Birmingham age-herald., 1894-12-18
WITH THE IRON WORKERS. Expressions as to the General
 Outlook for the Future
BY MEN ON THE INSIDE
Two Have Opinions of a Favor able Nature, While One
 Gives Dissenting View.

Lifc has begun again at the Alice fur mace. Everything is being gotten in shape to blow in between tbis and the 5th of Jan uary. An AGE-HERALD reporter visited Mir. Mccormack. !. assistant general man. ager of the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Rail road compiny, yesterday aud was told that business was looking up and that by the 5;h everything would be running in full blast. They will commence work with 250 or 800 men and with all the orders they can fill for the next sixty days. This speaks well for Birmingham for next year.
 But, looking at the future from MT. Wards standpoint, things take a rather gloomy turn. MT. Ward is general manager of tue Birmingham Rolling mill and man who has watched carefully the market and is in position to say whether or not the new year will be one of profit or loss to the manu nufacturers of Birmingham and the state. He said to tie reporter: "Why publish all this stuff in regard to the in creasing business ot the manufacturers of the state? There is no ruth in all this talk of reat demand tor raw or worked material. There is no demand for either. Look at these yards; they are crowded to their utmost with iron Of every class, and when business is good the yards are empty. Look at the banks of ore we have. What do you think of that? Does that in dicatc that business Is good? That ore is all shipped from Lake Superior, and is very costly, and there it will stay until there is demand for Iron.
 'Probably no man ufacturing industry has suffered as much from the depression of business as has this one, So far as putting their material on the market. They have been running regular and have on full force of 700 or 1000 men, and have stocked their yards as full as possible.' '
 The question was put, sWhy do you continue filling your yards with iron that there is no demand for? Is not that evil dence of better times that you contem- plate?"
 ''No," he said, ''I contemplate no im- mediate rush. The market is and has been for months very spasmodic, but as to its taking a study demand l can't see that it will. Still if such a turn should come, which l do not believe will, we are pre- pared to fi.l all demands, as we have on hand larger stock than at any one time before, and are adding to it eacn day.'
 Wisdom furnished the means to the end |, even in creation. The sea was set aside in all it's grandeur; it's inhabitants were and still are great and small. The instructions were: 'Multfpiy, mulliply.o The sea is not now even full of fish. Not often is a monster of the deep found stranded high and dry, left there by the receding tide. Constant multiplication, but no overpro- duetion is nature's economy. Thus Il is with the Birmingham Rolling mill. They Know Wneu they nave euOuSu HALeTlal on hand to supply the demand, and the fact that they are still multiplying their stock makes it very evident that an increase in business is contemplated.
 After hearing what Messrs. Mccormack and Ward had 10 say ia regard to the man. ufacturing prospect for 1895, visit was paid Mir. Seddon of the Sloss iron and Steel company, and soon his views on the all ab- sorbing question were learned MT. Seddon said:
 i've have now running in full blast three furnaces, turning out from 450 to 500 tons of iron daily. One of these blew in in August and the other two in September, and have been running constantly at the above average, and will continue to do so, unless something unforeseen occurs, as our order books are full for ninety days to come, and have been since we resumed work. It is true that the price is low and the market dull, but that Is always the case in December, as the buyers are busy taking inventories andIclosing up for the year, but 1t is not near as dull as this time last year, and within sixty days everything will be booming. The price of iron will not be much greater than at present, but an- ticipate steady demand, which we will be prepared to meet. We now work 2400 men, including those at the mines. Some com- plain of everything being 80 dull, but 1 think business, especially in our line, is improving greatly, and by the 9th every thing will be moving on steadily, and by spring business in every line will be fully restored, and better prices will be paid as the demand increases.'