The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-04-28
Representatives ofWiIIiamS Syn
dictate in Birmingham.
TALK OF NEW FURNACES
Extensive Coal Lands Will Be Pur-
chased-J. w. Harrison at Bottom
of Scheme to Build Furnaces
and Steel Mill.

formerly manager of the Mary Lee Rail-
| road and Coal company
These visitors are understood to represent
the John Shelton Williams syndicate of
Baltimore and Richmond investors, who re-
Gently paid $115,O00 for 1900 acres of land
at Gate City, and who, it is understood,
are the purchasers of tke Mary Pratt fur
mace.
1t was given out by The Age-Herad
months ago that it was the ultimate OBJ
| ject of the Williams syndicate to build two
iron furnaces at Gate City, together with a
system of water works. There was also
talk of glass works, and possibly other in
dustries on the property.
The Williams syndicate evidently fpur-
chased their property as an investment to
be utilized as soon as might be practical
| Die. So the presence here of these leading
representatives of the Williams syndicate
| coming almost Immediately after the ac-
| quirment of the property, must certainly
mean something of more than ordinary i'm
| portance. The presence of one of the fam
| Gus pig iron furnace-builders suggests a
| ready conclusion to the main purpose OF
| their visit. 1t is to make preliminary ar
rangements for the building of furnaces.
IL they be built, they will be large ones.
No investor would nowadays put his money
in small iron furnace. That sort of thing
is past.
AS to the presence here of Mr.. Jenkins,
formerly of the Mary Lee, 1t is said it
means the reorganization and rehabilita ton
OF the Mary Lee railroad and coal property
That property has not been in a good way
for several years, and has been run on
small scale.
May Want Mary Lee Property
1t Is possible that the representatives of
the Williams syndicate will investigate the
properties of the Mary Lee Coal company.
For several weeks investigation of various
coal lands has been under way, and il Is
known that the syndicate desires to pur-
chase property of this character 1t was
said yesterday that some coal lands in JEFF
ferson county known as the Lower War
rior' lands, were the most favored al
though the purchase of other developed
and undeveloped property had been taken
under consideration.
The syndicate has a wealth of iron ore
and dolomite in it's recently acquired Gate
City property. The scheme is now to buy
up coal lands, without which no company
out for development purposes would be a
success.
The Investigations looking toward the
purchase of coal lands and the fact that
the syndicate has already valuable iron ores
at its command, makes plausible the rumor
that two or more iron furnaces will be
built.
The fact that every indication bears cut
| the theory that Mr.. Williams and his
friends are investing their money for pur-
! poses of development alone makes this
| rumor more plausible. The syndicate that
| for some months has cut wide swath in
Southern railroad and financial circles has
| gone too far for speculative purposes. The
| purchase of the Florida Central and Pensa-
| cola, for which cash was paid, puts about
| 5000 miles of railroad lines into the hands of
| this gigantic combine
That the gentlemen interested intend to
weld the various lines which they have
| purchased into one mammoth system can
hardly be doubted. To make the system
complete necesstates the entrance of the
Seaboard Air Line into Birmingham. It
was for this purpose that the Mary Pratt
property was purchased. Other property
will of course be purchased to make the
terminal facilities complete. 1t is possible
that the Highland Avenue and Belt will
| fall into the same hands when 1t goes on
the market.
The fact that the Southern and Louis
Vile and Nashville have formed a compact
| circuit of the mineral district by acquiring
the Birmingham Southern will force the
people behind the Seaboard to purchase all
| the suitable property possible before their
| plans are officially announced.
Industrial development will naturally fos-
| ter railroad interests, and the Williams
| syndicate Will erect furnaces anu operate
| coal mines not alone for the actual profit
| on the output, but as feeders to their rail-
road lines.
The prediction of a conservative railroad
man is that the Seaboard will be in Bir-
| mngham within one year, and that work
| on the syndicate" industries VIII be under
| way before that time.
| Secondary Consideration
| The experiments entered into at Gate
for
| generally considered to be matter of sec
| ondary consideration. The syndicate
| owns the property, and may desire to de-
rive some revenue before Its big plans are
lnatured This is probably accountable Tor
| negotiations under way that tend TO an
| effort to give Woodlawn and Avondale an q,
| artesian water supply. When the syhdl-
cate builds furnaces and other industries
| it will need water and this may all fit IN
| well.
| Birmingham might be furnished with ar
tesian water, but 1t is not believed thde
this now seriously considered.
| John Shelton Williams was much inter-
ested in Birmingham before he purchased
| either the Seaboard or the Gate City prop
| erty He came here more than year ago
and spent a week in his private car. He
| was really in the city only about twenty
| minutes, but spent his time visiting the
| points of interest about the district When
he left he carried with him maps ana
| figures on every valuable piece OF prop
| erty of the district
| Not long afterwards the owners OF the
| Gate CITY property interested Mr.. Williams,
| the work being done by a local man ana
| one of Mr.. Williams representatives. Inc
| local man received $4,000 for simply intro
| ducing Mr. williams representative to one
| of the owners of the property. Inc SAFE
| was soon afterwards announced.
! Two More Furnaces
The presence of the Pittsburg furance
| builder in the city may have some connec-
| ton with the gossip to the effect that j. w.
| Harrison, the former president of the How
| ard-Harrison pipe works. is organizing a
| company with the intention Of putting in
| two iron furnaces and mill to make steel
| castings near Bessemer.
| Mr.. Harrison is said to have informed a
| prominent official in one OF the big COM
| panies of the district yesterday that the
gossip was something more than fiction
y He will as yet give out no details for
publication