The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-12-11

The story of the self-made, plucky. indefatigable, successful business map reads more or less like fiction. The man who starts at the bottom, without friends and without means. with his brain and brawn, an indomitable will and plenty of determination and grit. is sure to meet many obstacles. and often he goes down with the great ma- jority to an unknown and unsune privacy, but when he masters the storm faces the world and comes forth a man of affairs, makes a success Of his business and amasses a great for tune, he deserves more than a passing notice. We have such men as this in every city and here in Montgomery there is one man whose name and ca- reer Is inseparably connected with that of the city itself. He has beep always in his career in the front rank in the commercial battle. and has stood like a stone wall against the monsters who would come in the guise of mo- nopolies and combines to sap the sub- stance of the people and by high prices and unfair and unjust demands make the burden of life fall heavily upon the masses.
 Thirty-five years is an ordinary life time for the average mortal, and Is far beyond the years to which a large ma- l8 life of city and within that period much is done. cities are made or un- made, men come and go and the great rush in the business scramble goes along undisturbed by their absence: and yet just let a man do something, make himself felt, factor in the af- fairs of the great business city, g. pendulum, as it were, to keep the movement or the effort going. and he lo he to faA h rivals, praised by the people and for himself makes a name and establishes a credit which count in the last round when he comes to wind up the great battle and stand calmly by and contem- plate his possessions, think of what he has done and only wish for more youth and vigor and more years to his bustling, busy life to enable him to find more obstacles and more worlds to conquer in a business way.
 Such Is the life story of Mir. David P. West. the contemplation of whose life and career in this city has sug- gested these thoughts. and those fa- miliar with his work here will recog- nize their apt and true application. He can look back over his thirty-hve years of active. strenuous business life in the capital city of Alabama with a pride and satisfaction that
 
 the beginning-with,w which has before been said. an active and resourceful, brain and ready willing hands to wealth and opulence and an influence which almost any man would be ex- cused to envy. and yet he is not done; he Is not satisfied to retire and leave the affairs of business to others. He was asked short while ago why he did not retire and spend the rest of his life in peace and quiet, and no longer fret and worry over the busi- ness affairs of life. which he was abundantly able to do2 His reply was characteristic of the man and his life work. "No." said he, T am not ready to retire. and must be active and busy or l fear my time here would be short" And that is just It, cut off from him the excitement of his every day business. the pleasure of looking after and directing his great enter prises and undertakings and he would wither and die. Some men require an active vigorous. strenuous life, and MT. West is one of them. He prefers to work for the love of 1t and will, no doubt. die in harness.
 The Story of His Life.
 MT. West came to Alabama from Pensacola. Fla. in 1869. He went first to Eufaula, where he spent about a