The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-01-21
INSPECT WESTERN
UNION PROPERTIES
Party Of Telegraph Officials Ar
rive in Birmingham
PLEASED WITH BUSINESS
Assistant General Manager }. c. Bar
clay OF New York Talks interest
insly Of the Prosperity Wave.
Prophet Of Birmingham.

i J. c. Barclay OF New York assistant
general manager OF the Western Union
Telegraph company; c. H. Bristol Of New
York. general superintendent of eonstrue-
ton; J. Levin Of Atlanta, general super
intendent Of the southern division. W. A
Nein Of Atlanta. superintendent Of con-
struetlon Of the southern division; g. W
Lloyd OF Atlanta. superintendent Of the
t second district Of the southern division,
and J. s Calvert Of Atlanta, assistant
superintendent OF the second district Of
/ the southern division. are in the city maxi
/ ing the regular inspection Of the western
I Union properties In the south.
! The party arrived yesterday afternoon
IN the special car Morse" from New
Orleans. and Will leave this morning for
Montgomery. The officials have been on
the road since January and have in
spected the greater portion of the offices
/ IN the larger cities of the south. There
yet remain to be inspected the offices at
Montgomery, Jacksonville. Savannah,
Richmond and one or two others.
Il am amazed at the signs of prosperity
that I have seen since l came to the south
on this trip" said Mr. Barclay last night.
Z have always believed the south was
destined to be the richest and most pros
porous section of this entire country, and
some years ago l said as much to the
management Of our company. But want
10 say now that although this section Of
the country is far more busy now than it
has ever been before l believe it has yet
to reach its best This Is only the Begin
ming.
Great Prosperity Wave.
"AI through the states of Texas, LOUIS
lana. Mississippi, Tennessee. Kentucky
and Alabama We have seen unmistakable
signs of great wave Of prosperity. The
oil fields and the cotton fields of Texas.
the rice and cane and cotton fields of
louisiana. the cotton fields of Mississippi
the cotton fields and coal and iron devel-
opment of Alabama have greatly Impress
ed US. and feel more than certain that
within the next few years the entire south
will begin to see that great wave of travel
which has heretofore been headed for the
west This alone is what the south needs
now. 1t will fill up the southern cities,
populate the vacant lands in the country
and make the fields produce their richest
harvest in what are now waste places.
"The telegraph companies hold the
barometers on the financial pulse, and we
are able to note the arrival of period
Of depression or prosperity long before
1t is known to the ordinary run Of peo
pie. We have been doing a greater bus
mess than ever before all over the eouna
try and especially in the south In the
last year we have put up more than S.
900 miles of copper wire, and on this trip
alone we have authorized the building of
over 25o0 miles of new wire Service, both
in trunk lines and local lines This addi-
tional quantity of lines is principally for
this section of the country.
In Birmingham.
II nave been to Birmingham several
times, and each time ! have been i'm
pressed with the growth that has oc
Cured since my previous visit" con-
tinued Mr. Barclay. ut appears plain to
me that Birmingham is going to be the
second Pittsburg. geographically, Bir-
ningham Is better situated than is Pitts
burg. Birmingham has coal and iron ore
right at its door, whereas Pittsburg has
to get her raw material from great dis
tances. Birmingham is just as close, II
not closer, to the seaboard. and has better
| natural facilities for reaching tide water
with her finished products. With all these
natural resources. why should not Bir-
,.ningham forge to the front?
"The entire south is going to exper-
lence a wonderful prosperity for years
to come" said Mr. Barclay, In conclu-
sion mo ordinary fatality in the stock
or money market is going to be able to
stem the tide which has only really
set in
1.-THE southern farmer Is now In COM
plete control Of the cotton market, and
is getting the benefits of that control
The merchants, their clerks. and the fam
lilies of the clerks, together with all
classes of working people, are all feeling
the effects, and they all seem to have
money to spend,
birmingham and New Orleans are
moving forward hand in hand. The one
Will be the greatest manufacturing CEN
ter of the south, and the other Is going
to be the greatest shipping. port of the
country Artificial waterways will bring
them closer together in the near future.
The railroad interests are working to
bring them both higher UP In the scale.
And within very short time several
big steamship lines now running into New
i York are going to run into New Orleans
so that Birmingham products will be able
to reach the markets of the entire world
more easily than ever before
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Increase In War Expenditures
re,,-a Iauuarv "A BOARDING In NJ