The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-03-22
GENUINE OVATION
ACCORDED FINLEY
DURING STAY HERE
Head of Southern Was Guest
of Honor at Banquet
Last Night
MEETS MANY SHIPPERS
AND BUSINESS MEN
Reared In Mississippi, President
Finley Feels at Home In the South
and Appears Happiest Among
His Native People.


President w. w. Finley of the Southern
railway spent yesterday in Birmingham
as the guest of the Commercial club, and
ne received a genuine ovation. He was
accompanied to this city by Alfred p.
Thorn, general counsel and j. S. b.
Thompson, and among the prominent rail-
road officials who met him here were
Mai. j. F. Hanson, president of the Cen
trail of Georgia; C. c. Harvey, president,
and ID. D. Curran, general manager, of
the New Orleans and Northeastern; w.
j. Murphy, vice president, General Man
ager Baker and w. C. Rinearson, general
passenger agent, of the Queen and Cries.
cent: and Col. f. l.. Russell, vice presi-
dent. and r. V. Taylor, general manager.
of the Mobile and Ohio.
One of the AbIest Officials.
The visitors met many of the shippers
during the forenoon and in the afternoon
| most of them attended a meeting of the
Commercial club, where Mr.. Finley read
| an address by special invitation of the
organization. The president of the South
ern ranks as one of the ablest RAILROAD
officials in the United states. He is a
native of Mississippi, is proud Of being
ito the manner BORN and is personally
popular throughout the transportation
world. And not only is he an all round,
fully equipped railroad man, but he has
established the reputation of being I'M
loo Ok f1I Will his Those
who heard him at the Commercial club
said they regarded his speech as nota-
BILE effort. While many of the statistics
presented by Mr.. Finley were familiar to
all well informed people, his facts were
assembled in such orderly fashion, the re-
lation of those facts were set forth SO
clearly, and his deductions were SO logi-
cal that his address from beginning to
end had the effect of revelation. AT
least that is what leading citizens said
when the meeting adjourned. The full
text of the Commercial club address is
printed elsewhere in this issue of The
Age-Herald.
Banquet In MIR. Finley's Honor.
A banquet was given at the Hotel Hill
man last night in Mr.. Finleys honor
There was a flow of reason and the
speeches were at once felicitous and in
forming. John L. Parker was toastmas-
| ter and Maj. f. Y. Anderson and Webb
Crawford were masters of ceremonies. At
the toastmaster's right sat Mr.. Finley
and at his left Mr.. Murphy. Among
others at the festive board in addition to
the visiting railroad men already men
toned, were Col. T. G. Bush, Senator
N. l.. Miller, Col. ]. w. Tomlnson, j. W.
MCQUEEN, G. B. Mccormack, Henry L.
Badham, L. B. Musgrove, John r. Ryan,
Simon Klotz Fred Dimmick, Henry
Tonde, w. N. Foreacre, James Weather.
", e. E. Williams, B. NJ. Allen. c. w.
Ufford, E. r. Norman, Wilson Brown, EI-
gene Brown, j. M. Wilzin, Ross c. Smith,
C. Exum, Sterling Wood, Robert Jemison.
Robert Jemison, Jr., j. b. Babb and w.
e. Leake.
AS the cigars were being passed round
the POSTMASTER arose and set the oratory
in motion He introduced the guest of
the evening and Mr.. Finley, after ac-
knowledging in graceful terms, the warm
reception accorded him, called on his
ern railway. Mr. Thorn made a ringing
address. He pointed out some of the
errors into which the public had fallen
regarding the railroads. He first took up
the question of rates, and sought to show
that the tariff sheets were based not on
capitalization as had been charged, but
on competition. He then told OF the
harm that was being done to railroads
by hostile legislation. He said that the
credit of the transportation companies
was being impaired; that when they could
not borrow money they could not increase
their facilities for hauling traffic and
be affected. The Southern railway was
not only, he claimed, southern in name
but southern in management. All the
high officials were southern men.
In view of these facts Mr.. Thorn could
not conceive how the people of the south
could be led into movement to injure
the Southern railway.
The speaker called attention to the
fact that the Southern had never earned
| enough money to pay dividends on it's
common stock and as an Illustration of
jured by drastic legislation he told of
the purchasing agents experience with
a manufacturer of car wheels. Il want
to buy some wheels" said the purchasing
man. "Wil you take our bonds in ex
change for the wheels?'
"Oh yes" replied the manufacturer II
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