The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-06-17
CONFERENCES ARE
HELD IN NEW YORK
Directors of Tennessee Co. Con-
siderlng Improvement Plans
WILL ISSUE A STATEMENT
Definite Announcement of Plans May
Be Made Any Day-Mr. Topping
and Mr.. Crookard Coming
This Week.

Definite announcement of the plans of
the Tennessee Coal. Iron and Railroad
company for improvements in the Biz
mingham district are expected this week.
The directors have held daily confer
ences In New York for several days past
discussing the plans for improving the
plants and ore and coal mines. 1t Is said
that an official announcement viii be
made as soon as the plans are complete.
Frank II. Crockard, vice president and
general manager of the Tennessee COM
pany, is In New York to attend the con-
ferences. He Is also the president and dis
trict manager of the Republic Iron and
Steel company.
John A, Topping. head of the Republic
TENNESSEE companies, and Mr.. Crockard
are expected In Birmingham early this
week
New York Account
The Wall Street Summary Of Thursday
says in regard to. the conferences:
The directors Of the Tennessee Coal
Iron and Railroad company are holding
daily conferences or meetings and some
| times are in session an entire day, as was
the case yesterday. This would indicate
that they are giving careful consideration
to the proposed extensions and Improves
ments OF the property The directors and
officers, however. are very retlcent as to
their affairs, but intimate that when they
are ready they will issue formal state
ment to their stockholders outlining their
plans. -
1T is no secret that they propose to en-
large Their steel plant and work may be
begun within a very few weeks on a num-
Der of open-hearth furnaces and probably
enough TO double their present output for
that class of iron. There will he no pres
ent need to enlarge their steel rail plant,
This has capacity of about 10000 tons a
month, but they have never been able to
operate 1t to the full, because they had
not steel enough for that purpose. The
largest output of steel rails for any one
month was about $4,000 tons.
besides the enlargement of the steel
plant It is we'll known that great i'm
provements are also in contemplating In
both the company's iron and coal mines,
which will greatly reduce the cost of
/ tnelT raw material. w ildil ehiiOhAit INC W
rectors propose to appropriate for these
! improvements is not yet known, but that
/ il will be a very large sum may readily
! be believed when the extensive pro-
/ eramlne they have in mind Is remem-
bered. 1t is probable that the recent meet
/ ings have dealt largely with the imam
cal problems involved. Some very inter-
i esting facts may be looked for when the
promised statement is forthcoming"
/ Commercials Account.
The New York Commercial of the same
date has the following to say:
steel and iron expansion In the south
now is moro pronounced than at any
previous times while the outlook for the
coming two years is most encouraging IN
/ every way. 1t is anticipated that early in
1908 the south will be producing 100000
tons of open hearth steel rails, as COM
pared with 10000 tons In 1905.
ct is expected that this great devel-
opment will be accomplished through the
extensions planned by the Tennessee Coal
/ and Iron company and a series or meet
/ ings Is being held in New Y ork now Wlth
the object of perfecting schemes already
1 outlined An announcement bearing on the
extension plans Of this company is eX-
pected within a very short time. About
| 81. 600 900 has been raised to carry out the
proposed improvements.
"One detail of the new scheme prom
Uses to have the effect of saving many
hundreds of thousands of dollars year
in freight rates. If the Tennessee com
pany can sell what it expects the new
steel mill to be erected to turn out, 1t
will mean many millions added TO the
profits. When all the contemplated i'm
iprovements, are completed the earnings
of the Tennessee company may closely
approach those of the Republic Iron and
Steel company.
1T was said yesterday that a merger
of these two corporations need not be
expected in the near future"