The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1924-03-30
BRIGHT FUTURE
FACED BY CITY,
4 OTIS DECLARES
Real Estate Expert AM
alyzes Industrial Out
look For Birmingham
SAYS RESOURCES
MOST ABUNDANT
New Enterprises Immi-
nent Need For Develop
ment Of District

Birmingham has all of the qualities
for huge industrial center, and un-
limited possibilities for expansion along
this line, John NJ. P. Otis, special
agent in charge of manufacturing sites
for Jemison and Company declared Sat
urday in outlining a personal survey
of the district.
Raw material, labor, power, and
transportation here are unsurpassed by
any other city of the south, he point
ed out, and added that it was only
a matter of time before scores of other
big industries awaken to the vast pos
sibilities of the Birmingham district.
az have selected those four qualities"
OTIS continued, because they ARE
vital to industrial life. Let us take
them up in order and see how they
are answered by Birmingham.
"Raw materials-The Birmingham
district has practically avery essential
for successful manufacturing. 1t has
inexhaustable deposits Of iron ore, coal,
clay, stone, lumber, yellow. pine in un-
limited quantities-there are 125 species
of wood in the state. The Alabama
cotton crop for 1922 totalled 1884,, 000,-
five hundred pound bales.
"Power-Hydro-elec power at
the lowest rate Of any southern city,
coal, gas and water, unlimited.
"Labor-American workmen predomi-
nate. Mild climate and suitable living
quarters make contented laborers.
'Transportation-U Nine
trunk lines whose rails radiate to
every section of the country. Warrior
river makes Birmingham the gulf port
for rich inland territory.
Two Problems Met
FOR the manufacturer who considers
a location two problems naturally arise;
available sites and transportation. Biz
mingham can meet both.
There are many sites which coul&
well be used by factories at reasonable
prices, while the transportation ques-
ton Is solved by the network of
lines which are making Birmingham
the logical center for southern trade.
1.-THE Chamber of Commerce, in a re-
cent announcement stated that 563
various manufacturing enterprises are
located here. But there are many ar
ticles that could be profitably made
here which are not touched at all.
For example, as a mining and
farming center, Birmingham should
manufacture picks, shovels, farm inn
plements of all kinds including plows,
harrows and chains. But these are
NOT made here.
"As a truck and fruit center, the
city is sadly in need of canning fac
tories. This, you see, calls for sheet
metal works that could produce cans
and sheet metal containers of all
kinds.
Cotton Mills Needed
Birmingham, located in the cotton
belt, should have cotton mills and mills
using cotton in the manufacture OF
cloth, and more hosiery mills. The
cement industry which recently opened
here needs bags, both paper and cloth,
and there is no reason why paper mill,
as well as cotton, would not succeed
here.
"As an iron center we should pro-
duce more castings of all kinds. And
by all means a plow factory would be
successful in the territory.
Look In your office and you will
see many things that could be made
chair you sit in, the desk you use, the
steel cabinets, safe, all could be pro-
duced cheaply.
Look around your home and most
OF the articles you find there are manu-
featured away. Nearly everything in
sight except the broom and mop is made
outside of Birmingham and there is no
good cause for it.
Climate Is Fine
with these iron and wood resources
close by there is no evident explana-
ton why Birmingham should not
make its own baby carriages, wagons.
trucks, wheel barrows and automobiles.
There are citizens here who have
an inventive turn of mind and some
Of whom are manufacturing in a small
way. They should be encouraged.
Some large industries have received
meagre beginnings.
Birmingham welcomes the large and
small industries. 1t can furnish more
trackage to accommodate industry than
any other southern city, more raw MAJ
terial to be made into finished products.
more power to run machinery. than
any other southern city.
Last, but not least, want to saI
something about the climate. The
climatic Conditions are most advantage.
GUS for al kinds of manufacturers.
There is never any severely hot nor
severely cold weather. FRO tempera.
ture are recorded her ono in half
cntury, and seldom does the thermom,
eter rise above 80 degrees.