The age-herald., 1899-08-06
NED BRACES
SUNDAY GOSSIP


 don't take much stock in that New York Tribune story, sent out by the Associated Press and printed yesterday morning, that the Tennessee Coal company, the sloss- Sheffield company and other companies in thIs district have combinedT The truth of the matter is that each one of these conn panies Is now doing a splendid business. making lots of money, and there is no rea- son why they should combine just at this time. However. the holders of the securi- ties of all these companies are to a large extent spectators, and if they found a good thing in it they would combine in a minute So we can't tell what they are going to do.
 Speaking of spectators, there is young man in Birmingham who has made good thing out of Tennessee stock recently. He bought 1t a short while ago at 40, and he sold it a short number of hours ago at so. He didn't buy but 100 shares. yet he cleared s4oOO on the deal. and his total capital when he bought it was only $500.
 There seems to be lots of specua ton in local stocks. The Bessemer Land company stock has come up from sl0 to 80 share in the past few months, and there is some demand for North Birmingham Land com- pany stock, as well as for other land com pany stocks around Birmingham, which have been perfectly flat for the last five or six years.
 Indeed, there seems to be a speculative era on in Birmingham. It seems to bo going too far The real estate agents and the brokers are becoming as enthusiastic as they were in the boom days. In their enthusiasm they are liable to destroy their business. Actual investors think prices are too high, already. Rooms always collapse. There is some prosperity in Birmingham but it is not as widespread as the real estate men would make it appear. The merchants have felt it but slightly up to this time. It is true the pay rolls have increased, but this money hasn't gotten into circulation yet and it is not being spent among the merchants. It will be several months yet, in fact, before there will be a general air of prosperity in this district. It is true lots of new industries are in contemplation, but they are not here yet. It is mistake to speculate to too great an extent upon future possibilities.
 
 The Sloss Sheffield company contem- plates a steel plant here to cost fifteen hundred thousand dollars. This plant will be built within the next year. but whether it will be located at North Birmingham or Gate City or at some other point in the district, is not yet known A new pipe foundry is also to be built here but rlaakl, ham. Ensley, North Birmingham or on the extension of First avenue, is not known. Abnormal prices in real estate will drive these plants away from favored locations.
 Too much speculation has proven the destruction of many a good town. There fore, the citizens and property holders of Birmingham. if they are wise, will be care ful. It is always good idea to let the other fellow make some profit. Those who are too grasping usually fall and fall hard.
 The board of aldermen the other day re- fused to make a contract with any of the bidders for paving Twentieth street, be- cause the board considered all the bids too high. Other bids will therefore be asked for.
 Suppose the board of aldermen had not asked for bids for paving Twentieth street, but had simply called up one contractor without notifying any other contractor and said to him: We want you to pave Twen- tieth street, and we wfll pay you so much Tor doing H,' and then and there made d contract with him. Don't you think thero would have been howl from the citizens of the community? The board did not do this; and the board acted wisely in not doing it, too. Yet the board did award a contract for all the city printing for the next eight months to one newspaper with out asking either for circulation or for in the city of Birmingham. The Agc- Herald has made no kick about this. and as part and parcel of The Age-Herald i won't kick now. I am glad the contract was given out al decent and respectable price. It was really given at a less price than it should have been, to do full justice to the newspaper, but the method by which 1t was given out is susceptible of no excuse or explanation. It has been done and it will stand, but as one citizen of Birming- nam, l don't propose that it shall again be given out in any such manner when the present contract expires. There Is A -ss1. lar and an irregular way of doing sa business, and it is the duty of all the ser- wants of the people to do business in the regular way.