The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-02-13

| oANOAo opAC dQNd1lSakGs
 It is possible that the stories oi
 ships crews and passengers being
 shelled in open boats were not due tC
 any vindictiveness on the part oi
 German submarine commanders, but
 resulted from poor shooting>at steam
 CTS they wanted to sink as quickly as
 possible.
 Alabama Marble a Great Asset
 l ID ULLETIN 1s-a preliminary re- @ port on the crystalline and other marbles of Alabama, by Will. liam F. Prouty of the state univer- sity, recently published by direction of Governor Henderson, with the i'm primatur of Eugene A. Smith, in charge of the geological survey-is of exceptional interest. Previous bulle- tins have been of very decided value and have drawn the attention of capitalists and architects to the fine quality of the product of Alabama quarries, but this handsome publica- | tion is the most informative of all. The bulletin embraces 200 pages
 and is profusely illustrated. There are colored charts of the marble beds 1 and photoplates of notable buildings in
 which Alabama marble is used. The first half of the bulletin is
 technical, the various marbles being
 described strictly in the terms of geology. The other half sets forth the commercial side of the marble indus try, with many concrete examples of structural demand.
 No state in the union produces such valuable marble for statuary use as Alabama, and the marble of few quarries in Europe is comparable to it. "The color of the white marble of Alabama is brilliant and full of life," is the testimony of G. Moretti, the sculptor. It has, he adds, creamy tone that gives lustrous transpar- ency, making it far more beautiful than the Italian. It has uniformity of texture "most satisfactory and pleasing" for sculpture.
 Several years ago such expressions were heard about Alabama marble, but the more that architects and sculptors know about our quarries from practical experience the greater is the value placed upon Alabama marble.
 The bulletin contains a long list of federal buildings and other imposing structures in which Alabama marble has been used, and one of the most artistic pictures printed is that of the new postoffice building at Mobile-a specimen of architecture of rare beauty. New York, Boston, Washing ton and scores of cities in the west have drawn upon Alabama for mar ble, and in the million-dollar federal building, which is to be reared in Bir- mingham, our native marble will be used inside and out.
 Alabama's geological survey de- partment is of distinct commercial as well as scientific value. It has been developed methodically under the able guidance of Dr. Smith,. No field has been neglected.
 The state is rich not only in coal, iron and graphite, but wonderfully rich in its quarries, which are being advertised to the world year by year. Bulletin No. IS deserves popular reading and that it will be in wide demand in building and sculptural cir- cles goes without saying. * *
 Wade a Mara of
 Broad Wisiom
 1T A. WADE, commissioner of agri- 9o culture and industries for Ala bama, is horticulturist as well as a practical farmer. A few years ago he won the silver cup for producing the greatest yield of long staple per acre. His record as farmer of con- structive ideas made his election easy in 1914, and the people made no mis- take in seating him in the agricultural l chair.
 One of the admirable qualities of Commissioner Wade is his breadth of view. The big crops are of first i'm portance, but the "kitchen garden" is also important. MT. Wade is the first