The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-06-24
For Good of
 the Community

tionate surname applied to corporate concern as though it may have played fair with it's patrons
 We'll, we began operations at our new car plant the other day. That superb bid- der for work had asked for work. It had cost lot of money and it wanted to re- coup some of the outlay in form of orders for cars.
 Who gave the first order? The Ellen N." It ordered 600 standard freight cars 300 box cars for general purposes and 300 coke cars that remain in the dis trict and serve this district exclusively. The order was placed long before the plant was ready.
 That was the only outside order on books when the plant started The other order was from the Steel Corporation. The "Ellen NJ order will require 40 days of car plant operation to complete Forty days will lead us to the turn of the tide. Mighty handy for the unemployed
 Back wonder in the 'snineties" the strug- gling Tennessee company wanted to build a steel mill. James Bowron and asso- ciates worked hard to get it. The "Ellen N was the first to volunteer it's aid. The steel mill at Ensley that made first Ala Ddmd SUool on q COHlIloTCIdl DdSlS III lO00 was part child of the Ellen N.
 Who before that time fostered the struggling coal and iron industry of the district? Who laid sidetracks to virgin mines and colleries and placed millions in roadbed and equipment before there was any business and before Alabama coal and iron had proven themselves? The 'Ellen NJ did that
 Old man Milton H. Smith did not talk much, fought shy of personal publicity. His picture was the one that newspaper men could not lay hands on. But he built spur tracks to mines and furnaces and helped put the baby industry on it's feet. Not only did the Ellen N" build tracks to mines and furnaces, but it made special low rates for the assemblage of raw ma terial at the furnaces and later, at steel mills. This enabled the former boasted low cost of iron manufacture in the south.
 Then the Ellen N made low rates on coal and iron to the coast and to other points of the compass. Its work was thus completed. It laid the tracks to raw ma- terial works, brought the raw material to finishing mills at low cost and saw that the finished product got away at low freight rate.
 Ana IL pTOSpcIcu. lC lo SOHlS " ioouS stock dividend of 53,OOO,O 900 to its stockholders at an early date. The direc- tors have declared surplus of S82, ,OO0,- 900. The stockholders have no objection to this proof of good management and it's fruits emanating from good management and finding ultimate form in the prosper ity of the south.
 Were one to ask himself in all candor and without prejudice who has done most for the Birmingham district, it would be difficult to get away from the "Ellen N" In making up the record of life time one should take it all in. The "Ellen NJ was first on the scene and foremost among the corporate builders of the district.
 Let's get this corporate business straight and keep it so. Men cannot achieve great things without combina- tion of forces. One mans money cannot build and operate railroad. No one man is big enough to finance and conduct the various enterprises of the Steel Corpora ton. Labor organizes itself in huge com binations
 The farmers are beginning to get there by com- bining their resources. They are purchasing and selling through corporate and cooperating ,.. n+hod IF S thn frst rna davlipht that has