The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-12
ALARAMA,S OPPORTUNITY

In thlS new era ot actlvlty, every uay is Alabama Day in this state. Neverthe- less, it is fitting that a special day is devoted to its history, it's present situ- ation and its destiny. No history, how ever glorious, is of significance, unless it inspires each succeeding generation to higher levels of thinking and of achieve ment. That inspiration depends more upon the quality of the generations than upon the history. Indeed, there have been generations that have been content to rest upon the laur'els of the past rather than to press on to new and worthy activities which in turn shall become his tory. Because of such content, nations have declined and races once powerful have been merged and lost in the hordes of conquerors.
 Fortunate is the generation now on the threshold of maturity. It finds itself urged on by a conspicuous record ot the past and invited forward by most allur- ing vista of prospective achievement. In no state is this more true than in Ala bama. Life is fuller, more abundant and less forbidding than ever before, and yet it is no less strenuous. The very expec- tation of life has been heightened, and men are discovering the secret of post poning old age and decline to later and later date. This is by no necromancy nor supernatural agencies, such as 1t was once thought must be invoked in order to extend mans stay on earth. It IS by discovering and observing the laws of right living, applying them not only to personal habits, but to community habits and to community conditions. Thus now adays more is expected of the average man, because he lives and enjoys his strength longer than formerly, and be- cause he has the experience of the past and the enlightenment of the present to expedite his tasks.
 The opportunities that today appear so unlimited have always existed. They are changed only in their relative form, tor man is now able to measure up to them more completely than ever before. Ala bama's coal, iron, rock, marble, water courses, water power, farmlands and the like have always existed; but it is only of recent years that man has entered into more complete realization of their eX- tent, content and manifold uses. Former Ily coal was coal, merely source of heat. Now coal is understood as a chemical combination of multiplex variety. Its heating value is now perhaps the least ln- portant of its constituents, although its energy, in the form of gas and electricity as we'll as coke, is still conserved and utilized after the other ingredients have been recovered. In similar manner ton of ore, a ton of cement rock, ton ot phosphate rock, yields itself more com pletely to the service and profit of man. kind than ever before.
 Likewise for agriculture a new day Is dawning, when every acre will be made to do the work of five acres of yesterday and do it better. This is because ot the growing enlightenment of men who work the land. That super-potentiality of the soil has always existed, but man has just begun to find out about it. And even as our present advance over the methods ot Il 1Ormer years appears 1SiiA'Ah he'DAN' So ~ may be believed is our achievement of today to be eclipsed by the achievements of the coming generation.
 In other words, the extensive develop ment of earth's territory has slowed down and the intensive development of re- sources and raw materials has taken its place alongside. It has been discovered that the world of minutiae is fuller richer and more marvellous than the world of magnitude ever was, even to primitive man, standing on that dim and distant threshold of our most remote conscious period. In no state does this new and more efficient activity find more mag nificent opportunity than in Alabama which has always led the states alpha betically and which is now aspiring to1 more real and fundamental leadership This state will be whatever its people make it. The opportunity exists in ar abundance greater than we will ever realize or make use of, for in our present state of knowledge nature seems to grow more illimitable the more deeply we non atrate her secrets.