The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-02-27
INDUSTRIAL NEWS

The Wall Street Journal says;
 Southern railroads with direct .connec- tions at Birmingham have had represen- tatives at various conferences held to arrange details of the combination of southern iron and steel companies.
 The southern railroads and bankers identified with them are to play an inn portant part in the development Of the plans for consolidating the iron proper ties.
 They are to furnish a considerable per centage of the, capital needed to carry out the merger and will have an import ant part in the underwriting syndicate.
 Among the railroad officials who are in the city opportuntely may be named:
 J. F. Hanson, president of the Central of Georgia; C. A. Wickersham, president of the Atlanta & West Point and Western Alabama, which is owned jointly by the Atlantic Coast Line and the Southern railway; M H. Smith. president of the Louisville & Nashville; and several other railroad men identified with southern roads in the Birmingham district
 A number of these have conferred with the banking interests in charge of the underwriting and most of them will have an interest in the financing
 Messrs. Mccormick and Ramsay. who own extensive coal properties in Alabama. also have representatives in the various conferences being held.
 At conferences now being held the status of the Tennessee Coal & Iron com pany in the proposed holding company for the southern iron and steel properties will be definitely determined. An official statement now being prepared will prob ably be issued this week. setting forth all the properties to be taken in and the terms upon which consolidation is made
 The Republic Iron & Steel will go Into the new merger through the possession of a majority of the preferred stock and a percentage of the common stock. provided 1t is finally decided by the new consoida- tion that all the holdings of the company shall be included If the southern prop critics only are taken over, as it now ap- pears probable, they will be separated from the northern holdings and sold out right to the new company
 The prices yet to be paid for Tennes- see Coal and Republic Iron and Steel are subject to change. The figures for Sloss- Sheffield. as heretofore stated, include s125 for the common and s14o for the pre- ferred. with the minority shareholders given time in which to accept the propo- stions of the new company.
 The new southern iron combination, if carried through with all the properties now under consideration included. will be States Steel corporation.
 It will have:
 A stock capitalization of 5000, OO0, 900 OF more.
 B-About thirty-five blast furnaces, with an annual capacity in foundry and basic pig iron of 2,5O0,000 tons.
 C-An annual production of open hearth steel in excess of 35o.OoO tons.
 D-An annual production of bar iron of l90,000 tons.
 E-Steel rail capacity at the start of 100000 tons.
 F-Ample working capital to erect plants for the conversion of nearly all of it's pig iron into finished products before leaving Birmingham.
 G-Possession of 90 per, cent of the best ore, coal and limestone properties in the Alabama district.
 H-Transportation facilities to deep water on both the Atlantic coast and the Gulf. which will give it practically control of the foundry and basic pig iron territory south of the Ohio and in the section southwest of the Mississippi river.
 The following is from the New York World:
 According to the story told in Wall