The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-10
b|G BANK|NGF|RM ID MANAGE MERGER Harvey Fisk & Sons Become
 Interested in Project IS A S33,OOO,OO CONCERN Prominent Bankers Are Now Inter- ested in Consummation of Ala
 bama Onsolidated-South-
 ern Steel Merger
IS A S33,OOO,O ,OOO CONCERN

Baltimore, February 9.-(Special.) )-Ceci Grenfell. chairman, wired the Manufac- turers' Record last night: '"The merger and reorganization committees of the Ala | hama Consolidated Coal and Iron com pany and the Southern Iron and Stee company today finally approved the form of the syndicate subscription agreements as prepared by the counsel of the com mittee and also the arrangement under which Messrs. Harvey Fisk X Sons are to become syndicate managers"
 That Harvey Fisk X Sons. one of the greatest and most conservative banking tically unlimited command of capital, have after months of investigation con- sented to handle the underwriting for this merger and become the syndicate managers. immediately stamps this as one of the most important movements for the broadest development of the Iron and steel interests of the south which has taken place since the purchase of the Tennessee company by the United States Steel corporation.
 The new company. to be known as the Alabama Consolidated Iron and Steel company, will have total capitalization, bonds and stocks of s33,sS6,Ooo.
 Great Financial Strength
 The merger committee Itself is one of the most remarkable committees for financial strength which could possibly have been formed. It includes Cecil A. Grenfell, chairman, representing some of the strongest financial interests of Great Britain: Alexander J. Hemphill, president of the Guaranty Trust company; John W. Platten. president of the United States Mortgage and Trust company; Edwin G. Merrill. president of the Union Trust company; Benjamin Strong, Jr., president of the Bankers Trust company; Harry Bronner of Hagarten X Co., a strong banking house of New York; Neville C.. Higham, representing Canadian capital H. H. Melville, president of the Canadian Northern railroad, and s. H. Voorhees,, general counsel Pliny Fisk the head of Harvey Fisk & Sons, will be one of the voting trustees, representing the in terests of the Alabama Consolidated Coal and Iron company, thus bringing into active cooperation in the financing and management of this company this great house, which has never heretofore been identified with any large development op- erations in the south. Harvey Fisk & Sons financed the American Locomotive company, a $50,OOOO0O concern, which was organized by MT. Joseph H. Hoadley. through whose influence Fisk & Sons have become syndicate managers of the under writing with Pliny Fisk as one of the voting trustees.
 Properties Owned
 The new company, to be known as the Alabama Consolidated Iron and Steel company. will own about 156,O00 acres of land. of which 7s,0O0 acres is coal proper ty and 61,oo0 acres ore land. It will have at the start 1909 coke ovens with an an nual capacity of 1sooOo tons: eight blast furnaces, nine coal mines in operation with others to he opened. and 12 iron ore mites and steel plant at Gadsden. the capacity of which is to be largely in- creased as one of the first improvements to be made. Since MT. Hoadley became the. controlling owner of the Alabama Consolidated Coal and Iron company, he has been untiring in his activity for the development of that company and the broad development of the whole Alabama Iron and Steel district working at times under many disadvantages. not the least of which has been the severe depression in. the iron and steel trade during the last four years. MT. Hoadley has never wavered in his campaign for attracting the attention of the great capitalists of the country to the resources of the Ala bama district For a while friction be- tween some of the stockholders of the Alabama Consolidated harrassed his work and delayed the carrying out of his plans, but he. finally, brought all interests into harmonious agreement with his plans for the merger of these two companies, and since that was achieved has been devot- ing his unceasing efforts to bring the big gest banking interests in New York to careful study of the iron and steel making resources of Alabama. Through this combination he and his associates have interested in the Alabama district many of the strongest capitalists of the been in any way connected with large southern enterprises.
 Draws Attention to South
 While the large development planned for the merger company. the increase in the output of it's plants and especially the enlargement of it's steel making interests will be of great benefit to Alabama probably the most far reaching effect will be the influence which the financing of this undertaking will have in emphas siz- ing to the business world the strength of the south's strategic position in iron ar steel for it will bring into the develop ment of the south the cooperation of some of the most conservative and strong est financial institutions in the United States RICHARD H. EDMONDS.
 Southern Declares Dividend
 New York, February S.-The directors of the Southern railway tadav declared a