The age-herald., 1899-09-02
IN HOTEL LcBBIES AND ELSEWHERE

| D
 that guess cotton felf a half cent cent pound" said William Crawford Bibb, of
 Montgomery last night. There is story
 current that Neill immediately bought
 100000 bales on the cotton exchange. and there is nothing to prevent him from mak-
 ing a large fortune by simply revising his
 estimate at any moment and cutting down
 the figures two or three million bales. It ] Is a tremendous power to place in one
 mans hands, and possibly there are but l few men who could withstand the tempta- | ton to enrich themselves and their friends
 by the abuse of such power. This New l Orleans man happened to make two good | guesses, and now he can raise or depress l the price of cotton the world over In Liv- l erpool, which controls the American cotton | crop, those who are in the cotton business 1 rely upon the New Orleans mans guesses, l and he deprives the south of vast sums of l money on account of cotton. He has too 1 much power for any man to be safely en- l trusted with. His guess at the crop of the year just closed was wrong by about three- 1 quarters of a million bales" Had you observed the very striking con- l dition that everypart of the United States l except the sotton belt is prosperous?' l asked MT. Bibb. ''Take Alabama. for in- stance Here in Birmingham and through i out the mineral region there Is a greater l degree of prosperity and more rapid and l general material development than ever l before experienced. Further north there 1 are abundant grain crops, and the people 1 are prosperous and contented. South or l Birmingham, in the timber belt north of Montgomery, there Is great activity, TOT i lumber has advanced 25 or 90 per cent This
 is also true of the great pine region south l of Montgomery. where, in addition to the i sawmills, there are immense turpentine or ] chards. Turpentine is selling at 50 cents l gallon. A year ago the price was 1S cents. l Going further afeld, in the grain. cattle. ] and hog producing states of the west there 1 is unexampled prosperity. The corn and l wheat crops are the largest in the history of the country. Kansas alone has pro- 1 duced over three hundred million bushels l of corn And prices are bound to be good, 1 for the wheat crops of Europe are disas- trousy short. During the coming year America will have to feed almost a fourth of the world. In the east the factories are all running on full time, everybody is busy and everybody making money. The one | dull and depressed section of the entire union is the one-crop cotton belt. The req l son is not far to seek.'
 "rhe cotton crop is of 50 per cent. from l last year." said Colonel William H. Selden' | of Marengo. At least, estimate the re- 1 cent falling off to one-haR as compared with the last crop. We have made a inc l corn crop, but cotton is exceedingly un- I satisfactory" Colonel Selden is one of the
 foremost citizens and planters of one of 1 the richest of all the cotton counties, and l he is a keen and close observer Of crop l conditions, as he is of men and politics. | He is one of the most widely known and l Highly honored leaders of the Blackbelt, | by the way, and for thirty years he has l been a familiar figure in the life of the l state. Colonel Selden Is spending a day or l two in Birmingham, where he has a great l many warm friends.
 Representative R. R. Poole, of Marengo, l candidate for commissioner of agriculture. l and one of the vice presidents of the State l Fair is in Birmingham meeting old friends l and observing the political situation MT.
 Poole is very confident candidate, al-
 though the state convention of the demo- | cratic party is seven etight months off. The truth is, he has received a great deal l of encouragement from fully half of the l counties. He has been conspicuous in poll l tics for many years, has achieved distinc- l ton as a legislator. and Is justly accounted
 one of the strong men of the democratic l party and one of the states best and most l esteemed citizens. MT. Poole is planter, l and always has been. He owns valuable l cotton lands in both the First and Ninth l congressional districts, his home being In 1 the First, which has no other candidate for l a state office, and has not now any repre-
 sentative in the state government at Mont 1 gomery. Lifelong experience as a farmer
 and a practical man of affairs thoroughly 1 qualities Mir. Poole for the duties of com-
 missioner of agriculture.
 
 ''The race track now being constructed
 in the State Fair grounds at Smiths park will be the only race track inside the cor porate limits of city in the United States" said Thomas c. Hewlett. of the fair association. "Our track will be the
 most conveniently located track in this country, and, of course, the same state
 ment applies to the exhibition building From the heart of the city they are within ten minutes walk, if visitors should pre- fer walking in place of electric cars and i dummy trains. The Birmingham Railway l and Electric company will have double 1 tracks. and there will not be the slightest l trouble or delay in handling the largest crowds. Work on the track, I may say, I is progressing most satisfactorily"
 We have today finally closed the deal l lfor the pair of blooded Kentucky horses,
 which, together with carriage are to be 1 given to the most popular woman in Ala
 sbama. to be decided by vote at the State l Fair" said Peyton c. Bowman. "The lhorses cost S 500, and will prove to be the finest pair of carriage horses ever brought l Ito Alabama They were not exhibited at
 lthe recent show in Lexington. for the req | lson that they were so manifestly superior