Birmingham age-herald., 1895-06-06
WILL GO FREE OF CHARGE Alabama'S Exhibit at the Atlanta
 Exposition. TWAS LIKE PULLING TEETH But the Concession Was Finally 0btained-The Correspondence Leading Up to It. Secretary Thompsons Part.

transported to Atlanta free of charge | so for as the Southern is concerned,
 Us the following letter will show: Southern Railway, Birmingham, Ala, June 4
 Mr N F. Thompson. Secretary Com ] mercial Club Birmingham, Ala.-Dear | Sir; MT. w H. Baldwin, Jr, third vice. | president, requests that I notify you
 that arrangements will be made for the
 Alabama mineral exhibit at the Cotton | States and International exposition at i Atlanta to be transported free of charge.
 Instructions will of course, be issued
 regularly through the traffic department. ! Yours truly, J. N. ROSS, | Superintendent
 The above letter from Superintendent
 Ross Of the Southern Railway company l is the culmination of a long selge of work by Secretary Thompson to secure | recognition and aid from the railroads l for the Alabama board of managers and l the Alabama exhibit to the Atlanta ex- | position.
 The Age-H Herald has been familiar with 1 the many difficulties under which this work has been pushed. and some three
 weeks ago published the fact that the l Alabama board was not meeting with l the cooperation that they merited on the part of the railroads. which brought 1 forth vigorous protest from Vice-Pres- l ident Baldwin of the Southern, who was l then in Birmingham. As q matter of l fact. the delay on the part of the rail roads in giving any replies as to what l they would do left the board in such 1 state of uncertainty that the work of I raising funds throughout the state was l in a great degree suspended, as 1t was
 almost impossible to even hope that the enterprise could be a success without the cooperation of the railroads But Sec l retary Thompson was not to be discour- 1 aged or turned down. and never ceased | to work for what was twice refused by | Nice-P President Baldwin and Commis- | soner Stahlman, as the subjoined corre- 1 spondenee will show:
 | The effort was to class the Alabama | board as a simple committee of the At | lanta Exposition company which was | clearly unjust to Alabama. and really not in accord with the facts, as shown l by the letter of MT. Fielder of the expo 1 sition company and 1t took great deal | of work to get the matter strengthened | out The real trouble was due to the | agreement of the associated lines to pass l all exposition business through the | Southern Railway and Steamship asso- l citation. and when that association acted l they found themselves in very awk- ward predicament. Had the Alabama 1 board of managers announced to the l people of the state that they would
 have to abandon the enterprise for want | of railroad cooperation it is quite evil | dent that Alabama would have let the l whole exposition severely alone, and the l railroads would have lost in passenger traffic alone from Alabama many times l over what they were asked to do for the l Alabama board.
 This fact was finally set before the
 railroads and the exposition manage | ment very plainly and forcibly by Sec 1 retary Thompson, and it seems to have been effective. as President Collier says | in recent letter that the matter has l been taken out of the hands of the 1 Southern Railway and Steamship asso- l citation and each road left free to act as
 it pleeses. and the action of the South l ern as indicated in Superintendent
 Ross letter is the first response but the l roads will now be pretty certain to CO.,
 operate. and this trouble which has so | seriously delayed the board is practically 1 at an end
 The Correspondence.
 | Here is the correspondence referred to:
 The Southern
 l Railway and Steamship Association l "Office of the Commission Atlanta, Ga. May 1S 1895. 1 N. F. Thompson, Esq, Secretary AL l abama Board of Managers Cotton
 States and International Exposition 1 Committee, Birmingham. Ala Dear Sir: Your favor of the 10th in-
 stant received. In response thereto I
 beg to say that there has been no reduc- l ton made or authorized by the associa- 1 ton on material to be used in the con- | struction of buildings at the Cotton | States and International exposition
 Rates will be fixed on exhibits, doubtless l on the basis of full rates one way, to be
 returned free in all cases where exhibits
 have not changed ownership.
 1 With respect to free tranportations for 1 parties connected with the Cotton States l and International Exposition company l desire to say that the executive board appropriated a certain amount which i was to be issued by the commissioner l of the association upon application of l the president of the Cotton States and International exposition. I am issuing l such transportation in the form of trip | passes from day to day to such persons as present the orders of the president of the exposition company. Yours truly, E. B. STAHLMAN Commissioner. MT Felder's Letter.
 Cotton States
 and International Exposition Co.,, Atlanta, Ga, May 23, 1895. N F. Thompson, Secretary Alabama Board of Managers, Birmingham, Dear Sir: Your communication of the | 21st to President Collier has been re- ceived and in the absence of the presi- | dent beg to state that while we would | gladly aid you in securing transporta- | ton over Alabama lines, we are so cir cumstanced that we cannot bring any pressure to bear on the railways. The lines comprising the Southern Railway and Steamship association have agreed to furnish us transportation aggregating INSURES