Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-08-26

fcSpyright> 1917, by Frank c. Carpenter}
BIRMINGHAM. Ala
AM writing this on the edge of the
Ill heights that overlook Birming-
II ham. The city lies in the valley.
u climbing the hills on both sides
n is a great expanse of green trees,
with wide streets cutting through the
buildings and winding about in every
airection. Out of it's center rise many
akyscrapers, one of which is twenty
sir stories high. Beyond the city and
above and below 1t are the smoke
sacks of the. foundries and rolling
rails that have given the place the
name of the Pittsburgh of the south
A look / can see nine furnaces that
are making pig iron. / can see dozen
great manufacturing institutions. and
can pick out a huge rolling mill which
has so many smokestacks that it looks
Hike a vast pipe organ rising out OF
f1H green Further over are the ouiid-
1ngs of the Tennessee Coal. Iron and
Railroad Company. another branch OF
the steel trust They cover. nineteen
6cres and form a great black spot in
the center of the valley.
As these. industrial activities are
pofnted out to me, the Birmingham en-
thusiast who stands by my side tells
ne that pig iron can be made cheaper
right here than anywhere else on the
globe 1 raise my eyebrows and ask
Why. He replies:
1T is because the good Lord intended
It SO. This hill upon which we are
standing is one mass of iron 1t is
1, 900 feet high. and the iron goes down
NO one knows how deep. 1t runs all
along this side of the valley. Those
Kills over there on the opposite side
Nre composed of good coking coal. and
Eetween them is great bed OF lime
Alone. Coal, limestone and iron are all
shat are needed for the making. of steel.
and the Lord has spread out here to
feed our people mighty sandwich
that Is unequaled anywhere else on the
gfobe. One slice of the sandwich is
this red iron ore. the other is the black
diamond known as coal. and the lime
stone is the white meat between. If
JON will look at the lay of the land
you will see how the three are Joined
sciated for the making of steel. We
can run the iron and coal by gravity
down the hills to the foot of the fur
naces. and the limestone lies just at
running for miles along the two sides
of this valley. and there are steel
making plants going up everywhere.
There are scores of furnaces. and
can stand on the cupola OF any of them
ana with a common Winchester rife
can shoot into a bed of COAL iron or
limestone without turning around"
Let us now stop and look little
more closely at the iron mountain on
which we are standing. 1t is part OF
the new residence section, and ii is
fast being covered with magnificent
homes 1t has houses which have cost
100000 to build. and they rest upon
foundations of iron The ore crops out
everywhere. 1t is mixed with the red o.
the roads. and some of the streets are
walled with brown chunks which coulc
be put into the furnace and if properly
treated be finally turned into armor PLATE
steel rails or watch springs. There is
s house just behind with a beautiful
garden about 1t. 1t belongs to stee
millionaire and it has cost n small for
s'tne- its foundations alone were NOR.
nSpensfve than many a comforta biz
home. They go down forty feet. Why
When the man was excavating h
sSruck an old iron mine. and he had Il
s build up from the bottom Another
house is built Of iron stone. and dow
( in the valley are some made of lime
stone. On the opposite side of thu
town are some that stand close TO tn
coal mines. and were il not that a Goa
house would burn to the ground. the,
might have residences made of blaci
diamonds
But / have but little space to writ
about Birmingham. except as a produc
of the iron and steel possibilities of tn
region in which it lies. The create
Birmingham takes in a valley which /
izyenty five miles in length and abou
ak miles in width. 1t hasa population
Of 100000. and is one of the live. up
to-date spots of our new Industrial en-
Dire. The city is founded on iron. 1t
\ sNlx
was built by an old iron man. who sol
his furnaces and mines for over tw
mtllions and invested the money in
pef cent bonds. A few months late
the bonds were called in. and he use
fhroe-fourths of this sum to build tn
h0ta1 The big skyscrapers are found
- ION iron Investments. the magnin
cent homes come chiefly from specula
kJons In iron and steel. and the rail
~ tonnage Of the city. which is-thre