The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-08-13
BIRMINGHAM EXPANSION ON VERY GREAT SCALE
Holland Writes Plans of Steel Corporation Here and the Far Sighted Policy Which Can Cause the Tremendous De-
 veopment of Coming Years in the South.
By HOLLAND

New York. August -(SpeciaL)-The managers of the United States Steel cor pcration are so planning for the future as to cause it to be said of them that they regard it as of the utmost importance that in time of war they should prepare for peace. In fact, upon the office wall of one of those who are influential in this organization appears in conspicuous type the legend, Tn time of war prepare for peace" The corporation did in the days of peace so thoroughly prepare for any emergency that they were able to meet extraordinary demands made upon them after the war began and are now pre- pared to meet whatever demands the gov ernment may make of the corporation for it's commodities. But they are also pre- pairing for peace.
 The announcement few weeks ago that the corporation is to construct one of the worlds largest shipbuilding plants upon recovered land contiguous to tidewater near Newark, N. J., was followed few days ago by official announcement that the corporation was about to establish, through the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad company, a shipbuilding plant near Mobile, Ala, and that this might involve the construction of a short raii- road line whereby convenient transporta- tion between Birmingham and Mobile could be secured.
 There is also excellent authority for reporting that somteime In the future the corporation may establish a ship building plant somewhere upon the Pa cifc coast, perhaps at Seattle. This plan, however is not yet matured and In fact has so far been only informally dis cussed by the managers of the corpora tion To invest many millions in ship L1,.i1 ,NIo +1 0Y.I- Ao- bile would necessarily imply that the cor poration contemplates shipbuilding upon a large scale after the war is ended, but if they do thus contemplate continued shipbuilding and especially the construc- tion of 1000-ton steel barges for canal use, they must also forecast continua- tion of the prosperity which is now every where in the United States after the war is ended. That they do look with oonfi- dence into the future is to be inferred from some things that have been casually or informally said by some who are in intimate relation to the corporation. Therefore, if the great forces of the steel industry of the United States, including those who are directing the independent steel and iron corporations, are confident that the industry will be carried on at top speed for some years after the war ends, it is inevitable that they should re- gard general industry of all kinds as certain to be maintained to the capacity of the industrial plants Production, there fore will continue upon a very great scale after the close of the war, unless the managers of the steel and iron i'm dustry have made serious mistake in their forecast.
 EXPANSION IN SOUTH
 Sometime in the midspring several of the managers of the United States Steel corporation visited the Birmingham dis trict in Alabama and made thorough study of the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad company plant. As an immediate result s11, ,0O0, 900 of fresh capital taken from the earnings of the Steel corporation presum- ably, were placed at the disposal of the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad com pany so that much needed expansion and improvement and possibly some harmoniz- ingo of the plants could be secured.
 But the reasons are excellent for surmising that this S11.000,000 repre- sents no more than a beginning of ex- penditures on the part of the Steel, corporation in the Birmingham dis trict, the aggregate of which may in