The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-12-25
By RICHARD F. JOHNSTON

The districts industrial holiday will be complete, but normal.
 For example. Tennessee company finishing mills. after a year of op- eration at never under 50 per cent. head of 66 2-3 per cent, shut down Saturday night for the week, but will resume the first weoG in January.
 That is the schedule of railroad shops, stove works and general run of foundry. Some shops will not re- sume until about the middle of the month, but the essential difference between this time this year and the same time last year Is that industry expects early resumption of busi- ness on turn of the year, while last year slowing down of operations was inevitable. Business comes to 1922 looking up; it came to 1921 looking down.
 Largest sales of pig Iron .n several weeks were made during the week. Three sales of 1000 tons each have been made and numerous small or ders were booked. The base is $17.
 On Monday of last week first ce ment was poured in the Mitchell dam on the Coosa. marking the beginning of the completion of that $S,00O.00O job. Some time in the spring of 1922 Alabama will be getting 120,000 horsepower of current there and the Alabama Power company, which al ready has a capacity of 210,000 horse- power, steam and water, and will nave a total of more than 300, 900 horsepower for use of the state and its people.
 Record Exports
 Port of Mobile reports that 1921 records in shipment of lumber for export were broken last week. and that exports of cotton to Japan and Europe have been heavier this fall and winter than last.
 Port of Mobile is breaking record this month in shipment of steel and iron products for export, and to Pa cific coast. Japan is taking 10,0O0 tons of rails, and steel products have gone to Porto Rico and Cuba, while cast iron pipe has gone to Honolulu.
 Item of interest to Birmingham was letting of the contract for the building of a water power plant on the Catawba river in North Carolina for the Southern Power company of Charlotte, N. c. This is to cost ss,000,- 900 and will generate S6,000 of horse power. Birmingham firms expect some of the awards for structural steel and other items entering into construction.
 Iron Outputs Increase
 Instead of waiting for the new year, the blast furnace of the Sloss Sheffield company at Sheffield. scheduled for resumption on January 1, will resume manufacture of iron some time next week. This will make the number of blast furnaces on the active list in Alabama IS, compared with five on July l. No Iron making section in the country has made a more pronounced recovery since the low ebb reached at turn of the half year.
 At Hundred Per Cent
 Radiator works continue to be be- hind In delivery heating systems and plants are at 100 per cent capacity. The American Radiator company has been the most continuous purchaser of pig iron this wall and winter, and has done it's full part in keeping fur naces going.
 During the week the rediscount rate was further reduced and county bonds of this and other states brought new high prices. Mobile sold county bonds at par for first time in years. Chattanooga sold bonds at par and premium, and Escambia county, Flor ida, sold a lot of $1,000,0O0 per cent bonds at par and premium to Bir- mingham bond house. These bond