The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-07-20

ness men to go out for business more earnestly and more unitedly. In some ways we have scarcely made an ad- vance since 1866. Look at these ng- ures:
 Wheat- Acres.
 1906 a............s.... 9S.639
 In the meantime tho United states as a whole advanced from i5,424.4ss acres to 47305,s2s.
 Potatoes:- Acres.
 1886 ..s. ................ ....3;95I
 1908 ;,,;,; ;, si;;,,., sssss s,s z. as a whole advanced from i,oss.ss1 acres 3,O13. .150y acres.
 Corn se Acres
 1866 2.399.676
 1906 ..-.....s. ..... z,seo,esIs
 In the meantime the United States as whole had advanced from 34.30e,- 53S acres to s6.737,5S1 acres.
 Oats;- Acres.
 lsss .........,......... :4s,sss
 1906 ....s. .. lS4.lIS
 Tn the meantime the United States as a whole had advanced from s.ss4,21s acres to 3o,s5s.76s acres. Oats thus make the most encouraging contrast of all the foods mentioned. Yet at the same time the most discouraging; for oats cah be harvested so early as to permit a. corn crop later; but this is not yet done to any extent as will be seen by comparing the total acre age of the two grains. ae .es
 These bald facts about. ourselves are good medicine. They call on some of the men in, high places to stop cavort- ing from political pinnacle to political pinnacle and to get down to the ,unor- namental but absolutely necessary business of State building. Here is the richest 52.00o square miles in the known world. No equal area has. so many inherent advantages Yet We are merely traversed by, exports! There Is the call for mighty constructive work. There Is the call for the working doi- lar and the working man who cares. There is the call for every thinking man to give some time to united work for local exploitation. so as to bring to Alabama the rush which Alabama derserveS and needs.
 Tn these bald. facts, too. is 4 positive declaration of the solidarity of the State. Practically the whole State be- heath the surface of the soil is possible freight. Its only State outlet Is Mo- bile. fs Mobils's condition sas a port is yitally, important to the State; the States condition as a producer is. vi- tally important to Mobiles greatness. Mobile ,alonesis only port on the Gulf. uO OkdLG WliI4lg0t 4AO1tt0 10 A1uolQGAO0s. They are mutually complementary and must forever be so, despite the picker ings brough on by men who would rather see light than build for the next generation.
 At this moment Mobile, unaided. is striving to raise $5.0o0 among it's busf- ness men to have engineers carefully survey all the possibilities of Mobile River. from the junction of the Tom- bigbee and the Alabama, clear to the mouth of the bay. Then. having con- sidered the possibilities of that great gift of waterfront. they will adopt policy of development that shall go on year after year, here piece and there a piece. just, as the District of Colun- bia Is bing rebuilt. It fis the-most far reaching statesmanahip ever attempted since the struggle began in 1887. to make Mobile a port once more. The connection between such move and greater Alabama Is absolutely intimate. If better realized now. then the sooner will there come a time when the re- port of the Collector of the Port will show cause for State pride
 c. Grosvenor Dave, Secretary Alabama Commercial and
 Industrial Association.