The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-08-08
For Good of
 the Community

THE trees of the forest will soon 'clap A their hands as in the days of the psalmist. All nature and her happy chil- dren will be joyously chanting Bringing in the Sheaves." We are headed to the harvest to the feast of that thanksgiving which we annually return to Him be- cause, when all is said and done, He has been good to us.
 Not thing on earth is the matter with Birmingham; not with the country. We have talked more pessimistically than we have felt. Never in the history of man. kind was there as much unemployment with as little real distress as in this dis trict during our lean months; as in the country.
 Back in the old-fashioned periods of panics we had soup houses and bread lines There were none of these this time. Where there was need it was provided for out of the abundance of those who had been prudent The best majority had been prudent. Savings accounts in Bir- mingham banks showed that.
 Birmingham was first to recover con- fidence Her householders of modest means have led the country in the build ing of homes this year. Other cities have spcnt more money on apartment houses but rooftrees have arisen in greatest number here. Why? Because the folk of Birmingham love Birmingham and wish their children to grow up here.
 And we have built schools and churches and are building more of them. We have opened new steel works when in other sections those which they had were down and out We have kept speeding up at these new plants while others have just begun to tag at our heels.
 The country made new low record in the production of pig iron, but we operat- ed stacks where many iron centers op- erated none at all, and had more of them going than some of the oldest iron mak- ing centers in the United States.
 Secretary Weeks offered Muscle Shoals to private enterprise. The greatest inde- pendent manufacturer and builder in America has met that offer. Others also want it. Why? Because it is the greatest water power property on earth. That is the kind of stuff we have in Alabama.
 While they have been exhorting the southern people to curtail their cotton acreage, Alabama has done it. From a yield of 1,750,000 bales few years ago, we are down to one of little over 4OO,- 900. Alabamians are not of the class that having ears, hear not.
 Last year we increased our by-product capacity by 40 per cent, leading the na- tion in that field of development. On the upturn in the iron and steel industry that will count. They have struck at Ala bama pig iron with prejudice, with disbe- lief and with obstinate resistance to it's merits, and finally with freight rates But so surely as we have climbed over the other obstacles, we shall rise above the high freights and J. w. McQueen's little pig" will continue to go to market.
 Like a good-natured giant, we have done nothing with our tremendous pur- chasing, power. That is over with We propose organizing that purchasing power so that the seller knows what it means to be located in its vicinage. Then the seller will come by the twos and threes and then by the dozens and set up his warehouses and his factories in this district
 w. H. Hassinger says the backward movement has stopped" None but.the