The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-03-23
RESUME OPERATIONS
A BRIGHTER OUTLOOK FOR BIRM-
 INGHAM DISTRICT.
That Several Rolling nIirls Are To Resume, Has Created Better Feeling in
 Pig Ir0n Market.

Birmingham, March 2z-SSpeclatl- A better feeling prevails in the Ala bama pig iron market on the an nouncement that the Bessener rolling mills. Tennessee Coal. Iron and Rail- road Company. would resume opera tions Monday, giving employment 70 three hundred to three hundred ana fifty men. and on the following we'd nesday. the plant of the Central Foun- dry Company. giving employment 70 mer would resume.
 It is understood that the United States Cast Iron Pipe and Foundry Company Is making preparations 10 start up their immense pipe plant at Bessemer giving employment to an other 300 men. These three plants require considerable iron and steel in their daily operation. the rolling mill using mostly steel
 The production of pig iron in this state drags along. Some extensive re- pairing of furnaces has started. sev- eral stoves having been ordered and other improvements to be made about iron makers. The buying. with few exceptions, has been on the order or hand to mouth, the principal trading being in very small lots. All bust ness is receiving immediate and prompt attention. the railroads delay ing no shipment
 As to quotations SIS per ton, No. foundry appears to be the average. as stated In the offices of the iron companies Reports are still current however. that the price of Iron runs between s12 and SIS per ton, No. foundry. The prominent agencies have the SIS rate as the common ground on which to work.
 Out of five furnaces in the Besse- ner district but one is in operation. Inasmueh as the Genoa, Italy. order of thirty-five hundred tons is to be filled from the yards in Bessemer. it is figured that the stock on hand will :n short time be worked off There Is a fair demand for foundry iron be- ing received by the Tennessee Com pany and efforts are being made to fill the same from Basssmer. All five furnaces in blast at Ensiey are pro ducing basic Iron, which Is being used in the steel plant nearby.
 The greatest activity in the district Is yet in the steel plant at Ensley. There is 8 larger number of men be- ing given employment at this point than ever before. It is reported. though no official notice Is given, that the big plant will shortly stop in order to permit of some extensive repairing about the industry. Founda- tions have been completed in the steel rail mill department for extra heavy machinery to be added while in the open hearth department there are ex- tensive additions being put in already.
 The plant can hardly continue in operation and allow the improvements to be made at the same time. At least four weeks time will be taken up for these repairs and improve ments. The statement is made that all labor at the steel plant will be cared for so that they shall lose but little.
 if any, time Positively no appreA hension prevails at the steel plant as to the stoppage from work, the najori- ty of the employees not taking much stock in the talk that is going on. Announcement that efforts will be made to accumulate some bilIets before there Is any stoppage is not being given wide spread credence despite the fact that there are evidences ot the accumulation really going on. There appears to be some demand still for rail, though common reports have 1t that the old orders have been caught up with.
 No definite announcements are yet made in regard to the Southern Steel Company, the bankrupt company. The reorganization committee has present ed a plan of reorganization and 1t is understood that the stockholders have taken kindly to the offer and that the actual work of reorganization is well under way. The belief is strong that as soon as the reorganization has been perfected that actual preparations will be made to start up the, various industries of the company It will take less than two weeks to gather the
 necessary labor for the industries. Much of the labor is anxious to return to work, having heard rumors to the effect that preparations are in hand for resumption of work. Several of the plants can be gotten in readiness for operation within two weeks so that l as soon as the reorganization of the corporation hns been perfected the hir- ing of heads of departments can be
 taken up and before two weeks have elapsed the plants can be put in good
 condition and started up.
 No improvement is noted in rolling
 mill. foundry and machine shop cir cles
 Coal and coke-Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Iowa coal mines having pros
 poets of suspending operations after April l, because of a disagreement with labor, gives Alabama a chance to sell
 coal in the western territory. Some | orders have already been received in this state for delivery in territory
 heretofore supplied exclusively by the
 western and middle states coal mines and others are pending, conditionally, of course, on the suspension of work
 on the part of the miners in the states mentioned.
 Several of the mines in Alabama are again working on full time after an
 idle spell of a while and others have been running on slack time. There are still some mines which are idle
 and will not resume full operation
 until the furnaces start up again.
 The new business originating because
 of the pending trouble in the coal
 fields of Indiana and Illinois comes
 rather unexpectedly and is encourag- ing.
 Shipments to New Orleans and
 Louisiana territory promise to keep up and be profitable movement The state mine inspector and his as- sistants are busy looking over the situation throughout the state. Recent
 visits to new coal mines show that good work Is being done in the new openings. Coke shows no change for