The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-07-01
By RICHARD r. JOHNSTON

ny OA'
 Caution of buyers in makiAA pur- chases for third quarter is coupled with prompt taking of what has been heretofore offered. Maximum production, so far as weather allows, continues on the backlog of orders. There are no stocks at producing plants and those of raw material at consuming plants grow beautifully less.
 Transportation is excellent. Goods move on time Business is very sane. There are no bonuses. All price advances have been stopped There have been some declines, but no marked ones There are no cancella- tions and some requests for anticipa- tion of shipments. Things are quite | sound, steady and stable all around.
 Steel mills are as near maximum as weather permits. New business is not equal to capacity, but the back log will last long time. Illinois Central wants 60,000 ton~ of rails for itself and the Central of Georgia. Those for the latter will be rolled at Ensley and portion of those for the former will also be rolled there.
 Japan took 5000 tons of Ensley rails and heavy tonnage of track accessories during the week via Mo- bile.
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 For Pacific Coast.
 Cuba took wire and Honolulu took pressure and sanitary pipe via Mo bile. Five Pacific ports divided 1,20j tons of pig iron, like amount of wire and nails and like amount of pres sure and sanitary pipe. The destina tions were Tacoma, Seattle, Oakland Los Angeles and San Francisco. Pen sacola is loading her second cargo of Birmingham iron and steel for Pacific coast.
 Warrior Schedule.
 Warrior barge service announces regular weekly m archandise cargo sailings from New Orleans on Fri days for Birmingham. Goods will be accepted for delivery in Florida. Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia via Blrmingport. Self-propellers will leave Mobile every three days for Birmingport bringing goods from At lantic coast, Pacific coast and i'm ports for same deliveries.
 The Coal Merger.
 Feature of the week was closing the deal for merger of the Empire. Bardeleben and Corona Coal com panies on the lines laid down by The Age-Herald last week. The new company is the DeBardelebn Coal corporation and is officered by Henry l .lpebdTuelebSH, pTeSlue1l, Milton Ii. Flies, vice president and operating manager; and G. M. Bowers, secre- tary and treasurer. Cassatt & Co, DrcXel & Co., and other eastern in- Vestment bankers are offering s4000,000 of 615 per cent bonds. Value of properties is estimated at $7,67S,000. The Merger has been in- corporated in Delaware and in Ala bama.
 Cuban Agency.
 Permission granted the Atlanta bank to establish an agency in Cuba was welcomed in Birmingham, which does a large business there and sees in the Atlanta agency a means of promoting business with Cuba. Cuba is now taking several cargoes Of sugar house machinery, including twenty cane carriers being made by the Birmingham Machine and Foun- dry company.
 Large Road Contracts.
 The state highway department le, contracts for $1 1,000,000 worth of roads last week, one of which will be road through St. Clair county, which will give Birmingham a connection with Gadsden via a modern highway. The highway department announces more than $S,000,000 worth of roads now being built in Alabama.
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 Record Cement Production.
 Cement makers say Alabama cement production this year will be 3.000,000 barrels, a 9 per cent in crease, and that the increase of con sumption in Alabama alone this year has been about 50 per cent. The increase of consumption in the ad- joining states, which the Alabama mills also serve. has also greatly in- creased. It will be third record cement year. The new Lehigh mill is to come in August.
 Birminehams auditorium contract has finally been let. Award was made to Day and Sachs at something over $400, coo for building alone. The Iron Market.
 The Birmingham iron market was steadier at close of the week than in the past ten days, during which a one-stack maker had been offering and selling iron at $25, while the others held and sold small lots for S27. The one-stacN maker is now understood to have sold capacity fog third quarter and to be out of it for that period. All other makers were already well filled for third quar- ter, some to absolute capacity. The makers are now in position to sit by and tWiddle thumbs for some time before worrying over price girations and that is what they seem to be doing. Sales at $27 were larger last week than in two preceding ones. one maker selling more than 1000 tons. There was a fourth quarter inquiry for 300 to l ,000 tons.
 Pressure pipe is strong, but prices have not advanced in many weeks and the base is $i9. Sanitary pipe is little slow still al S70 nominal. In sI .OG9, 900 Class.
 Birmingham landed in the $l,000,- 900 class of postal receipts cities at the close of this fiscal year, going to $l,0i3, 900. The increase last year is 172 per cent.
 Alabama Power company has been granted permits by the public serv- ice commission to go ahead both with the upper and the lower Tal- lassee dams, which it is doing. This makes three projects on the Talla- poosa under way, the biggest one be- ing tffat a t Cherokee Bluffs where