The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-10-24

whole scheme, are stirring the iron and steel industry in all of it's ramifications to higher plane than would have been deemed possible year ago. to take place Within the next eight or 10 years. Some are fearing that when the war is over there will be a reaction but it seems to me-and this is the view I have found expressed by some of the ablest men in the industry-that by the time the war is over the railroads of the country will be compelled to expend hundreds of mil Hons in extensions, and that by the time the growth of the country will take care of these amazing advances in the iron and steel plants of the land.
 Nothing Like Present Situation
 Not since the days when the Steel cor poration was organized has there been anything at all commensurate with the present situation. and yet the south is
 standing still, practically, in its iron and steel development. The vast resources of this section are lying dormant or are being utilized to very limited extent The south is steadily retrograding, and rapidly so, compared with the progress of the east and west in iron and steel. Unless the south very quickly comes rnto the field on lines of tremendous expansion it will be so far behind the east and west that you and I will have passed away long before this section has a develop ment commensurate with It's raw materi- als and with its other natural advan- tages.
 l need not remind you, for you arc thoroughly familiar with the situation, that but for the suit against the Steel corporation, based very largely on It's ownership by the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad company. many millions of dollars would have been expended during the last few years by the Steel corpora ton in the Birmingham district and these expenditures would have given confidence to capitalists and encouragement to other owners of iron properties. and we should have had In that section a development worthy of the situation. The suit against the Steel corporation has cost the south in halted development millions and tens of millions of dollars. Indeed, 1t Is diff fcult to estimate what it has meant to the whole south. as well as to the Bir- nlngham district, to have had the opera tions of the Steel corporation halted by justified the suit, but the decision wasl seemed surprising that 1t should have been continued and thus the progress of the south still further halted. think MT. Taft's Had there been a divided vote in this case. some might have felt that there was possibly some foundation to have justified the suit, but the suit was unani- nous and so sweeping that 1t has seemed surprising that it should have been con- tinued and thus the progress of the south still further halted. I think Mir. Tafts administration could have learned from any intelligent iron and steel man in the country that there was absolutely no foundation whatever for this suit passing 1t on the domination of the iron and steel Interests of the country by the corpora tion. No one who had a right to be heard. by reason of knowledge of the iron and coal resources of the country. could have given any other information to the Taft administration than that the suit was absolutely without justification. It is equally true that the present ad- ministration could receive from inteli- gent men, informed as to this industry. no other information whatever than that which brought about a unanimous de- cision on the part of the court in favor of the Steel corporation. You know the Birmingham district so well, as do Sen ator Underwood and Senator Bankhead and others. that you know that the Steel corporation has no monopoly of ores in that district. Nevertheless. by reason of the halting which the suit, in Judge Gary's opinion, made necessary in the operations of the Steel corporation in