The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-01-23
. XTRACTS from Albert Phenis' Biz
~ mingham letter in the Baltimore
Manufacturers Record:

EXTRACTS from Albert mems Dit
GH61 mingham letter In the Baltimore
~ Manufacturers Record;
After spending some weeks In New Eng
land in study of that sections wonder
full Industrial development, where, with
out fuel and practically without raw ma
terlals, every sort of manufacture has
flourished until today New England pro-
ducts amount to about $2.OO0,0OO,OO 900 every
year. or almost one-sixth of the manufac-
tured products of the entire United
States, I have COME to Birmingham in the
hope of forming some faint conception
of what Is to be the future of this region,
which has every advantage that New
England lacks.
All the world Is aware that nowhere
on the globe Is there a manufacturing
center situated so advantageously as is
the city of Birmingham. No attempt has
been made to estimate the quantity of
iron ore in the Alabama mineral sec
ton. The supply may almost be called
inexhaustible. In the valleys between the
hills is limestone enough, 1t is declared,
to fux the ores of the whole world, and
thus are all the requisites for ironmaking
found here side by side, In some instances
all being located on one property, giving
to the entire district an advantage in the
economical production OF iron which al
lows Birmingham to practically fix the
pig iron prices of the world. 1t was in
1895 that this important epoch in the
history of the industry was begun. In
that year, to the establishment of almost
the entire iron world, 1t was demonstrated
that Alabama pir iron could be laid down
in Liverpool, grade for grade, at less than
the price of Middlesboro iron shipped
across England to that point. Today the
Birmingham quotation marks the price
for every ton sold in the United States.
Birmingham pig is now known and es-
termed the world over. 1t Is sold In every
state in the union where iron Is used.
which is to say all. 1t has been sold to
eighteen foreign countries, including Eng
land, Germany, Italy. India and South
Africa, and the Pig Iron Warrant asso-
citation Of Great Britain has lately is
sued a ruling naming eleven southern
brands of iron that may be delivered on
warrants calling for English or Scotch
iron. One year $4,000 tons were sold
abroad. For many purposes satisfactory
results cannot be obtained without at
least an admixture of southern iron.
Southern iron makes the smoothest cast
ings, and good stoves for one thing, can
not be made without 1t.
BY the census of 1900 it was shown that
no other states produced so large guam
tity of foundry iron as Alabama, the
most important grade manufactured in
the state during the census year. Some
OF the Birmingham brands are especially
adapted to higL-grade castings, and inn
| portant machinery and machine-tool man
ufaoturing centers like Dayton, SPRING
field and Hamilton, o.. are large consum-
ers of Birmingham pig. &c. too, is Lans-
ing, Mich, and Philadelphia and numbr-
Gus other cities. while Providence, r. L.,
buys quantities of Birmingham iron for
ocomotive-building, and New England
even uses 1t in the manufacture of cot
ton-mill machinery which she sells to the
| south
In this connection it may be noted that
until recently the activities of this COM
munity of 100000 people have been largely
directed toward producing semi-raw ma
| terials for conversion into finished prod
ucts in places quite remote. When the
| business boom is on there is much money
in making pig iron, in mining coal and
selling coke. And thus 1t has come to
pass that the Birmingham district has
been built up largely on these lines.
Birmingham has 30 modern coke fur
| nsces and the district turned out about
| 100000 tons of pig iron in 1904. Under
the DEVELOPMENT of more diversified in
dustries, which has now well begun,
there were last year some 100000 tons
worked into steel rails, nails. wire. cast
ings. stoves, ETC.. although 1t Is still true
that almost everything of iron or steel
used in Alabama is manufactured else
where without at this time going into
great detail 1t may be mentioned that
there are comparatively few engine
works and boiler shops In the district.
Excepting cotton gins, practically all the
| machinery used in cotton and cottonseed-
oil manufacture comes from the north
| and west, and especially from New Eng
land and not only are all machine tools,
| lathes. drills, ETC., made elsewhere, but
there is not one mandatory here of
such things as scales, picks, shovels, wire
rope. chains, hammers, carpteners' or
| blacksmiths' tools, or even anvils.
To show how wide and broad a field
| for development exists. It may further
more be pointed out that even the food
the people of Birmingham eat largely
comes from outside. notwithstanding the
| fertility of ali the acres on every hand.
Milk and cream come from Pulaski and
Columbia. Tenn; Elgin creaEeries ship