Mr. Bambara, president of the Agricultural Section, gave a report of the tour of investigation made by a committee composed of Messrs. Bambara, Chiappe, Di Giorgio and Ferrari. The tour was made at the request of the Muscle Shoals Service Corporation for the purpose of investigating farm lands with the idea of colonization by Italians.

On its tour the committee visited Tuscumia, in Colbert County, Alabama. This is an old town with a population of about 6,500 located seven miles south of Muscle Shoals. Within a radius of forty miles from Muscle Shoals there is an abundance of wines which produce the following minerals:

bauxite clay, bauxite & hydrated alumina), bituminous lime stone, (lime rock asphalt), cement material, coal, gravel, kaoline, limonite (brown iron ore), tripoli, (or rotten stone with pulverized silica).

Within this territory the operation of these mines has begun so that the colonization of this territory, despite the natural irrigation, the temperate climate and fertile soil, is not profitable, also taking into consideration the fact that the land would have to be cleared of timber before being put under cultivation.

In Sheffield there is a district which could be used for farming, especially in the Tennessee River Valley. These lands, at present, are planted in cotton but will produce corn, buckwheat, potatoes, vegetables, and, possibly, grapes. However, the prices for land are unreasonably high. More than one thousand acres are cleared of timber and ready for cultivation, but these acres are sub-divided into house-lots, and not tracts large enough to make their cultivation profitable.

The Committee after a thorough investigation does not recommend the purchase of this land for farming. As a courteous gesture to Mr. Phinn, who was our host on the tour, we give our reasons for our decision.

During our visit to the Chamber of Commerce of Tuscumia and Sheffield, we formed the impression that Mr. Phinn and his associates were mainly interested in selling building lots at enormous prices, with only a promise of the future industrial development of that region.

Muscle Shoals, undoubtedly, will have a great future when the Government, or Henry Ford builds factories that will employ thousands of men. It was pointed out to us that the value of these lots will increase and thus give the owner a chance to make a profit. Mr. Bambara and Chevalier Chiappe were told that 40,000 lots were sold by various real estate firms, some as far as ten miles from Muscle Shoals.

With Mr. Phinn as our escort we visited the Government nitrate and explosives factories. We then made a tour of the mining camps. Our investigation, especially, of Iron Mine brought out the fact mine laborers are paid $2 a day and dinky engine operators $2.40 a day, a difference of $.40 between skilled and unskilled labor. At present the mines are not being worked very much, therefore, the need for labor is nil.

When these mines are really worked to capacity there will be a need for thousands of workers and these towns will undergo a marvelous development. In consequence, the Committee is of the opinion that Colbert County is assured of a great industrial future and that this land will, in time, be worth more than the original price. However, at present, the lots cost more than their actual worth. Consequently the Committee is advising against the purchase of these lands for farming and gives the Council the task of informing Mr. Phinn of its decision.

Chicago, June 11, 1926

(Signed) Eunico Bambara; Barto Chiappe;

Fiorre Di Giorgio; Antonio Ferrari.