The age-herald., 1900-06-03
NED BRACE TALKS ABOUT MATTERS OF
 BOTH A LOCAL AND FOREIGN NATURE

I am glad to hear that the proposed new hotel on the Methodist church lot, corner Fourth avenue and Nineteenth street, is a practical certainty. I am told the $120,O0O of bonds, and $11o,OOO of the proposed $125,O00 of stock have been floated. This being the case, it should be an easy matter to float $15,00O more of stock and commence the con- struction of the hotel at once.
 If there is anything Birmingham needs it is a good, large. comfortable hotel. Many small towns in the south have better hotel accommodations than Birmingham. There are good restaurants here, but no home like or comfortable hotels.
 The enterprisng citizens of Birmingham subscribed the money and built a splendid auditorium. It is large and one of the best buildings in all the south for convention purposes. But you cannot get conventions to a city when it has no great hotels The Auditorium has not paid because congrega- tions of people would not come to Birming ham to hold conventions. They refuse to come because Birmingham cannot house them. A frst-class hotel would be worth more money to Birmingham today than half dozen cotton factories, or another steel
 
 side of life. People will not take the chance of going to city, even to inspect it from an investment point of view, unless they are certain that they will not have to walk the streets at night. It is known to every one that the present hotels of Birmingham are not of sufficient capacity to accommodate the ordinanry visitors. The lack of a good hotel is therefore working much injury to the upbuilding of the town and it's business interests. Even people of nearby towns fear to come here on shopping expeditions be- cause they are not sure of a comfortable hotel in which to sleep.
 hear there is some opposition to the pro- posed new hotel being erected the site selected. This opposition is unjust. Every man in Birmingham should put his shoulder to the wheel to build this hotel. Before it can possibly be constructed Birmingham will be big enough to require another equal ly large hotel. Atlanta has four more hotels larger than this proposed one. Yet they are all filled practically every day, and a new million-dollar hotel is already proposed and planned for Atlanta. In my opinion, a hotel on this site and hotel where the Caldwell formerly stood, and perhaps one or two more, could be built within the next year and all would be profitable I hope also to see several office buildings started within the next year.
 The steel plant at Ensley has been closed down for couple of days for some slight repairs. However, it will be started up again today, and I understand within the next two weeks all ten of the furnaces will be put in active operation. The wire rod mill is practically in full operation, and within thirty days will be running at it's full capacity.
 Ground was broken yesterday for the new plough works at Ensley, and it is said that this concern will be in active opera tion before the end of the present year.
 Murders are still weekly occurrences in Birmingham The grand jury, which re- ported yesterday, found twenty-one true bills against murderers. And yet the of- ficials of the city are apparently making no effort to increase the police force. Chief Austin and all of his men are doing good work, but there are not enough men on the force to properly protect one-half of the