The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-17
GREATEST NEED IN BIRMINGHAM FOR REAL EXPANSION Must Use Her Raw Pig Iron to Assume Commanding
 Position DISTRICT LOSER BY
 SHIPPING TT AWAY Why Has There Been No Material Increase in Tonnage of Pig
 Iron Made Here Since
 the Year 1900?
By C. E. STEWART

By C. E. STEWART
 The marvellous growth of Birming- ham and the marvellous development of the Birmingham district in the past 15 or 20 years has been due to the unlimited wealth of ore, coal and lime stone in the hills of north Alabama.
 In the pioneer days of the iron in- possible, though the market for pig iron lay hundreds of miles away and the methods of manufacture were crude in comparison with those em- ployed today. The lure of big divi- dends attracted capital, as 1t always does, and in a remarkably short while the district took rank as one of the big iron producing centers of the country. It continued to grow and develop and expand it's, trade, produc ing each year a greater tonnage than the preceding one, until 1900. Since that time the tonnage of pig iron pro- duced in Alabama has not materially increased.
 Birmingham has continued to grow and develop along other lines, but the chief cause of her greatness and has about held it's own. Why? The answer is simple. From 60 to I5 per cent of the pig iron made in Birming ham is put into the finished product in the north and while Birmingham can and does produce a cheaper iron, than can possibly be produced in the north there are only few of the most fla vorabIy located plants in the district that can add to their costs the freight from the Birmingham district and to the northern markets and compete with the iron concerns up tLere, and even those that can do this enjoy very limited margin over their northern competitors.
 What Is Pig Iron
 What is pig iron? It is simply one step from the ore and coal that rests las nature made them in our hills, to- ward being created into something that can be put to use by man. It has no value in itself. There is no use it could be put to without subjecting is  ticles that it is moulded and ham, mered into, made from any other sub- stance in the world, the world would move along and would make the samc progress had there never been ton of it. From 60 to 75 per cent of the pig iron made in the Birmingham dis trict, therefore, is of no value to Bir- mingham, only in the profit, if any, in its sale, and the employment given to those that make it.
 Barring exceptional times of great industrial activity the profit-real profit -on pig iron manufactured in Alabama is negligible, and' it has been so for the past. 10 or 12 years, and for this reason the manufacture of pig iron Ill Alabama has not increased and only with a hard struggle has held Its owr, while in the other iron producing cen ters of the United States the produc- ton has grown from 20 to 35 per cent, and in proportion to the general growth of the country.
 Great Railroad Center
 Birmingham is great railroad cen- ter. These great highways of com merce stretch out all over this great land and connect her with all parts of the country. At least one-third of the population of the United States. to say nothing of the countries south of us, may be reached from Birmingham as cheaply as from Pittsburg and Chicago. When the Panama canal is finally com pleted 1t will greatly increase this dis trict's ability to lay her wares at the door of the people that want them, provided she has the wares that they want and mark you, they will not want pig iron-but they will want everything that pig iron is made into.
 The Panama canal is going to be great thing for the south. Every city In the south is going to be benefited, and their trade will expand as never before in the history of the country, and they will reap the harvest in proportion to their ability to supply the demand. II Birmingham, therefore. wants to Ill her real destiny she must quit selling pig iron at cost to the north, but, begin to use it at home and take care of the trade st her very door, to say nothing about get ting ready for the trade she can surely have, if she will only prepare herself for it.
 Vision of Future
 Never in the history of the district as her future appeared more optomistic; never has opportunity called so impor- tunately With prophetic vision the stee corporation grasped it. and they ale steadily but surely laying their plans iil the Birmingham district to take care ol the trade that legitimately belongs to this section in every finished line. If you want a steel casting in Alabama where do you so for it? Not single steel casting plant in the sonth that IS after the trade. A few steel castings arc made, but, they are mostly for the use of the makers, the Tennessee company at Ensey, and the Southern Iron and Steel company at Ala abama City, and vel steel castings are used all over the south Every railroad uses them, every cottoi