The age-herald., 1899-06-04
THE STEEL PLANT BUILDING Stands Ready, Waiting for the
 Machinery. THE THIRD CEMENT FACTORY In the United States Under Course of Erection Work Being Pushed Rapidly on Wire Rod and
 Nail Mill.
THE THIRD CEMENT FACTORY

Any one will enjoy trip to Ensley, that center of stir and activity; that little city which but year and half ago presented an almost desolate appearance, and now puts on metropolitan airs.
 There loungers whiting dry goods boxes, no idlers discussing village gossip or arguing social and political ques- tions. Every one is busy, contributing his share towards the uplifting of the commu- nifty, and the betterment of his own posi- tion The happy and contented faces of men and women, the cheerful smiles of the children seem to prove the somewhat staid but true proyerb, that "in labor there Is pleasure"
 The Steel Plant
 The most noticeable thing at present Is the tremendous building put up by the Alabama Ship and Steel Building com- pany. With its ten large smoke-stacks towering into the heavens the building makes an imposing impression, and the nearer one approaches it the larger, the more handsome it appears. It is a large oblong shaped structure of immense di- mensions and is practically in a finished state, ready to receive the machinery pre- paratory to commencing active work Tho
 
 production of steel has of late years been considerably perfected and improved upon, and the Alabama Ship and Steel company has decided to secure the best and most modern machinery obtainable, so that their product will rank with that of the best steel plants in the world.
 No money, no expense will be spared to bring this plant to the highest degree of perfection, eXcelling in many important de- tails the famous Carnegie steel plant at Pittsburg, Pa., which is considered one of the best in the world. Expert mechanical engineers will superntend the placing and putting together of the machinery, and the real work of putting in the plant has hard ly begun. The construction Of the building was but the beginning of the real work, which is now to commence. 1t Is estimated that many months will yet elapse before the doors of the plant will be thrown open for the workmen to take their respective places, and to add their mite to the hum and hustle of industry
 It is confidently hoped and expected by the managers that by fall probably by October, the steel plant may be in active operation. All their plans are based on this calculation, and all the preparations are made to have matters in complete readiness by that time. Huge piles of scrap iron are being unloaded from freight cars a short distance from the works, one thousand tons being the first shipment.
 About a hundred yards from the main building is a smaller, but very neat struc- ture, finished with trimmings of red paint, which is the foundry where the casting and molding will be done. The castings are being placed in now, which is in itself an interesting and instructive operation to observe.
 To the initiated person, one who is not versed in the manifold technicalities of the making of steel, the imposing magnitude of the plant has a bewildering effect, and when the statement is added that between five and six thousand men will, upon com- pletion of the plant, be employed by the company, only very faint picture can be drawn regarding this tremendous under taking.
 Certain it is, that the charming little town of Ensley, and with it the city of Birmingham will gain many commercial advantages from such an addition to its population.
 Birmingham Cement Company
 About one mile from the steel plant, just opposite the town of Ensley, one will find the location where the Birmingham Cement Company will erect seven buildings. The nature of the work in the manufacture of cement requires that special attention be paid to the construction of the build- ings. The foundations, which are being laid now, seem to indicate that the struc- lures will be of the most substantial kind. There will be an engine house, boiler, dryer and mixture house. building for the mill proper; furthermore, a storage and a cooper house. The largest of these will be the mill, which will be hundred and seventy-two feet by fifty-eight feet, while the smallest will be the dryer house. the dimensions of which will be forty by fifty feet.
 The making of slag cement can be look ed upon as one of the oldest industries known in the history of the ages. The fa- nous Roman aqueducts, known to students of ancient history, were made from ce- ment, and it Is generally supposed that the lava from Mounts Aetna and Vesuvius was used in their construction. Napoleon, the First, introduced slag cement into France. Other countries gradually began producing it, until today the process of making this cement has reached the high est kind of perfection. From year to year the demand is increasing, and at times mills must work for months at time to fill single contract. For instance, the British government is building a tremend- ous dam at the river Nile, In Egypt, tho construction of which will demand five mill lion barrels of cement The combined mills of England are at present engaged in filling this order, paying no attention whatever to any outside business.
 Our own government uses tremendous quantities of cement in the construction of harbor defenses and Notifications of var ious kinds. Furthermore, in all steel structures, such as bridges, etc., about one fourth of the material used is cement, so 1t can be readily seen that product or this kind will command great market.
 There are only two other mills of this kind in the country, and the only com- petitors the Ensley mill will have are those Of foreign countries, which are in Ger many, France, Belgium and Great Britain The two concerns In this country just re-