The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-02-26
Dunne Talks of Greater Chi cago" and What the Re-
 suits Have Been
WIDE STREETS HERE ARE
 OF GREATEST ADVAN TAGE
Party Will Go to Cordova Today to h. spect Coal Properties and Will Start for Chicago
 Tomorrow.

'I1rmlnGnanQ ndS Deel d ltNCioNiOH NS mo-" said Mayor Edward F. Dunne or Chicago last night after spending the day here. You know we fellows Tn the north and east imagined for long time that we had somewhat of corner on all the big manufacturing plants, put l come to Birmingham and find 1t large industrial city with evidences on every side of thrift and prosperity. This IS hustling city with a great many people on the streets who appear to be busy
 .The people who laid out Birmingham did so with an eye to the future. Aour streets are wide, they are laid out proper ly and the city beautiful was not lost sight of In Chicago our streets are mar rover than those here and frequently Tn laying out Chicago we lost sight or the possibilities of pretty city. Your streets are considerably wider than ours, which is a great advantage now and in the future.
 "Another thing that strikes me so re- markable is that Birmingham should have grown to it's present proportions without any water way. But then you have everything here at your very door, coal iron and f1uxing material all side by side.
 Contrasts Birmingham With Butte.
 Birmingham is in striking contrast to Butte. Mont, where l went about two years ago. You are both manufacturing towns, but in Butte there is nothing put th4 soot and grime of the manufacture ine town without the pretty portions In Birmingham you have the big, Iur- neees. iron plants and industries Of all lxinos. but still you have your residence nortions which are clean and beautiful, in fact beauty spots. l have been over them today and they impressed me-
 This is my second visit south ana my first to 1-labama. was in New or- leans two years ago, and New orleans is - prosperous town, but it does not sho" the same hustling, commercial spirit that 1 note in Birmingham.
 '.- think that New Orleans will be one of the greatest entry ports in this coun- tr, when the Panama canal is opened. The canal should help the entire south.a
 Talks of Greater Chicago.
 q notice that you are agitating a Greater Birmil nam here. While am not familiar with conditions here and would not dare to express my opinion on the effect, still I do not mind talking of our experience in Chicago. We have over 19O square miles in Chicago, and much of it is prairie and cabbage patch, which has been quite drain on the re- sources of the more thickly populated portions of the city. We have given these sparsely settled sections fire and police protection, and it has cost us heavily. We have no non-taxing districts and all sections pay taxes according to their valuation.
 .Uoweyer. we have not suffered from the fact that we took in these districts. We had to have them in order to get the more thickly settled portions around Chicago.
 q think that the larger population ac- corded us by taking in those sections gave us more weight and dignity as a city. I have not found that the fact that we took in many manufacturing sites drove any of them away from our town. None moved out of the city because they has. to pay city taxes, and l do not be- lieve that any has refused to come to Chicago on account of having to pay these taxes. It has been charged that some plants and industries stayed away on account of labor troubles, for we have had some labor troubles as all know, bu. I doubt that also.
 'I am glad to see the signs of pros petty and hope that they will continue. I am very much impressed with Bir- mingham and have enjoyed my visit here. I al resting and seeking little recrea- ton after the rigors of the recent Chi cago campaign
 Others in Party.
 MT. Dunne, John Connery and J. B. Kavanaugh are together. They arrived yesterday and will be here until tomor- ro7- morning, when they return to Chi cago. The party will go to Cordova to- day where they are interested in some coal property, and will spend the entire day there, roughing it. They will return to Birmingham tonight Mayor Dunne has recently secured some interests in Alabama coal lands, and the other wis itors have been interested here for some time.