The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1916-08-25

Industrial and comm ercial conditions
in Birmingham and the district have
shown considerable improvement re-
Gently and the outlook for the future
is for a steady betterment, in the
opinion of Morris w. Bush, president
of the Shelby Iron company and other
industrial corporations. Mr. Bush be-
lieves that the Birmingham district
and the entire south have gone
through the worst period of the de-
preston incident to the war, and while
he makes no predictions of immediate
return to prosperous conditions of the
sons for his contention, that with a
little more patience and some more
waiting this section of the country is
destined to enjoy a development such
as has not even been had by the north
and the west from their war pros
perity.
Local conditions are improving
steadily, though not with any boom,
said Mr.. Bush yesterday Pig iron
prices have stiffened materially DUR
ing the past week or more and all
the ironmakers are enjoying a splen-
did business, with plenty of orders.
Practically all of them have now on
their books orders which will keep
them busy until the close of the year
and are already receiving inquiries for
delivery the first quarter of next year
The fact that most of them are not
fastening to book these orders far in
advance would seem to indicate a
healthy condition in the iron market
THE steel and steel products mar
ket is all that could be desired. OF
this limo of industry l.
joyed wonderful prosperity here for
sometime and there has recently been
further improvement. Even the coal
market, which has been more or less
stagnant for the past several years,
is slightly improving. OF course, the
coal trade is far from satisfactory yet
and there is no indication of any boom
in this line, but any improvement, even
though slight, tends to cheer up the
coal operators to some extent.
COAL SITUATION
"The reasons for the inactivity OF
the coal market since the war began
are not difficult to ascertain. To be-
gin with, there have been very few
ships calling at the gulf ports to use
the coal from this district. When war
broke out the money which could be
made In the transa tlantic service was
so phenomenal that most steamers
which formerly called at the gulf ports
moved up to the Atlantic seaboard and
hence they bought their coal from the
Pennsylvania and West Virginia fields
Then the lack of bottoms interfered
with the export trade which had for
merly come to this district through
the gulf ports.
'In the meantime the wonderful in
crease in shipping at the Atlantic
ports caused big Stimulus to the coal
trade of the fields adjacent to the At
lantic ports. The increased demand
for coal for operating these vessels
added to the large demands for ballast
and for expectation to European coun-
tries, greatly increased by the war
gave the West Virginia and Pennsyl-
vania coal companies unusual pros
perity. Hence they were able to offer
such inducements that many laborers
were carried away from this district
interfering to a certain extent with the
profitable operation of our coal mines
another cause which has tended tt
keep the south from enjoying the pros
perity of the rest of the country since
the war is that we are not yet 6
manufacturing country, especially ir
the sense of making the finished pro.