The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-03-16
Large Sums to Go Into De- mestic Developments Dur
 ing the Present Year
SOUTH WILL FEEL
 GENERAL IMPETUS
New York Hears Alabama Power Developments May Amount
 to As Much As
 $1OO,0OO,000
By HOLLAND

1 By HOLLAND
 l New York, March 16.-(Special)- Capital 1 in plenty is undoubtedly to be invested this year in large domestic undertakings, although even so high an authority as President Frank A. Vanderip of the Ma l tional City bank, in one of his addresses
 some months ago, ntimated that the l United States might be so occupied in 1 financing the needs of other nations and | in providing credit facilities by means of which belligerent nations could pay for their purchases in the United States that 1 1t might be that capital in large amounts
 would not be tempted until after the war
 in making domestic investments.
 1 Nevertheless, reports recently authorz- itatively made indicate that there is to be l in the year 1916 and afterward invest ment of many millions in domestic enter prises The United States Steel corpora
 tion, which, fortunately is able to fur
 nish it's own capital out of earnings, may invest this year S60, ,0Oo,O 900 in construction
 work.
 | Some of those who are identified promi- nently with the copper industry and with l other mining industries contemplate large investments in the development of copper industries not only in the United States, but in South America, and the Guggen- helms, in addition to their investments ! in Chilean properties-an investment 1 which Is likely to reach $l00, GOO, ,000-are | about to invest other capital in the sme.t ing in the United States and Bolivian tin.
 Not the least of the important evidences
 of tendency of capital to make invest
 ment are some which come from the 1 southern states
 A few days ago, w. E. Folcher-who is l associated with A. B. Leech. widely
 known throughout the United States as ] the president of the Investment Bankers
 association-spol1e in an informal and yet interesting manner to the members of the 1 Florida Drainage association at meet ing held by this association at Sanford, Fla. The time may come when there will be investment of many millions in the | drainage of Florida lands so that culti- vation of soil all over the state may be made to yield such profitable returns as | has been the case in several instances in I Florida where capital was invested in improvements of that kind. MT. Folcher, | however while recognizing the commer- clal opportunities, some of them very large, which drainage and reclamation in Florida would offer, nevertheless assert ed that it is going to be difficult to finance these undertakings upon large scale un- less there are amendments to Florida | statutes. If the Florida legislature will so amend the laws as to perfect we'll | devised legislation for drainage financing then in all probability capital will be fur nlshed in large amounts for this work. PRES. ARTHUR'S PREDICTION In the spring of lSS3, President Chester A. Arthur, with the Secretary of the Navy, William E. Chandler. and a per 1 sonal friend, Charles E. Miller. a lawyer l of high standing in New York city, spent 1 several days in interior Florida and made the little city of Sanford, at the head of the navigation of the St. Johns river, his headquarters. The president made l several trips over narrow-gauge rail- road which connected Sanford with Kis- since City, which is situated at the head Of the interior lake system of Florida. The president was greatly interested in the land, predicting it's future develop ment perhaps through reclamation, when, he said, it would be found cultivating early crops, which would find speedy mar 1 l<et in New York and other eastern cities 1 The things President Arthur then sug- gested have in some measure ben real ized Very large areas between Sanford and Kissimee, the very section upon which President Arthur looked have now been so marvelously reclaimed that there is official authority for saying that 70 tons of vegetables were produced last year in growing season of nine months from one acre, and the net profits were a little over s1C0O an acre.
 ! Those who visit the great markets of New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore
 see every day displayed for sale early Vegetables in enormous amounts The railroad which the late Henry M Flagler built in Florida is having an experience 1 in freight congestion which can be lkened
 to that of some of the trunk lines, upon which there is congestion which is caused 1 by the very heavy consignments of l freight The Flagler road is handling vast amounts of vegetables and fruits. The annual seasonal movement of early crops from the far south is now we'll un-
 der way, and it represents millions.
 In the Mississippi valley there not only | is this seasonal movement now under
 way, but there has begun that extraor dinary spectacle of the movement of strawberries from the gulf states north ward. This is an annual progression
 maintained from late February until inc strawberries of the northern states begin
 to come to market. St. Louis is the great strawberry market in the early spring These are seasonable movements whia, may be compared with the fall move ment of grain from the wheat fields to the seaports and markets of the east.
 ] Investment of capital in this industry
 is large and is likely to be considerably Increased. It will take, as one of it's in cidents, the form of new railroad con struction of the kind now under way in 1 Florida. The movement of these early vegetables is now so important feature of our markets and is so rapidly increa s 1 ing as to compel additional railroad con struction. One of the railroads whose lines are extended into Florida received
 this winter $500 freight charges which represented the hauling of celery pro- duced from a single acre of land near l Sanford. Most of the celery was mar
 keted in New York at high prices
 l Within a few days. bankers of New
 York have been informed that plans have
 just been perfected whereby loan which l may ultimately amount to $1O0. GOO GOO has been arranged, the money to be used in developing the stupendous hydro electric enterprises represented by the Alabama Power company. In speaking of this un
 usually large proposition, the Manufac-
 turers' Record of Baltimore says that the utilization of the greater part of if is predicated upon legislation regarding
 power sites which at this time is pending before Congress and the special reference of the legislation to the use of Muscle 1 Shoals. This enterprise is spoken of a . iI- frustrating the willingness of capital. nro- vided all conditions are favorahIa .r,,