The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-10-23
President Harahan, Vanderbilt Peabody And Others Con-
 ment On Impressions
FIND BIRMINGHAM ALL IT
 IS REPRESENTED TO BE
Party Left Early Last Night for South, Where inspection of Illinois Gen. tral Properties Will Be
 Continued.

l The president of the Illinois Central J. I T. Harahan; the general counsel, Judge J. 1 M. Dickinson; and six directors, J. W.
 Anchincloss, c. M. Beach, Cornelius Van
 derbilt, c. A. Peabody and John G. Shedd, arrived in Birmingham from Chicago yes
 terday afternoon at 20 o'clock and left ! at p. m. over the A. G. S. for New
 Orleans. Accompanying the party were 1 F. G. Caldwell, secretary to President
 Harahan and R. M. Bolton, secretary to Judge Dickinson.
 MT. Harahan and the directors are mak | ing the annual inspection tour. The party
 travels in a special train of four cars.
 The trip over the Illinois Central was
 made for the most part by daylight. Wednesday night having been spent at Fulton, Ky.
 i J'lie party was met at the Terminal sta- tion by E. F. Stovall, general agent of l the Illinois Central; Walker Percy local l counsel of the Illinois Central; w. B. | I.eedy, vice president of the Western of
 Alabama, folding company of the Illi-
 ncis Central; 1ohn l.. Raul, president of | the Commercial club. Maj E. M. Tut l wiler, Walter Moore, Senator Joseph F. 1 Johnson Harry Jones, president of the
 city council; Guy R. Johnson, w J.
 Rushton, Fred Dimmick, w. D. Nesbitt, 1 associate railroad commissioner; B. A. In-
 glis, w. H. Nevins and others. After
 few minutes spent in handshaking the l visitors were placed in automobiles and | conveyed swiftly along Fifth avenue to | the Southern club, where an informal re- | ception was held. A large company of 1 representative citizens gathered at the l club to meet the party. MT. Leedy had 1 wired MT. Harahan Wednesday, rendering | the visitors a luncheon at the club, but | the invitation was declined. They had | lunch on the train before arriving, so as
 to allow themselves the more time for sec ] ing Birmingham.
 1 At S:S0 the visitors proceeded in the automobiles through the business district After seeing the terminal properties of the l Illinois Central in the western part of the | city the party made for Highland avenue,
 and spinning along the boulevard, soon
 drew up at the Country club. A half | hour was spent at the club, and from | there the visitors were escorted back 1 along Highland avenue, thence through | Eleventh avenue to Glen Iris and from | Glen Iris over the Oxmoor road for three | or four miles, Returning city-ward, the | party was taken out to Norwood. An in- 1 vitation to Walter Moore's hospitable l home on the Nortnside was accepted, and
 a delightful half hour was spent there. From MT. Moore's residence the visitors proceeded to their cars. All of them in odt of ID and the Birmingham citizens whom they met. From their enthusiastic expressions 1t was evident that the outing was great }y enjoyed.
 MT. lIarahans home is in Chicago and Judge Dckinson's office is there, although he brides himself on being Tennessean. Of the other members of the party MT. Shedd is a Chicagoan and is president of the Marshall Field company MT. Vanderbilt, MT. Beach. MT. Auchincloss and MT. Peabody are New Workers. All are capitalists. MT. Vanderbilt besides
 being a multimllionafre, is railroad | man by training. On leaving college he | apprenticed himself in the shops of the New York Central, of which his father, the late Cornelius Vanderbilt was then pres- ident, and having turn for mechanics, served at forge, drill and lathe, until he became fullfedged machinist He made several useful mechanical inventions, one of them being now widely used in the ! railroad world. Like his father, he is 2
 man of quiet manner, but friendly dis
 position and as the homely saying goes, is as plain as an old shoe.
 MT. Vanderbilt is a member of the re- organization committee of the Southern Steel company and is said to have sub
 scribed S1,5000 900 to be used in the re-
 mobilization and operation of it's plants.
 "I have visited New Orleans frequent
 ly,' said MT. Vanderbilt, but this is my first trip to Birmingham. I have been quite familiar with the rich resources of the Birmingham district from studying reports and talking with Birmingham men in New York, and now it givts me pleasure to say that Birmingham is q very beautiful city. The business district is well built and the residence sections are singularly attractvie. I was favorably impressed the moment I stepped out of
 my car. Fifth avenue, from the station to the Southern club, has fine appear ance and in every direction the prospect is pleasing. Considering the fact that Birmingham is only 37 years old, its growth has been phenomenal"
 Mir Peabody and Mr. Auchincloss visit
 ed Birmingham three or four years ago,
 and yesterday both remarked the great Improvement that had taken place since
 they were last here.
 "On my former visit said MT. Pea
 boady. q saw only the business section
 of the city, but now that I have been
 on the Highlands l can readily under-
 stand the fame which Birmingham has
 gained as a city of beautiful scenery,
 beautiful drives and beautiful homes, as
 well as progressive business mem Mir Peabody is vice president of the
 Mutual Life and is prominent in New
 York as a man of affairs, When asked
 about the presidential outlook he said: q feel reasonably confident that Taft will be the winner. He will carry New
 York, and that means that he will be elected. Many men who bear the reputa-
 tion of being election prophets, think
 Chanler will be elected governor of New York. but I think that Hughes will pull
 through
 While l am republican and want to
 see Taft in the White House, l am not
 one of those who say that if Bryan should
 win the country would go to smash. With Taft the winner, business conditions will
 improve faster than if Bryan were vic- torious. But no matter who is elected
 We going to have pretty good times
 again.
 ''The tariff will be revised and it should
 be; but l was saying to Representative
 Underwood today that what to,
 business world insist upon, would be
 speedy work on the part of Congress. It is long suspense over a tariff reform measure that hurts
 Mir Peabody Mir Vanderbilt and the