The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-02-02
Mr., HOADLEY CALLS
THEM PESSIMISTS
Thinks Gates and Others Not
Optimistic Enough
AMAZED AT BIRMINGHAM
Private Letter Comes to Light and
Shows the Abiding Faith the Re-
cent Visitor Has In
Birmingham.
AMAZED AT BIRMINGHAM

Thomas p. Grasty of the editorial staff
of the Baltimore Manufacturers Record
who has been soiourning in Birmingham
for some weeks past received Yesterday
from William c. Seldom a copy of a let
ter which Joseph II. Hoadley wrote while
here Mr.. Seldom Is a director in the
Alabama Consolidated Coal and Iron COM
pany and was at one time, like other
Baltimoreans. large stakeholder in that
concern Mr.. Grasty handed Mr.. Hoad-
ley's letter to a representative of The
Age-Herald with the suggestion that as 1t
was not written for publication it would
be read here with all the more interest
1t is as follows:
Birmingham Ala, January Ia, 1907
Mr.. William c. Seldom, Equitable build
ing, Baltimore, Md.
Mr.. Dear Mr.. seddon:--I have greatly
missed you. I am going to give a din
ner tomorrow to Mr.. Bush, and counted
on having you with u.s. I wanted to
show Mr.. Bush my great appreciation of
his work. He has accomplished marVels
and If he had had the money which ought
to have been put at his command the
Alabama Consolidated Coal and Iron COM
pany would be several years ahead of
what it is. I have simply been amazed
at the district. at our property and at
what Mr.. Bush has done, especially in
view of the limited amount expended.
Really, l owe Baltimore a great debt of
gratitude for selling this property, but
how your people could ever have been
willing to part with 1t, after once seeing
1t, passes my comprehension.
III.
told me about the richness of this coun-
try l thought they must be unduly OPP
| timistic, but I had sufficient flath in
their statements to invest "a million dol
lars in the Alabama Consolidated Coal
and Iron company without ever seeing
the property or having any report on 1t
] from my own experts. I thought If even
half they said was true, I could chance
a million in the property without risk.
Then when you and Mr.. Bush added your
enthusiasm, l was certain l had a good
thing, and, as you remember. ] told you
a year ago ! would not take less than
$500 share for my Alabama Consolidated
Coal and Iron company stock, which
had cost me about s45. 40. You then
thought l was wild. Now that l have
seen the property, I would not accept $500
per share for what / own Why, the
Gate City property alone, which cost the
company about $4,000 is, in my opinion,
worth more than the whole capital STOCK
of 50, $50 900 of the company.
Before l came down here | thought
| you and Mr. Edmonds and Grasty and
| Mr. Bush were all optimists. Now l re-
| gard you all as rank pessimists, be-
cause your optimism falls so far short OF
| the real facts. This is the mostA Won
derful spot on earth, and / am familiar
with a good part of the globe. You will
wake up some morning and find such
creation of riches as took place when
Pittsburg made so many millionaires that
there was not room in the city for them.
When John Gates said Birmingham could
make dron from 81 to 50 per ton cheaper
than any other place in the world, and
that in twenty years there would be a
! million people in the Birmingham district
he was like the rest of you, so far below
the actual facts that, like you and Mr..
Edmonds and Grasty, he ought to be
called pessimist.
I came down here to spend three days.
I have been here ten days. and am or
dering a home built ON Gate City noun
tain. to supervise personally the build
| ing of our model city at that points Yours
very truly, JOSEPH II. HoADl'Ef.