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

At this point of time in the heel of
period of contraction existing almost from
the Barring failure in 1899, certainly from
the panic of 1893. what should Birming-
ham do In order to regain lost ground?
What must the town do in order to make
the most of its exceptional resources?
There are some things that the city will
not have to do. The process of liquidation
is finished. 1t is finished too, without in
volving any material impairment of re-
sources. There has been in fact an i'm
Improvement all along the line The wild
speculations of boom days have been elm
mated, and the people of Birmingham con-
stitute today solid substantial commn-
nifty of perhaps sixty-five thousand people,
well supported by, and saving something
out of, the products of the mineral wealth
of the district.
There is another thing the people of Bir-
mingham will not have to learn, namely:
how to practice economy. Circumstances
have taught them that virtue through all
the years of depression. All business and
manufacturing enterprises are conducted
on the strictest lines of prudence and econ
omy.s. The practices that the lean years
enforced have fortunately become whole
some habit. The industries of the city are
now enjoying steady and healthy growth
under reasonably prosperous conditions,
and this is especially true of the city's
foundries and iron working establishments
Nor will Birmingham have to acquire a
spirit of unity 1t is here by large ma
jority When the managers of the Avon
dale cotton mill called for a large home
subscription the people of the city came
together, went down in their pockets, rails
ing every dollar they were asked to raise.
The Commercial club is further evidence
of this spirit of unity. True there might
be members and there probably will
be. And it might be WELL too, TO give this
representative club a social side. Between
the monthly business meetings, one evening
should be set apart, when from o'clock
to O'Clock, The rooms shci Id be tit w
open, and every member should give him
self over to a social reunion. The members
and their friends would in this way come
to know each other better: informal discus
sions would spring up, and men would be
heard from who never appear at the bus
mess meetings of the club. There is a deal
of wisdom hidden in the minds of men
who hesitate to express their ideas in a
formal meeting. Energize and broaden. in
other words, the Commercial club. Invoke
that splendid spirit of unity for which
Birmingham is justly famous. Do this, and
the city will achieve the greatness that is
her manifest destiny, not a generation
hence, but from this time onward.
This spirit of unity should--rnust-he
subjected to great strain For the city
must have great steel mill. It cannot be-
come highly prosperous without it, In
stead of selling pig iron to Pittsburg. to
Chicago, to other countries, to be by them
converted into steel. and then into the
various finished articles of commerce. the
people of this city must carry out the en-
tire process-the process. for example, that
is begun on the top of Red Mountain and
completed in the cutlery shop. In no other
way can a safe support be provided for
a doubled or trebled population In no
other way can the ores and Goals from the
hills of the district be utilized to the ut
most Imagine, If you WILL a ton Of pig iron
turned into watch springsl 1t can be done,
and the road lies through q great steel
mill. When Birmingham can raise the
crude material to the finished commodity
1t will do more than is summed up In in
creased employment and increased earn
ings-it will take many a man from the
ranks of day laborers and place him among
the skilled artizans.
Birmingham cannot secure hig steel
mill, it should never be forgotten, through
the owners of great plants in the east or
west. Their costly mills are now earning
good dividends, and they will net remove
them or impair their earning powers. to
please this section of the country, no mat
ter how good a showing it may make. Just
so long as Birmingham does not interfere
with their profits in the steel markets of
the world, just that long will they main
tain an antagonistic position. AS the pig
iron of this district has done. SO must the
steel of this district do; we must enter