The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-02-25
Powerful Array of Facts and Figures Prove Ad-
 vantages of This City EVERY POSSIBLE BITOF INFORMATION IS GIVEN Expert Data Presented to Prove That Birmingham
 Steel Is Suitable for
 Making Plate
By WINNIE FIREMAN

With testimony in hand to show that Birmingham is the logical location for the $11, 100000 armor plate plant; that in no other place in the country are there such facilities for the manu- fracture and transportation of steel as in Birmingham, and that in no other place in the country would the same protection be afforded in case of war, the armor plant board, composed of Rear Admiral F. F. Fletcher, Commander F. H. Clark and Civil Engineer R. E. Baken- hus, has under consideration the location of the govern ment plant in Birmingham.
 Not only did the witnesses appear ing before the board yesterday submit testimony to break down every con tention that Birmingham steel is not good for making the highest grade armor plate because of the high phosphorus, but they submitted rec trds of facts i,nd figures to show that with the raw material on hand, the Tower available in the district and excellent labor conditions Birming ham could produce armor plate at much lower figure than any pro- tected city in the country.
 While the members of the board
 would not commit themselves to the possibilities of Birmingham
 for the location of the plant, they
 were enthusiastic over Birming
 hams physical condition, her fn-
 dustriaI development and her resi-
 dcnce section.
 "The members of the board do < not feel at liberty to make any
 statement in regard to Birming-
 hams possibilities,'' said Com
 mander- F.. H. Clark. "Wc have
 never done so, and we, of course,
 cannot do so in this case.
 Rear Admiral F.. F. Fletcher. president of the board. who vis- fted Birmingham 20 years ago. ex-
 pressed surprise and admiration
 for the wonderful strides made in
 Birmingham during that time.
 .Tt is revelation to me- he
 said.
 SUBMITTED COMPLETE DATA
 Chairman Morris w. Bush of the local armor plate plant committee, IS pleased with the testimony of the various witnesses who appeared before the board and feels that everything has been done that could be done to show Birminghams advantages to the board.
 q hope that we made a favorable impression," said MT. Bush. "We have submitted complete data and I only hope that it will convince the board that Birmingham is the logical loca- ton TOT the planl.
 The witnesses examined about a dozen in number, answered positively and conclusively every question put to them by Chairman Bush, who conduct ed the hearing. That the members of the board deemed the information very complete was evidenced when after each witness had been examined they were called upon to question them.
 We have nothing further to ask, y was their invariable answer. "The in formation given is most complete"
 THE PRICE OF COAL
 Toward the end of the hearing
 Commander Clark did ask about
 the price of coal in Birmingham,
 stating that it was matter of record. according to the geological
 survey, that coal in this district
 was higher than In other places.
 In answer to this question Pres
 ident James Mitchell of the Ala
 bama Power company and TheO
 Swan of the same company sub
 mitted data gathered from offi-
 claI records to show that coal in
 other fields of the same quality
 as Birmingham coal is higher than
 in this district; and that, judged from viewpoint of producing
 power, Birmingham coal was much cheaper. As-
 MT. Mitchell declared that in
 Virginia and other sections the
 coal is not washed and conse-
 quently much slate is sold per
 tContinued on Page Eleven) ' IT