The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-11-13


 ished, but the steel company, flooded with business, was doing the best 1t could, and when 1t reached the Gal weston order would put it through promptly. Further than that no infor- nation was forthcoming.
 Finding letters unavailing telegrams were tried, but ft was no use. The Gal weston order had to take it's turn.
 The people of Galveston looked at the bare foundations and walked sadly away It was but another disappoint- ment, another dashing of their hapes. Maybe they felt this disappointment all the more keenly because their spirits had been raised so high But if theip disappointment was keen. it was no more so than that of the men who planned the building. Each day MT f'ellman and MT. Grumbach telegraphed to the steel company, alternately urging and pleading for the steel, but it was no use Telegraphing became simply a waste of money, so they waited and waited But one day MT. Grumbach de- termined he could wait no longer. He left Galveston and went to St. Louis From St. Louis he went to Pittsburg.
 Then he hurried to the office of the United States Steel corporation. He told who he was and what brought him to Pittsburg. The men he saw were polite and kindly, but would do nothing for him. They explained they had orders for many hundreds of thousands of tons of steel, in fact, they never had such volume of orders at one time before. It was the absolute rule of the corpor- ation that all business should take it's turn, orders being filled in accordance with the time of receipt. The Fellman order was far down the list. There were some tremendously big orders ahead of it-orders that would take a long time to hll The Fellman order might not be reached for two. three or four months
 MT. Grumbach thought of the bare foundations at Galveston and of the peo- pie who passed them day after day and what they thought and what they felt as they went by
 Which of your mills has the order for our steel?" he asked.
 'The Cambria" was the reply,
 "I'll go there and see if I can hurry them up." he declared.
 Go II you wish,' was the word he got, but 1t Is no use We are doing every thing we can to push work, but we sim ply cannot keep up with our orders"
 He went to the Cambria mills and was passed from official to official as he had been In Pittsburg. It was the same story over again. They were gracious and willing to do everything in their power. but they had to get out work in regular order. The whole country was crying for steel and MT Grumbach was only one of dozens and dozens making personal ap- peals for material that was overdue.
 AS last resource he went to the big boss-the head of the great establishment. He had been away when MT. Grumbach arrived, but had just returned A big pile of correspondence awaited his at- tention and he was eager to dispose of 1t. He was accustomed to listening to appeals for the rushing of orders and listening to them meant the wasting of just so much valuable time. Possibly he showed slight trace of annoyance as MT. Grumbach began to speak. q
 My dear sir," said the big boss, inter ruptfng his caller, 1T am sorry, but can do nothing. It Is useless to discuss the matter. We will furnish the steel just as quickly as we can get to your order. We can do no more. We have great order of steel for the New York Wo ho t0 t1ot way before we can touch anything else. We are working night and day and to the utmost limit of our capacity. Go home and be patient. I promise you that just so soon as we reach your order we'll fill 1t and hurry the stuff to you"
 MT. Grumbach thanked him, but did not rise to go. Instead. he asked the in- dulgence of the big boss for few min perhaps more fervently than he knows. perhaps more ferventl ythan he knows. He told the big boss 1t was not the steel for just a skyscraper he wanted, but the steel that meant the stiffening of the sturdy backbone of a city that had been sorely tried.
 Briefly and graphically he told the story of the struggle Galveston had undergone after the storm; of it's depression and it's gloom, of it's efforts to rise and of it's dis appointments. Then he told of the sea wall project and next of the Felman enterprise. and what it meant to the city. He told of the effect the delay had on the spirits of the people, and he pictured what three, four. six months more delay meant in a sentimental way.
 
 mot as a member of the Fellman com- pany, but as a citizen of Galveston, and 1t is as . citizen of Galveston, knowing