The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-03-28

attention to the wonderful advances made by Montgomery between the cen sus year of 1890 and the census year of 1900 I wish to call attention to the very gratifying showing the census ng- ures made for Montgomery ana at the same time I wish to call attention to the almost indifferent way in which Montgomery received those very com plimentary figures. The exact figures I have not at my tongues and, put l can recall them in round numbers. In the year of 1890 the population of Montgomery was in the neighborhood or 10000, a little above those figures as I remember it. In the year l9OO the
 population of the city had leaped up wards until 1t was in the neighborhood of 3l,00O, below that figures as now recall 1t.
 "As figured out by the Census Bur
 eau Montgomery, showed an increase
 in population of between S5 and So per
 cent That was one of the very best
 showings made by any Southern city,
 any Northern city or any western
 city.
 Boasts of Other Cities.
 we had been hearing loud boastlhes from both Birmingham and Atlanta as to the wonderful growth Of those cit- fes. One would have thought that both Atlanta and Birmingham were out strinntng ali other cities of the South. And the Birmingham and the Atlanta man, who was accustomed to make the tall talk and the loud boast really De- lieved all he said. If you had told him that Montgomery was growing qulte as rapidly as Atlanta or Birmingham, ne wouid have laughed in your face. The very idea was preposterous. The aver age Georgian, the average Alabamian' who was familiar, or thought he was familiar with conditions In Montgom- cry, Birmingham and Atlanta wouidn have taken any stock in claim that | the Capital City of Alabama was grow ing qiute s rapidly as Birmingham or Atlanta. In fact I doubt if Mont romery man, before those census figures were published in a bulletin would have had the nerve to have made such a claim. And that's exactly what Montgomery has lacked-that great quality of aggressiveness.
 But the figures actually showed that Birmingham, Atlanta ana Montgomery had grown at very nearly the same mace Each of those three cities in- creased it's population between 30 ana 3e per cent As I remember the figures Montgomery tied one of those cities for the first place and was ahead of the other.
 Now those figures can be easily ob- tained. They will be mighty good am intuition in the hands of Campaign Committee fighting for city of 10O,- GOO population They will show what Montgomery accomplished without help in her natural growth. It was great pity that they were not snatched up at the time they were published and giv- en a wide publicity. If such cam psign as the present one, had been organized then the benefits that would have come to the city from those hg- ures would have been gotten at their fullest value And this single fact is an additional argument, an additional
 reason why the people of Montgomery should stand together and let the out side world know that Montgomery in addition to her old ana accepted claim
 for distinction is a growing, thriving
 and industrious city.
 MOntgOmery's Claims.
 Now compare Montgomery with Bir-
 mingham in reference to the work of the census bureau. bulletin on factories, containing infor-
 nation as to their output, the value of
 the plants, the number of men and so forth was recently sent out by the Census people Suddenly a great howl went up from Birmingham. The fig ures had been astounding to Birming- ham. They were so much smaller than the claims which the city had been
 making The census figures tended to show that there was a whole lot of air in many of Birmingham's indus trial claims.
 Birmingham was indignant at the figures She demanded an explanation. She had repeated her bostful claims so
 often and she had seen as there Is in truth so many evidences of growth that she believed each and every one Qfrt,, irrr r1sa,1, people had been accustomed to make. The census figures were like a dash of cold water.
 And herein lies the difference be- tN zen Montgomery and Birmingham. Birmingham accustomed as she has
 been to making loud claims, is sur prised and grievously disappointed at the figures of the census bureau Mont gomery unaccustomed, 10 brag and boast is surprised and highly pleased as the census figures. In other words
 Monte emery makes good"
 Nevertheless the advantages is with | Birmingham. For she has persuaded | the outer world to believe she is doing great things as she really is. The | outer world hears so much talk of Birmingham that it accepts at their face value the claims Of the Magic City. On the other hand Montgomery goes quietly along without setting | forth her advantages and her distinc- tions and the outer world is unac- uuainted with the things she is achiev- | ing. Some of her own people are sur | prised to learn them.
 q am therefore a hearty advocate of a Twentieth Century Montgomery. a Montgomery with 100000. population.
 It will be worth more than $lO,OOO to 1 the city if the movement does nothing else than to soldify the patriotism of | the city and organize it's patriotism, if | 1t does nothing else than to learn the Montgomery man to talk of what his | city has accomplished and of what it | is now doing Ii Is a success if it | teaches a Montgomery man to talk Of | Montgomery anywhere and every where"