The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-12
For the Publishers.

Vassar Allen, Harry Wheelock and Scott | Joy, Walter Fowlkes.
 For the Publishers. F. Y. Anderson, chairman of the pub l fishers arrangement committed, reported that all financial arrangements had been made for the entertainment of the visit ors at a banquet.
 President Nelson announced that the board of directors had taken up the inn portance of increasing the districts pay rolls. Our diversified interests here are not growing, and in my judgment this chamber could do nothing better than start movement toward getting more manufacturing plants and increasing our pay rolls.'
 He suggested the plan of getting from 50 to 100 members to agree to locate one in- dustry each. Three members volunteered immediately-M. P. Messer, J. R. Welsel and F. M. Jackson.
 MT. Messer reported that recently man from Indiana came here to investigate the field and had said: T can buy Bir- mingham iron in Indiana as cheaply as l can here and your cost of living Is higher than ours" MT. Messer declared that these two obstacles must be removed be- fore we can get any small industries.
 G. B. Mccormack called attention to the fact that Birmingham is already the passing point for pig iron, and he under stood that recently the steel company has made arrangements by which Bir- mngham can get bar iron for better rate than before.
 Mir. Mccormack declared that there are many other industries, such as medicine factories, refrigerator concerns. chair fac tories and coffee factories in Atlanta, Nashville and Memphis, which employ more men than blast furnace.
 He said that the chamber should go out after industries which use material be- side steel and iron. "You will find that we could get manufacturing plants here a good deal sooner than if we will build them ourselves.
 If we will just pick out some paying industry and put up the money to build it ourselves we will find that It will be easier to build more later.'
 Mir. Harding Talks.
 w. P G. Harding said that Birming- ham ought to be the greatest manufac- turing center of the south. Birmingham has heretofore been simply manufac- turer of large things. We should cer- tainly have a steel mill to make small steel billets to be used right here for other purposes" He also suggested that Bir- mingham has not wide supporting terri tory, necessarily limited to the gulf states. Arkansas, South Carolina and Texas.
 He took up the tariff and said that if the policy of Congress is not looked into Birmingham will be permanently injured as a manufacturing city by bringing in German competition, which is quite dan gerous. He understood that Senator AL drich has agreed, with the assistance of several southern senators, to raise the l tariff bill rate on steel from $3.94 to $5.04, which is a 35 per cent reduction from the present rate. He thought that all repre- sentatives should be satisfied with such rate, and that the question is most im- portant to Alabama.
 C. w Ufford gave several reasons why the small manufacturing business is not a popular one. The fact that rents are so high is responsible, because moneyed men see more profit In owning and build ing houses.
 He said that living Is higher because chickens and food products come from great distances, and thought that the chamber should add d campaign to bring farmers into the state to raise the truck products where they can be bought at cheaper price This, he thought, would reduce the cost of living and greatly inn prove the city's attractive features as manufacturing center
 MT. Ufford also complained of high H. censes and taxes. "Something new in the way of tax Is always being piled on."
 W. N. Malone declared that 15 years ago Birmingham was a more attractive center than now. He suggested that a committee of five be sent to other south ern cities to investigate conditions and methods He thought that rents are not higher in Birmingham than many other southern cities.
 Raul On Building Material.
 John L. Kaul spoke of the fact that building material like window Castings and other fixtures, are shipped into the state from other states and not made here.
 MT. Raul suggested committee of ten to go to the bottom of the whole manu- featuring problem, consult with manu- facturers already here and find out just where the trouble is He made motion to that effect which was later adopted.
 L.. M Jackson called attention to the lack of cooperation among Birmingham citizens for each others business. 'We should get the spirit into us to help each other, and we will do far more good than we have in the past"
 James Bowron Speaks.
 James Bowron felt doubt as to the ne- cessity of Investigating as he thought the troubles are already plain enough.
 First Is the absentee landlordism Many of the stockholders in these com panies don't know where Alabama is on the map. We must get the head of the steel company to see the advantage of adopting a policy which will result in a neighborhood policy. We should either get
 
 go to him and prove to him the import ance of his helping this district.
 "If we cannot get the heads of the great corporations to sympathize with us and help this district, the district can take care of itself" He thought that money and mind enough exist right here to build steel mills and compete with them.
 Mir Bowron next called attention to freight rates. He thought that Birming- ham has many great and noble friends among railroad men. Here. again, the steel company, with its railroad. could easily put Birmingham on the water belt just as our own railroad belt line con- meets us with the large roads, by con meeting this city with the Warrior river
 His third point was the failure of To- cal capital becoming interested in plants seeking to locate. He thought a corpor- alton of the nature of Q building society should be formed which would centralize the fund and result In raising capital for incoming investors. He thought that it would be worth while to prepare litera- ture to be distributed among Italians to induce them to come to Jefferson coun- ty and pursue their same rural pursuits, cultivating the soil and making money with their truck farms within a few miles of the greatest market in the south. MT. Raul declared that Gordon Craw- ford of the Tennessee Coal Iron and Railroad company is with the district heart and soul. and that any time the chamber has anything to take up with MT. Crawford they will get the most | gentlemanly treatment.