a decline. Others do not buy
enough, and have to supplement their
orders later on. But of the 60,000
cases of 4 8 one-pound or half-pound
ich I woiild estimate that 60,000
are sold during the few rush days of
August.”
AM the Libby salmon is canned lp
Alaska. The fish, caught in almow»
every kind of net known and with
fish wheels, are brought to buying
stations along the rivers. Thence thdy
go by fast power boats to the can
neries. Machinery cleans and skins
the fish, slices it, puts it in cans, seals
the cans and cooks the flsh by steam
heat.
The cans, the labels, the boxes and
even the nails for the boxes are taken
'to Alaska when the season begins,
and when it is over the steamers re
turn with the goods ready for Im
mediate shipment.
Only Salt Added.
Nothing Is added to the fish except
a quarter ounce of salt for each pound
of flsh. There is no more sanitary
food product than canned salmon.
As to food value it ranks high.
United States Government statistics
give canned salmon a food value of
.218 as compared to sirloin steak .165,
ham .142. macaroni .134, eggs .131,
chicken .120 and white bread .090.
The Whitcomb-Burke Company has
received notice that the Atlantic-Pa-
citlc Steam shin Company will run
three steamships from the Pacific
• to B&vsnn h and Charleston,
principally far the accommodation of
the salmon trade. One boat leaves
pan Francisco early in October, one
in November and one ne;;r the end of
December. Rates for salmon will be
60 cents per 100 pounds in carload
lots and 95 cents per 100 pounds on
smaller quantities.
Groat Growth Made
By Paint Industry
Value of Products Rises Sixfold In
Forty Years. Increasing 79.6 Per
Cent In Decade.
■WASHINGTON. Atift 39.—Statis
tics of the nairt cnrl varnish Indus
try in the United States for 1909 are
nresented in detnil In a bulletin soon
to he issued by the Bureau of the
Census.
Tiie value of products increased
f r,r, 327.187. or 79 5 per cent, during
the decade 1899-1999. heintr almost six
times as preat. In 1909 as in 1869.
\v v York rank d first at the oen-
sir-e.s of 1999 and 1904 in average
numher nf 'vac; • earners, value of
products, and value added by manu
facture. In average numher of wage
oamers, Pennsylvania held second
place at both censuses, but in value
..f products and value added by man
ufacture Illinois was second.
The cost of all materials u«ed in
the combined industry was $79,016,000
in 1909, $59,827,000 In 1904, and $44.-
739 000 in is to, the increase for the
decade 1S99-1909 being 76.6 per cent.
The quantity of pig lead used in
the manufacture of paint and varnish
In all establishments increased 51.6
per cert during the decade 1899-1909;
that of wood alcohol 327.6 per cent
and that of grain alcohol, 354.9 per
cent. Grain alcohol formed approxi-
tnalelv one-flftli of the total quantity
of alcohol used in the manufacture of
paint and varnish in 1909 and 1899,
but a considerably smaller proportion
in 1904.
COPPER SHARES ADVANCE
AS METAL GOES UP
BOSTON. Aug. 30.—In a period of
a little over two months there has
been an appreciation of over $102 -
900,000 In the market value of 33
representative Boston copper shares.
Low prices for the year were made
about the middle of June, when cop
per the motal was to be had at 14 7-8
cents. Since the upward movement
in copper shares started, the metal
has advanced to 15 7-81?' 16 centa.
The shares of the Lake Superior
companies have advanced despite the
closing down of all the mines In that
district, many at present prices show
ing advances of from 6 to 10 points
from the 1913 low.
NOTES OVERSUBSCRIBED.
A London special says: Canadian
Northern offering of notes was over
subscribed. The issue was 1,600,009
pounds in five-year 6 per cent notes,
and was offered at 9$ There is evi-
| dently a good public appetite for 5 1-2
j por cent yielding securities.
I