The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-02
DID NOT DISPOSE IF VULCAN MAT TER Debt of Iron Man Was Fully
 Discussed OPINIONS EXPIRES S E D The Iron Man VIII Not Be Sold to Bessemer-Report of Presi-
 dent Motion Is
 Made.
OPINIONS EXPIRES s E D

The regular monthly meeting or the Commercial club was held yesterday af- ternoon. The directors meeting was held first, but nothing of any consequence was transacted. At the club meeting the prin- eipal topic of discussion was the dlsposl- ton of Vulcan, the iron man, which mas oecupied the attention of the members since 1t was returned from the St. Louis exposition The question of what dls- position to make of the iron man was dis cussed thoroughly as 1t has been numer- o,s times before. but no definite decision was taken.
 The proposition which was submitted to the club recently by the board of trade of Besserner to pay the Vulcan debt and take the iron man was presented as soon as the meeting was called to order by President Motion. and the idea of al- lowing Vulcan to go to Bessemer did not meet with the approval of the members present. There was a general discus- sion on the subject and many plans were suggested for the future of the stature. The sentiment of the meeting was op- posed to the disposition of Vulcan to out side parties and several announced their willingness to subscribe a portion of the fund needed to pay off the indebtedness of the iron man. President Motion stated that the club owed the debt and must pay 1t off by some means and when ne called on the members for their express sIons there were many responses.
 Rufus N. Rhodes was the first to ad- dress the club and he condemned the idea of allowing Vulcan to be sold to Bessemer in no mild terms. He stated that to be serious about the proposition from Bes- semer it would be shame to the bus mess men of Birmingham who would not go down in their pockets and pay an honest debt. He further said he would rather see Vulcan used for old scrap iron than see 1t removed to Bessemer, and he did not care whether 1t was put up or not so long as the debt was paid. He concluded by saying that he stood ready at any time to give his check to assist in the pay ment of the debt and could see no reason why enough money could not be raised in this way.
 President Motion said that he agreed with Mir Rhodes as he had voiced his Se''N, that when he accepted the presidency of the club he was fully aware of the situ- ation and knew that there was Vulcan debt hanging over the organization, still he had assurance from the members that they would stand by him and get the amount paid off. In answer to an inquiry he said that the total amount the club owed on Vulcan was S2319.
 Several Suggestions.
 In this discussion of the matter Col l.. W. Johns said among other things:
 'I believe that I was the last person to subscribe to the Vulcan fund and did not give the money with any idea that it should ever leave Birmingham. l was one of the founders of Bessemer, and if Vulcan has to go any where, let Bessemer have it, but God forbid that it should leave Birmingham. Vulcan is now sleep- ing on Red mountain and only needs the Commercial club to wake him up.''
 James Bowron spoke at some length protesting against the iron man being taken away and offered a suggestion that the required amount be raised by subscrip- tion among the members of the club
 J. B. Gibson suggested that the club vote an appropriation of s75 per month from its regular revenue until the total amount could be brought down to $500 and the remainder could be paid off by subscriptions from the business men. He stated that he was willing to be one Of one hundred men to subscribe $25, or one of fifty to give his check for an equal amount of money or one of twenty-five tc give $1o0 to have Vulcan put on a pedes- tai rather than see the investment lay on Red mountain and go to waste. As a citizen of Birmingham he said he would donate as much as any one and that il it must go to Bessemer he would sub. scribe to that fund, and he did not want the statue to rust on the side of the noun. tain.
 W. w. Crawford made a proposition tc be one of one hundred to pay $50 each to put Vulcan on it's feet, and made a motion that the secretary of the club be instructed to send circular letters asking for subscriptions to the fund. It was stated that 1t would be violation of the constitution and bylaws to take up col lections of any kind in the club rooms Other members present discussed plans for a final disposition of the matter but no action was taken. President Motion stated that he would make desperate ---->~-~-->-->>~-@-
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