Birmingham age-herald., 1895-06-30
BRIGHT PROSPECTS.
Secretary Thompson's Prophetic Pen Paints
 Glowing Picture.

Secretary Thompson's Prophetic Pen Paints
 a Glowing Picture.
 Correspondence Manufacturers Record.
 Birmingham, Ala, June 24.
 Birmingham's bank clearings have re- peatedly shown the largest percentage of increase over last year of any other American city during the past two months. Week before last that increase was 176.6 per cent, with Spokane. Wash, second at S66 per cent. Last week Bir- mingham's increase over last year was 76.6 per cent, while that for the country at large was 29.
 The Alabama Car Service association embraces all stations in Alabama and in intermediate stations to and inclusive or Meridian and Columbus Miss. For the month of May, 1894, the association han dled in it's entire territory 13,S2S cars while during the month of May 1895, the number handled in the Birmingham dis trict alone was 16,476, or 314S more than in the entire territory last year. During the month of April, 1895, the number han dled in the Birmingham district was h. 93S an increase for May over Aprli of 153S cars There has been an average fn- crease of the coal and iron output for the district of fully 100 per cent. The Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad com pany's output for last week in pig iron in this district was 9690 tons while for the corresponding period last year 1t was 4151 tons. It's coal output for the same period this year was 42525 tons. as against 27,543 tons for the same period last year. Further than this, there is not an available coke oven in the entire district that is not now being used to it's utmost capacity, while the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad company say it is now doing the largest business it ever did in the history of the company at this season of the year.
 The general belief among our ironmas- ters is that another advance in iron is inevitable and close at hand. Such an advance means an advance to miners un- der existing contracts, and will distrib- ute many thousands of dollars monthly more than now to that class of labor. All our industrial plants are running on full time. while the Birmingham Rolling mills has been importing men for some ten days or more to meet it's increasing orders.
 New enterprises for which all arrange ments have been made embrace knit ting mill to employ forty hands, a pack ing house in the course of erection and the Tennessee company enlarging it's plant. There are two or three large plants pending, and which are reasona- bly, certain in the near future, but which for prudential reasons cannot be named No one who has the interest of Birming- ham at heart desires any more real es- tate booms here, but conditions are very favorable to one of even greater dimen- sions than ever was known before, and the prophecies are heard on every hand that this city is on the threshold of just such an era. However this may be, the facts given are of such comforting and consoling character concerning real bus mess improvement that it is with genu- inc pleasure your correspondent presents them, with the hope that they may in some degree add to the general condi- tions which presage better times throughout the country.
 N F. THOMPSON