Evening star., 1902-08-30

offered to advance $50, 900 to the city for
the purpose, other Birmingham capitalists
did likewise, though in smaller sums, and
the work was Immediately begun. The
property was condemned and bought the
old houses torn down and the land leased
on T5-year leases for the putting up of new
buildings. The leases were so worded that
at the end of the IS years the buildings
upon the land should revert to the city, so
that eventually the Birmingham corpora
ton will practically own the best part of
the municipality. and it will then probably
be the richest city of the world. The hold
ers of the leases now pay a regular rent
to the city, and magnificent structures have
taken the places of the old slums.
The Birmingham Arcades.
One of the features of the new buildings
is a system of arcades which run here and
there through them from street to street.
These are beautiful structures, rooted with
iron and glass, forming large passageways
containing stores as good as you will find
in England. The interior walls are of tiles
and the fronts of the stores are plate glass.
These arcades are filled with shoppers at
the busiest times of the day, and they form
a promenade and visiting place for the
people. They are extremely light. Indeed,
i took some snapshot photographs within
them which have come out very we'll
In my strolis about the arcades I saw
many evidences of the American invasion.
another had tomato ketchup from Philadei-
phia, sweet pickles and baked beans from
Baltimore, and a third jars of apple butter
from Pittsburg and canned soups from
Chicago.
The most important sign that met my eye
as 1 came up from the new station to the
junction of Corporation street and New
street was that of the New York Life In
surance Company, and the next thing
saw was the American flag waving from
the third story Of big pink building
further down the way, with the words
United States Consulate on the window
behind it A little later on I walked into
the consulate and spent an hour or so
there with Mr. Marshall Halstead. who Is
Uncle Sans consul and business represen-
tative in this industrial section. He was
free enough In expressing his opinions
about American trade, but said that he
could not allow himself to be quoted, as
the birmingham people have become Sc
sensitive on the subject of the American
invasion that an interview upon such lines
would do more harm than good.
In City Gas Office.
It was in company with Mr.. Halstead
that 1 visited the city gas office in the
Council House to learn something about
how these corporations manage their gas
works. I find that nearly all the cities of
England are now gradually buying the gas
plants. Two hundred and thirty of them
tending the service so that the poorest
man can have his gas at low cost.
We first entered the gas counting room,
where We found clerks taking in money
from the consumers, and from there went
on into the sales room, where all sorts of
gas fixtures, from brackets to chandeliers
and from gas tips to gas stoves, are sold.
The Birmingham Gas Company, which con-
troiled the business when the city decided
to own it, had a fixture store and the cor
poration bought this with the plant. The
prices of the fixtures are about the same
as in the United States, but the terms of
payment are much more lenient. The city
Will sell you gas fixtures on time, and it
will even rent them out for a considera-
ton.
Gas Cookers for Dollar a Year.
If the Birmingham man does not care to
buy a gas stove the city win put in one
for him at a rent of cents a week or s1.O4
cents a year, or he can have larger stove
for cents per week. A small gas boiler
about as big around as a tea plate, with
little holes about the edge, is furnished for
nothing.
The gas for poor people is largely dis
tributed through penny-in-the-Slot meters.
meters save that each has a hole in the
top. Dropping a penny in the hole opens
a valve, which let's out enough gas to run
three burners for three hours. The gas can
De turned on ana OH, so tnat the ecOnOml-
cal man can burn less and have his lights
for perhaps 1 cent per night. The meter
Is connected also with gas stove and 1
am told that 1 penny will give enough gas
to cook dinner for family. There are
other meters so arranged that you can put
a shilling in the slot and get proportion
ately larger amount of gas. These meters
are used to some extent by the better class
families 1 noticed especially that all the
flexible connecting tubes. in this gas Office
were Of American make, and the manager
told me that the city bought all such sup
plies from the United States.
FRANK G. CARPENTER.