The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-08-08

ties to the great increase in popula- ton and to the growth in the use of electricity, railways, gas and telephone. The growth in their use has been steady generally, but in some portions of the country extraordinarily faVora- ble conditions are producing a rapid 1 Idevelopment, such as in the south, southwest and northwest; and there the growth Is rapid. Upon the anoVe facts do the general value and safety of such securities rest, and investment in them should depend largely upon a report favorable in these respects, and also as to a capitalization, manage ment and franchise.
 Holders of securities of companies of this character located in the south will therefore be interested in inform alton relating to Its resources and de- velopment, which have far surpassed the general comprehension and prom ise to make that area a commercial factor of first rank in the United States.
 "The south produces quarters of the cotton of the world. This dom mating position in regard to a worlds staple is occupied, as far as known, by no other country or territory. The val ue of this cotton to the world is indi- cated by the amount of capital invest ed in handling it, aRout $2,000, 1000, 900. The south produces from eleven to thir- teen million bales of cotton annually; | 1t has 777 mills with 9,000,000 spindles, as against 110,0OO0OO spindles in total use in the world; it sets up one-fifth of it's cotton production in its own mills, In which the investment amounts to $225, 00O,OOO Last year the south consumed in it's mills only about 100, 900 bales less than all New England. In 1 the last fifteen years the increase in manufactured cotton goods in New England amounted to about 28 per cent, while in the south it amounted to almost 400 per cent. In the produc- tion of cotton for 1905 Texas was first, as it has been for some years, Georgia second, Alabama third and Mississippi fourth, Of the total more than 60 per cent. was exported, and the balance used for domestic consumption. The largest amounts were exported through the ports of Galveston, New Orleans and Savannah. The amount of cotton handled in southern factories Is con- stantly increasing, new mills are be- l ing erected and advantage Is being taken of numerous water powers ac- oessible, which are being developed for this purpose.
 Tn addition to this cotton there is In the south sufficient iron and coal to enrich and prosper it. Alabama alone , has about $500 square miles of coal area, producing about 12.000,000 tons a year, Further, and of more impor- l tance, it has enormous deposits of iron and limestone; the deposits of these i three necessary ingredients of the man ufacture of steel occur in such close proximity In the Birmingham district as to make 1t the cheapest steel pro- ducing center in the world; in fact, as far as known there is no other l place where these three articles are found in such conjunction. This region l is estimated to contSin about 0000,0 1000 tons of iron, 25OO00O,O0 tons of coal, aggregating almost as much as Great Britain is estimated tG have had. and (which contributed so largely to her commercial pre-eminence. The only other large known deposits of iron ore in this country are in the region of the great lakes, where the United States {steel corporation claims about 700, ,000,- 900 tons, supposed to be S5 per cent. of the known amount of the Lake Superb or region outside of the as yet un- known amount owned by the Great Northern Railway company. At the present rate of consumption, without allowing for increase, this known quantity will not last twenty-five years. The southern district which now sets the price of iron holds therefore. great i possibilities in it's mines alone.