Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-05-17
TRIBUTE TO Mr.. Seldom.
The Sloss Iron and Steel People Voice their
Regard for the Departed President in
Tender Words.


Resolutions of officers and employees of
the Sloss Iron and Steel company ON the
death of the president of the company,
Thomas Seldom
Believing that it is fitting and proper,
when death has entered our midst and
taken one who in life had our love and
esteem, that some expression should be
given of our appreciation of his charac-
ter and of our loss in his death, as a
tribute. feeble and inadequate though 1t
may be, to his memory; and knowing
that no one deserved such an expression
more than did our beloved president,
Thomas Seldom, therefore, be it resolved
by us, the officers and employees of the
Sloss Iron and Steel company, as the ear
nest and heartfelt expression of our love,
esteem and respect for him.
l. That in the intimate business rela-
lions necessarily existing between us so
long, we had full and everyday oppor-
tunities of judging the man, of studying
his character of weighing his motives,
and of ascertaining his worth; and that
in him this community had a patriotic
and public-spirited citizen, having at
heart its welfare and it's prosperity; that
this company had In him an able, honest,
wise and tireless officer, ever on the alert
for the advancement of Its interests,
and never weary in well-doing In its be-
kind, generous and most considerable
superior and a true and sympathetic
friend giving orders and directions with
a sweet and manly courtesy, and ever
ready to lend a willing hand to those in
distress.
While loyalty to his trust and honest
regard for duty caused him to demand
faithful service, the exercise of official
authority was without severity though
firm, and was guided by impartial JUS
fa.1 TnA
and tempered with tender mercy.
Ever easy of access, whether sought by
those who enjoyed power and influence,
or by the day laborer, by his unvarying
kindness and absolute impartlality he
gained our confidence and won our love;
his strict sense of honor and his unbend-
ing integrity commanded our respect,
and his courage, wisdom and frmness,
often tested in most trying situations, ex-
cited our warmest admiration.
Always prompt to recognize merit
harshness. even towards the unworthy,
was repulsive to his kind and generous
nature; and he was ever ready to re-
view judgme mt expressed, hoping to
find some circumstances excusing short
comings in his employees, however lowly
their position might be.
To him the most humble employe could
come with his petty, personal troubles,
and in him find a friend ever ready, even
in the press of important business, to
listen to his plant, and to give him aid
and counsel e5fs
His unfailing sympathy was as broad
as human suffering, and bore fruits in
ready and matchmaking generosity-a
generosity that Stunned notoriety, but
was as unaffected and quiet, as modest
and genuine as was the man himself.
Broad and liberal himself, he had little
natural patience with the narrow, the
little or the mean, and yet his spirit of
fairness caused him to curb his impa-
thence, and to seek for some palliating
cause or some countervailing charac-
teristic. itfacs
In a word, he was a true man, gifted
as few men are, and possessed of those
rare qualities of mind and heart that
makes his death an irreparable loss to
this city, his district and his state, and
cause all who were associated with him
in business, social or domestic life to
mourn.
In life we loved and respected him, and
to his memory when dead we freely give
this sincere and heartfelt tribute.
g. That we extend our deepest sympa-
thy to his family and associates, knowing
from an association with him in what
may be called his public life, what void
must be felt by them, whose association
with and relation to him have been so
much the more intimate.