The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-05-22
BIRMINGHAM CITY BUILT OF, AND IS T0LOAD, ALABAMA
 STEEL PRODUCTS
Capt. Murphy In An Inland City First Time in Life, Says Steamer, Worth
 $2,000,O00, Is Unique
 in Maritime Annals

Capt John Murphy, one of those "who go down to the sea in ships," spent yesterday in Birmingham.
 He is a middle-aged man, but yes- terday was the first day of his life that had ever been spent in an inland town. And there was a particular rea- son for his being in Birmingham.
 For Captain Murphy is the com mander of the Birmingham City, which will soon sail from Mobile on it's maiden voyage to the outside world, so that he is destined to carry Bir- mingham's name to the four corners of the earth.
 ''If I am to carry Birmingham S name across the seas and to the fur thermost parts of the earth.' said Cap tain Murphy, whose home is in Brook lyn, and who has now been ashore six weeks, I thought it proper that l know omething about the city at first hand.
 You are a wonderful city, but as looked out of the Tutwiler window this morning I longed for the sight of a mast. It would have been the most glorious sight to me.
 DO you III HdLi IcdllHC what this ship, the Birmingham City, means There is no other state in the union that can build a ship out of its own steel and load it with it's own products exclusively and send 1t forth on the ocean. It is a 10,000-ton ves- sel and there Is no finer cargo vessel afloat today. On it's maiden voyage it will carry S,40o tons of Alabama steel products to Yokohama by way of l. axxya ia n islands. The journey will require forty-five days and it will be neces- sary to steam at nine knots an hour to do that. The round trip will con- sume practically six months.
 eve will take her out in the gulf for a trial trip Monday. That will consume about twelve hours. All we want is about four hours in the gulf to see just what she can do. Tuesday we will begin taking in cargo and will probably be ready to sail about June 15.
 They are doing a wonderful work down at Mobile under the able direc- tion of Mir. c. J. Barr, the assistant to the president, and are building ves- sells which will advertise Alabama all over the world.
 ."rhe Birmingham City, the finest afloat, was built at point which two
  who at that time knew no more about a ship than I do about being bishop, and that is precious little. But they know their job now. Nobody can ex- eel them.
 .@roday went out to Fairfield and saw them rolling out the steel plates for these ships. 1 saw them punching the riyet holes. I saw all the ponder ous and wonderful machinery and buildings and it is inspiring even to a man whose greatest joy in llfe IS being on the ocean.
 "The Birmingham City, as 1t stands, is worth between $1,750,000 ana $z'- oO0. 900. When she gets her S,4OO- ton cargo aboard you can have some luea of the value of the whole as she sails out from Mobile bay. It will be ths largest cargo that ever left the port of Mobile. She is a better ship than IS being built on the northern coast ana vou of Birmingham ought to take great pride in the fact that she was made from steel fashioned from the ores of your own hills and carries cargo Of steel that comes from the same place.
 ..The Birmingham people nave met today have treated me royalty ana I assure you I go away with very ue- lightful impressions of the city wlth whose name I am to be so closely as sociated in future"
 The Birmingham City was built at the cbickasaw plant ana will sail under the direction of the lsthmlan steam = shin Lines. which is subsidiary or the United States Steel Corporation the parent company of the Ala pama concerns which built the vessel ana sunnlied the material.