The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-05-29
CHAMBER URGES BIG PROJECTS FOR
 REBUILDING CITY
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 71
Greater Birmingham.

with the past but with the present and future.
 Greater Birmingham.
 Greater Birmingham has been the dream of the members of this chamber and a city here in Jefferson county of 125.- GOO in 1910 is the hope and will be the pride of every patriotic Alabamian. The next federal census will largely deter mine in the minds of the people of this country which is to be the great city of the central south For that and other good reasons we must and will have Greater Birmingham.
 Manufacturing.
 Nothing is more vital to the continued growth and prosperity of an industrial city than increasing pay rolls. Our build ing operations are breaking all past rec ords but our manufacturing, especially of the diversified kind is not and has not kept pace. The effects of this must soon be felt. Birmingham has grown too large for the chairman of the manufac- turing committee alone to do full jus- tiee to this feature of the chamber s work and at our next regular meeting I am going to ask that 100 of our mem bers will agree to secure the location of a manufacturing plant each in Greater Birmingham during the next fiscal year. Your president intends to be one of that number.
 Consider what it will mean for this city to have 100 strong men working In l0O different directions to increase our pay rolls It will be understood that when member secures the location of plant that his labor in that direction for that year is ended. and that he will be placed on the roll of honor
 Easing Point and Freight Rates. To enjoy the full benefits of our natural advantages our small and diversified man. ,facturers must have equitable freight rates to enable them to distribute their product and get the full benefit of being close to the raw material.
 am assured the larger corporations making rolled iron and steel and the rail- roads entering here will meet us in spirit of fairness and that both of these points will be solved to our mutual ad- vantage
 The Fee System and Damage Suits. This may seem to some members mat ter not proper to bring before this organ ization, but in my judgment it is one of vital interest seriously affecting our pro- gress and prosperity.
 Under the fee system the sheriff of Jeff ferson county can earn practically 10 times the salary of the governor of the state, and under our methods of admin istering justice in the courts, damage suits constitute one of the largest items of expense on those engaged in indus trial lines creating our pay rolls. It is a mistake to think this expense touches only the pockets of those against whom suits are brought. It reaches indirectly every man, woman and child in this county.
 Under these two systems it becomes necessary even in times of prohibition and depression to build a 10-story jail and a new courthouse. It would seem that our growth around the courthouse is out of proportion to our expansion in :. all other lines. I understand it is not an infreouent occurrence for damages suits to be brought for $10,000 and settled with out going to trial for as low as BIO.
 I repeat it, do not believe the club could do a better work than to arouse public conscience on these abuses.
 Water.
 IT. H. Moulton, in a speech at the Com mercial club several months ago, said our young bachelor friend, Mel Drennen, s.floated into the Mayors office 10 years ago on water, and that he had been talk ing water ever since"
 | hope during the present administra- tion that some definite plan will be evolved for Birmingham to follow the lead of all progressive cities and build and own its own water works system. No single question now before the people