The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-01-13
ADVANTAGES WILL
Be UTILIZED SOON
The Alabama Consolidated
Company to Branch Out
PLANNING DEVELOPMENT
Two Large Blast Furnaces and Steel
Mill to Be Erected at LeWlsburg.
Locomtlve Works Are Pro-
Ieoted-Hoadley's purpose.

The Alabama Consolidated Coal and
Iron company, like all the large furnace
concerns in the Birmingham district, has
expended considerable money on improve
ments during the past twelve months,
but the development work the present
management is planning to do in the near
future, will far exceed in scope anything
undertaken in former years.
The presence here of the Alabama Con
solidateds new executive head, Joseph
H. Hoadley of New York, holder of the
greater part of the company's stock, is
of especial interest to the community,
for this energetic and resourceful man,
,,cognIzed at once as a mechanical engi-
neer of the foremost rank and successful
organizer and manufacturer, is inspect
ing his properties in this district for the
first time, and with a view of erecting
finishing plants in the neighborhood OF
Birmingham.
As is we'll known. Mr.. Hoadley Is pres
ident of the American Locomotive CON-
pany, and president of the International
Power company, a strong holding cor
poration. Familiar with every branch of
mechanics, the Alabama Consondateds
chief, is specialist in steam engineering
and in locomotive building, and when he
announced at the Commercial club meet
| ing Friday night that he and his ASSOC
ciates would build locomotive works at
or near Gate City suburb of Birming-
ham. those familiar with his record in
this department of industry took 1t some
what as a matter of course.
Valuable Properties.
| But to begin at the foundation. The
| Alabama Consolidated Coal and Iron COM
pany was organized In the fall of lS99-a
little more than six years ago. Its raw
material was rich and abundant, but coal
and ore mines had to be developed. Under
the direction of Col T. G. Bush, presi-
dent of the company from It's organization
until his retirement the first of the new
year, steady progress was made. the
various holdings were unified and modern
improvements, including labor-saving de-
! vices and other economics, were soon in
evidence. Included in the properties or
! the Alabama Consolidated are: Coal and
timber lands at Brookwood, Searles and
Hewitt in Tuscaloosa county, and coal
lands at Lewisburg in Jefferson county;
vast deposits of superior red ore at Gate
City and at Gadsden, and immense beds
of high grade brown hematite at Ironato1
In Taladega county.
The brown ore is mined from the sur
face with steam shovels. Between Gads-
den and Ironaton on the Louisville and
Nashville railroad the company owns a
mountain of fluxing material carrying 90
per cent of carbonate of lime.
The Tuscaloosa property embraces about
| 80 900 acres with estimated coal in the
marketable seams of something like 1O0,-
100000 TONS This body of land lies with
ing two miles of the Warrior river, where
navigation will soon be opened by the
completion of locks and dams
The Alabama Consolidated's iron plants
consist of four blast furnaces and about
1000 coke ovens Three or the furnaces
are in operation-two at Ironaton and o.
at Gadsden. The latter is of the large
and modern type The fourth furnace,
not quite completed, is at Gadsden, and
is also of the large type.
Finishing Plants.
| With its wealth of coal and iron and its
pig makers keeping up good records the
company's next logical step must be, so
the management concludes, in the direc-
ton of steel production. Mr.. Hoadley
states that he will erect near Lewisburg,
few miles from Gate City. two blast
furnaces, duplicates of those at Gadsden,
and that near the Lewisburg stacks will
rise steel mill for making plates and
castings, entering into the locomotive con-
struction. 1t Is Mr.. Hoadley's purpose
to have smokeless locomotive plant by
utilizing the exhaust steam at Lewis
burg for generating the necessary power,
which will be transmitted in turn to
Gate City.
Guy II. Johnson, the new vice president
of the Alabama Consolidated, will be To-
Gated In Birmingham and will be in
direct charge of operations. Morris w
Bush, son OF Col 7. G.. Bush, and until
recently superintendent at Gadsden, Is