The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-04-26
LoVesiiilillai3iidfl Joseph s loeb
All the Specials and Special Sales told of in Sundays Age-Herald on sale yesterday will be on sale all of today.
LITTLEFIELD'S GLOWING
 TRIBUTE TON THOMPSON

Washington, April 25.-(special.) )-The following high tribute was paid to the late Congressman Charles W. Thompson of Alabama by Representative Charles E. Littlefeld of Maine at the memorial exercises held in the house of represent atives on Sunday:
 Twice have I been in the pleasant hospitable and typical town of Tuskegee in the black belt of Alabama. On the first occasion, with a small congressional party, I was the guest of the Hon. Charles W. Thompson of Alabama and greatly enjoyed his wholesouled and gen. erous hospitality. On the second occa- sion. as a member of the congressional committee, it became my privilege to ac- company his body to it's last resting place in the beautiful cemetery at Tus- kegee, where it now lies with his kin dred. My acquaintance with him and my knowledge of his many estimable, per sonal qualities and characteristics are such as enable me to render upon this occasion in more than a perfunctory way, a sincere and heartfelt tribute to his memory.
 In person he was engaging and attrac- tive. His character was of the highest, and his personal and political integrity were above suspicion. He was a fine specimen of the Christian southern gen tleman. In the 44th year of his age. he was serving with great credit to himself and usefulness to his state, his second term as member of the house.
 "The fact that during this relatively short life he had accumulated by honest toll and hs own individual efforts what is considered a handsome fortune in the section where he lived Is the conclusive demonstration of his great business abi- ity and thrift and furnishes the ade- quate reason for the prominent and lead ing position he occupied among the peo- pie with whom he lived, and with his es- timable personal characteristics gives us the unerrng key to the universal and widespread sorrow that was manifested at the time of his death by his fellow citizens.
 Is Most Striking Tribute.
 "The deep, sincere and heartfelt mourning that moved his townspeople without regard to race or color was a most striking tribute to his memory. The influence and position which he acquired in the house is known to us all and is creditable to his natural abilities as well as his industrious and painstaking ser vice in committee and on the floor.
 Beyond ana dDONe IHlS OTulldTY ser vice which simply reaches the common level, and is not necessarily indicative of high ideals or characterized by advanc- ing and elevating thought, I believe that MT. Thompson was sincerely and sue cessfully contributing to the solution of one of the greatest problems that can concern the people that he represented indissolubly united as we are, the prob lem that seriously concerns us all-with- out abandoning or surrendering any of the ideas and views which have by long contact and intimate association with the colored race become firmly imbed- ed in the consciousness of the Anglo Saxon race in the south.
 By precept and example, the influence of successful business and public man and direct personal effort he used every endeavor to aid and facilitate the devel- opment and the elevation of this unfor- tunate race. Believing that the miscon- ception and misunderstanding that exists, and persists, between the people of the north and south upon this question as to the real spirit. purposes and desires of each section, was profound and unfor- tunate, he thought that nothing could dispell 1t more effectually than the actual observation by each section of conditions as they exist and by having brethren meet brethren in the home and business life of each.
 Prejudices Should Fade Away
 It is written "As in water face answer eth to face, so the heart of man to man. There can be no question that if the people of the north could visit and meet the people of the south and the people of the south could see the people of the north by their firesides and as they pur- sue their various avocations, to large foda away, false impressions would be cor rected and sectional feeling would rapid ly become a thing of the past "A con summation devoutly to be wished.
 MT Thompson, no doubt, had these considerations in mind when he made the small congressional party his guests and while the visit was necessarily short and the informat ton obtained meagre, I feel justified in saying that all felt 1t a move in the right direction. and that those who constituted the party were beginning to more accurately appreciate real existing conditions.
 "He did not however, satisfy himself by generalities, but devoted a great portion of his tireless, well directed ener- BY to aiding individuals of the race whose lot had been cast with his. in the most practical and efficient manner. In answer to a letter from me for specific information upon tHls great 1utslioH He wrote on February 12, 1903, a letter which throws a flood of light upon the proper method of ultimately and suc- cessfuly solving the race problem, In which he said:
 MT. Thompson's Characteristic Letter.
 My Dear Sir: Replying to your personal request for information regard ing the colored people, whom you met while on your visit to Alabama with "the Thompson party last year. I introduced to you, on my plantation, James Whitlow, colored, who can neither read or write. and who owns ss0 acres of well-improved farming land valued at s12,000 and upon which there Is no incumbrance, and also ten head of mules, cattle etc. He is the father of ten children, all of whom can road and write His oldest son has pur-