ALABAMA.
Committee on Birmingham district exhibit: Fred M. Jackson, president; J.
B. Gibson, secretary; J.A. MacKnight, special representative; Rufus N.
Rhodes, Culpepper Exum, F.H. Dixon, George H. Clark.
The legislature of Alabama failed to provide any funds for an exhibit of the resources of that State. A commission which had been appointed by the governor to attend to the business for the State was powerless to act and gave up the undertaking. In consequence of this failure the Commercial Club of Birmingham decided, when it was almost too late to arrange for any kind of an exhibit, to make a display of the State's mineral resources by means of a fund raised by popular subscription. The actual amount of money raised was approximately $20,000.
After considerable discussion the Commercial Club decided, upon a suggestion made by J.A. Mac Knight, to build a colossal statue of Vulcan, god of fire and metals, in iron. F.M. Jackson, president of the club, and J.B. Gibson, secretary, took a deep interest in the matter, and as a result the work was commenced in October, 1903. Great difficulty was met with in securing the services of a competent sculptor who was willing to build the model for such a statue, which was to be of a height of at least 50 feet. Mr. Mac Knight was appointed special representative of the club to promote this work and finally secured the services of Mr. G. Moretti, a sculptor residing in New York, who undertook to perform the task and to complete it in time for the exposition.
The model of this colossal statue of Vulcan was first built in clay at Passaic, N.J., where Mr. Moretti carried on the work under adverse circumstances and through the zero weather of the winter of 1903-4. It was then cast in plaster of Paris in sections, which were braced and stayed with scantling on the inside of the shell, to be used as patterns in the foundry. The entire model was shipped to Birmingham, Ala., on seven flat cars, its bulk rendering it impossible to put it in box cars. As soon as it reached Birmingham the work of casting the figure in iron was begun in the foundry of the Birmingham Steel and Iron Company.
Mr. Moretti went to Birmingham to keep the patterns in condition during the process of casting, and it was well that he did so, because the extreme cold had frozen the plaster casts before they were dry, rendering them so brittle that many of them were broken in handling, and the head itself was crumbled into a hundred pieces and had to be entirely remodeled.
Iron manufacturers from all parts of the world have said in regard to this statue that it was the most remarkable piece of iron casting they had ever seen. An agent of the Japanese Government was present at Passaic to watch the building of the model, and followed the work to Birmingham to make notes on the methods of casting it in iron. He also went to St. Louis and remained during its erection in the Mines Palace, and made an extended report to his Government on the subject.
The statue was successfully completed and set up in the exposition within three weeks after the day of opening. At the close of the exposition it was taken down and removed to Birmingham, where it is to be set up in a public park. Its height is 56 feet, and its weight a little more than 60 tons. The head was cast in one piece and weighed over 17,000 pounds. There were 20 casts in all, including the anvil and anvil block. The statue, which was intended to show forth the colossal iron deposits of Alabama, representing primitive man at the time he discovered the method of hardening iron into steel. Vulcan held aloft in his right hand the finished spearhead as a result of his knowledge and handicraft. It is the largest cast statue in the world, and it could not be duplicated for less than $40,000.
The space occupied by the exhibit collected and installed by the Commercial Club was 62 by 32 feet on the south side of the Mines Building, and contained approximately 2,000 square feet. The statue of Vulcan stood in the center of one side of the space facing the center of the Mines Palace. It was placed on a platform built upon nine heavy piles, which were driven to bedrock. The figure was perfectly poised when set up, but as an additional safeguard anchor bars were run down through the legs and through a heavy timber, which was bolted to the piles. These passed through plates on the inside of the timber and were screwed up tight. The rest of the space was occupied by a complete exhibit of raw mineral products from all parts of Alabama and especially iron and coal from the Birmingham district. The raw materials embraced the following: Brown hematite iron ore, soft red ore, hard red ore, bituminous coals, building stone, gray iron, limestone, dolomite, kaolin, clays, cement rocks, gold ores, copper ore, lignite, and glass sand, and a long list of other minerals which have not been developed. The products of coal and iron were coke and pig iron. The finished products were as follows: Open-hearth steel rails, bar and angle iron, car wheels, bar steel, steel plate, sewer pipe, and vitrified brick. This entire exhibit was displayed in an attractive manner and was the object of a great deal of comment by visitors to the exposition and by newspapers throughout the country and Europe.
A display of Alabama marble was made in the form of a head of Christ, which was carved by Moretti, while he was at work on the Vulcan statue at Birmingham. This marble is of exceedingly fineness and whiteness. Moretti gave it as his opinion that this marble is equal to the best Carara or Parian marbles, and it is believed that the making of this exhibit will lead to the development of the marble deposits of Alabama, which are believed to be very extensive and of superior quality. The raw materials displayed offer to capital and enterprise a number of splendid opportunities. The glass sands are probably destined to place Alabama in the front rank in glass making in the future, while the following resources were displayed in such abundance and were of such excellent quality as to offer the greatest inducements to capital and skill: