The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-11-03
BIG PIPE ORDER IS
 LEAVING BESSEMER
Mayor Lewis Opposes Own ership of WaterwOrks
 by the City

Bessemer, November 2.-(Special.)- .)-The
 Central Foundry company of this city
 has received an order for about 50 cars
 of pipe to be shipped to Key West. Fla.
 The first shipment towards this order was
 started yesterday, when P cars were
 shipped It will be remembered that the
 Central Foundry company won the first
 premium at the Alabama State Fair on
 their exhibit of pipe.
 A special train with Louisville and
 Nashville officials and the railroad com- missioners came into Bessemer this morn- ing over the Louisville and Nashville tracks and after visiting the industries in this vicinity left for Birmingham over the Frisco tracks. They were examin- ing the tracks and looking into the freight rate business.
 Mayor l. A Lewis is positively opposed to the city buying the Bessemer water works system. It is believed the an- nouncement of his position on this aues- ton means that at once there will be an organized move to be held on Novem- ber 27 Mayor Lewis will of course, carry out the peoples wishes and see that there
 is an arbitration committee appointed. But it is believed he Is prepared to veto any proposition to finally buy the present plant. Mayor Lewis made the following statement today:
 Personally, l am opposed to the arbi- tration of and purchase of the Bessemer waterworks, but if the people should vote on November 27 to arbitrate it, as serv- ant of the people, I would certainly re- spect their wishes to the extent of having their wishes complied with"
 The farmers in this section who have been interested in the raising of sweet potatoes for the market will have a meet ing in the board of trade rooms Sat urday afternoon to consider the matter of selling the crop that has been a prac- tical failure as far as results are con- cerned to the producer. With 20,000 bush els in sight and the Birmingham mar ket glutted. some move will be made to try to handle the crop to other points, where there Is a better price offered than 90 cents bushel, and where the crop can be handled by the carload.
 The colored citizens of Bessemer held A mass meeting last night at Allen Temple church for the purpose of considering plans to establish a manual training and domestic science department for the col pred public schools. A proposition has been made by N. O. Nelson, owner of the Bes- semer Soil Pipe company, by his super- intendent, J. E. Haffner, in which he offers to give S1 for every dollar raised by the colored people of Bessemer for the manual training and domestic science to the public schools
 The colored people present were all in | favor of securing the largest possible amount from MT. Nelson on this offer and inaugurated a campaign last night which netted the sum of s501. This Is to be followed up and a thorough canvass is to be made by which the colored peo- pie expect to raise a thousand dollars or more. Several interesting addresses were made last night. Thomas T. Huey, Gard ner Goodwin, of the board of education; the Rev. C. B. Moseley, Rev. McKinzie, pr. J. Frank Robertson, Prof. J. C. Jones. Ed Brown, J. B. Johnson and Dr. E. J. Gregg were heard.