The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-10-04
ENCOURAGED
 BY INTERVIEW MT. Dave Had Interview
 With President. WIRES AUsPIcIoUs RESULTS
Means That the Southern Com
 mercial Congress Is Go.
From End to End of the south, the Re-
 aarkabie Resources Here Are
 To Be HersIded--work Has Just Begun.

Success has crowned the efforts of Secretary C. Grosvenor Dave of the Commercial Club, in securing from the President all data and departmental in- formation pertaining to Southern nat ural wealth now in the possession of the government. Accompanied by J. A. Betjamen. State Immigrant Commits sioner of. Georgia, and Edwin L.. Quarles of Petersburg, Pa, MT. Dave called upon Mir. Roosevelt Saturday and placed before him the value of the government information to the South ern Commercial Congress to be held in Washington in December.
 MT. Dave has interested several cab inet officers, the officials of the Ma tional Conservation Commission, and the officers of the Rivers and Harbors Congress in the matter, and their com hined influence has been of much beue- it in the movement
 The following teelgram was received Saturday by The advertiser from MT.
 washington, Oct. 3. 1908.
 Complete success of interview. Two interyiews with Mir. Roosevelt. Cab inet officials with us. President will place all departmental information at our disposal.
 "G. c. Dawe.'
 A similar telegram was sent Presi- dent Forbes, of the Commercial Club. and the members were at once notified.
 This does not mean the continuation of the work MT. .Jawe has begun, for now the real labor of the undertaking starts. Maps and circulars. plats and specimens, have to be collected from all over the South. Men thoroughly posted on the natural advantages of each section will have to be secured to demonstrate and lecture at the con- gress and a world of hard work Is still to be done.
 Tennessee. Virginia, Georgia and Louisiana lave swung in line back of Alabama and the other Southern States who have been closely watching the movement win now swing in line From end to end of the South the commercial Organizations. as we'll aS other interests, are taking the matter up and preparing reports and statistics, gathering pecimens of mineral wealth, manufactured goods, reports of cities. openings for business, reports of fish cries, mines lumber tracts still un- worked, agricultural resources. and in fact, every opening that is safe for an investment of capital.
 Started by Secretary Dave.
 Mir. Dave, whose idea the Southern Commercial Congress Is, has lad the subject under confederation for months, but kept it to himself until he was sure he had the support of the local Commercial Club. Thensae the meet, ing of the Commercial Secretaries of the South held in Nashville several weeks ago, he first broached the prop. 0sition in definite .vrm.
 Mir. Betjamen.f now one of the Ar engagement Committee, and Mir. Dawes right hand helper, was in Montgomery several days ago, and was also pres- ent at the meeting in Nashville. He said never had a more forceful talk been made than that of Mir. Dave in Nashville, and that the proposition al- though for a moment taking away the breath of those present a second later took Nike wildhre and it's success was assured from thSst minute.
 The proposition has not experienced smooth sailing all along by any man. ner of means, several manufacturing publications, known to be backed by in- terests detrimental to the South, al- though seemingly representing South ern commerce and manufacturing. have been trying to disoredit the congress, not openly against 1t. but in a feeble half scared manner trying to turn it Into ridicule. These attempts arc said to have had some effect on the less bold. but have been treated without notice by the Southern publications and magazines.
 Another obstacle was the timidity of two States in joining the movement. At a recent meeting in New Orleans, two of the States failed to send rep resentatives, but this will not matter much for these States have a minimum of natural wealth and are really so far