The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-08-03
REMOVED BY GOVERNMENT

RLuON ELL NTOf fERN On the Warrior this limitation has been removed by the efforts of the govern ment. so that it is now possible and profitable to naugurate regular ser vice, which has been installed by the United States railroad administration.
 That the Warrior had in earlier days reputation for low water periods, is cer- tain, for it IS of record that the river went dry long before the state did, and that when. 20 years or more ago, Sena- tor Bankhead, then congressman from the Sixth district of Alabama. intro duced the first bill for the improvement of the river, an amendment was offered to pave the bed of the stream for an improved highway.
 However. in this instance, the vets triumphed, and so there now is plentA of moisture the year round in the War rior, and the state of Alabama has one of the finest systems of slack water navigation in the country. extending from Mobile to above Cordova, a dis tance of 444 miles, and an elevation at low water level of PA feet above mean tide at Mobile, and the port of Bir- mingham is not an idle dream
 The backbone of American manufactur- ing industry, the handspring of our com lnercial prestige abroad-is iron and it is this iron gathered in the one-time wilderness and brought down 1000 miles by ship, that stands largely for the greatness of the United States in iron production today
 Andrew Carnegie once said, Gold is pre- cious. but iron is priceless; the wheels of progress may run without the gloom of yellow metal, but never without our ugly ore.''
 What is true of Pittsburg is also true of Birmingham. and together with the coal of the Warrior basin it is this fact vIyhi nh ho hrO 1Cbt oh< fI, ment of the river.
 Bacon said, There be three things which make a nation great and prosper ous: a fertile soil busy works and easy conveyance for men and commodt- ties from one place to another," and the principle stated holds good for cities.
 Whether Birmingham can make the most of her shops and keep them ever busy, must in large measure depend on the facilities she provides for, the "easy conveyance for men and commodities from one place to another, and the War rior river offers to Birmingham the best and cheapest route.
 Water transportation is particularly suitable for heavy commodities in bulk like coal, ore, iron, etc, as the compara- lively low value of such commodities make it almost imperative that they be carried by water if their producers are to successfully compete for a share O. the worlds trade.
 Water-borne commerce, like railroad traffic, is largely matter of terminals. and the city that neglects it's treminal facilities. either rail or water, will see both kinds of traffic pass it's doors to it's more wide-awake neighbors. It cannot be doubted that terminals fix the changes for the interchange of commodities and these charges fix total volumes and val ucs and make and unmake cities and To- calities.
 ' EXPENDITURES IN EUROPE
 Both at home and abroad, projects for the development of transportation facii- ties. both land and water. and particular ly of the terminals by which rapid and economical exchange of tonnage can be made. are under way. Both our cities and our nation are, however, far behind the rest of the world in such planning.
 Since 1874 France has spent seven hun dred and fifty million dollars for harborS and waterways, seven hundred million