The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-11-28
Evidences of Prosperity
 of the Planter.
New p..k BuiIdings ef Mobile and the Huee sums sn Depssit Tell of the Cha.se of Ce.ditions
 In Dixie.
Ry win r.. sheehan.

By VIII T.. sheehan.
 Mobile. Nov. a7.--tstaff Correspond ence )--The Southern farmer has be- como an investor. a lender instead of a This phenomencn. for in the light of the history of agriculture in the South since the war 1t is phenomenon, has been the subject of comment, specula- tion and figuring by editors and trade journal writers. Some editor with 9 head of figures. estimated that the present. cotton crop will bring the farmer Of the South total profit above the necessary expenses of making it of S3lB B,000.000, . staggering sum. He starts out with his figuring by assum- ing that cotton can be produced. gath cred and placed in a warehouse for cents a pound. Most farmers will agree that that Is a rather conserva- tive estimate. The difference between 2 cents a,pound and the market price the farmer received for every pound of cotton of this years huge crop. this editor with the head for figures, says will foot up for the total crop $2lS,- 100000.
 And then he makes the picturesque statement that this great big total would buy every cotton mill in the South.
 That the southern farmer is cheek by Jowl with a prosperity to which he has long been a stranger may not be doubted.
 In this manifest condition may be found the reason for the evident pros- perity of the financial institutions of Mobile. Of course this prosperity Is ~~-xr t~xx ha ttfvtpo ha afatn- ments which are regularly published. Hut the ordinary run of humanity does not readily take in the full meaning the full significance of bank state- ment. The average man is bit pug zled by the deposits" the undivided profits" outstanding obligations" "surplus," etc., with the, figures that are marshalled in the opposite column. |. But there is one sign of financial prosperity that the wayfaring man may read even though he be fool, and that sign. is the rich and imposing structure in which is housed some financial institution. A handsome and costly exterior, is to all men. so con- stituted Is humanity, an outward and visible sign of inward strength. It impresses the average man.
 The evidence of growth and strength of this nature that the Mobile financial institutions are showing Is nothing short of remarkable. The improve ments that have been made in the banking houses of the city is notable. It is one of the things that soonest and most deeply impress the observant visitor. He Is told:
 "In point of equipment. in artistic furnishings, in costly buildings. there are banks in Mobile second to none south of Chicago"
 The statement may be well consider ed true.
 It is also said that perhaps no town in the South has had so much money invested in bank furnishings in the past twelve months as has Mobile.
 This. too, may be true. The obser- want visitor does not dispute. He hears so much of prosperity, of Mo- bile's new era that eh only sits and thinks and takes 1t all in, without dis- pute or argument.
 But after all the improvement that has been done in the bank buildings after all the new structures, after all the installations of new and artistic furnishings the end has not yet been reached. The First National Bank of Mobile is to do it's share. This old and time honored institution Is to do it's part toward the beautifying of the business district of Mobile. This bank Is to erect & new building. of what pro- portions it Is not determined,
 We have decided to build said E. H. Shaeffer an officer of the bank, but at this time we cannot say what sort of a building we will put up. You may say. however, that the bank officials and the stock holders have definitely decided to put up a new building. We have been in conference with arcni- Anfo 41 hsVt plans have not assumed definite shape. The plans will be settled upon in the near future"
 The new building will stand where the present First National Bank is located. on St. Francis Street. Wxheth- CT 1t is to be a bank building of three or four stories or an office building of six or seven stroies, it can be de- pended upon that the structure will be in keeping with the age. the im- portance and the enterprise of the First National Bank.
 This building of the future too wilk be in the way of laniappe. Enough has already been accomplished in Mo- bile in the way of bank improvement to make that movement momentous.
 There Is for instance the immense structure that Is now going up for the City Bank and Trust Company. It is to be six stories high and is to ex- tend clear through the block from, Royal Street to Bienville Square It will have an entrance on Royal Street and an entrance on St. Joseph Street A bank building as long as a city block and having an imposing front and a commodious entrance on two sides of the square Is an impressive thing itself. This building is now in the course of construction. The Roy al Street entrance of the building will b twenty-four feet wide and the St. Joseph Street front will have a width of 43 1-2 feet wide. The foundations of this building will be the heaviest and firmest eyer put down in the city of Mobile. All that modern methods can do to make a building fire proof is being done for this structure.
 The two fropts of the structure one of which Is very nearly completed will be in the Italian renaissance style of architecture. The sfacings will he semiglazed terra cotta light cream in color.
 The entire lower floor will be used for the business of the bank. The furnishings of the banks quarters will be as handsome and artistic as money can buy. The five floors above the bank will contain ninety-four offices and each will be heated by steam. lighted by electricity and supplied with hot and cold water. The stairs will be of marble and ornamented iron and two high-speed passenger elevators will be installed. Both marble and stained oak wainscoatIng will be used and the filing win be of the 1naati