The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1897-12-19

iHulitituly listen 10 Recommendations u
the advantages of Birmingham and coolly
ask for forty acres and-not a mule-a
cash bonus ranging from 5000 to $4,000
Better than all the Carnegies and Rookie
fellers in the world is that spirit of unity
which has never failed to respond when
Birmingham invoked it in earnest Let the
people then again get together for a su-
preme and conquering effort. Let every
body put his shoulder to the wheel. There
are the coal operators, who want bigger
market for their coal-a home market, too.
There are the railroad companies, every
one of them craving an increase in tom
mage There are the foundries and other
iron industries, all wanting more business.
And then there are the banks. the street
railroads, the real estate owners. the
wholesale and retail merchants, the law
yors, the doctors, the brokers and every
other man who is earning a living in Bir-
mingham--let each and all become steel
mill builder according TO his ability. Let
each one make some sacrifices in order to
secure tho necessary factor of the cty's
advancement and prosperity. Meet. organ
ize. and put the all-essential business in
the hands of people in whom you have con-
fidence, and whom you have reason to be-
lieve will earnestly and intelligently strive
to establish in the city steel mill that
will have a capacity of 1000 tons day.
Appeal, too, not to distant millionaires,
oped coal and mineral lands in this dis
trict. All of them want better opportuni-
ties. Ask them TO assist IN making the
desired opportunity. The aggregated re-
suit of joint effort will surprise the most
optimistic citizen. 1t has always been so in
Birmingham when a great effort was
made; and now when both the need and
the promise are greater than ever before,
a joint effort will surely end in surprising
and gratifying subscriptions. In such an
effort the heads of every Birmingham cor
poration can confidently appeal to their
stockholders outside of the district. Let
them sec that subscription to steel mill
would not in any sense be a donations:
let them see that the enterprise will not
only earn good dividends, but that it will
also yitalize their present interests in this
city. Go to every man who owns a bond.
the value of which turns upon the de-
gree of Birmingham's prosperity, and
convince him that every dollar he invests
in big steel mill will increase the value
of his bond, and earn him dividends be-
sides.
Surely the men upon whom the great
burden of the work will chiefly fall-the
men whom the great heart of Birmingham
will call to the front-surely these men Will
not falter when the city's welfare and flu
ture position are at stake. No one need
doubt their response, any more than they
need doubt Birminghams action when the
time to act unitedly arrives. And that time
is near at hand.
one thing more Birmingham sorely
needs greater distributive efforts. This city
city should be the chief distributive center
of the state It has the largest population,
the best transportation facilities. The mer-
chants and commission men of the city do
not reach out far enough. There is very
much trade in Alabama that could be sup
ted 1,xrt UrhO mi
mingham If a little more energy and per-
haps capital We're utilized. The wholesale
grocers, dry goods dealers hardware mer-
chants, and like lines of business, should
cover the state, every inch of 1t. This city
should gather in the products of Alabama
fields and sent out in return merchan-
disc, tools and machinery. The wholesale.
merchants of Birmingham do not lack
prosperity, but they do lack the push that
can be observed in their competitors of
either Atlanta or Montgomery. Wake up,
men of the wholesale trade, and make
your own city the center of a trade drawn
from every one of the sixty-six counties of
the state. Do not let county escape.
The people that have been blessed by
nature beyond those of any other city in
the land, having a mountain of iron ore
on one hand and mountain of coal on the
other-a people filed, too, with common
purpose, spirit and ambition, should. at
once prepare to put in Birmingham sA 1tock-
ing:
l. A great steel mill.
g. A trade that extends to state lines
in every direction.
Nothing less will do If Birmingham is to
be the city that nature plainly intended
should be placed in this valley.
- . . n . 8 % = . . q . . . = @ . q . =
wards forget when fortune and hard work
do. UVrpt,, flan oct
bullied and insulted That I was honestly
disposed to work, the mates did not be-
lieye. In plain words. my treatment was
that of some depraved wretch, imprisoned
for his crimes. Without any overt act on
my part, / was regarded as one who would
sooner or later do wrong; and skipper and
mate pitched into me accordingly. Once I
was walloped for washing my face with
portion of the daily water supply. Sailors
are not supposed to wash their faces save
when 1t rains; any able-bodied seaman will
tell you that
1.-THE loss of sleep-the wanton robbery
of a mans hours of rest-is a crying piece
of brutality. Sailors are supposed to be
able to get along on six hours of sleep,
divided into two far apart installments.
The laws call for two installments of four
hours each; but have yet to find the
merchant vessel wherein more than three
hours for each watch is allowed. During
bad weather every monthers son aboard
Is hauled on deck, and IL anyone loses his
sleep by extra labor he never gets any
equivalent for the loss. I maintain that
two three-hour spells of rest, with long
working spaces between, make a grossly
unfair allowance.
Now with regard to the forms of what
may be termed active brutality in vogue.
I will admit that occasions may arise when
corporal punishment must be resorted to-
But corporal punishment. blows. the irons
and so forth, should be reserved for types
of the most degraded character. They
should be the very last resort of the ships
officer-only used when all hope of govern
ing crew or malcontent members of a
crew by other means have failed. Tortues,
such as 'tricing up are utterly unneces-
sary and relies of barbarism. Yet these
very tortues are practiced widely under
the existing system. and. as for blows. in
stead of being kept for extreme cases, they
are administered on the slightest provoca-
ton.
Loosely. might say that the onlv
remedy for the outrageous system of
cruelty prevailing upon merchant ships
would be to cashier every single captain
and mate brought up under the old ac-
cursed r11ln of cOnfrcf A nractical cure