The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-10-30
Pres. A. C. Forbes of Commer- ciaI Club Hopes for
 Great Things
WANTS BIRMINGHAM TO
 COVER WHOLE COUNTY
w. p. G. Harding, In a Letter, Defends Assertion That 1t Is county's Duty to Look After Industrial
 Water Supply.

l fnent all over the state is exemplifed In letter, a free, full hearted, unselfish let l ter, from President A. G. Forbes of the l Commercial club of Montgomery. MT. Forbes not only thinks the county should ! not be divided but hopes to see the time when Birmingham shall cover the whole 1 of Jefferson county. His letter is in re- ply to the telegram of the mass meeting of Birmingham business men held last Saturday night:
 Montgomery Ala, October &, 1908. Hon. T. G. Bush, chairman. Birmng-
 ham, Ala:
 My Dear Sir-I thank you most cor dialy for the expressions contained in your appreciated favor of the 26th with reference to the mass meeting of the citizens of Birmingham held on the 24th, and sincerely trust that there may be no division of Jefferson county.
 The largest empire in the world is known by it's cities, PelSin and Hongkong; France is known by its Paris; England by it's London Germany by it's Berlin; Pennsylvania by its Pittsburg, and Ala bama should be known by its Birming- ham.
 While the proposed division of Jefferson county may not affect Birmingham as it | is today, and while 1 am not young man, l hope to live to see the day when practically all of Jefferson county will oe l known as Birmingham.
 More than 20 years ago I visited Bir3 1 mingham, and today the contrast be- l tween then and now is greater than 1 hope Birmingham will be 20 years hence, covering practically the present area of i Jefferson county.
 The south's greatness depends in a l large measure in it's having a great cen ter. There is not city in the south that can ever hope to be what Birmingham Is | destined to accomplish.
 Finance Is based largely on population | and the resources of & county. There Is 1 not a county in the entire south that is | capable of showing resources such as Jeff ferson county has within it's borders to- l day. It is but question of time when | Birmingham and Jefferson county will be the mecca of the south If left intact as l it is today.
 1 have no criticism of those who are I endeavoring to establish a new county. One of their objects may be to better their local conditions, but local conditions should never take precedence of the states supremacy, and for Alabama to enjoy the future from the view point herein expressed it must have Jefferson county Intact.
 There is not city or hamlet within | the borders of the state that will not en- l joy the beneficial results that will accrue l from Jefferson county as 1t Is now and henceforward. The supremacy of Ala bama first. the betterment of our local | conditions second and the interest of our 1 individual citizenship third should be our | motto.
 Let Jefferson county flourish. Yours very truly. A. G. FORBES. 
 Mr. Hardine's Answer. w. P. G. Harding comes back in reply to the Bessemer arguments in Q letter containing interesting facts.
 To the Editor of The Age-Herald
 My friend MT. Judson is an able writer, and his letter in this mornings Age Herald in which he kindly alludes to me- is as entertaining as one of his editorial articles He suggests that Jefferson coun- ty would become more imperial by talk
 ing in the six adjoining counties, and most imperial by annexing the entire state. but I fear that his logic and love of the blessings and independence of | autonomous and local government will lead him rather to demand a division of the state, so that north Alabama could ! go to Bessemer hereafter instead of to l Montgomery for law and amendments.
 Seriously however the purpose of this letter is to correct any impression thnt Birmingham lacks water, or is seeking more at the expense of others We have a most excellent system of water works, with a supply ample for domestic needs and for all the ordinary purposes of municipality It is always clear and sparkling, being filtered before it comes into the maisis, and its quality is all that l could be desired.
 It is cheap water for manufacturing l purposes that is needed in this county ana more water for sanitation will be | imperative with any further growth In | our population.
 The operators of all the larger indus trial plants in this country say that the | water problem must be solved before there can be any further impetus in the i manufacture of iron and steel products in this district; and it will be recalled that some years ago when Bessemer lost the location of a steel mill for which she seemed to be the logical competitor the reason assigned was inadequate water | supply Large manufacturing concerns | usually prefer location outside of in- l corporated towns so the question of 1 larger water supply will be the county's problem and whi the three large cities | in Jefferson county have always pro- i yided. and will continue to provide for the sewerage within their respective lim- its. the trunk system was rightly built and should be extended by the county. MT. Judson says, "The cheek of Birming- | the tax payers of Jefferson county, who had no possible interest in the service, the haJf-mllion bonded indebtedness to build the trunk sewer"
 The people of Bessemer, and the peo- ple living all along Valley creek below Birmingham, and along Village creek be- low Ensley, certainly were more directly and vitally interested in the construc- tion of the trunk sewer than were even the citizens of Birmingham; and the ex tension of the trunk sewer system will concern the people of the proposed new county more closely in the future than it will the upper end of Jefferson, for the new county will have all the river front toward which the drainage will flow.
 admire the pluck and cir.o pride of the people of Bessemer, but see no reason why they cannot get most of the cQnveni- ences they desire without amending the organic law of the state and changing | county lines, and am convinced that the best interests of the large majority of the, people of Jefferson county, in the lower end as well as in the upper, lie in the county remaining Intact. For the reasons given in my first letter. l believe that the health of our present l population. and the development of our ! txs- T rr.tfs4 r1x