The age-herald., 1900-06-14
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
 AND ELSEWHERE

Travel. remove and ask favors in the afternoon"
 An unsettled year threatens thee in thy business, and many annoyances and per- plexities from young people; keep myself very quiet'
 "A child born on this day will be sharp and very clever, but very unfortunate; it should keep in employ
 Congressman Oscar Underwood arrived in Birmingham from Washington at yesterday. He was received at the Union Passenger Station by Hon. John V. Smith, chairman of the state democratic com mittee; Judge Charles Senn of the City Court; State Senator Jones G. Moore of Blob; Hon. John P. Tillman, and other personal and political friends. The con- gressman is in excellent health, though somewhat careworn and fatigued from his ceaseless vigil as the democratic whip of the house through the long session of 1SS days He will spend as much of his time as possible here at his home and in his congress- ional district generally, seeing his friends and ascertaining at first hand the wishes and purposes of his constituents whom he so ably, watchfully and faithfully serves. There is no sign whatever of any sort of opposition to his desire for a renomination to congress, and opposition is wholly i'm probable. But two weeks remain in which democrats may formally declare them selves candidates for the party nomination in the Ninth district, and there is not so much a hint that any one will oppose MT. Underwood. And it now appears that he will be the only citizen of any party or faction in the district who will be voted for as an asprant for congress in the No vember election. It is acknowledged by all citizens that opposition to MT. Under wood for the Fifty-seventh Congress would be worse than futile; for not only have his services to the district, to the country, and to the party been very great but he enjoys to an extraordinary degree the con- fidence and personal good will and esteem of the voters. MT. Underwoods home comings from his labors at Washington have always caused pleasure to his home- folk; but his welcome will be even more cordial than heretofore, for his pub lie services have been greater of late and his constituents and the American public at large realize very fully that he is one of the most capable and most deserving of all the congressman
 
 It appears that the great United States battleship Alabama is not to go into com mission without a suitable present. The people of New Hampshire have determined to do what the people of Alabama. through lack of state pride and public spirit, are failing to do. At the instance of an Ala bamian, Secretary of the Navy Hilary A. af1 foa of the states to the nations battleships was departed from in the naming of the new Kearsarge. For historic reasons that are familiar this greatly pleased the people of New Hampshire, and they at once deter mined to present to the Kearsarge a worthy testimonial. The poetic and historic in- stinct in the patriotism of those Americans led them to procure identical testimonial for the Alabama in recognition of Mr. Sec retary Herberts thoughtful and graceful act and in commemoration of the famous old Kearsarge's famous antagonist, the Alabama of the Alabamian Raphael Semmes. By special invitation Governor Jo- seph F. Johnston, representing Alabama, will proceed to New Hampshire in August or September as the honored guest of that state to receive its peoples gift to the bat teship Alabama. No occurrence in our na- tonal life has been more poetically beau- tiful or more historically praiseworthy than thisl
 It is mournfully true that Alabamians in general leave it entirely to others to show proper appreciation of the great deeds of illustrious Alabamians. But it is not yet tco late for the people of this state to pro- cure a proper testimonial for the battle ship Alabama! There is time enough for the thing to be done. Will the people of Ala bama present an Alabama gift to the bat tleship Alabama? Will they act now?
 ''The Blue and The Grey" the familiar and tenderly beautiful lines which The Age-Herald was happy in republishing yes- terday appeal to every high emotion of American national life; and they should be Q read anew in the light of New Hafhpshire's noble courtesy to Alabama. Shortly after the war between the states, the women of Columbus, Miss, scattered flowers upon the graves of Confederates and Federals alike, and that generous act performed whilst the passions of war were still hot. inspired a distinguished northern man, Francis Miles Finch of Ithaca. New York,
 
 The Grey" MT. Finch is still living, at the age of 73 and is dean of the law school of Cornell university. He is native of Steuben county, the son of Miles Finch, a merchant of Ithica, and was educated at Yale. For nearly sixty years he has at intervals written college songs for Yale students, and his productions have been always clever and popular. But he is a one-poem man, the world measures his fame, as was Wolfe, who gave mankind ''The Burial of Sir John Moore,' the most nearly perfect production of its kind in our language. MT. Finch was in 1882 elected a justice of the Court of Appeals. the su- preme court of New York, for term of fourteen years. The law requiring such a judge to retire at the age of TO- MT. Finch retired four years ago at 69, and since then has given his time 10 Cornell, the law cphn nf url,i he hos