The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-01-14
LETTERS TO EDITOR
Wants More Smoke ProducSs


To the Editor of The Age-Heraid.
Pardon this intrusion upon your vaiu-
able time. Believing you to be In favor
of right and justice to all regardless as
to whether they be great or small, hence
this effusion. | read long letter recently
written by Mr.. Huddleston with Tefer-
ence to the smoke evil in which the Sloss
furnace people were vilified and shown
up as being villains of the deepest dye
simply because they seem inclined to
follow the even tenor of their way un-
mindful of the little narrow minded
notoriety seekers who would have the
good people of Birmingham believe that
the big furnace near Woodlawn should
be compelled TO move to some remote
corner of jefferson county that the fas-
tidious Mr.. II. may not be compelled TO
inhale the carbon dust that is being
emitted daily by said Sloss furnace and
other equally guilty and deep-dyed erim-
inal corporations that persist in belch-
ing forth smoke simply for the fun there
is in it.
Right here permit. me to ask Mr. II.
why is Birmingham? Isn't It an unde-
niable fact that these same criminals
who are now smoking up Birmingham
are responsible for Birmingham being
here? Are they to be condemned for
being instrumental in building a smoky
city? There are many towns in Alabama
that would welcome our smoke factories.
Mr.. H., if your fastidious tastes won't
allow you to be annoyed by the smoke
of this burg it would be far less expense
to remove yourself from the scenes of
smoke and industry than it would to re-
move g. furnace plant rnat has cost mil
lions of dollars to build and keep run
ming.
l am here today as are thousands of
others, simply because of the criminal
smoke producers. ] myself like to see
the smoke belch from the, high chimneys
IL bespeaks of industry j love to see
the thousands of Industrious mortals go
in and out of those smoke factories. They
are the boys that make business hum.
In my estimation what Birmingham
needs is commission of broad minded
business men. men who have the best
interest at heart [ believe the owners
of the furnaces to be men of brains and
foresight. The by-product coke oven is
as yet in its experimental stage. No
doubt the Sloss people as well as others
will adopt that rlethod of making coke
after it has passed the experimental
stage. To my notion it takes an unlimited
amountgof gall on the part of any com
mission or individual to ask the furnace
people to move out of the sacred con-
fines of the city which they have been
instrumental in building.
| believe If the furnace people We're APP
preached in a friendly spirit that they
are public spirited enough to- vacate
Second avenue without resorting to dila-
tory tactics. What Birmingham needs
is the spirit of the west. We need more
terial now being made here. We need
more smoke dagons to bring the people
here ana haul the products of our smoke
factorie. away. We need city COM
mission of broad minded business men
which will give the city adequate police
protection as we'll as fire protection We
need a city commission broad minded
enough to vote 60 lower their own sal
! aries, which are entirely too high for
the services rendered
The present city commission points with
pride to the reduction in city expenses
by the discharge of police and firemen.
While at the same time about $300.oo0
have been spent for swamp and other
lands for park Purposes which are about
as much practical value to the city as
a louise on a niggers head. The licenses
and taxes are higher in this mans town
than in any town of like size in the Uni
ted States.
Money is squandered for park purposes
while at the same time life Is made cheap
and people robbed and beaten on the
streets of the city for the want of proper
police protection.
Referring again to the smoke evil, Just
let said violators of the civic purity close
down for go or 80 days, then we will see
the fastidous Mr.. III. and hundreds of
others cry out fer the smoke producers
to resume business at the same old stand
AS stated before, no doubt Gadsden or
Admission would be glad to put up with
our smoke producers should they see fit
t, remove from the town that they have
builded.
As for me- ] say give us more smoke
producers. The consumers will come In
due time. Respectfully yours.
ED LAWRENCE.
Birmingham. January 13, 1913