The age-herald., 1898-03-06
MATT MINOR
 Aaa.-----IN MOBILE

earth than those who live Tn Mobile With many others l accompanied MT Bryan on his trip from Birmingham to Mobile last Thursday. When the train reached the Gulf City it was raining In torrents. The Birmingham delegation numbering per- haps twenty-five or thirty people were well cared for Under the care and cus- tody of Col. Sid Lyon, the head of the Mobile reception committee. every visitor was accorded carriage in going from the railway station to the Battle house. Noth- ing was left undone that would contrib ute to the comfort or pleasure of the vis- itors. It seemed that every man in the whole town had locked up his place of business and devoted the remaining part of the day to extending hospitality to those who were strangers in the town.
 I have been attending political meetings nearly all my life, and have heard MT. Bryan make a great many speeches. did not hear him make his famous speech at Chicago but l doubt if he ever made a better one than the one he made at Mo- bile. It was a superb audience, hand somely decorated building and every inch of available space taken. There were in the audience great many ladies. In ldCl dpOub tll0 uTSl lOU StdlS HcdttT lno stage were exclusively taken by ladies, while in the boxes and fringed around the galleries were ladies by the hundreds. and some of them the most beautiful in the world. Mir. Bryan spoke for two hours and thirty-five minutes, and at no time during the entire speech was there so much as even a moment when the strict est attention was not given the distin- guished speaker.
 MT. Bryan was-very handsomely intro- duced by former minister to Spain during MT. Clevelands last administration-M Hanns Taylor. MT. Taylor's speech was happy one and not too long, making about column in the newspapers. After the speech a banquet was given to MT. Bryan and a number of invited guests at the Battle house, made up very largely from those who had accompanied MT. Bryan from Birmingham and Montgom- cry and visitors from other parts of the state and also of the Pensacola commit tee which came to Mobile to escort MT. Bryan to that city. Upon the whole the Mobile meeting a great success. Though the night was a rainy one, there were thousands of people unable to gain access to the theater.
 Mobile has made great strides in the world of progress within the past ten years. I had not been in that beautiful little city for almost that length of time, and the progress that has been made Is, in fact, remarkable. The harbor was full of ships of all kinds and sizes. Many of them were vessels sailing to foreign ports, .s1z commerce extend from Mobile to all the seaports of the world. The modern school of architecture has very largely taken pos session of the place. With a drive through Government street, the principal residence street of the place, can be seen hundreds of beautiful new residences that have been constructed within the last few years. The old-fashioned houses have been razed, and upon their sites beautiful modern palaces have been erected.
 
 The residence part of Mobile reminds one of a large park. The perfume of flowers is in evidence everywhere. There was a time when Mobile had very bad street railway system. That time is past. The Mobile mule has been, superseded by the lightning-like electric car. Mobile was a little late in taking on these modern airs, but the development that has been made since 1890 places it in the front rank of progressive and modern cities. Strange as it may seem. Mobile has never had a system of sewerage. One is being built now, and within short time it will be completed. There is no reason why this should not have been done many, many years ago. But that it is being done dem- onstrates the fact that the Gulf City Is going to keep in line with it's neighbors. In 1860 Mobile had almost as much of population as it has now. It is the richest city in the United States for the number of. its population. Its banks have more capital. There are more bonds, mortgages and other classes of securities held by Mobile persons than any other city in the southern states. If less money were invested in bonds and stocks and more In the develop ment of the citys growth, instead of hay ing 10000 today it would have a population of 150OOO There is-no seaport it's equal on the south Atlantic coast. As a shipping point 1t is as far superior to New Orleans as New York is superior to Mobile. It is true it does not have that great artery of commerce as does New Orleans in the Mis- sissippi river. A desire to hoard money rather than spend it in Improvements has perhaps done more to keep Mobile from making the progress that it should have made than anything else.
 Mobile has always been noted for its fine society, its beautiful women and its hos pitable men. It's people are cultivated, and from social point of view it is said there Is not a city anywhere in the world that Is it's superior. although many are its equal. The average Mobile man will put the shut ters over his store windows any day in the week in order to be polite and hospit- able to friend. People in Mobile live well. With all their refinement and wealth. there is, nevertheless, more or less of provin- cialsm. There is no drive more delightful than along the shell road slirting the bay