Speaks Out

Col. Leonard P. Ayres of Cleveland

has gained a national reputation as a

practical banking economist because he

is not mealymouthed. He dares to state his honest opinions without varnish or camouflage.

In the last issue of the Business Bulletin of the Cleveland Trust Co., of which he is Vice President, he reiterates his belief as to the basic character of the steel and iron industry and its tendency to increase or decrease in the general business conditions. Yet Col. Ayres does not look for any sudden recovery in the industry. As he points out, there are four great buyers of steel who absorb about two-thirds of its entire output: 1) the railroads, which buy about 25%; 2) the building industry, which takes about 15%; 3) the pipe and tank industry, using another 15%; 4) the automobile business, using about 10%. None of these four, he thinks, will do much buying this year. The railroads are already in excellent physical condition, owing to heavy purchases last year. The building industry will use large amounts of steel this year, yet less than it did in 1923. The demand for pipe he also considers bound to lag behind last year. Auto makers will use as much steel the first six months of 1924 as during the first half of 1923, but the last half of this year will see a drastic curtailment to about half.

Incidentally, the Colonel's famed "indicator-chart" tells him that rarely before have chances for profit in buying bonds been so completely favorable.