The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-08-12
NEWS EVENTS IN
 EARLY BOOM DAYS
Old Settler Tells Some Daily
 Age History
THE INCEPTION OF ENSLEY
How Jacob Fes Was Dissatisfied With the First Telephone Which Was Exhibited to Wonder
 ing Visitors.

A black belt planter who came to Blr- mingham in 1882 said
 .I doubt if you people of The Age Herald, now grown to such mammoth size. who came into the harness after the great boom. know all that is worth knowing about the ancestry of Alabama s vigorous morning daily. I will give you a poointer or two. The first news of the formation of the "Ensley City Land com pany'' was suddenly broken to the pub lie sometime in the early winter of 1886. when the boom was rapidly rising, by a young reporter, on The Daily Age since known as the Hon. Bob McDavid. Bob and Ensley have grown nightly since the night. in the editorial rooms, not fifty steps from the present office of The Age-Herald, when he came in, flushed with an item bound to spread the fame of the paper. Here's a $1O,0O0,OOO, brand new land company. he called out. It's ten million sure, for they say so. and Col Enoch Ensley and Capt. William A. Walker know what they are talking about The next morning the biggest black type in the composing room stretched half across the page with the news. Bob edited the head lines and took pains to make them say: It's no typo graphical error here. It's a ten-million- dollar land company" Ensley is now twenty years later, doing a great deal for the good name of Birmingham, but the old Daily Age of Birmingham did more for Ensley in her swaddling clothes than Goriae of ba no xxffa 10 prospectus of the Ensley City Land com pany, endorsed by editorials were dis tributed in every part of the union The prospectus aroused attention to the fact of the phenomenal mineral wealth found near the new town limits, as nothing had done before. 'Ensley City was then sev- eral hundred acres of scrubby oak and nothing else The nearest house was at Pratt mines.
 ''I will bring up another feature in the vigorous young life of the Daily Age,' continued the early settler. "The first call on the people of the state for new con- veloped by iron and coal industries, was made by the Birmingham Daily Age in 1SS6.. The editor having announced the po- sition of the paper, sent out the reporters to interview prominent citizens. With sur- prising unanimity, they endorsed the po- stion. At the next state convention of the democracy, that is at the, convention of 1S90 the committee on resolutions. Governor Johnston of Birmingham, chair man, unanimously recommended con- stitutional convention. Our present consti- tuition had it's beginning in the columns of the Birmingham Daily Age Birming ham citizens pushed forward the idea So 1t has ever been, that prosperity and high stateeraft move hand in hand.
 This is not all, incidentally speaking
 This is not all incidentally speaking Daily Age. and N. T. Green, his book keeper from Danville, Va. became in- fected with the get-rich-quick virus of the period. Naturally, their aspirations turn ed to the printing enterprise. They had struck off 5000 worth of plates for il- frustrating the buildings, industries, streets, etc, of Birmingham and contracted with Roberts x Son to do the printing. MT. J. W. DuBose did the literary work and the result was a big illustrated, hand some pamphlet. the like of which no in- fant town of the south ever dreamed of turning out before. All hands in the making were of the Daily Age.
 The Elyton Land company, represented by Dr. Caldwell, took as | remember. 2s0o copies of Birmingham Illustrated and sent it abroad over the land. Dr. Eugene A. Smith, state geologist and pro- lessor Henry M. McCalley. his assistant. now of happy memory, each wrote val uable paper for it. showing the marvellous mineral wealth near Birmingham. Colonel Troy, Dr. Joseph R. Smith, E. l.. Clark son and many others gave memoranda of facts to secure a permanent value to the pamphlet and so fl stands today.
 "J. Lawrence Watkins. now of the cen sus department at Washington and Rob- ert H. Watkins, his brother, now Wash ington correspondent, were the editors of The Daily Age in the boom time and right well did they respond to the demand on them. The reportorial force was strong and Gordon Hurtei, now famous in At lanta. was city editor.
 There ought to be a history of The
 
 the paper has done. Monuments to so- diers who had suffered no more, nor been more severely tested than the supporters; monuments to statesmen who have done less than the editors, are commendedable. W C. Garrett and Frank V. Evans is sued the first number of the Birmingham Daily Age from an office on Twentieth street and Third avenue. It was a little four-page sheet with not line of news by wire In the same year, l was work ing over the horses in Jacob Fies wooden shanty of a stable. standing where Love- man, Joseph & Loeb now stands. Fies showed me the first telephone I ever saw, just put up in his stable. He was rather blue about 1t; said. I have to pay s month and the thing won't bring me a single new customer