The sun., 1903-02-08

has been largely curtailed. although the
Alabama output has increased since then
by probably more than 200, ,O00 tons q year
Alabama pig iron has found a market In
all parts Of tho United States and IN Eng
land. France. Germany, Italy. Holland
Denmark. Switzerland. Norway. Austria
and even in India. China and Australia.
STEEL WORKS TO COME.
Brmingham's next big stride forward
will be in the direction Of steel and steel
and iron finished product manufacture.
Atpresent she has to bring all the structural
steel work for her skyscrapers from a
distance, and that Is not a circumstance
that is pleasing to local pride.
There has been in operation here for six
years at the Birmingham rolling mill, now
the property of the Republic Iron Company,
a steel plant consisting Cftwo open-heartb
furnaces Of a capacity of about 100 tons
per day, and this il said to have been the
first attempt to make steel in the South
on a commercial basis. Then again, the
Tennessee Coal and Iron Company has in
operation at Ensley, one Of the Birming-
ham suburbs a steel plant which consists
of ten bas'c G open-hearth furnaces and a
forty-four inch blowing mill with all neces-
sary accessories. 1t has capacity Of
1000 tons a day, and, with one exception,
the Homestead works Of the Carnegie
Steel Company, il is the largest basic open
hearth plant in the world
The fuel Of the plant comes in at one
end, the metal at the other and the finished
product goes out at the south side. This
company has, in connection with the steel
works, a steel casting plant and a steel
rail mill
In addition to there concerns there is
now going up still another great steel
plant, involving an investment of upward
of 600, and at this rate Of progress
the day is near at hand when Birmin CHAM
will not only be manufacturing her own
sky-scraper steel structural work. but also
be sending the same North and to the cities
of the South. many Of which are fest reach
ing the sky-scraper stage of development.
The fact is that there has been such an
enormous demand for pigiron that with
the big profits which have come from il
there has been no strong inclination to go
into other forms Of the iron-working in
dus,ry. The time for a change in this
respect IL, however. near at hand and in
the coming few years will be developed
a wide diversity Of Birminghams finished
product, iron and steel industry.
DIVERSIFIED TNDUs1 RJEs
The industries here are even now widely
diversified There is a wire, rod and nail
mill, employing 500 men, consuming from
$50 to 800 tons of steel daily and turning
out 5000 kegs Of nails every twenty-four
hours; there is a steel car plant under con-
struction that will employ 600 men and
represents capitalization of $500 600;
there is a cast iron pipe plant making
pipe from inches to n inches in diane
ter, employing 900 men and turning out
800 tons of pipe day; there are three other
iron pipe companies employing nearly
1000 men among them, all told; there are
stove foundries. plough and agricultural
works, boier-mGking concerns, Coriiss
engine works, bolt and nut works, two
cotton factories. two cotton seed oil mills,
chemical works, knitting mill, overall
and clothing factory, two wagon factories
and 80 on through all the gamut OF nearly
everything that can be imagined, and yet
with something new and something big
either just starting up or just looming in
sight on the horizon.
There is ma agnetism in Birmingham e
big iron moutnain right within the city
gates. II is drawing wealth and wealth
producers hither from far and near. A
great metropolis Of the great South is to be
here-is here even now, indeed.
CITY WORTH LIVING IN. TOO.
And with all this heaping up Of material
things it is not to be supposed that the
attrac, i've and the nteect ual side OF life
is overlooked. From mere mining camp
that in 1873 was all but exterminated by a
pestilence bred Of disregard of all laws OF
sanitation, Birmingham has grown to be a
finely drained. finely paved. handsome
city, in which there are scores of fine
churches, schools as good as any in the
country. four fine clubs and above all a
societ made up OF refined men and women
intelli gently and Loyalty interested in all
that goes to the elevation and betterment
of he community
II is difficult TO picture in mind the old
az compared wit he new-the old booming
country. thinly settled and scanned with
wallowing streaks of hub-deep mud cal cd
roads, the stagnation. the silence that
brooded for generations over this vast
treasure deposit OF nature. All but i'm
possible it is to conjure that vision up to
your mind with all this war Of industry
about you, the great city spread before
your eyes, electric cars skimmiDg over rail-
road lines 100 miles in length, and, st ret CHI
ing out through the country in all direc-
tions like broad firm bands, macadamized
roads that cover tot al Of over 200 miles
1t is not quite to be wondered at perhaps
that the poor. ak-headed fellow who was
giving his money away in Broadway lost
his wits in the first whirl and mad rushes
Of its early formative days and that, too,
when to the excitement Of the time was
added the delirium Of that fercc attack OF
speculative fever which, it seems. all young
and lusty cities must go through before they
get their poise and the saving place of
their mat ured senses.
The next OF THE SUNS series Of articles
about he New South will tell about Mont
gomery, Ala.