The age-herald., 1901-11-20

l , Formerly of the staff of the New York
 Tribune and United States Consul at
 St. Helena, and now a resident of Mid
 dle Alabama.
 @ EEiParis and die. Is an aphorism S of dubious meaning and appli- M cation. cation It might signify much or little. good or evil. But to be actually able in the flesh to witness the development of young giant of a city like Birmingham is a privilege of undoubted worth, and one which can happen but onco in the lifetime of any man. It is worth living for, and it stands for life and not for death
 have seen some rather extraordinary cases of rapid growth of cities in the l West and, North-in some foreign lands, and on our eastern seaboard That of New York is. of course, the most mar velous and probably the most significant have seen the French rebuild and re- vainp the city of A1giers; the English re- construct and transform the Dutch bourg of Cape Town. But probably both of these have been excelIed by the actual application of sanitary principles to the cities of Havana and Manila by the Americans in the last few years and believe that there is nothing on earth in the way of an inland city to approach the strides which Birmingham is mak- | ing
 | Having watched 1t with admiration and a kind of awe for the last three years as an observer of some experience, will venture few thoughts on its present as- pect and future destiny.
 No more interesting problem exists than that of city building Few of them are laid out by prophet and seer as was the city of Washington, and they usually develop, if at all, along the lines of chance.
 Birmingham Is an example of the city, building art which presents some of the most interesting phases to be found on the American continent today 1t has | passed the experimental stage; weathered the period of doubt and hardship; shaken | from its garments the clements of chance which were inseparable from the strug- 1 gles of it's infancy, and entered upon career of greatness and prosperity which is far more discernable to an outside observer than to the citizen who is brought Into daily and hourly contact with its multifarious concerns.
 sss
 It is always hard for the man who has had a continual and active part in the expanding and evolution of city from village in few years to realize that it has outgrown it's swaddling clothes as a provincial town and attained a point of development which entities it to be chased as metropolis. Those who real | ly do the most to bring about such re- suits are the most modest and the least l assertive. While the world wondered at the Eiffel Tower the builder of that mar vicious structure held that it was a small affair as many mountains were more than ten times as high! So the men of Birmingham are building better than they know The growth of their city has been so swift and yet so solid along nearly all lines that most of it's citizens | cannot realize It's real position. Each man works away like a beaver, building up his own business and developing the resources of his own property Many of them are finding 1t difficult to keep track | of the ever-accelerating demands of trade and the constantly expanding ne- cessities of the situation. Few, indeed, have stopped to consider the whole ques- ton. They put up new and larger build ings. employ more men and handle more goods; but 1t appears in the experience | of many that the rush of traffic more than keeps pace with all their efforts in these directions.
 I heard a young lawyer who resides in | another ambitious city of Alabama say the other day: "I regret that I did not locate in Birmingham four or five years ago. Nothing can prevent that city from being the metropolis of Alabama, and the chief city of the entire South |" | frequently hear men of different call | ings make similar remarks; but in all | kl11 ox.olF tion of Birmingham as a rapidly growing commercial and manufacturing center, and not from any analysis of the causes which have produced the citys fame and prestige.
 The location from the scenic standpoint Is absolutely ideal. It would be hard to find more beautiful spot on the earth for a city than the Jones Valley as seen from Red Mountain on a clear day. The unduating lay of the land, the grace ful contour of the surrounding hills, and the vast adjacent territory which is suit able for the city's future expansion to | any possible limit all conduce to the merits of the site. Its high altitude ren ders 1t easy to drain, and the fertility of the soil all about the city will, in time, bring the supplies needed by the inhabi- tants for a great part of the year near to their doors With the Improvements of the Warrior River completed connecting the city by great waterway with the GlSlf of Mexico Birmingham will be all most seaport, and actually in posi- tion to compete In freight rates with cities on the shore.
 | It may be justly said that there is but | one defect in the site I refer to the ab- sence of any lake, river or stream of suf- ficient volume to provide an ample water | supply for city of such magnitude and | growing needs. This drawback can, In time be overcome by recourse to the waters of the Coosa River, or perhaps to some other streams within reasonably easy reach, and as soon as practicable the city should own and operate it's own wa ter works and regulate It's supply of this an-necessary article a liberal and generous basis for all of it's inhabitants. From the standpoint of the natural wealth of the situation, and of It's mag netic qualities for the drawing of atten- tion and trade there is nothing to be de- mont The presence of these, apart from stores of coal and iron lying side by side in vast veins all about the city. have not vet seen a beginning of their develop ment. The persence of these, apart from all other considerations, will lead natural iy to the gradual introduction of almost every wealth-producing enterprise in which men engage. Already the extent and capacity of some of your manufac- turing plants are a revelation to the in- vestigator. It is among the certainties that every line of production into which iron and steel enter as the chief ingre-
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