The age-herald., 1901-11-20

ne skilled mechanics and laborerS III these works receive good pay, and buy Tor cash their groceries, dry goods, shoes and other supplies consumed by them and their families. The natural in- crease, therefore, in the commercial bus l mess of the city, ever broadening and strengthening within and without Will be far greater than any man would dare ! to estimate at this time.
 Many new and important enterprises l are sure to grow up in such a place. For I instance: The stores of fine hardwood used in the making of wagons and car riages, are reaching the point of ex- haustion. The day cannot be far distant l when all such vehicles will have to be built chiefly of the metals, as are the automobiles now being put on the mar ket Birmingham is practically the only point in the United States where this vast enterprise could be carried on at the minimum cost of production, and within easy and quick reach of every part of the country
 The making here of all the T iron and steel rails for the mines and railroads | or the South, and all the tools, cars and 1 equipment for the same can be a ques- ton of only a short time. And what Is to prevent the manufacture right here or all the machinery and equipment for cotton mills, cotton gins, etc., needed for the South, which are now imported at heavy expense from the Eastern states, and from Europe? All these things are certain to come to Birmingham, and some | of the capitalists who are coming so often to look over your. advantages and re- sources may have them already in con- temptation Such possibilities mean a constantly increasing stream of capital into the district and lively demand for l skilled labor at high pay.
 If Birmingham doubled her population in the last ten years, as shown in the census of 1900, it will be more than twice it's present size in 1910, at which date
 most of the men who by i their faith, skill, energy and foresight have contrib uted to make the city what it is today will still be young and active, practically in the prime of their lives and. energies | But will they be so absorbed in the cares of their business when the city has 15O,OO0 l inhabitants that they cannot give more time and attention than they do at pres ent to the conduct of municipal affairs and to the moral as well as the sanitary ! improvement of the city which is their ] home, and which they have done so much to advance to the front rank of American cities? Even then will they 1 begin to realize that Birmingham is a | metropolis2
 | rIOiu edSL to west the clIy IS cut Tn | twain by the tracks of several rail- way systems, some of them among the greatest in the country. These railways particularly the Southern, and the Louisville and Nashville, whose man lines pass through the city from the 1 great emporiums of the North to the delightful cities of the gulf have played a prominent part in the upbuilding and | advertising the merits of Birmingham. | rrI.. T .l.4I T. | to cooperate with the. city authorities in the elimination of unsightly Instructions along their lines, and of the dangerous | grade crossings which give the railroads | themselves so much trouble and expense. | and which are menace to the lives of | pedestrians and those riding in electric cars which use these crossings. point should be strained to change this condi- tion at least in the centers of traffic, where many lives have been already sacrificed, and the lives of thousands of women and children are endangered ev- cry day. The money expended for main taining and guarding these grade cross ings in order to protect the public from constantly moving trains, and the shoot ing of freight cars, would in a few years pay for good iron bridges over the tracks or for the raising or lowering of the | tracks themselves to a safe level
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 The city is injured by these grade crossings in ways that do not occur to the citizen who regards them as a matter of course, and the evil should be corrected as soon as possible
 The cleanliness of city, the abatement of the dust nuisance and proper sanita- | tion are all largely dependent upon a | practically unlimited water supply. A city must be in a position to waste wa 4~ lao off m | generally provide itself in this respect far better than an individual or a corporation because the city builds for all time and | can discount the future. The corpora ton which secures a franchise to supply city with water must of necessity study the immediate interests of it's present generation of shareholders. A
 It is the same with light and power companies and street railway traffic. Practical experience in some parts of this country and the approved and well | demonstrated systems of New Zealand, have shown conclusively that vast ad- yantages are gained by having all of these things owned and operated by the | community. Birmingham should grant no franchise for more than ninety-nine years, for by the expiration of that pe- riod the city will undoubtedly have a population of over one million (more I | franchises at that time will be greater | than the most sanguine would now care l to predict
 No city of similar size has a more l beautiful and artistic residence quarter than the South Highlands, and even in the heart of the city there are fine sec tions of comfortable and refined homes. | Your school system Is up to date, and vour churches are doing their part to keep the moral development in line ith the material. But it must be admitted that in some quarters the provincial over sight of permitting the accumulation and aggregation of slums Is painfully appar- | ent. The clements to be contended against are undoubtedly of serious na- ture. but the problem can be solved, and these unsightly and unsanitary deface- ments gradually removed if liberal- minded citizens will awake to the fact that the city is really a metropolis now, and that 1t is entitled to all the bless ings which such a community can com | mand The man in the palace must not forget that the slum may menace him and his children as well as it's immediate denizens Property owners should be spurred to greater care and attention to the houses, fences and grounds which they rent to iaborers and persons of moderate means. They are receiving good rentals for even their poorest shan ties, and if their own civic pride or good taste will not move them to the proper care and cleaning up of their property. a surer method of pursuasIon should be l tried. In Denver and many others of