The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-11-13
NEW FABRICAT|NG
 PLANT WILL SOON BE COMPLETED Says End of War Will Not Interfere
 With Construction SHIPPING NOW
 THAN DURING WAR President Brittain's Trip to Birming- ham Delayed by Call to New
 York From Mobile

Work at the plant of the Birmingham Steel corporation, Fifth avenue and Thir- ty-fifth street is progressing very sat isfactorily, and according to schedule Materials and machinery are being re- ceived as needed and officials in charge express confidence in their ability to complete the construction and installa- tion work by February 1, the date ori- ginally fixed for operations to begin.
 President Henry Leon Britain was ex-
 pected here the latter part of the pres- ent week, but he wired from Mobile
 yesterday that urgent business called him
 to New York and that it would be im-
 possible for him to be here at this time.
 G. S. Bergendahl, engineer in charge,
 stated yesterday that the office build
 ing would be completed within a short
 time and that by December he expected to occupy it. This building Is a two- story brick structure 50x120 feet. The structural steel crane runway, 100
 x6OO feet, is practically finished, and the
 power house is almost completed, and s200, GOO worth of power machinery is on
 the ground and ready for installation The main structure, 3S0x440 feet, will be up in 10 days, and ready for the in- stallation of machinery.
 "We expect to carry out our programme and be ready to begin operations by Feb
 ruary l." said MT. Bergendahl.
 "The ending of the war will not in- terfere with the work on this plant in any way The present unit will be run | to full capacity -fabHcating shapes and
 sizes for the Mobile NShipbuilding com
 pany's plant at Mobile, of which MT.
 Britain is president, and ships will be
 needed after the war as badly as they
 have been while the United States and
 the principal nations of Europe were
 clutched in life and death struggle. MORE SHIPPING CARRIED ] There is less tonnage now than be- 1 fore the war began" said MT. Bergen
 dahl, "and more shipping to be carried It will be several years before the lost tonnage can be replaced and while this is being done all of the efficient ship
 building plants in the country will have all the work they can do. Secretary
 Baker said recently that the retrench-
 ment programme to follow the cessation of hostilities did not contemplate the
 discontinuance of shipbuilding. and that | the efficient shipyards would continue to I receive governmental support. The Mo | bile Shipbuilding plant is one of the most | modern and most efficient in the coun- | try. and there is no question about its continued operation.
 The by-product coke plants under con- struction by the SlosS- Sheffield Steel and Iron company and by the Birmingham | By Products company, undertaken at the l request of the government several months l ago, are we'll under way, and will be | pushed to completion Their products will be as much in demand after the war as during it.
 l Materials and machinery for both of ! these establishments are arriving with reasonable regularity. and the construc- | ton work is progressing as well as could | be expected Both of these plants will be ready to begin operations sometime next | summer.