The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1916-08-31
NED BRACE
TELLS OF MEN
MAKING GOOD

II FOUND another prosperous small con-
Germ yesterday. which is credit to
Birmingham.
| 1t makes mattresses and bed springs
and is selling an output amounting to
more than 100000 year. Fred M. Jack
son and R. L. Ezell, both native Ala
bamians, own and operate It,
I went through 1t with Mr.. Jackson
yesterday. 1t is the cleanest manufactur-
ing plant 1 have ever seen. 1t is con-
Quoted as Systematically as a bank. 1
saw them making bed springs out Of wire
manufactured in Ensley, the side bars
out of angles made in the Bessemer mill.
Some of the higher grades of spring are
made from higher class wire than that
manufactured in Ensley. That, of course
| is bought from without the state, but
the main products consumed in the fac
tory of the Perfection Mattress company
in its springs and beds come from the
Tennessee companys local plants at
price which Mr.. jackson is eminently
satisfied with. Indeed, he tells me that
President Crawford Of the Tennessee COM
pany has given him every possible ia
cility.
OF course, we all know the Perfection
mattress, but few of US know that it Ia
made of layers of cotton batting manu-
featured from the raw material in plant
right here and that it has the reputation
of being the best mattress made any
where in the country. Indeed, the fac
tory here is shipping all over the country,
having particularly large market in In
diana. Ohio and Oklahoma. The largest
consumption. however, is right here In
Alabama.
In this plant they are making all sorts
of mattresses, from the cheapest kind
with excelsior in the centre surrounded
by layers of jute batting, to the highest
grade of Perfection mattress unexcelled
by any in the world
And Mr.. jackson and Mr.. Ezell are
ma king barrel of money, so to speak.
The plant on Twenty-fourth street and
Ninth avenue must have cost something
like $1O0, 900, and 1 doubt if any concern in
the Birmingham district is making bet
ter net profit annually on it's investment
Both the owners are proud Of it, give their
time to it, give every one who buys from
them the very best stuff and are develop
ing business which promises within
year or two to exceed the million dollar
mark.
I'M
learned yesterday at the Rotary cluo
luncheon, when J. H Eddy of the kaul
Lumber company made a little talk about
the lumber business and what John Raul
had done here.
Mr.. Kaul came here from Pennsylvania
the same week 1 arrived in Birmingham.
John was enthusiastic about the lumber
business and he has demonstrated that
his enthusiasm was we'll worth while,
for as Mr. Eddy told yesterday, he has
developed a lumber business which pro-
duces IS, 100000 feet of lumber annually.
His concern ships 5000 cars year from
it's plant near Tuscaloosa. 1t employs
from 800 to 1000 people.
In the entire state of Alabama there
are 5000 people employed in the lumber
business and some sS,50O,0O0 is paid out
annually in salaries and wages. Ala
bama produced last year lumber to the
value Of s26,OOO,0Oo. the average selling
price at the mill being $3.50 thousand
feet.
Mr.. Eddys talk was intensely interest
ing and Is another evidence of the SUCCESS
and prosperity of the people who have in
vested in the Birmingham district and
given their attention to business.
| Returning to Fred Jackson, was more
surprised at the great success of the Per-
lection Mattress company than at any
thing I have learned in Birmingham re-
Gently.
| Since he retired from the coal business
some years ago, I had thought he was
giving his attention largely to politics
and prohibition. But I find that these
are merely side issues for amusement
that he is a business man to the core.
and that he is building up his factory by
leaps and bounds, so to speak, every
year.
7,eJ 6,ueQ~