The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1897-10-17
WHAT WE HAVE
To SHOW THE VISITORS

We cannot show any existing plant as
at Homestead where steel is either
made from pig iron produced In Biz
nfingham or from pig iron made on the
spot from ore brought 1000 miles by the
proprietors' own railway and Rockefel-
ler's steamers on Lake Superior; or like
the existing plant at Bethlehem, where
iron Is produced from Lake Superior ore
or imported from Cuba or the Medlter-
ranean. But we can show a district
where an armor plate factory may be
supplied with steel produced on the
spot from pig iron that ds made from
the red ore of Red mountain, the brown
ore at the upper and lower ends of Jones
valley and the dolomite of North Blr-
mingham; all within cannon shot, and
some within a rifle shot from the site
of the blast furnaces.
We cannot show a site like Duluth,
dependent on coke shipped from the
Pittsburg district or West Virginia, or
like Bethlehem, dependent ON anthracite
coal, the extent of which is limited, and
the end of WHICH can be calculated But
we can show a district dependent upon
coal that can be transported to the
blast furnaces at a nominal switching
charge from coal field of which only
per cent. has been extracted within
the past twenty years.
We can show a district where the
dolomite required for the open hearth
bath and for the lining of the open
hearth furnaces can be procured within
a rifle shot.
We cannot show a site where the OPP
erations require to be suspende in the
heated term of summer as in the roll
ing mills and glass works of Pittsburg,
owing to a sultry climate, but we can
show a district tempered by the gulf
breezes blowing daily up the valley and
enabling work to be pursued without
interruption throughout the summer
We cannot show a site where opera
tons are liable to interruption from the
bursting of water pipes or the freezing
of the piles of ore in the stock houses,
requiring steam pipes to be run through 8
the piles to thaw them out, but we can
show a district, the mildness of which
permits uninterrupted operations
throughout the wilmer.
We cannot show a district flied with
Huns, Slavs, Poles, etc, armed, fierce
and intraotable, but we can show one
well supplied with an orderly and docile
negro population, working in a con-
genial climate.
We cannot show district 443 miles
from the navy yard at Brooklyn like
Pittsburg, but we can show district
270 miles from Pensacola, with deep
water bay, the same distance from Mo-
bile with 26 feet in the channel, either
point being available for the location
of navy yard by the government.
We cannot show a district like Bethle-
hem close to the Atlantic seaboard
which would be the point of attack in
case of foreign war, but we can show
a district sufficiently removed from the
gulf coast to be secure from foreign in
vasion.
We can show a district which, either
by the construction of the proposed ca
nal to the Warrior river, or by the con?
struction of short railroad due west
to dntersect the Warrior river at the
poirt to which existing government
work will back up the water, and make
it navigable, could deliver at the very
minimum cost for transportation, not
only the armor plates to vessels con-
structed at the navy yard ON the gulf
ETC., required for the construction of
the vessels, and the coal required for
their navigation.
The steel works of the italian govern
ment are for strategic purpose locat-
ted at TERM, midway between the Medi-
terranean and Adriatic. We can show a
furnace in Birmingham from which iron
Is shipped to be converted at TERM into
basic steel, and we can show a similar
strategic situation within easy reach
of the gulf ports by five railroads, and
tic ports by five railroads.
We can show district which proves
its claims to consideration by having
advanced within twenty years from
zero to the position of fourth iron produce
ing state in the United States, and
the position of the second largest pro-
Queer of basic pig iron for conversion
into open hearth steel, and the posi-
ton of the largest exporter of pig iron
to foreign countries.
We can show an existing and sue
cessful steel works, every part of which
can be manufactured for the purpose of
duplication, within the borders of JEFF
ferson county. "A
10 sum up: Coal coke, dolomite, car.
boniferous limestone, red iron ore.
blast furnaces. rolling mills, fire brick
works. good machine shops, foundries,
railroads, all in Jefferson county, good
labor, good climate, and continuity.
JAMES BOWRON.