Birmingham state herald., 1897-07-03
THE DEVELOPMENT OF RAILROADS
 IN ALABAMA
To the State Herald

To the State Herald.
 A review of the present status cf the railway interests throughout the United States forces one to the conclusion that the great wave of railroad building for speculative and illegitimate purposes is something of the past, and protected roads now, in order to receive the en- couraging aidr of capital must prove be- yond peradYenture of doubt valuable reasons for their existence. Such al least are the conditions today in Ala bama. It is a we'll recognized fact that no character of states material institu- ticns more clearly empha sizes the growth and condition of a state than her rail- road interests, for they reflect with ac- curacy the rise and fall in the tide of commercial prosperity.
 While Ala abama was one of the first three states in the union to commence the building of railroads, the era of her rapid development did rot properly begin until few years following the close of the late civil war, and today she stands fifteenth among the states, with a mile age in active operation of S,624S S9-1OO miles, representing a taxable value of $45, ,496, ,602.25, and furnishing employment to approximately 14000 men.
 With the railroads now in operation and in course of construction only two counties out of sixty-six, representing an area of 51,54O square miles, are not touched by railroads. I make mention of this to emphasize the transportation facilities available to every portion of the state, which record is surpassed by only one state in the south
 Our railroad progress has been co-ex- tensive with the development in agricul- ture, mining and manufacturirg, and es- pecially is this true in so far as it relates to mining and manufacturing, which in terests have had a most phenomenal growth in the two past decades. In 1880 Alabama ranked as fourteenth state in the production of pig iron; in 1896 it
 ranked as third. In 1880 this state ranked seventeenth in the production of coal
 in 1896 it ranked as fourth, and today a territory is being addressed which has heretofore been supplied from the mines of Pennsylvania, and it is confidently ex- pected that this new territory will occa- sion decided increase over present pro- duction The progT 7esive business men who are engaged in iron business are introducing their products in the Euro pean countries, and are thus opening up new and profitable markets, which in course of time will be a great factor in consuming the increased output of inn proved furnaces. This will be of par ticular value to those railroads touching the Atlantic and gulf points,. A few figures relative to the amount and char acter of products handled by the ai'roads in Alabama forcibly illustrates the gen. eral growth and healthy development
  the fiscal year of 1896 the gross tonnage | of Alabama railroads was Il, ,4554 443 tons, | consisting of the followinp percentage of | products::
 | Mining products ........... ............ 5s | Manufacturing products ..... IA 1 Forest products ...... .......... 1 Agricultural products ........... l Miscellaneous products ...... ......... Il 10C l Several roads are now in actual course l of construction, while others are in con- | template for the immediate future
 Most prominent among those being built 1 is the Mobile and Ohio from Columbus Miss. to Montgomery, Ala. Main line 1 and branches will amount to 1855 miles and 1 will develop a section rich In agriculture | mineral and forest products.
 The Plant system has recently awarded | contract for building a branch line of l thirty-six miles from Newton. in Dale l county, to Efba. In Coffee county which