The age-herald., 1901-10-10
B|G STEEL PLANT
 IS 4 CERTAINTY
The Republic Company's Three
 Million Dollar Enterprise
IT MEANS VAST BENEFITS
For Birmingham and Dstrlct-WIII Employ Great Force of Workmen and at Once Add Seven Thous-
 and to the Population.

President Alexis ". Thompson and the other officials of the Republic Iron and Steel Company left Birmingham in their private car Lucullus yesterday afternoon at 4;10 o'clock.
 They went by the Southern Railway to Richmond, and from that city they will go to Ohio to inspect their plants in that State. The headquarters of the Republic Company are in Chicago, and that city will be reached by the latter part of the month
 Julian Kennedy the steel mill expert. who was here to locate great steel plant for the Republic Company, left last night for Pittsburg.
 The steel mill will be built as speedily as possible. Mir. Kennedy said two or three months would be required for work ing out the plans and specifications. It would take, he said, about two years to erect the plant.
 There have been no radical improve ments or changes in the construction of steel works in recent years" said MT.
 Kennedy, land the steel plant at Thomas
 will be constructed along the lines of those In Pennsylvania"
 MT. Thompson and his party spent yes-
 terday, up to Il o'clock, at Thomas in
 company with Mir. Kennedy. 'I have nothing more to say than what
 have already given to the press" said
 MT. Thompson as he was about to de-
 part.
 We expect to erect three million dol lar steel plant at Thomas. This will be | recommended to our board of directors" It Is understood that the board will act favorably on the recommendations of Mir. Kennedy and Mir. Thompson, and the three million dollar steel plant at Thomas may be regarded as assure thing. A large force of men will be employed on the construction and a much larger force in operating the new steel works. The steel plant means an increase of Thomas population, which is to say Bir- mingham's population. by something like six or seven thousand souls. But 1t means much more than that to Birmingham. The erection of the steel
 works at Ensley marked a new era in
 the industrial life of the Birmingham district; and the erection of big plant at Thomas means that Birmingham Is to rank soon with the great steel centers of the United States.
 "The Republics new project is the most important fact today in the development of Birmingham" said one of the directors of the company. .'and 1t will be only question of a very short time when millions of dollars worth of all sorts of xs,i1l here. Verify Birmingham is to be the Pittsburg of the South. There will be no keeping 1t down.
 Great Year Coming. ''If this has been big year for Bir-
 mingham in building and expansion gem dustrial activity will be far greater next year than it has been this, Unless all signs fail 1902 will be year of marvellous expansion for Birning..dm." The officials of the Republic Company made more thorough inspection of their property on this trip than ever before. and they expressed themselves as highly pleased with what they saw. A great deal of new machinery has 
 satisfactory in every respect. The Republic Company has rich plants in several states, and as producing cor poration 1t ranks next, 1t is believed, to the United States Steel Corporation. popu- larly known as the ''billion-dollar trust" Though 1t has larger operations in other states, It's Alabama properties show as good net results, 1t is claimed, as any of the others. siae
 The Republic Iron and Steel Company controls in the Birmingham district three different companies namely. the Birming- ham. Rolling Mill Company. the Pioneer Mining and Manufacturing Company and the Alabama works at Gate City.
 Operated by the Pioneer Mining and Manufacturing Company are the two furnaces at Thomas. built by Samuel Thomas and associates of Pennsylvania. Belonging to this plant is 2OO0-acre tract on which the furnaces and the town of Thomas stand. And the Pioneer Company is now building third furnace at Thomas which will be the largest south of the Ohio river.
 The Pioneer operates the Warner coal mines, on the Pratt seam. at Republic Station on the Southern Railway-a 25oO- acre tract of land. The Warner mines ship about 2O00 tons day. which is the largest output from any single slope In Alabama.
 The Pioneer also operates the Sayreton coal mines, tract of 2000 acres near North Birminghamin connection with the furnaces at Thomas; also the brown ore mines at Goethite; also red ore mines at Raimund, red ores mines at Grace's Gap; the alfretta and the Dahinda mines; also limestone quarries at Dale wi.n an out put of 1500 tons daily. tt And the properties named-the rolling mills, the furnaces and the mines and quarries are only part of the Republics holdings in Alabama. There are 20,0O0 acres of other valuable mineral lands lying in St. Clair, Tuscaloosa, Blount, Talladega, Bibb, Shelby and Jefferson. The ore mines are equipped with com pressors. drills, crushers and all the mod ern devices for economy.
 The one regret expressed by President Thompson on this visit was the illness, and consequently the absence of MT. Hassinger. the district manager. Assist ant Manager Adams made good sub stitute. however, and gave lne president all the information he wanted and pointed out all the economies that might