Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1902-08-30

vance municipal ownership In the city
Of Birmingham The monument bears
a medallion bust of Nh Chamberlain
without the oyeglass, and upon II there
is an inscription testlfylng to his SER
vices for Birmingham
OLD BIRMINGHAM.
Indeed, the city Of Birmingham has
been reCreated by Mr., Chamberlain anu
his associates within the past genera
ton. Before | describe II let me tell
you something Of the Birmingham of
the past The town has FOR centuries
been the industrial capital Of middle
England. II is situated where was
once the forest Of Arden, the scene of
Robin Hoods adventures and Of LAS
You Like IT. and others Of Shake.
speare's plays II has iron mines and
coal mines not far away and before
coal wa susel for smelling iron the
people here made charcoal from the
trees OF the forest and thus worked
their blacksmith shops ana other house
industries.
No one knows when the iron making
began.and today there Is vast amount
of work that goes ON in small factories
The city Is now perhaps the chief hard
ware center of the whole world. II
'has foundries ana shops for making
steam engines heavy machinery and
cannon, II makes pins and needles
by the tens Of millions and steel pens
and buttons for all parts Of the globe.
II has glas works and crystal works.
bronze foundHes and bridge works, and
It's gun NOrks are Of enormous size,
There are one hundred thousand fac
tory hands IN the cityand 1t is estimat-
ed that ten thousand OF these are em-
ployed In making guns and rifles. The
guns are exported to all countries,
The works were pushed TO their fun
capacity during our civil war; when
900 guns were shipped to the United
States, including a large number which
went 90 helg the south.
THE BIRMINGHAM OF TODAY.
The Birmingham Of today is about as
large as St Louis. II has one or two
streets as fine as the better streets OF
st. Louis, and indeed il looks much
more like an American city than an
English one. The streets are we'll kept,
and notwithstanding the t0undries and
factories which are scattered here and
there upon them everything Is remark
ably clean.
Birmingham has been called the town
of two great streets. Its chief business
houses are on these streets ana the
buildings have all been put up within
the last few years. They are the pro-
duct of Birminghams principle of mu-
ncipal improvement When Joseph
Chamberlain was mayor the business Of
the town was congested. There were
slums in Its heart, and IT was Cham
berlain who planned to wipe the Sums
out, to build a great street through
lhem, which should We known as Cor
poration street, and TO widen what Is
now New street, or, in short. TO prac-
tically rebuild the business part OF the
city. This undertaking was begun in
1915 and s. goo 600 was borrowed to car
ry II out. lnasmuCh as the money was
needed at once and it would take time
to get an act Of parliament authorizing
the city to issue bonds Joseph Cham
berlain offered to advance $4,000 to the
city for the purpose, other Birmingham
capitalists did likewise, though In
smaller sums, and the work was Inn
mediately begun. The property was
condemned and bought, the old houses
torn down and the land leased on IS
year leases for the putting up Of new
buildings. The leases We're so worded
that at the end Of the 20 years the
buildings upon the land should revert TO
the city so that eventually the Blrm-
ingham Corporation will practically
own the best part Of the municipality.
and II will then probably be the richest
city of the world. The holders Of the
leases now pay a regular rent 10 the
city, and magnificent structures have
taken the places Of the old slums.
THE BIRMINGHAM ARCADES.
One OF the features Of the new build