The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-11-16
HUNTSVILLE URGES
 ST LOUIS EXHIBIT Business Men MemoriaIize h.
 dustriaI Association. THE DIVERSIFIED INTERESTS Madison County One of the Richest in Alabama-Natural Gas is Being Successfully Developed-Gas
 for Birmingham.
THE DIVERSIFIED INTERESTS

Huntsville, November H.-(Speeial)- Diversihcation is the watch word in the Tennessee valley. and Huntsville people are especially alive to it's importance and to it's wealth producing power Madison county, with it's matchless agricultural richness, is not without mineral wealth; and to write of this county without refer ring to the discovery of natural gas in paying quantities here would render the description incomplete.
 Just sixteen miles from this city the New York Alabama Gas company has purchased an area of land where the ex- perts have discovered natural gas, which must prove an immense source of profit to the owners and convenience to the people and manufacturing concerns in all this section. The management of this en- | terprise has bored to depth of six hun dred feet and is still proceeding with the work with confidence in it's ability to obtain gas in great quantities. Already enough has been obtained daily to light the way for miles around the well and to furnish power for the engines of the ! |. feet higher than Huntsville and in the midst of a rich agricultural section of the county.
 Some years ago the Standard oil com pany held an option on these lands, but for some reason failed to develop them The present company is said to be strong ly capitalized and ably managed It's ] president, who is one of the largest stock holders, is Hon. Francis H. Wilson of New York, ex-postmaster and ex-con- gressman from Brooklyn. O. B. Patton, cashier of the. First National bank here, is assistant treasurer, and S. l.. Whitten | of Huntsville is the general manager In l conversation today MT. Whtten informed the writer that his company would en- 1 ter into a contract with the people of Huntsville to furnish them gas at the following prices Illuminating gas 30 cents per 1000 feet; fuel gas, 35 cents per lOoO feet; fuel and Illuminating gas for manufacturing purposes, 15 cents per 1000 feet, if 100000 feet be used daily MT Whitten says that it is the purpose of the | company when it shall have fully devel- oped this valuable property to conduct the gas into Birmingham-that it will be entirely practical and profitable to do so.
 St. Louis Exhibit.
 The people of Madison county. who are ever anxious to present the advantages l of their section to the world, express | great disappointment that no provision has been made for an Alabama exhibit at the St Louis Worlds Fair, but have not given up the idea even yet. At the last | meeting of the chamber of commerce the | following resolution was adopted
 Realizing the enormous and incaleula- | ble advantages that would accrue to Ala l bama by having a display at the St i Louis exposition, and how humiliating it would be to every loyal citizen not to have an appropriate exhibit; therefore, | be it
 Resolved, That the Industrial and Commercial association of the state be and the same is hereby memorialized and urged to inaugurate an alacritous move- ] ment in order that the patriotic wise and ! laudable ambition may result in placing before the world an exhibit that will at- tract the attention of prospective home l seekers and investors to the superb agri- cultural mineral and industrial resources 1 of our matchless state"
 Price of Cotton.
 | The present advanced price of cotton is source of much discussion in Huntsville today, and there is more than one opin- ion expressed as to the effect Of course. 1 the margin of profit is less to the dealer :: the burden falls somewhat upon the man. | ufacturer, but mostly upon the consumer; | but as this Is a cotton producing section | the farmer, who is the worthy and de- 1 serving producer, is the beneficiary; and the people will rejoice with him that his 1 day of prosperity has once again dawned i The thought really occurs that the south ern people constitute a very small per- l centage of the cotton consumers of the world, and yet the south produces nearly | all Of the valuable staple. Therefore the | balance of the trade must be in favor of the southern farmer, and as he grows rich, upward and onward must the entire south move.
 The markets of the world are rapidlv l opening to receive cotton goods. and as the demand increases, so must the nrices advance. These thoughts are suggested | to the writer by one who is deeply inter- l ested In the advancement of the agricul- tural interests of this valley and of the whole south He believes the outlook for l the southern farmer brought, and that | the upward tendency of the cotton may Ret makes stronger the invitation to peo- | pie to come, invest. cultivate and make their homes and fortunes here.
 Value of Products.
 According to figures recently obtained | from the federal census bureau, the value of the annual products of the farms of Madison county is something in excess of s2'Oo.0o0; and 1t is confidently predicted | by those who are closely watching the | progress of the county and actively en- gagged In the encouragement of diversified farming that these figures will be more l than doubled before another census To this 2,O0O0OO. however, add the s4 800, GOO | output of the cotton mills here, and the 1 reader will gain some idea of the pres ent wealth of this one section of Ala . | bama
 Death of German Army Officers. | From the London Mail.