The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-01

been for long time already saturated with industrial life. has brought 1t about that the south is still on the whole rather undeveloped economically. and has there fore up to this time not been very good field for industrial products.
 There is situated, however, almost in the heart of this highly promising terri tory the greatly fourishing industrial dis trict of Birmingham. The development of this city, which was founded about 40 years ago, is reflected in the following figures:
 Population 1880, sos6; 1890 2617S 1sgo, cs. 415: 1910, 1s2, ,6s5. Bank deposits leoo s7.- COG, ,2O4; 1910, s22, ,s23.s2s Bank elearings 1900, s4s,9so,Ooo 1910. sl3o,2sO00o.
 Situated among the last spurs Of the Alleghanies, in a long. broad, trough-like valley, Birmingham owes it's prosperity to the exceptionally favorable iuxtaposltion of rich mineral treasures. Tn immediate contiguity are found coal. iron ore and limestone, under the simplest mining con dtions, so that the cost of production of pig iron is jess here than in any other known industrial center on earth. It amounts, by the way to from sS to ss ton. The report of the investigation which was made by the federal govern ments expert>and finished only a short time ago speaks very hopefully of the abundance of the mineral treasures. about which there was uncertainty for long time. It concerns itself exclusively with the geological conditions in the imme- diate neighborhood of Birmingham and reaches the conclusion that 35S,o0 00,00o tons of red iron ore worth mining are directly at hand and 4390Oo000 tons more are available Gin 1906 the ore supply was es- timated at one thousand million tons in round numbers) The ore immediately at hand would furnish the present output for more than a hundred years. Besides the red iron ore there are found very consid- erable quantities of brown iron ore, which is already being mined.
 The result of estimates with reference to coke may be stated thus
 If the production of pig iron is con- tinued in the quantity usual up to this time and IS tons of coke are used to a ton of pig iron, which was ascertained to be the average figure in the Birming- ham district, the estimated supply of coking coal worth mining would last for 62S years, or for S7 years in case the pro- duction were doubled every 20 years. Ala hama, in the center of which Brming- ham is situated. already holds third place among the United States for pro- duction of iron ore and coke, while it occupies fourth place for production of pig iron and fifth place for production of coal and steel
 The industrial history of Alabama reaches far back into the past and un- rolls an abundance of variegated pictures. Pig iron was made in the neighborhood of Birmingham as early as 1sE. An im- portant development however, began only about 20 years ago. Iron makers pro- ceeAed but a few years ago 10 break with the traditional principle of techni- cally perfecting the processes by the cheapest and therefore least sweeping measures while they preserved as far as feasible what they had on hand. And yet they had advanced long before to the production of pig iron on a large scale. There had been a great lack of men with a mind for far-reaching develop ments. Money too, was scarce. It is safe to assert that as long as the southerner had charge in the main of the industrial opening up of the Birmingham district. :t did not advance so rapidly as might have been expected. By disposition and education the southerner is certainly not suited for consistent technical work of 2 constructive kind His pronounced in- dividualistic inclinations and his strong need of independence necessarily injure him in many ways as he works side by side with others in the same position. Al though he can be very logged, yet he lacks the reckless go-ahead spirit of the north. He likes to live, as he has learned to do on his plantations. In the hope or easonable, immediate profit, which may be right advantageous, but pays little at .ention to future possibilities Most in -Erious of all to him perhaps arc the aris- tocratic ambitions. that have developed in hls intercourse with the negro. Technical work is incompatible with such ambi. tons It is then in mo way surprising that the rapid development of the iron industry in Alabama began only after northern men who had been tested in the industry began their work here That development was immediately followed by capital which the southerner lacked as a rule, because his living expenses were high and he had largely invested his money in real estate. In spite of it's large colored population Birmingham does not at all today make the impression of southern city. The stamp of the bus mess district and of the newly erected dwelling quarters shows everywhere the enterprising and judcious characteristics of the north And most of the efforts of public and private business are kept up by liberal. earnest spirit of order which leads to achievement.
 It would, however, be unjust to blame the southerner exclusively for the com paratively late development of the iron industry in the south. There was always G SDsClal ulHlculty lOr DliIil ildih III US situation with reference to the market. A market had to be sought al a great dis- tance Since the southern states are at present only in small degree field for iron products. Birmingham was obliged, in view of the competition with northern
 plants. to limit itself to pig iron, for which the freight rate, in harmony with the customary railway tariff, Is consid- erably lower than for finished products. The important market in the iron man. ufacturing New England states is sup plied by land, the freight on pig iron being in round numbers s per ton.
 Accordingly the way of development for the iron industry in the south was from the beginning turned almost exclusively in the direction of pig iron production. There was besides only one speciality of consider able importance-the rail. A rath- CT large business could be done with T. in view of the constant good prices per- vailing also in the south and In the middle west. For it opened also soonest of all the possibility of export beyond the har bors of the gulf. In spite of the very con siderable increase in the export of iron products, the facts which is often mo- t'ceable in other countries, may be ob- served in America also. that exportation is looked upon as a way of regulating the duration of work In other words, people care for foreign business in dull times, but 1t Is more or less neglected when business conditions are good at home.
 The rapid development of the Birming- ham industrial district did not begin until about the turning point of the century. and was associated with a technical meas ure of far-reaching significance. It was George B. Mccormack who proceeded to the preparation of steel at Ensley, the