The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-03-17
His First Letter About the Iron Merger.
He Says seuth h For Iron Deal-De- lieves Merger of the Mines wOuld Give Impetus te Big InAus-
 try ThsEs.
WILLIAM E. CURTIS.

WILLIAM E. CURTIS.
 Birmingham special to Chicago Rec
 ord-Herald.-For several weeks q party
 of spectators in New York has been
 juggling for the consolidation of the
 principal coal. iron and steel proper
 oies in the Birmingham district, which
 hitherto have managed to escape the
 grasp of the octopus and have been
 operating independently. They pro-
 pose q corporation with . capital of
 an even $100. 1000. 900, of which $7o.00o.-
 900 shall be used in the purchase of the
 properties, the remaining 3S0.000.000 to
 be expended in extensions, bettcrments
 and the further development of the mines and other mineral resources to
 be included in the purchase. The ob- ject of the specuiators Is to benefit
 the stockholders and the community by reducing expenses and the cost of production; by increasing the output.
 which means, of course. an enlarge
 ment of the pay roll. and to make Birmingham even greater and more Influential in the iron market than 1t now is. Of course they expect fair profit out of the deal. on the scrip tural principle that every laborer 10 worthy of his hire. Just now there is la hitch in the proceedings. A struggle between two great financial cliques is going on in New York, and at present lit is doubtful which will succeed. It is almost certain, however, that the merger will sooner or later take place. | It is the manifest destiny of these great interests. It Is the fashion of the time; and it is generally expected that the question will be settled at the an- nual meeting of the Tennessee Coal and Iron Company next May. when the stockholders of that corporation fa- vorable to the merger hope to secure enough shares to outvote the present board of directors. which Ia opposed to it.
 Generally speaking, public sentiment in Birmingham Is favorable to the Everybody thinks 1t will bring big money into the city and large increase in population. The expenditure of thirty millions for new mills and other improvements will, of course, stimulate business and
 add to the general prosperity: while anything that will promote rapid de- Ivelopment of the extraordinary wealth that lies concealed in the fields and the valleys and the hills that sur round Birmingham will be for the gen. eral welfare At the same time, there lis considerable disgust and apprehen- BlOn. ID 1OunQeus uISts upOn LuC instinctive repugnance that people have for monopolies; second. a fear that the control of the local indus tries will be entirely transferred to New York, and, third, because the philanthropists who are engaged in the benevolent assimilation of the coal and iron interests are gentlemen with un- favorable records.
 Chief among these philanthropists is John Gates, formerly of Chicago, Whose reputation for benevolence and whose sciicitude for the public welfare are well understood. The active man Is Joseph Hoadley. a gentleman of sim liar characteristics and experience. He is a young Napoleon of finance"
 A mechanical engineer by profession, he has become a promoter and has transmigrated from the machine shop to the stock exchange. where he has made many millions by other philan- thropic measures like that in which he is now engaged. He attained emil hence by consolidating all of the loco motive works in the country. except the Baldwin of Philadelphia and one or
 two others in what Is known as the International Power Company, of which he is president.
 The originator of the enterprise, however, who is candid enough to con- fess that he induced Mir. Hoadley to undertake the merger. Is T. c. Bush of Birmingham. president of the Ala bama Consolidated Coal and Iron Company and conspicuous among the
 abiest, richest and most successful business men in the South. MT. Bush is one of the few men of Southern birth who have been conspicuous as leaders in the development of that sec tion. The greater degree of the ma
 terial development of the South has been due to Northern enterprise and
 Northern capital, but Mir. Bush has been identified with many great inter- ests; he has the full confidence of the
 people; his integrity has never been
 questioned. and financially and com
 mercfally he is by all odds the strong
 est man in the State. The people be- lieve him when he tells them that noth-
 ing could add more to the prosperity
 of Birmingham and the surrounding