The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-06-03

located some distance away from the
 main building and built of brick, was not
 materially damaged.
 The plant represented an investment of about SIP, ,OO0 The loss is covered by in- surance to the amount of about $500. The plant was owned by local men and the main stockholders are: Messrs Dr. J. T. Brown. the McNeil Bros, N. w. Quillan, E. D. Kimbell.
 The stockholders have not decided whether the mill yill be rebuilt or not About 40 men are thrown out of en- ployment- on account of the burning. 
 F Coosa Baptists Convene Sylacauga. June 2.-The regular fifth Sunday meeting of the Coosa River Baptist association was held Sunday with Gantt's Quarry church. Quite number of messengers from churches in the association were present and a>e in- teresting programme was carried out. ~~-~-~~~~---~-~-----~ ---~->~--------------- consistent with the line Of thought which was developed by MT. Hill ili his carefully prepared address. There are few ac- lively occupied with American business life in all its departments who make SD careful a study of statistics as James J.
 Hill Is constantly doing. Perhaps one man now more actively engaged in great un- dertal1ings than MT. Hill, who also is as capable of reading between the lines of statistics and of obtaining the lessons which they teach. Is Howard Elliott. now chairman of the board of the New Haven Railroad company. Both of these men gained their mastery of statistics when occupied in transportation service in the west and in the northwest. Both Mir Hill and MT. Elliott were able to fortify my
 argument or propositions which they have made by referring to their personal experience in the western states. MT. El- liott gained many years experience while in the service of the Burlington com- pany, and he had 10 years experience
 while serving as president of the North ern Pacific.
 In Common Agreement
 NIr. Hill began some 10 years ago to call attention to the possible danger there
 might be in overstimulatins manufactur- ing industry if this were done at the eX- pense of agriculture. So llso Mr Elliott, in various addresses delivered along the line of the Northern Pacific railroad, con- stantly urged such improvements in agri- cultural methods, such ysriaty in crop
 
 timber resources as would establish agri- cultural prosperity throughout the great northwest upon unshakable foundations. He constantly referred to statistics not in any dry manner, but by extracting the
 meaning which lay behind the figures. 1 Since he has been in New England he has, as opportunity has offered made ad- dr esses or written communications con- l taining similar line of thought.
 MT. Hills Idea
 1 That MT. Hill is misunderstood by those who have read into his address delivered at Washington last week a criticism of our expansion of foreign trade is due to a mis understanding of his views. Ten years ago he observed that our population was | Increasing so rapidly that unless there were a change in our agricultural methods and unless great industries were not es- | tablished by drawing too heavily upon the agricultural communities for wage-ealn- CTS the time was near at hand when the l people of the United States would be con- pelled to import wheat and other food products.
 Yet at the very time that Mir. Hill was first making these statements he was l undertaking to expand our foreign com merce. He had within few years ere l ated by means of agreement between his railroad and the steamship line he estab- | lished for commerce between the United States and the far east, a greatly in-
 creased commerce. of which Seattle was
 the port. But the commerce which MT. l Hill secured for transportation across the | Pacific was chiefly the agricultural prod ucts of the northwest, and especially tim 1 Der. In return his vessels were bring 1 ing in silk mating and other manufac- tured articles which Japan and China pre-
 pared for the American market. Suddenly | k xl-s- | merce. Trade with the far east was only
 possible in case the railroads and the steamship companies were able to agree upon a through rate which would make 1t possible for the United States to find
 a large market in the far east for these
 products. But the authorities at Wash
 ington became convinced that agreement
 upon a rate of this kind was so far as | the railroads were concerned in violation
 of the federal statutes. When that edict
 was made and obeyed our foreign com merce by way of Seattle decreased even
 more rapidly than it had increased MT Hill at that time was persuaded
 that the great problem before the Amer
 ican people was not the increase of in-
 oustry, but the increase of agricultural products. It was this which he had in
 mind when in his Washington address
 ne said a rather shortsighted optimism | had concentrated attention for some years upon the increase of our exportation of manufactured products He fears lest there may be too great concentration upon this kind Nof activity. He is anx-
 ious that the soil should be made to nro-
 duce twice the quantity per acre that 1t now produces and is assured that this can easily be done unless the wage earn CTS are tempted from the agricuIturaI re- gions to the great industrial centers Ev- { idently MT. Hill is fearful that tempta ttor of this kind will continue. and will in- crease.
 His Views of Monopoly
 Not for the first time in this Washinr- ton address did MT. Hill express the opinion that no real monopoly of trade can ever again exist excepting within
 the narrowest areas or for inconsidera | ble periods of time. All competitors must enter the lists hereafter under substan- l tially equal conditions. This has been his view for some years. His study of re- l cent statistics strongly confirms this opinion. Presumably MT. Hin feels that the present time is not suspicious for 1 further legislative action even though 1t may be undertaken in all sincerity. He l characterizes legislation of that kind, either enacted or attempted as possibly | the most dangerous impeachment in the way of the development of American business, saying that the burden placed by unwise restrictive legislation and un- 1 necessary taxation upon business in the United States is producing it's inevitable