The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-11-14

ham Steel corporation, which will tao- ricate steel shapes and sizes for steel | ships and the Birmingham By-Prod- ucts company. which will operate by- | product coke ovens, and its products will be in just as great demand after the war as at any time since hos- tilities began.
 FEW CHANGES NECESSARY That Birmingham is fortunate in this respect is the consensus of opinion of q number of industrial operators inter- viewed yesterday While practically all of the local industrial concerns have been working either directly or indirectly on war business very few changes or alterations in their machip- cry or plants had to be made aud they can now be turned into commer- eial work without delay.
 Birmingham industries are in good shape to return to pre-war worKy' said President J, W. Mcqueen of the Sloss-Sheffeld Steel and Iron company. Their products have been diverted that made guns, munitions or materials and supplies for the war and navy de- partments, but the character of their products has undergone very little change. Very few of the plants have had to make changes in their ma chinery or other equipment and, there fore, there will be no necessity of con- verting them. This puts Birmingham in very fortunate position at the close of the war as there will be no 1elay, no cessation or operations, while changing from war work to ordinary comm ercial business"
 A number of business men inter- viewed expressed the opinion that there would be q revival, not sudden, bu. uraniIa1 in o1l ip nd hot xxv;tt ;s, very short time, every industrial es. tablishment in the Birmingham district Will be loaded up with orders for mato- rials and supplies for building and general commercial and industrial op- erationS BUILDING OPERATIONS A. B. Tanner secretary of the Jemison Real Estate and Insurance company, stated that in his opinion, building op- erations would be resumed as soon as materials are released by the war indus tries board for that purpose During the last eight or 10 months there have been no new buildings constructed in Bir- naingham, except in two or three in- stances where new plants for the manu- facture of war necessities were author ized.
 There is a scarcity of buildings in Birmingham" said MT. Tanner. "There are no vacant residences and the demand for them is increasing daily. Materials and labor wages may be high but we must have many new houses and some. body is going to build them. We can't wait for lower prices"
 Road and street construction which was stopped last spring by the war in- dustries board because all available ma terial and all labor were needed in war preparations, may be resumed at an early date, or at least as soon as the restrictions are raised to permit the use of materials for that purpose.
 Local pig iron furnaces working on basic iron to fill the English contract accepted by the United States last sum- mer have made partial deliveries, but thousands of tons are yet to be made and shipped. In addition to this they may be called on to make other thousands of tons for the English government which the United States has been asked to supply in the way of replacement or iron borrowed from England a year ago, when the American army first began moving to France. Only few days ago the English government made inquiries of Washington as to the possibility of securing 7o0,000 tons of pig iron in the United States needed there for war work and for reconstruction after the war. Furnace companies in the Birmingham district capable or making the KlnI or iron needed by England have been sounded with the view of ascertaining what, if any. portion of this they can supply. As there are very few furnaces here equipped for making basic iron-the kind wanted by England-it is not likely that much of the order, if accepted by the United States, will come to this dis trict.
 BLAST FURNACES