The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-02-17
BUSINESS MEN AND. FARMERS DISCUSS. PLANS FOR CANNERY. Mrs. Mathis Addresses the Meeting, Showing Bene-
 fits to Be Derived
 From Plant

Before 8 representative crowd Of busl- ness men and farmers in the auditorium of the Chamber of Commerce building yesterday morning, Mrs. G. H. Mathis told how canning factory for the Birmingham district would pay; how it could serve as parent institution for a large number of community can neries throughout the state of Alabama. All present seemed enthusiastic. and on call for rising vote as to who present would work and cooperate with the new enterprise, everybody present interested, either directly or indirectly, stood
 Mrs. Mathis said she was just a plain, every day farmer, and always made the subject of farming her main goal While she was field agent for the Alabama Bankers association, she accepted that position to better unite the finan- cier and the tiller, so better results might be obtained. '"The reason we have stuck to cotton so long and persistently," {" said Mrs. Mathis, was because we al- ways had cash market for the staple
 "And that is just why now favor the movement for a canning plant here in Birmingham. It will give a cash market to truckmen and farmers for any acreage they may plant. Since the weevil has made the raising of cotton hard propo- sition, I heartily favor any other avenue that will open up a consuming market for the producer We need an established market for everything that is grown. And right now is the time to start something. inc I,o ic looi 1oh 10 tc Go center and we buy most of our canned goods from outside states This should not be, for if other states can raise stuff, can it and ship into Birmingham, certainly we have sense enough to raise it at home and do the same. What others can do, We can do.
 BIG PROFIT IN TRUCK
 '"The average southern farmer clears but SIP an acre on cotton. Truckmen in Maryland, Virginia, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri have told me they average from s6O to $100 an acre on tomatoes and other truck raised for canneries. If they can do it, we certainly must do it, that's all there is to it. This enterprise if put through will pay investors in the plant and the farmers Down at Cullman the farmers told me they get from $200 per acre for their sweet potatoes early in the season down to $25 an acre later in the summer. After they reach this bottom price they ship in carloads to Nashville to be canned. Why not stop these shipments at Birmingham and do the canning here?
 ''At Baltimore is located a very large canning factory, with innumerable small plants scattered in communities all about the city. They are all handled through the main plant, and it is money maker to everyone concerned
 'In Etowah county in 1915 the girls of the county sold $6S0OO worth of canned goods to merchants and hotels in Gads- den Out of this sum they cleared $13,14 They could have sold 10 times that much. The hotels of Gadsden will not use a can of stuff that is not put up in Ala bama unless the market is sold out. The people have become accustomed to de- mand homemade goods, and that is what makes market-local demand. Right here in Birmingham the housewives could demand of their retailers that they handle Alabama stuff exclusively If they did not they could find one that did. and it would not be long before all would | line up By all means let's start this canning plant We need it. and I am willing to do all in my power to help" WOULD HELP FRUIT GROWERS | J. H. McCary. president of the Horticul- | turai society, made short talk. telling how the enterprise would benefit the fruit l growers of the district and state. All fruit that ripened early and irregular
 could be used up by the cannery, thus
 stopping dead loss. From a fruit grow er's standpoint. he thought the plan would pay.
 | B. NJ Allen, one of Alabamas s largest | landowners and farmers made a short talk. He suggested that it might be well for the farmers, if they desired, to take stock in the new cannery. paying for it | as they brought in their stuff to the mar ket Or, if local capital was willing tc
 put up the money without the farmers
 subscribing, that would be all right. But
 he thought the tillers of the soil would