The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-09-08
For Good of
 the Community How the Basic Keeps Building Up In the Bir mingham District and Alabama
 Sure Foun dations

busy in their record. There are spots on the sun. The moon has it's crevasses. Nothing in the scheme of the universe is without contrast, but the basic laws move on majestically and swing the system musicaiy through the limit less eXpanse.
 He who keeps his eye on the fundamental, will not worry over the spots. The sun shines in spite of it's spots The moons crevasses but add that variety which the wisest of men said was the spice of life. That small boy most en- joys the circus who recovers from a stone bruise in time to attend
 Mobile has her oil terminal That is nothing more than two great steel tanks holding each 85, 900 barrels of oil for ships that use oil as fuel to drive their machinery But it means more ships putting in at Mobile; more ships to carry Alabama products to the four corners.
 The oil tanks are hardby the coal terminals being built. When they are completed Mobile, Alabama's port, will be in position to bunker either coal or oil burning ships adequately The Walker county mines will keep the coal bins filled with Alabama coal
 In June we finished the car works at Fair field. They went into action at the height of the depression, but they have operated daily since and speeded up daily. They are speed ing up still. The tie-plate mill at Fairfield, an- other very busy plant, is it's companion in the speeding up process.
 The car works are fundamental They will keep the mills that make shapes for ships busy when the call for ship steel does not Thus was lsynchronized the making of standard steel cars and standard steel ocean freighters out of Ala bama material
 The Wofford Oil company has evolved into a $2000,000 concern. It is an essentially Bir- mingham concern, starting here on a shoe string in 1903 and finally extending it's ten acles into Georgia and Tennessee It grew be- cause it did something that was basic.
 The Wofford company takes the benzol made at the by-product plants of the district and blends it with petroleum products in the manufacture of high-grade motor fuel This is basic because it is home concern using al home product produced by one of the districts basic industries.
 The last of the fourteen ships built for the lsthmian Steamship company at Mobile of Br- Immgham steel IS to be launched Saturday. That also is pivotal, fundamental, reaching down to the very vitals of the district. With these four teen vessels the Isthmian company has fleet of thirty-five 10,000-ton freighters to carry Br- mingham steel, lumber, cotton and other Ala bama products everywhere.
 E The Isthmian company is an auxiliary of the Steel Corporation and so is the Tennessee com Ipany. These thirty-five ships are in the family. They are friendly to Alabama and know it. They are in the harbors of Mobile and New Or leans whenever we need them.
 Placing the coal bins at Cordova is basic and putting Demopolis on the river is basic Things like that are just as basic in the way of transpor- tation and distribution of products as blast furnaces and steel mills are in stabilizing raw materials.
 Deep down in the heart of Red mountain and on the other side of the valley is the bedrock of lall Every wholesale and retail business in Rir-