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16 D
TTEARST’S SUNDAY AMERICAN, ATLANTA, CA , SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1913.
News and Views by Experts of Finance, Industry, Crops and Commerce
Premium on Qualities Above Mid
dling Narrowed — Exchange
Reacts on Political News.
Millions of Beef Cattle Can Be Grown
On Waste Lands of Southern Farms
Meat Can Be Produced at 2 Cents Per Pound That Will Sell This
Year for 9 Cents—Pasturing Will Enrich Worn Acres.
By GHARLE8 A. WHITTLE.
Georgia State College of Agriculture.
Beef cuttle will bring 9 rente per strong, of course the Jersey and Hol-
pound this winter By living up to bull* are being purchased.
NTCW ORLEANS, flept II. The
action of the Senate Finance Commit
tee In postponing the time In which
the Clarke amendment is to go Into
effect until September. 1914. hau been
reflected tn the cotton market by a
nensatlonal recovery in valuea
Sharp as wm the break last Fri
day. when the newe came that the
Democratic caucus had approved the
Clarke amendment In Its original
form, the rebound has been even
more violent. January contracts In
this market Tuesday selling as high
as 11.81, or nearly 100 points above
the low level touched on the decline
that took place Friday of last week.
Spot markets, too. hare shared In
the advance, gains of 1-4 to 1-Ic per
pound having been recorded at in
terior points, while the local spot
market, which had held steady while
the declining tendency whs shown at
the close of last week, has advanced
1 -4c, middling and the grades below
not having been affected by the
monthly revision of differences Wed
needay. although the premium on bet
ter grades, which are becoming more
plentiful, was reduced 1-8 of a cent
In fact, middling and the grades be
low were advanced l-16c at the same
time that the higher grades were re
duced 1-8, thus narrowing the dif
ferences.
First Pickings Good.
At the present time the supply of
good grades is dally Increasing. First
pickings, as a rule, always grade
high. If the rains which have been
general over the belt for several days
pAst continue much longer, the effect
will he to lower the grad** of the
crop, and later on In the season the
difference In price between the lower
and the better grades again may
widen
The advance about It 1-4 cents on
Tuesday brought out considerable
hedge se'ling, hs well as profit taking
on the part of leading long interests,
which had been forecast to come to
the support of the market as a mat
ter of self protection when the big
break took place Friday of last
week.
Almost a panic was on at the time,
and thousands of bales of cotton
which were being pitched overboard
by weak longs had to he taken rare
of by stronger hands. These big In
terests did not falter, and succeeded
In rallying the market sharply even
before the cheering news from Wash
lngton came, which enabled them to
resume bullish operations on a large
scale. The whole South responded
to the more favorable turn of affairs
at Washington, and the market Mon
day and Tuesday remolded old-timers
of the swinge upward which were of
almost dally occurrence during the
Sully year, until the climax came In
February of that year.
Remember Sully Year.
Not & few trader*! here are asking
themselves the question whether the
cotton market Is In for another Bully
year. Some strong arguments are be
ing adduced in favor of the affirma
tive side of the proposition, the prin
cipal one being the admitted short-
tag* of the crop in the western belt,
and the fact that the consumption
now is anywhere from three to four
million bales larger than It was at
the time the Bully campaign was in
augurated.
Bears are counting on the heavy
movement that usually takes place in
the fall to depress prices, but they
appear to be ignoring the disposition
of many planters and farmers to
hold their cotton for IB cents. Should
the holding movement become gen
eral IB-cent cotton may become a
reality aooner than some of the trade
figure on.
Its opportunities the South can pro
duce beef at from 8 to 4 cents per
pound, live weight No other sec
tion of the country can do so welL
The South has great areas of waste
land, such as cut-over pine lands,
worn-out farm lands, rough hill
lands, swampy lowlands, on which
cattle can graze for nine months of
the year. A little cottonseed meal They have prospered beyond their ex
cake put In the field accessible at will ... *i a , r . n .um.n drivlm
A Georgia oommunlty began to get
interested In dairying only a few
years ago, after getting rid of the
ticks, by investing in Jersey bulls of
high breeds
The fanners went In for butter fat
They separated their butter fat and
sold It to the milk and butter com
panies of th* larger Southern cities
Great Accumulation Indicated by
Production and Influx From
Borrowing Nations.
will complete the ration of b«ef cat-
pec tat ions. A gentleman driving
through the territory said that he
the power of the rains to wash or
leach. In doing so the Bermuda is
not only saving the land on which
It grows, but is saving the soil of
the rich bottom land* from being cov
ered with washed sand, and saving mrm. ~ , . .
the streams from being choked with I OHTCAGO, Sept. 13.- A great aocu-
accumulatlon that creates overflow* or j mulation of gold is expected in the
swamp lands of fertile acres. ! world’s financial centers next year,
While Bermuda grass is unques- j the influx from the borrowing coun-
tionably the solution of the perma- , _ . , .. ,
nent pasture problem outside of the trl «*- to the production of new
bluegmss region, there Is widespread metal, promising to Increase hold-
Rains May. Improve
Crops in Dry Belt
Crop Guessers Incline to Small Figures Despite
Recent Helpful Showers.
tie for Jhe. greater part of the V**-'; cou!d | nV ar1ablv pick out the dairy
farmer. solely by the appearance of
the farm lands. There was evidence
of prosperity, increased soil fertility
largely brought about by barnyard
In the Houth.
Bermuda grass as a permanent pas
ture, with Japanese clover, both of
which will grow on the poorest of
land, constitute Ideal gracing food J inures “from “cat tie.
These grasses together with cotton- Xh „ 9e farrn „ r , wer , utilising th.
seed meal, will put on flesh at fimm sklmm „ d m „ k fnr hu ti d | n g up a hog
1 1-2 cents to 1 cents per pound, when ln( ) us1r y Thus one step of progress
pasturage Is charged up at |1.60 per opena yp oppoptun | tto . for others. All
m wl h P *, r , h , „ of the prosperity of the dairying
\Xhen It Is cons.deied that wast [ armerg In that region hangs upon
land such as has been mentioned, j t1( , k erad i C atlon and the pure bred
would not yield that much revenue
when used In any other way. In fact, j Ag|de from the food valu . and the
prejudice against it on the part of
farmers The belief obtains among
them that the Bermuda grass Is a
pest which, once in a field, can not
he eradicated, or that, If it is sown
in one field. It will spread to another
and, after a while, take the farm.
Much of this prejudice is without
ings In this country. England, Ger
many and France.
Through being denied capital, ex
pansion in the younger countries has
been checked and the tendency of
gold to accumulate in International
markets Is marked. In the United
New England Mill
Stocks Show Slump
Tariff Discussion Costs 24 Leading
Issues an Averaoe of 16 Points
From 1912 High.
BOSTON, Rept. 10—The tariff dis
cussions have proved costly to the
holders of stocks in the New Eng
land textile mills, although the de
clines in those Issues have In some
cases been no greater than the losses
suffered by other industrial stocks in
the recent depressed market. The
lower prices have been largely the
result of sentiment, only two of 24
representative mill stocks having had
to reduce their dividends so far. On
the other hand, five mills have In
creased their payments slightly.
The following table shows the num
ber of points which leading mill
stocks have lost from the high prices
of 1912 and from the lowest point
touched that year:
Off from Off from
would usually he looked to for no
revenue at all, then will the value
of turning waste pla* es Into profit
by grazing beef cattle be appreci
ated.
Making Fine Pasturage.
The writer saw only recently a
piece of land that had been abandon
ed for years, which had been gullied
until only a few scrub pines found
footing, now furnishing excellent pas
ture of Bermuda grass The pines
and blackberry briers had been clear
ed off and thrown In the gullies, some
Bermuda grass was sown on the land
and harrowed In, and the Japanese
clover seemed only to be waiting
the opportunity thus afforded to be
gin to thrive. The land was still
poor, very poor. For cropping pur
poses It would he considered worse
than useless But the land Is fur
nishing pasture for some fine-bred,
high-producing dairy cows. Of course,
there Is big profit in dairying when
milk-producing food Is obtained upon
such lands and with so little in
vestment.
Another Bermuda-Japanese clover
pasture has been seen by the writer,
created on another gullied, worn and
useless tract of land. The gullies are
not yet filled, except by brush taken
from the laud. On this tract was a
large herd of white-face Herefords,
the mothers and their calves. They
were turned Into the pasture as soon
as any pasture had appeared In the
spring. They had been fed nothing
else since, except occasionally some
salt They were living under range
conditions. The cows were not milk
ed except as the calves, which rang
ed with them from time of birth, at
tended to It. These cattle are round
ed up at the stock burns and fed
allege during the winter months.
Every Advantage in South.
Each year this herd will product
s carload or more of feeders for the
market. Where can calves be raised
and brought to marketing age with
so little cost? Where can grazing
land be obtained more cheaply? In
what so-called beef-growing section
of the country will bermuda grass or
any other grass of such fine nutri
ent properties grow as successfully
as In the South? In what country
can cotton »eed meal be obtained so
ches pljs?
But the advantages are not alone
in pasturage on land that can be ob
tained for a song, but the South has
a distinct advantage In producing
barn feed In the first place, the
South has a shorter barn-feeding pe
riod. and over s great part of the
South there Is some pasturage the
year round. In the second place, the
South can grow silage crops In great
abundance at the lowest possible coat.
Take corn and sorghum, for Instance.
No better stlo fillers can be found
Both corn and sorghurr. have found
their finest development and largest
yields in the South.
Of course, the silo Is the economical
feed supply. Winter feeding with
anything else would be unwise. In
fact, to buy feed with which to fat
ten cattle, even with the South’s long
grazing season, would mean loss. Th?
food must be grown on the farm, and
It can not be grown In any form so
cheaply and so good for the cattle as
sllaRe.
Thoroughbreds Not Necessary.
To obtain the foundation stock, it
is not necessary to go in for both
pure bred male*? and females Tne
foundation for a live stock industry
which permanent pastures of Bermu
da and native legumes afford, ther* is
the Important consideration of the
grazing cattle bringing up the fertil
ity of the land hv reason of their
droppings Can any one think of a
hotter w*ay to rebuild the abandoned
and gullied lands of the South? The
poor land is actually restoring Itself
by furnishing food for cattle that re
turned valuable fertility to It while
at the same time yielding a profit of
milk and butter through the rattla.
Grass Checks Erosion.
Again an Important consideration
favoring getting Bermuda grass on
the waste lands, especially on the
gullied slopes, Is that It will servs to
check erosion, hold the fortuity which
has been created in the land free from
Putting
Crop
Putting in a winter cover crop is
the most important thing for the
Southern farmer to be looking after
during the fall. The great staple
winter cover crop has come to be
oats. Nothing Is better.
Oats can be sown In the fall be
tween the cotton rows, three or four
rows of oats hetween two rows of
cotton Next spring or In late winter
the oats will furnish light grazing
without harm and In summer pro
duce a good crop of otits
Of course, the great purpose of a
winter cover crop is to check the
wash and the leaching away of the
soil fertility during the winter, Enor
mous loss has been going on each
year by reason of bare lands in win
ter. It is the bano of cotton grow
ing that It leaves ^h© land exposed to
erosion and leaching during a great
part of the year.
By using oats, rye, barley, wheat,
crimson clover, vetch or some other
good cover crop., the Southern farm
er gets two crops off of his land a
year instead of one. Two crops ob
tained while saving the loss of the
fertility of the soil is certainly at
tractive economy.
foundation. Its spreading abtt l* . States treasury there Is a stock of II,-
mo.tly by root and not by seed Cor- I 30 r>,ono,00«; Brazil has $100,000,000,
rect cultivation of any land will kill Russia J810 ,000,000; Argentina $260,-
out Bermuda^-that 1*. If a crop la > 000,000, and India, $125,000,000.
cultivated as It should be In order L. Borrowing countries* have ample
make a good crop of k, the grass wll, mipplles with which to meet matur-
be killed. Where a Bermuda pas ure i n g obligations as well as an adverse
Is desired for cultivation, plowing lr balance of trade at any time bor-
the fall, a repetition In March, fol- rowing is made difficult by conges-
lowed by a harrowing to pull out th? i tlon elsewhere. This year, too, the
roots, will serve the purpose. Hogs world’s output will be about $50,000,-
turned on the field after the *od has 000 which will enable the Reichabank
been turned will eat the roots with G f Germany, the Bank of France and
relish and thus make away with j Austrian institutions to strengthen
their reserves. The Bank of Eng
land has been fortified strongly and
now holds about $216,000,000 gold, the
largest accumulation since 1896, al
though the total was closely approx
imated In 1911 and 1910.
The Bank of France, though Its
gold reserve is $52,000,000 below the
high record reached In June, 1909
holds $280,000,000 more than In- the
week of 1896, when the Bank of Eng
land reached Its maximum. The Im
perial Bank of Germany never be
fore held as much gold In its vaults
as it reported last week.
Prevents Undue Stringency.
In reviewing the world's monetary
condition, ’the London Statist says
it should not be assumed that the
Influx of gold from so many coun
tries will bring about an extremely
easy money market this year, though
It may prevent undue stringency in
the United States and Europe. In
gauging the outlook of the money
markets, that authority «ivs we have
to take into account the possibility.
Indeed probability, that the countries
which have absorbed so large a part
them.
It has been found profitable to sow
Burr clover with Bermuda, the Burr
clover furnishing an early pasture
and the Bermuda gras* following to
carry the grazing through for the re
mainder of the seasun. While cattle
do not readily take to Burr clover,
they acquire a taste for It in the ab
sence of other pasture, and learn to
thrive on it. Burr clover has an ad
vantage as a soil builder over Ber
muda, but none over the Japanese
clover or lespedeza. They are le
gumes, therefore nitrogen gatherers.
in of Winter
Essential in South
MEMPHIS, Sept. 18.—One of the
questions most discussed by the cot
ton trade during the week was
whether the rains in the belt, where
the heat and lack of moisture were
injuring prospects, would do very
much good or Justify enlargement of
crop ideas. The preponderant opin
ion is that they will help somewhat
and, given a late fall and continued
favorable growing conditions, the
yield will be bettered considerably.
There will be Improvement of quality
by the checking of premature opening.
Many bolls which would have been
half-sized now probably will develop
to normal size.
The rains, however, has not yet
been general, though enough have
fallen to check extremely bullish
Ideas and cause a more conservative
view of the situation.
It still is a difficult matter to get a
line on what the trade expects in the
way of yield, though there is range of
Ideas from about 13,500,000 to 14,500,-
000, with more under the minimum
than are over the maximum figure.
At this center most guesses seem
to be around 14,000,000. Prospects
in this section are good, which may
have some effect on the views as to
total yield.
Price Ideas Variant.
How much a crop of 14,000,000 bales
la worth br’ngB no end of argumen*.
All signs seem to Justify expecting the
world to consume as much the coming
year as It did last, provided, of course,
prices do not e-o much higher. It s
not thought prices now ruling are ex
treme, for the average price of mid
dling upland last year was about
12.25c. Quotations in the belt for
that grade now range from about
12 1-2 to 13c.
The market has been so erratic
since the Government’s condition re
port came last week, the legislative
situation in Washington having been
a big factor, that weather condition's
have taken a secondary place. The
weather still is to be considered,
though the date of frost is some way
off, and It will require something ab
normal to be a potent Influence.
The frost will not be very impor
tant, except perhaps In some sections
of the central snd over a large pan
of the eastern belt, where rains have
kept the crop green and growing. Of
course, a srpell of wet weather now
would change the aspect to some ex
tent and increase the importance of
frost, as a top crop might be a pros
pect.
The market has been eriven thrills
by the news regarding the tax on fu
tures, the announcement that it is not
to go into effect until the beginning
of the season of 1914 proving quite
bullish. But it is felt that matters
are not yet settled, and In the mean
time there will be nervousness.
Spots Not Moving Freely.
The spot demand has not yet proven
that spinners are going to buy freely
at the higher levels, and with the
movement increasing there has come
difficulty In sustaining values. With
the speculative support restricted oy
the legislative program, there has
been trouble In taking care of hedge
sales, the latter having Increased
when spot demand failed to expand
enough to absorb offerings of the ac
tual.
It is hoped demand soon will take
on larger volume, but that is one of
the uncertainties. Some talk of pro
ducers holding has been heard, but
not given serious attention, as the
money conditions are against the
scheme, to say nothing of the dubious
wisdom of such a policy so early m
the year.
The fact that the Census Depart
ment’s first ginning report set a new
high record was regarded as indicat
ing early maturity rather than bl?
yield, though the gains over last sea -
son were made outside of the drouth
sections of the belt.
One Price, Unvarying Term*,
Sticking to Them, Best Policy,
Say Whitcomb-Burke Co.
The second crop following oats in
the Rummer is cow peas as a rule and
nothing better can be grown In the
South. It Is a soil building crop and I of the world’s gold supplies in re-
wlll make a larger crop of that which
follows It than would have otherwise
been obtained.
A point about selecting oats. Rust
proof oats alone should be sow*n. If
the farmer has oats which did not
cent years this year not only will
not absorb their usual quota, bui
also may contribute to the supplies
out of their accumulated Kooks. In
the current year the world’s gold
output will be in the neighborhood
show rust duHng he oait year he of S500.000.000, and if. as seems prob-
S ?° W »^ rUBl .w* tn f. > ear ne ahle the usua ] demand is lacking
should sow them rather than pur- | som „ Qf the 0 ,„ sola returns
is obvious
the accumulation of the gold await-
| Ing purchasers may reach a great
figure. It should, of course, be spe-
sow them rather than pur
chase seed oats the rust proof quail- i .
ties of which he can not absolutely * ' , hl
know os he does those which he ha*
grown himself.
Another Important point which
does not have to be emphasized after
the experiences of this year’s oats
com Is that the oats be sown not
later than November, preferably in
October. Wherever oat* were sown
early in Georgia there were good
crops this year. Where they were
sown late, that is, in winter or early
spring, the crop was a failure. The
spring drouth prevented the late
grow*n crops from getting a good
dally noted that gold is needed by
the continent, that the banks of Ger
many, of France and of Austria all
are anxious to obtain supplies of
the metal In order to strengthen their
reserves, and that all the gold coming
to hand from the mining and other
countries will be welcomed for some
time to come.
Crops Need New Gold.
Moreover, we are at the time of
year when currency Is needed in most
Cotton Mills Hire
All Available Hands
Shortage of Operatives Likely to
Prove Real Handicap If Season
Develops Boom.
PROVIDENCE, Sept. 13.—The cot
ton goods market is more active and
the mill men are taking advantage of
what flbme. of the more pessimistic
declare Is only a flurry. Every mill
in this vicinity is running on full
time, and every|bit of machinery for
which operatives could be procured
has been put In motion.
The shortage of competent cotton
machinery hands is being felt more
Mills
1S>13 high.
1912 low.
Acushnet
16
10
Am Woolen pfd .
20
4
Arlington
35
24
Arkwright . . . .
8
•7
Butler
18
17
Chace
12
9
Dartmouth . . .
25
13
Davie
.....
12
10
Everett
26
24
Grlnnell
2t>
12
Granite
n
4
Kilburn
17
11
Lincoln
.....
1
1
Manomet . . . .
9
6
Massachusetts
16
12
Merchants . . . .
3
8
Merrimac. pf. . .
. . .
15
11
Nashawena . . .
....
28
15
Nonquit
15
to
Pocasset
8
1
Potomska
16
in
Faramore . . . .
to
6
Wamsutta . . . .
15
5
Whitman . . . .
31
25
Averaee . . . .
16
10
•—Advance.
The average of
these
mill stocks
has declined about 16
per
cent as
Pacific Syndicate
Closes Successfully
Underwriters Are Required to Take
but 8 1-4 Per Cent of Their
Full Allotments.
compared with the best quotations
tux 1912.
than ever and now it is certain that
pure bred male crossed on the home i should the coming season develop a
scrub cow Is sufficient, provided that i boom the manufacturers would find
the grade bulls are killed. Wonder? themselves seriously handicapped be
have been wrought with crossing of cause of the Inability to get a suffi-
Hereford pure bred bulls or Short clent number of skilled workers.
Horn bulls on piny woods cows Increased business this week does
Somebody, of course, should have not come as a surprise, because mill
pure bred females, so that pure bred men predicted several weeks ago that
sires can be produced and dlsseml- 1 there would be a resumption of trad-
nated for developing beef animals ing on a large scale soon after Labor
from the scrubs j Day.
For the next few years those who i
Introduce the most pure bred sires
Into the South will be the South’s
greatest benefactors of animal hus
bandry.
Of course, it is poor business try
ing to grow beef cattle wlthput hav
ing an animal that will produce flesh
in the largest measure for what he
eats. Ordinary, scrub, tick-infewtsd
i cattle of the South will not fatten
profitably.
Again, It Is not worth while to at-
I tempt beef production with tlcky cat-
! tie. In the first place, a pure-bred
| sire from an uninfested territory will
dljft of the tick fever when he gets
i into tick territory, thus preventing at
J the outset the foundation for a beef
Industry. In the second place, cattle
of whatever breed are stunted from
their youth up when raised in tick-
1 Infested territory.
The bar to hope is up against sur-
i cessful beef raising In the South
where the tick remains Fortunately
j the farmers have awakened to the
j seriousness of their situation in this
j respect and more tick-infested terrl-
I tory is being cleared now than at any
tlm since the work was Inaugurated
j several years ago
It Is easy enough to get rid of the
] ticks permanently, so easy that the
| tick can hardly be sa'd to be a serious
. obstacle in the way.
Bought Jersey Bulls.
Alone with the campaign of tick
I eradication the farmers are taking an
interest in introducing
NEW YORK, Sept. 10 —With the
completion of subscriptions for the
$88,857,000 of Southern Pacific stock
trust certificates issued by the Cen
tral Trust Company against a like
amount of Southern Pacific stock held
for the Union Pacific Railroad, Kuhn,
l^oeb & Co., as managers of the un
derwriting syndicate, have called
upon the members to take up their
share of the remaining stock and to
pay their proportion of the subscrip
tions. Owing to the unexpectedly
large response to the offering, the
8> ndlcate members will have to take
but 8 1-4 per cent of the amounts al
lotted them. This will total about
$7,290,000 of stock, which will be di
vided among more than 600 members.
As the syndicate members receive
2 1-2 per cent commission on the en
tire $88,357,000 of par value, amount
ing to $2,200,000, and pay 92 for the
f certificates, the actual cash which
pure-bred j they will be called upon to pay iHll
sixea. Where the dairy inclination L be but $4,600,000.
start, and it w r aa the late sown or countries to move the crops, and the
spring sown oats that suffered most new gold that will arrive In the In-
from rust. . ternational markets will be required
1 to make good the notes and coin
withdrawn for harvesting purposes
in Europe as well as in Egypt. But
it. Is now* fairly evident that the in
flux of gold from the mines and from
South America and the diminished
demand for gold for India, coupled
with the release of something like
$50,0f)0,000 of cash from the American
Treasury, will provide abundantly all
the currency needed. Where the shoe
will pinch, apparently, will be in the
The Corn Products Refining Com- { borrowing countries, which are un-
pany has purchased about 750,000 abl ® t0 oMain the capital1 they need,
bushels of Argentina com at 69 1-2 an(1 are ronl P ell#ld to contract th it
United States Buys
Corn in Argentina
Price Paid Is Close to Parity With
Chicago When 15-Cent Duty
Is Considered.
cents, which on the day of the trans
action was almost up to parity with
the Chicago market, after taking into
consideration the 15-cent Import duty.
This fact calls attention to the
position of Argentina as a corn
grower at a time when the domestic
crop has suffered so severely through
drouth and hot weather.
Although the Argentine has figured
currency in order to meet their obll
gations.
This is the situation that will oe
met by curtailing activity and by di
minishing consumption.
It should not be assumed that the
influx of gold from so many countries
will bring about an extremely easy
money market In the current year. It
merely may prevent undue stringency
in this country, on the Continent and
haye the
gold in
ew Yorx
as a wheat producer for a decade or 1 ----- T _
more, not until the past three or four tn I^nited ^ tates, pn t PP -
years has It become a consequential apprehension recent y “
exporter of corn. In fact, from a talned. The curtailment o *
position far down the line of pro- the diminution o - ‘ , •
ducers in 1910, it last year held sec- j and the lessened demand for gok. are
ond rank, being exceeded only by thp not likely to have any _
United State 5 ? upon the world s money markets un-
Argentina's production and exports til 1914, wb( jn. If the existing indl-
of corn for three years show (bush- cations persist, we may *
els): Production. 1912 240,000,000, ! greatest accumulation of
1911 360,000,000. 1910 250,760.000; ex- London. Pans. Berlin and IS
ports. 1912 210,885,000, 1911 43S.OOO, tha* bankers ever have had to dea.
1910 87 000 000. with. In the first place, there will b?
Since the first of April there has the output of new' go’d at Jhe rate o
been exported from Argentina 93,- . $57,000,000 a year, and for the time,
700,000 bushels. L>a.st week’s exports practically no demand foi . JJjj
exceeded 7,000.000 bushels. there may be a further influx of gold
The high protective duty on corn from the borrowing coun i . .
imports and the fact that the United 1 confidence is
States ranks above all other countries countries can obtain the add t onal
as a producer of com have naturally capital they need,
combined against the Argentine find- Commodities Prices Oft.
ing a market for this grain on this Doubtless the great banks of th^
side of the Atlantic, with the result world will seize the opportunity of
that a large part of its corn exports replenishing their gold reserves, about
have been consigned to Antwerp. which they have been so anxious m
th® last twelve months. In consider
/ r\ « t 1 i. ' II
‘Outside Industrial v> e
1 prices of commodities. One after
another commodities are falling in
price, and the monetary pressure i
the agricultural countries in the cur
rent autumn .is expected to bring
about an appreciable decline In the
prices of those commodities whi n
have not yet fallen. If there is a
general fall in prices, much le«s cur
rency will be needed, and the ac
cumulation of monev In the hands of
bankers will be accentuated by the
return of cash from circulation.
A great accumulation of money In
Does Huge Business
Procter &. Gamble Gross Sales
1912 Are $55.000.JOO, and Will
Be Greater for 1913.
In
It is sometimes surprising to learn
the business transacted by what may
be called the "outside industrials.”
enterprises for the most part not in j
the popular eye. The gross business : A o.w , ...
of the Procter A Gamble Company in the hands of hankers and exceedingly
1912 was over $65,000,000 and for 1913 ; ] G w rates of interest can not fail to
will probably come very close to $60,- 1 have a fresh stimulating effect upon
000,00C. ■ trade, and it is evident that trade
Procter & Gamble was financed in j will not remain depressed for long,
its beginning through a Poston bank- especially as the borrowing coun-
ing house and in large measure with tries, by their shipments of gold and
New England money. It has been their ability to meet their obligations,
one of the most astonishing of indus- 1 will give evidence of their financial
Uiui successes. * strength.
Standard Oil Interests are retorted
to have experienced “a change
of heart” regarding the stock
market, and now expect Improve
ment before 1914. This is the
first time since the “dissolution"
of the Oil Trust that Wall street
has heard of No. 26 Broadway
being bullish.
• • •
A professional croupier, who in the
palmy days made the roulette
wheels whirr, observes that al
though the gaming device car
ries J6 numbers, a man can some
times guess correctly, whereas in
the stock market, with only two
ways to go, he can never call the
turn.
• • •
The late James R. Keene made very
few confidants; In fact, he was
known to be confidential to only
one person, his office boy. At
one time Keene had been ad
vised by his doctor that a baked
apple eaten daily would benefit
him greatly. He told the dread
ful secret to his office boy, who
was also playing the market.
The youngsters figured that th©
time wasted in getting the apple
would mean his absence from the
ticker. So he went to a restau
rant and picked out the most un-
palatable-looking apple in the )
place. After Keene had eaten it
he conveniently forgot his phy
sician’s orders, and the boy
never had to purchase a second
apple.
• • •
“Of course, we have been guilty
of many wrongs," said the
express company official, "but
the public forgets the valuable
service done by us years ago.
It overlooks the fact that we are
still doing worthy service. We
still find a market for the pro
ducer whose product is not large
enough to warrant a railroad
taking the business. We are
continuaHV finding a market in
one section of the country for-
the products of another district
We have even gone so far as to
send the plants to the producers
and tell them we could find a
ready market for their fruit if
they would raise it. This was
at one time particularly true of
the shipment of strawberry
, plants to Texas. Of course,
after we find the market the
shipments become so great that
a railroad will send cars for
them, then we lose the business
except early in the season when
the shippers can profit by send
ing their produce via express to
the market when prices are very
high. As the season advances
for the product the supply in
creases until it would not pay to
send it by express. The rail
roads step In at that point.”
STEEL PASSENGER COACHES
RAPIDLY REPLACE WOODEN
.In view of the ft*2t that bills
are pending in Congress requiring re
placement of wooden passenger equip
ment with steel equipment, the spe
cial committee on n Xtions of railway
operation to legisflatk A made inquiries
as to progress of / obstruction of
steel and steel underframe equip
ment. Replies from 247 companies
operating 227,754 miles In the United
States and from roads operating 24,-
71S miles ui^T'anada were received.
Between .huary 1, 1913, and July
1, 1913, orders were placed by
railways for 1,140 passenger equip
ment vehicles. Of these 1,064. or 93.3
per cent, are of steel construction and
76, or 6.7 per cent, have steel under-
frames.
INVENTS TOBACCO CURER.
According to a report from Philadel
phia, a humidifier has been perfected
j that will cure leaf tobacco in one-quar-
I ter of the time usually required under
methods now used by cigar manufactur
ers. This humidifier is also said to in
sure better cured tobacco and to de-
j crease by one-half the operating ex-
1 penses of sweating.
Illinois Central, the “Hard Luck”
tRoad, Among the Big Sys
tems Cutting Rates.
In the last two years there have
been unexpected and radical reduc
tions In railroad dividends. The St.
Paul, Illinois Central, New Haven,
Boston and Maine and New York Cen
tral stocks were subjected to sweep
ing reductions. Illinois Central recent
ly joined the ranks of 5 per cent divi
dend stocks, leaving only Great
Northern, Northwestern, Northern
Pacific and the Omaha of the impor
tant lines In the category of 7 per
cent payers.
No one was surprised that the Illi
nois Central dividend was lowered,
although the movement of the stock
on the day of the announcement made
it apparent that a reduction of the
seini-annual payment to 3 per cent
instead of 2 1-2 per cent was antici
pated In most quarters.
In only on£ year out of the past
seven did Illinois Central show a sur
plus after dividends a* much as $1,-
000,000. and that was in 1911, when
the surplus was about $3,500,000. In
1910 there was a surplus of only $182,-
000, while last year there was a defi
cit of $4,250,000.
It was not until 1911 that the road’s
ordeals became so notable that the
property was given the title of the
"hard luck road,” for In that year It
became known that the company had
been defrauded of nearly $1,500,000
by collusion between leading officials.
The strike of shopmen put the road
to an enormous expense, and the se
vere winter of 1911 and 1912 added to
the cost of operation, which was am
plified the following spring by flood
expenditures. This yeaj* the floods
again wrought havoc, adding to the
obstacles which necessitated the re
duction in the dividend rate.
Stockholders of the Ne w Haven may
not be reconciled to the 6 per cent
dividend they are receiving, but at
least they are convinced that they
can not receive more htan that again
for a long time to come.
With the advent of a new adminis
tration and selection of a new presi
dent there is a certainty that the
property will be subjected to a man
agement radically different from that
of the Mellen regime. It is likely
President Howard Elliott will bring
about a complete change In the New
Haven’s policy to the publlc-be-
pleased plan, although It is recog
nized he will have serious obstacles to
overcome.
Concerning the St. Paul, there ap
pears to be much significance bearing
upon the outlook foi the resumption
of the full dividends. The company
has the distinction of reporting for
the fiscal year just closed a larger In
crease In net earnings than any other
railroad system in this country. The
amount of net earnings was the great
est in the history of the company,
the total of $27,551,000 being a gain of
$8,339,000 over the preceding year
That might have been anticipated,
however, as prior to 1910 the Puget
Sound division was not available to
pay Its earnings into the treasury of
the St. Paul.
Reports of earnings for the year
ended on Juhe 30 reflected the Influ
ence of varied managements. State
ments from the Pennsylvania, Atchi
son and New York Central all showed
smaller net earnings for the final
month than in the same time last
year, Pennsylvania’s decrease being
$1,262,000, Atchison's $456,000, and the
Vanderbilt properties less than $500,-
000.
While the Pennsylvania's gross in
crease of $14,900,000 Indicated that
fully 10 per cent more traffic had been
handled than in 1912. none of this
traffic added to the profits of the sys
tem. an enlargement of $18,000,000 in
expenses showing how enormously the
road’s cost of carrying and mainte
nance had increased.
Courage, a united front and impar
tiality are the weapons which ths
merchant of to-day must, use to fight
the unreasonable demands of custo
mers. Development of the courage to
stop growing abuses of credit and
trade courtesies will do more to bene
fit business than will the passage of
the tariff, in the opinion of W. M.
Burke, of EL E Whitcomb. Burke A
Co., grocery brokers, No. 149 Madison
avenue.
"Much complaint is heard In whole
sale circles of the unreasonable de
mands of retail buyers,” says Mr*
Burke. "A great deal of this com
plaint is well founded, but an analysts
of It will show that it is due for the
most part to lack of backbone on the
part of sellers.
"Indiscriminate canceling, Inex
cusable returning of goods, demands
for unjust discounts, demands for ex
cessive camples, all these abuses can
be stopped by the use of a little grit
by the wholesaler, and be it said to
the credit of Atlanta that the whole
salers here have gone so far In their
campaign against trade abuses that
the unreasonable retailers are getting
fewer eve**y year.
“One thing for a seller to bear in
mind In curbing vicious business
practices is that Brown, Jones and
Smith are having the same trouble.
They are Just as anxious as he is to
have abuses curbed, and while at fir?*
Brown and Jones may gloat over the
acquisition of accounts which had
been Smith’s until he refused these
unreasonable requests, the Increased
annoyances and losses resulting from
these accounts will soon make them
doubt the wisdom of their position. In
the majority of cases a troublesom#
account is a losing one.
"We have found this—the way to dc
business Is to make the conditions of
the sale clear and definite, and mak*
It plain that no deviation from these
conditions will be conceded. Threat*
of lost business must not be allowed
to influence the wholesaler. The mer
chant who is not losing money con
stantly through Illegitimate leaks Is
the merchant w*ho. in the long run,
will be able to offer the best mer
chandise at the lowest price.
"Our policy, which has led to suc
cess. Is to have one set of prices and
selling terms to all accounts, be they
large or small, and to have the cour
age to stick to them.”
New Haven Wrecks
Cost Million in 1912
Report for Twelve Months Ended
June 30, 1913, Sure to Show
Even Greater Losses.
NEW YORK, Sept. 18.—The new
low record for New Haven shares fol
lowing the wreck of September 8 ha*
raised an Interesting point as to how
railroads are affected financially by
such accidents. Where th© loss of Uf«
is heavy or where numerous passen-*
gers have been Injured, many suits
are brought for damages. Then there
is the damage to roadbed and equip
ment, and Anally the loss of prestige.
Pennsylvania has a good record,
despite its occasional wrecks. Last
year was an average year with $666,-
000 charged off for damage to freight
$19,031 for damage to baggage, $60,654
for loss of other property, and $173,506
for injuries to persons. For a 4,000-
mile system that is an enviable rec
ord. For the same period. New York
Central’s expenditures, including law
costs, were $2,068,000.
New Haven, with only half ol
Pennsylvania’s mileage, charged off
$1,129,000 for the fiscal year ended
June 30. 1912, including $346,000 for
damage to freight. $574,000 for in
juries to persons. The forthcoming
annual report for 1913 will doubtless
show a heavy Increase in those items,
as the company has had eleven
wreck? during the past year, in which
45 persons w*ere killed and 187 in
jured.
No evidence can be found in the
alnnual reports of the railroads to
show' how much money Is spent an
nually 1n repairing the damage done
to roadbed and equipment through
wrecks, those Items being Included In
ordinary repairs. Loss of prestige Is
the mo fit intangible of any suffered by
a railroad aw a result of accidents.
In caaes where one wreck follows an
other. the cause can be traced to gen
eral demoralization. By the time the
accidents occur the road ha» already
begun to suffer from loss of prestige.
Revival Apparent .
In Market for Iron
Large Tonnage Sold for First Hslf
of September and Quotations
Show an Advance.
BIRMINGHAM. ALA., Sewt. 18**-For
the first half of the month a large ton
nage of pig iron has been sold by South
ern iron manufacturers, in fact, it is
announced two or three of the smaller
makers are out of the market entirely
for a while. There have been several
sales If Iron made for delivery during
the first quarter of the coming year.
The quotations for nig iron have tak
en on an advance, 511.50 per ton for
No. 2 foundry, being the price now for
delivery during the first quarter of 1914.
The make in this section of the country
Is to be kept up right along. There are
heavy shipments of pig iron from the
Southern territory, some of it going out
for export. The consumption in the
home territory, too, is good.
Cast iron pipe plants are melting a
largo quantity of iron and It Is reported
that every pit that can be operated is
to be started up and kept In full oper
ation for some time to come.
Steel Is In strong demand and the
various plants are working on full time
and shipping out the product in quan
tity. The quotations for steel are most
satisfactory. There is a demand for steel
w'ire, fabricated steel, rail and other
shapes.
Charcoal Iron commands $28.50 to $f*
per ton. Coke is in strong demana
Th* iuc ata feigb.