The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-12-04
PREPARATIONS
 COMPLETED Off for the Commercial
 Congress. SECRETARY DAVE HAS GONE Has Been Strenuous Campaign for Tremendous Purpose. se.nefhang os Various steps by Which Gathering to Parade south's
 seseurees was Given
 Bsang. .-I4-iaa

q. 0rosvenor Dave, Chairman of the Confmfttee of Arrangements or the Southern Commercial Congress, left Mont gomery for Washington yesterday to complete the preparations or the great gathering that Is to be held m the auditorium of the New Willard ho- Gel In Washington December and S'
 MT. Dave, Secretary of the Mont Ronasry Commercial Club. who com ceivod the idea of the Commercial Conkress last summer, wrestled with fhe proposition until he had 1t practi- caliy worked out before he mentioned 1t t6 anyone. At the meeting or. number Of commercial club secrctaries in Nashville last summer, Mir. Dave in- 4roduced Aha proposition, outlined its scope and purpose. and asked them if they would assist in carrying 1t through. They were a live bunch and took to the plan from the start
 Upon his return to Montgomery from the meeting MT. Dave began actual work, and has been about the busiest man in the South ever since. From local business men the work spread to the commercial bodies in and about 11nntgomery, then on to those in other States. It took two months to get them going, but at the end of that time. from Texas to Ytrginia and Arr kanGag to Florida, the commercial in- teregta were head over heels interested In the plan. Then Mir. Dave went q littze further and the Governors of the States were communicated with, the plan laid before them and their help asked. The Governors saw what the value of the great industrial resource exposition meant, and have lent their aid almost to 6 man.
 From the Governors Mir. Dave com rnsinicated with Eiaen in the leading ii- dustrieg and those who have, or had, mining, railway and other civil engI- @eering propositions in hand, and lined them up too. Then he made a master personally interviewed President Roosevelt. When he left the White House Mfr. Roosevelt was an enthusi- @stic supporter of the Southern Com. merctaI Congress. The first thing the President did was to order the heads of the departments of the government to place any information that would be of use to the Congress at the disposal of Mir. Dave. The Postal Department, Departments of Commerce. Mines. For estrys and In fact, all were placed in touch with the situation and informa- : ton that 1t would have taken the pro- motors of the Congress years to com pile was furnished at once.
 Leading Authorities Next.
 ALper BeCIln& th99o matters BtralKnt, Mr. Dave next got in communication with the leading authorities on the severa1 subjects that are to be dis. cussed at the Congress, securing such men as Luke Wright, Secretary of War; John F. Wallace. one Of the lead ing civil engineers of the world: Sur geon General Walter Wyman, of the marine hospital service, and others as prominent to deliver the addresses be, fore the Congress. From the begin ning success hds crowned every move made in organizing the great exposi- stion and the actual holding of the Congress is all that remains to be done.
 The object of the Southern Comnaer- cial Congress is to place before Amer flea the exact status of the commercial South. The old idea of unhealthfil- ness in some of the Southern States is to De explained, and the United States government records and statistics will be ehown to prove that the South has the most healthful climate of any sec- tion of the world.
 It will be shown that there is more room for profitable investment of cap ital in the South than any other sec tion of land of similar size on the globe. Fields of ores. great mineral