The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-05-08
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORM A TON
Blu RE AU
FREDERIC J. HAsKIN. Director.
waAhington. d. c.
ALABAMA IRON.
waAhingt0n. d. C.

IHlS SSCllOh Win 10 "a SOoA, AO-A
ore and limestone. all gathered to-
gether for the making of steel, such
as exist no where else in the world.
Then the government came along and
canalized the Black Warrior river,
giving Birmingham water route to
the seaport of Mobile.
When the writer was in Birming-
ham three years ago, soon after the
completion of the Black Warrior prof.
ect, all Birmingham was talking about
what a fine thing it was, and how the
river could be equipped with self-pro-
PEELED steel barges. Everybody agreed
that this ought to be done, but no one
did it. One of the coal companies
built few wooden barges, and that
was all that happened until the war
Now the government has stepped in
and bestowed one more benevolence
upon this city of luck by contracting
for the self-propelled steel barges
which the local optimists had been
dreaming about as a boy dreams of
contracts were let, some people began
to say that these barges would really
be nothing but a boon to the coal
companies. But it has finally pene-
trated Birmingham cranial formation
quite generally that these steel barges
will carry not only coal, but also all
other kinds of heavy freight, includ
ing most of the goods consumed by
the ultimate consumer-that they will
reduce freight rates and the cost of
living. The government is now build
ing terminals to complete its gift to
the city, and terminals are also being
built at Mobile.
There is now great project on foot
to build ships at Mobile. All the parts
of the ships are to be fabricated at
Birmingham, sent down the river by
water, and put together at Mobile. In
70 n ~ n on a nd
the cheapness with which steel can
be made at Birmingham, this is said
to be one of the best shipbuilding
propositions in the world, and . one
which will be of great importance in
the coming competition of the United
States with other great powers in the
making and use of ships. The plant
at Mobile is already about completed.
Besides the governments gifts of a
navigabIe river and ships wherewith
to navigate it, that other great Ameri-
can good fairy, capital has also been
kind to Birmingham. 1t is said that
the biggest of the steel companies OPP
Grating here has invested no less than
a hundred million dollars in plants
during the past five years. Natural
ly. the city is full of money. Nearly
every one has more money than he is
used to having, from the local mag
mates down to the negro coal miners.
So far as the effect of unaccus-
toned wealth is concerned, it might be
| better to put the coal miners first.
They are making from Sc to $40 a
| day in a country where darkies have
| had a good many generations of train
| ing in living on less than that week.
| Furthermore, whisky has been re-
moved from the situation, or at least
rendered abnormally scarce and hard
to get. ..s.-.!r.
| friran villa o. has hlnSSnn1p6 ont in
/ one grand and continuous display of
dry goods selected with view to
| striking the eye.
The silk shirt is a pretty good ba-
! rometer of prosperity in these parts.
| The more numerous and brilliant the
| silk shirts worn by the colored popu-
| lation, the better is business. And just
| now the town is gay with silk shirts
| 1t is not unusual to see negro coal
miner buy five or six of them at $40
each, probably putting about all of
one weeks wages into the purchase.
| This sort of thing, of course, is done
| chiefly by bachelors. In the case of
married. individuals, the better half
usually wears the better half of the
| fine clothes.
There are about 10000 coal miners
in this section, and 10 per cent of
! them are negroes.
The wealth of Birrningham's natural
resources for the making of steel is
/
a long time. 1t is estimated that there
are 100000 900 tons of iron ore in the
| immediate vicinity of the city, most of
it included in the famous Red noun
tain, which lies partly within the city
| limits. The steel compa MES estima tie
that it will take them anywhere from
| one to four centuries to use up the
iron ore within easy reach.
This Birmingham ore lies almost on
the surface. so that in some places it
| is necessary merely to scrape off the
| earth, and extract the ore with a
| steam shovel, which is the cheapest
form of mining in the world.
In coal the district is even richer
| than it is in iron. 1t is estimated that
the Warrior coal field alone contains
about four billion tons of coal. and it
| is said to be very fine coking coal.
| There is more than enough of it to
| snelt all the iron ore in the district.
| Besides this, much coal will probably
be saved in the future by the devel-
| opment of water power.
In 1917 they mined about 100000
tons of coal here. With water trans
portation to the Gulf, they haye a
great advantage in all coal markets
to the south, including Central5 an6
South America and the Panama canal
trade.
The government work on the river
here is Being done by an organization
known as the Mississippi Warrior
Waterways, which is a branch of the
railroad administration, and as its
name suggests, is the same force thai
has done so much to quicken com
merce on the Mississippi river. The
government is to build not only the
steel barges and the terminals, bu
also rail connections between the bust
ness part of the city and the terminals
This is part of a government policy
to reduce freight rates and increase
the industrial efficiency of the country
by enabling our inland waterways Il
play their natural part in the trans
, portation system, which is to carr.
the heavy freight. This policy wa
revealed by Director Hines in a recen
talk here. when he expressed the opin
= ion that. even if the railroads ar
given back to private control, the in
land waterways should remain unde
government control at least for lon;
experimental period.