Birmingham state herald., 1895-12-17
COMMERCIAL CLUB.
An Important Meeting-SteeI Plant the 0biec and Steel Plant Birmingham Must
 and Will Have.

The meeting at the Commercial club rooms last evening was we'll attended and developed one of the most important movements perhaps that the club has yet inaugurated. The meeting was under the auspices of the social features commit tee of the club and was presided over by President Rhodes in the absence of Chairman Cruikshank, who was un- avoidably detained.
 The meeting was entertained at the opening by a piano selection by one of the assistants of Professor GuclSen- berger's Conservatory of Music Miss Edna Gockel, who is quite young, but is one of the most talented and skilled pianists in this city, and bids fair to be distinguished throughout the south.
 Mayor VanHoose made the address of the evening and he gave synopses of re- plies from a number of letters that he had sent out to manufacturers in this city asking expressions of opinions on the importance and value of a steel plant to this city.
 He said the consensus of these replies was that steel plant would rebound greatly to the further development of this city. The mayor further said that he would like to see a committee ap- pointed after the following order: One from the Commercial club, one from the city council, and these two to appoint a third one, who should go to Chicago and place the enterprise of a steel plant be- fore capitalists of that city. He said also that he would like to see canal from the Tennessee river to the Warrior, giving Birmingham at least the advant- age of water rates" for her products, and he thought such a canal would some day be built. At the conclusion of the mayors remarks MT. H. F. Wilson was announced as the next speaker, but Mr. col hn hao Tfn Hrct from Secretary Thompson regarding his recent trip to Pennsylvania, and MT. Thompson was called for. He responded by saying that during his recent trip he discovered that however much the south had received kindly words from the iron men of the north in the past; henceforth we would be treated as a. formidable, if not a dangerous, competitor, and they were being aroused to the protection of their supremacy as they had never been before, and if the south expected to have things come her way hereafter it would require efforts worthy of the record the south had made in her grandest achieve ments to obtain them. Pittsburg. he said, was right now engaged in canal scheme to connect that city with the great lakes in order to bring cheaper ore to her furnaces and that canal was go- ing to be built. He thought Birming- ham should have a steel plant and said that the great Cambria Iron company of Johnstown, Pa., was originally organized ito come to Birmingham, but believing that steel could not be made out of our ore, had located in that city, where it was now employing over 1000 persons.
 Birmingham ores are now known to be capable of being converted into steel, and the further growth and development of the city depended on having a steel plant here.
 MT. H. F. Wilson followed, giving some interesting figures and answering a number of questions regarding the prod ucts made by the Henderson plant here. He gave official figures from that com pany's operations, which showed that a plant could be operated with great profit if supplied with all modern equipments. All seemed much interested in his re- marks and the question undoubtedly re- ceived considerable impetus from the facts presented by him.
 J. w. Tomlinson moved that the com mittee suggested by Mayor VanHoose be appointed. which motion prevailed. Also that the thanks of the meeting be rendered Miss Gockel for her contribu- tion to the interest and pleasure of the evenings entertainment, which was like wise unanimously adopted.
 Quite a number of ladies graced the occasion with their presence and con- tributed no little to the pleasures of the evening.