The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-03-17
CURTIS ON ALABAMA


 country than the consolidation of the chief iron and coal properties in Ala bama- Close organization. he says, Is necessary to secure stability of prices, economical production and the most satisfactory results to investors. Mr. Bush sayB that he has been working to this end for several years. and. lwhtle his previous efforts did not at- tain success, he never gave up the hope of accomplishing his desire. Tt has been recognized for several years," MT. Bush says. "that the most profitable utilization of the vast min. eral wealth of the Birmingham dis trict could not be brought about until q consolidation of the various interests could be effected. to prevent wasteful competition. And 1t was also neces- sary to induce sufficient capital to in- terest itself in the development of that wealth. We have every advantage here but harmony and cooperation. Though 1t Ia true that the percentage of iron in our ores is somewhat less than in those of the Lake Superior district, they have to- be transported . thous- and miles to Pittsburg, and all the fuel and lime has to be hauled q con. siderable distance. while in Alabama coal iron and limestone enough to last for centuries lies within sight of the furnaces."
 Some conception may be had of the resources of this distrlct,'' continues MT. Bush. when 1t is understood that the companies which VIC are trying to consolidate own more than 5000, ,000, 900 tons of coal and 800. .o00. 900 tons of ore in sight. This is many times more than is owned by the United States Steel Corporation. To develop this great property sS0.o00,o00 in cash is gotiating the merger, in addition to the to be provided by the syndicate now ne- money required for the purchase price. This will be expended in building new furnaces and steel plants and in open ing new mines. and in otner enter prises which win add to the prosperity of every citizen in the Birmingham dis trict One of the foremost bankers in the country. who is director and heavy investor in Southern railroad se- cnrities. expressed the opinion to me the other day that this consolidation would double the tonnage of Alabama within tAe next five years. As this tonnage now reaches about I5,000. 900 tons year in coal and iron. the im- portance of doubling 1t will be appre- ciated by everyone who is interested in the prosperity of Alabama,
 Five great companies are involved in the scheme. Four of them, it is under- stood. are now controlled by the schem- CTS. They have not yet been able to secure the cooperation of the Tennes- see Coal and Iron Company. the larg- est of all the factors, which is con- troIled by President Woodward, of the Hanover National Bank of New York, and his associates. Mfr. Woodward positively declines to consent to the merger. and his board of directors sus- tains him. but the promoters of the en- terprtse assert that he does not repre- sent the majority of the stock, which will be demonstrated by the annual meeting In May. The people who are handling the merger claim to have se- cured majority of the shares, but they probably will be compelled to postpone the consolidation until they have elected q new board. 'The Hano- yer Bank crowd" as thu Woodward party Is called in New York, denies that 1t has lost control. and declares that 1t has no fear of being busted at the May meeting. which. of course, re- mains to be seem There has been a lively contest to secure control of the stock of the corporation and it is pos- sibie that the true ownership of the company may be developed before the annual netting. In such positive man. ner as to persuade the directors to con- sent to the consolidation. The advo- cates of the merger are very much in earnest. They argue that 1t means more to the South than any financial enterprise that has ever been under taken in that section: and if 1t is car. ried through Alabama will dominate the Iron and steel market of the world.
 The statisticians show us that tho production of pig iron. which is acep- ted as the basis of all industrial ac- tivity. doubles every ten years in the United States. In 1879 the output was 2.74o,000 tons; in 1889 1t was 7,600. 1000 tons; in 1899 it was 13,620,000 tons. while in 1904 1t was about 21. .0Oo, 900, and at the present rate of increase in 1909 the total will reach 26,00o, ,0oo tona
 The output of Alabama has shown a steady increase for several years, with the exception of 1904. when it was re- stricted by strike the of United Mine Workers. But for the last six years it has been as follows: