The age-herald., 1897-08-04
RICHER THAN K[0NDINE
Are the Iron Mines of Birming-
 ham District,
SAYS GEN. CHAS. M. SHELLEY
He Advises Young Men to Stay at Home and Grasp 0pportunities-TOuches
 Upon the Tariff.

General c. M. Shelley arrived in the city from Washington yesterday morn ing and sp=nt the day in greeting and conversation with his friends about the lobby of the Morris hotel
 Gen, Shelley cannot come 70 Alabama without enac1ng this programme. He is too beloved by her citizens to pass un- observed, and his knowledge of mater ia1 questions invariably draws about him a group of interested listeners.
 The general is just recovering from a rather severe attack of illn ss, and is still suffering considerable inconveni- ence from this condition.
 In the course of conversation General Shelley said: "I am very much gratifed at the great improvement in Birming- hams morning paper, and feel hopeful that under its present management it will be successful. Without intending to reflect upon it's formsr management l feel that the facilities that can be utilized by it's present proprietor will SiiNPiO mn tO illdht d fIuCU D6ll-F Dd- per than the previous managers could have done. and I expect it to contribute very larg ly to the promotion of the in- dustrial interests of the Birmingham district and the state of Alabama. My. personal acquaintance with the present manager causes me to fsel certain that these predictions will be verified.
 When approached on political issues, the gensral said: q have very little to say upon national questions. Possibly the tariff is of paramount importance to all the classes, and while the friends of this law do not claim that it's proyi- sions will produce sufficient revenus, the mere fact of the passage and ap- proval of a bill on this subject gives some assurance to the country thabth question is settled, at least for the pres, ent, and however vicious particular features of th= measure may be, this fact will have an encouraging effect upon the commercial interests of the country. Our people have a gr=at fac ulty of adjusting their business to legis- lation that they deem permanent. therefore f-el sure that. the general ef- feet will be good, although I think the law contains many vicious and oppfess sive features, and the consumer will suffer from their direct effects upon in- dustrial interests.''
 There is a great deal said about the delay in the wave of prosperity that was promised by the republican party, and whils it has net come in the shape pre- dicted by friends of the adminisira ion, we are forced to confess that the general business interests of the country are look ing up, and we are really better off than most of our public men are willing Ito ad init. This is especially true of the south erap section. While suffering greatly for the want of money. we have an abund- ance of the necessarie.s of life, and as long as that is the case thers can be very lIt- Gle real suffering. It is true that a great many of the large firms of the country are suffering from the inability of their customers to pay promptly, but even th:se men are learning to manage their interests in way to conform to he gen eral conditions and thereby avoid serious results"
 'I have heard since coming home that there is still great depression in businsssi throughout the coun;ry, bu. away from. home it is believed that there is greater. activity in the Birmingham dis rct tha n in any other section of the country. Dur- ing short walk about the city this morn5 ing I saw more buildings under process of construction tb an I have S@en for years and there is more activity on the streets and the people seem buster than in any other place have visited in long time.
 T also think ths very fact that f; Is now generally known that steel is being made of the iron manufactured in this district, will give an impetus to this fo- calfty that will fall very llttle shont of a genuine boom. It will have this ad4 vantage too, that whatever activity and prosperity that may seem to come to us will be genuine. and there will be none of ahe infia,ion Drought about by wild E speculation.
 Alabama, and especially ths Birmlng- ham district, has a great future, and believe that in very short time money will seek investment more actively here than in any other s,a.e in the Union.'
 "With these dicstions our young men would act very. unwisely to seek homes elsewhere--even to visit the gold fields of Alaska. There can be more gold made by working the mines of Alabama than can be found in the gold mines of the far vest
 My advice to young men is to stay at home and utilize the opportunities that are presented to them from day to day
 eGereral Shelley will remain in the state for the next three or four weekss when he will go to Honduras, Central America where fre Is interested in new enterprise of that country. He will be accompanied by. Mrs. Shelley, who will visit relatives in Dallas and Montgom- cry counties.
 9.tea EXPORTS TO MEXICO ..