The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-10-18
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
AND ELSEWHERE

~
the world numbers things the Miss Brown
is Alabama Brown III. Birmingham is di-
rectly interested in this young woman, who
is said to be beautiful and having regard
to the races, paternal and maternal, from
which she springs. what which is
said of her must be true. Her
grandfather on the maternal side
was John C. Whiting, of Montgom-
cry, one of those resolute spirits who
builded the ribbon of STEEL now called the
Louisville and Nashville railroad, from the
Tennessee river to the gulf at Mobile. He
put his fatn, backed by his money, in the
old South and North railroad, and the old
Mobile and Montgomery. He was the first
president of the Mobile and Montgomery
railroad famous as the IN. and M and
was at the time of his death a director of
that section of the Louisville and Nash
VILE famous in other days as the IS. and
M Until these sections of the Louisville
and Nashville system became a part OF
that great system, and locomotives bore
names instead of numbers, one locomotive
on the IN. and M" and one on the =.
and N" bore the name John c. Whiting.
Herein lies Birminghams interest in tine
Miss Alabama Brown, queen OF Montgoh-
erys autumnal fete Great spirits IN the
great railroad enterprises of the yester-
years were John C. Whiting, John l. Mill
ner Gabriel Jordan, Francis M Glhner,
Francis c. Browder, William Teek, Charles
p Rogers. OF these there still lives only
Captain Rogers, now a state senator re-
siding at Letohatchie, Lowndes county.
| The late Senator Miner, of Jefferson, sur
yeyed the line of the IS and NJ and was
the moving influence in it's construction.
| The line of the m. and M" was surveyed
| by the Senator Rogers, of Lowndes. MI.
Miners great work made Birmingham pos
| sible The time cannot now be when the
mineral regions debt to John 7. Miner can
| be paid.
| Harking back to John Whiting, he was
| one of the pioneers of Alabama's develop
| ment He like his neighbors and assoc1-
| ates, Gilmer, Browder, Jordan and the
Others. invested his money in railroad en-
| terprises, then of doubtful value. Mr..
Whiting was fine type of the southern
! gentleman of the olden days. He was a
| great planter, great Shareholder, great
| land-proprietor He lived, thought and act
| ed in-advance of his time, like so many
Montgomerians have done. His life, his
| deeds his masterfu character are not Tor
| got Soon, within few days in truth, the
| quiet streets and the spacious places OF
beautiful old Montgomery will ring with the
| sound of revelry. Old John Whiting would
be happy there if that spirit still stopped to
things of this earth. Yet will there be new
| life of him there in that fair descendant,
| Alabama Brown, queen of the festal time
| The vemturesome spirit, as manifested by
this young woman's grandsire made Biz
| mingham possible. Birmingham will join
| the mother Montgomery in paying tribute
| to her who is of the sturdy stock of sturdy
| John Whiting.
Major Willis J. Miner, younger brother
of the late John I. Miner, was, with his
| distinguished brother and his brother-in-
law, Henry Martin Caldwell, and Colonel
| Powell famous as the Duke of Brming-
| ham," Ben. f. Roden and Frank P.-O Brien,
amongst the fathers of Birmingham, the
site of which was in cotton fields twenty
odd years ago. These men founded city
here at the crossing of the Alabama Great
Southern and the South and North rail-
roads neither of which road was then COM
pleted. Powell murdered, Caldwell
died before his time, the elder Miner passed
after more than seventy years of usefunss.
Willis Miner retired the other day from ac-
tive participation in business, after a nota-
bly, successful career. He now interests
himself in the building of houses and the
possession of a naptha launch, which his
friends aver he intends to use on the pro-
posed VanHoose canal.
Former Mayor VanHoose. by the way, Is
returned from q visit RI n st
convinced than ever before of the feasibfl-
ity of the proposed Cahaba canal. If it be
within the range of one mans public spirit
energy and ability to bring about the build
ing of that canal it will he builded. Mr..
VanHoose's energy and his enterprising
purposes are remarkable, and he will ac-
| compish whatever can be accomplished. A
few men like he could make the fortune of
any city.
Henry Fonde superintendent of the Mo-
bile G. Ohio railroad, and Louis c. Cardinal
passenger agent of that great system,
with offices at Montgomery, in Birm-
ingham Mr.. Cardinal points out with in
terest that no other railroad in this coun-
try shows so great percentage of increas-
ed traffic receipts the Mobile & Ohio
shows. He also declares that no other new
line in the country is in such excellent
physical condition as the Montgomery divi-
sion of that road, extending from Artesia,
Miss, to Montgomery. From the outset
this division has been profitable and it is
held that no railroad in the south makes
faster time for passengers or freight. Col.
Edward &C. Russell is president of the Mo-
| bile & Ohio, and he has warm friends in
all the sixty-six counties of this state.
Former Attorney General w. C. Fits, of
Tuscaloosa, is in town.
T. C. Petrie, of Cincinnati is in Birming
| ham.
Freight Agent Cox, of the Louisville &
Nashville railroad at Birmingham, declares
that he is run to death" with business.
Never before at this season of the year has
the freigh tbusiness of the Louisville and