The age-herald., 1900-05-15
HON. H. A. HERBERT
 WILL PARTICIPATE
In Ceremonies Attending Placing
 of the Spanish Gun.
WILL DELIVER AN ADDRESS
Former Secretary of the Navy Will As- sist in Receiving a Trophy Won By the Proud Ameri-
 can Fleet

Former Secretary of the Navy Hilary A. | Herbert is in Birmingham, the guest of his sister, Mrs. Flora Herbert Buell. 1922 Eighth avenue. Tonight he will be the guest of his brother-in-law, MT. Oscar Smith, on the South Highlands
 Colonel Herbert will remain in Birming- | ham untl Thursday night. On Thursday he will take part in the exercises attending the putting in place of the Spanish gun lent to this city by the United States government, and will make a public speech on that occasion.
 In connection with the putting in place of the gun, which was taken from the Span ish battleshp Cristobal Colon sunk by the American fleet off Santiago, July B. 1898, there will be splendid civic and military pageant; and it is most fitting that Colonel | Herbert be present, since he was formerly secretary of the navy and was to a greater | degree than any other one man instru- | mental in providing the United States with ships that could destroy the fleets of Spain! | Eminently Fitting Colonel Herbert comes nearer than any 1 other man to being the creator of the proud l American navy as it is today. When he
 
 of the Montgomery district, nearly twenty five years ago, he began to labor by all
 honorable methods for the rebuilding of the
 navy. which then consisted of "a few ob- solete old tubs,'' the phrase went. He
 thoroughly mastered the subject; and final
 ly congress voted the money for one ship In good time he became the chairman of the naval committee of the house, and then the real work began. In 1887 Colonel Her bert went to Europe to study the methods of building warships in the great establish
 ments of Great Britain and France, and secured information of the greatest value He was naval chairman of the house of representatives several years, during which time he did remarkably successful work; and in 1893 he was appointed secretary of the navy in President Cleveland's cabinet What man so fitted as he to speak to the people on an occasion connected with | world-famous triumph of the new navy of | the United States?
 Colonel Herbert spent last week in Mont gomery, where he was permanent chairman | of the Race Problem conference, the work | of which is now being discussed all over the world, for it deals with a subject of | worldwide importance. At the end of the week, he went to Selma to visit the | mother of the late Mrs. Herbert Mrs | Washington Smith. From Selma he came Sunday night to Birmingham. His friends | here are delighted to see him appear to | be in excellent health, and to be assured | that he is we'll and strong. His health was | recently very unsatisfactory. He is thinner | in appearance than for long while past, | but he feels all the better for loss of weight.
 Is Gratifed
 "I have enjoyed my visit home to the utmost" Colonel Herbert said yesterday. 'In Montgomery even I never before re- ceived such cordial and hearty greeting. The people there were in the highest degree generous and kind in their reception of me, and I was happy amongst them And in-
 deed all my Alabama friends have been
 doubly kind to me; and I must be pardon
 ed if I take their greetings as personal to
 myself and for myself, for 1 am no longer
 in position to serve the public in pub
 lie way I am now simply a private citi-
 zen, and I am enjoying my old friends to
 the utmost"
 Colonel Herbert is the only Alabamian
 who ever held the position of a cabinet of
 ficer of the United States. No Alabamian is
 more cordially honored or respected than
 he. From Birmingham, Colonel Herbert
 will proceed to Washington, where he at
 present resides and enjoys a large law practice.