The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-04-02
Big RAILROAD
MEN In The CITY
Bring Many RumOrS Of Their
Business.
SPENCER OF THE SOUTHERN
And President Smith Of the Louisville &
Nashville Are Here.
THE BIRMINGHAM SOUTHERN
Muddying the Waters--Said that the
Railroad People Were Here Only
to Arrange Freight Rates.
Some Other Gossip.
! THE BIRMINGHAM SOUTHERN

Several railroad magnates are in Bir-
mingham, amongst them being President
Samuel Spencer of the Southern and Presi
dent Milton H. Smith of the Louisville and
Nashville.
President Smith arrived his private
car at S:22 yesterday morning. President
Spencer arrived on special train shortly
after noon.
Others here are
w. w Finley, second vice president of
the Southern railway and Alabama Great
Southern railroad.
Frank S. Cannon, third vice president of
the Southern railway and Alabama Great
Southern railroad.
C. B. Compton, of Louisville, general
freight agent of the Louisville and Nash
vile railroad.
J. M. Culp, traffic manager Southern rail-
way and Alabama Great Southern railroad.
]. S. B. Thompson, assistant general SUI
perintendent of the Southern railway and
Alabama Great Southern railroad.
r. L. Mcclellan, assistant general freight
agent of the Southern railway, with head
quarters in Memphis.
Object of the Visit
The object of the visit of these distin-
guished railroad men is conJectural. In the
afternoon several of them, including Mr..
Smith and Mr.. Spencer, visited Ensley and
Bessemer, and these two dned together
on one of the private cars last night They
will remain here until tomorrow. President
Smith is accompanied by his wife and
daughter, who are staying at the residence
of John Cox, Mr. Smiths prother-in-law,
in South Twentieth street.
In view of that secretiveness which rail-
road men consider discretion as to giving
out information, no positive facts regarding
this meeting of the magnates could be OBJ
tanned last night.
But there were a plenty of rumors afloat
in the hotel Hobbies and in the streets. One
that is probably worthy of serious atten-
ton was to the effect that the possible en-
trance of John Shelton Williams Seaboard
line into this district is disturbing the
heads of the two great systems that so
largely control this district, namely the
Southern and Louisville and Nashville.
There has been talk for some weeks that
Mr.. Williams had Birmingham in view as
one of the important points in his railway
system. Certain it is that a syndicate of
which he is the moving spirit yesterday
paid the purchase money of $4,000 for a
magnificent property at Gate City, one of
Birmingham's most promising suburbs
That syndicate did not acquire such prop
erty in mere playfulness.
New Road Expected
Another rumor is that the coming of the
Mobile and Ohio railroad into this city is
causing concern to the other railroad COM
panies. The Mobile and Ohio is already at
Blocton, and it is alleged that it has prac-
tically completed arrangements with the
Birmingham Southern Gate the Tennessee
Coal, Iron and Railroad company's prosper
our mineral line). This Birmingham
Southern has been troubling the waters
for month or more, and it is not unlikely
that more will be heard of it.
third and not the least interesting ru-
NOR deals with the consolidation of the
Birmingham rolling mill and the Alabama
rolling mill at Gate City in the bar mill
trust, and the acquisition of the Thomas
furnaces by the trust This greatly con-
Germs both the Southern and the Louisville
and Nashville in the matter of freight
traffic; and it is to be remembered that the
Louisville and Nashville is or was one of
="
the largest holders of the Birmingham
rolling mill stock
Birmingham is healthy town, and the
most delightful place of residence on this
continent; but President Samuel Spencer,
of the Southern, and President Milton Fl.
Smith, of the Louisville and Nashville, are
not here for health or pleasure. They are
two of the greatest railroad men in the
United States, and two of the busiest They
wouldn't have taken time to come from
New York and Louisville respectively to
spend Easter on private cars outside the
union passenger station at Birmingham.
The Actual business
In speaking about their visit last evening
a Birmingham official who was with the
party yesterday said the principal business
these railroad men were on was to make