The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-27

rather singular interest connected wlth the early history of tho Tennessee Coal Iron and Railroad company up Tn Ten- l nessee,F said Truman H. Aldrich' chalr- man of the central committee of The Story of Coal and Iron in Alabama by Miss Ethel Armes, that do not exist in printed form, and many O. these points i have been embodied by Miss Armes in the history. Colonel Shook is coming to Birmingham the latter part of this week to confer with Miss Armes.
 Col. T. G. Bush, MT. Morris Adler, MT. J. ". Mcqueen and MT. w. P. Pinckard are also among those who will see Miss Armes this week on matters of interest relating to the coal and iron develop l ment of the state. During the past few | months interviews of some considerable importance have been held at Miss Armes' residence on St. Charles street with number of the leading business men Of | the south, and of the Birmingham dis trct Miss Armes received yesterday a | fully detailed account of the old Selma, 1 Rome and Dalton railroad, compiled by E. D. Duncan at the request of MT. J. 5. B. Thompson, assistant to the president 1 of the Southern railway.
 "On Thursday afternoon MT. J. Il. Adams. vice president and general man ager of the Sayre Mining and Manufact- uring company, gave some interesting data relative to the old Pioneer company to Miss Armes, together with the his tory of Robert Sayre and of David and Samuel Thomas.
 MT Fred NJ Jackson, MT. Ersl<ine Ramsay, MT. Paschal Shook, James Bow ron and J. E. Ware have lately given additional data to Miss Armes, Col. J. w. | Bush sent not long since very inter- esting and complete account of the old Henderson steel operations at North Bir- mngham.
 Mrs L. F. Harris end Mrs. A. D. Lawhon brought recently an account of the work done by their father, s. Green 1 Wilson, at Brierfiefd.
 Mrs James Weatherly and Mrs c. F. l Orr will see Miss Armes shortly in ref erence to additional matters on the work done by their father, the late John T. Miner Maj Willis Milner gave an in teresting story of his distinguished brothers work early last summer, and MT. John w. DuBose and President M. H. Smith have also sent data on John Milner.
 Every authentic source available is being sought, and, in fact, obtained in the prosecution of the work. A great deal is in complete form and is now being further condensed, for the object is to 1 get the entire book within the compass of a fair-sized volume not more than tl,0i
 Speaking of the illustrations, by the way, the Tannehill calendar Las been greatly admired, and the picture secured by Miss Armes of those old ruins is be- ing copied right and left.
 "The cooperation Miss Armes is receiv- | ing on every hand ln the gathering of material greatly facilitates matters. Why, Miss Mary Kirkpatrick rode 45 miles on | horseback one day here last week to get some point of information or other that was needed for the history.
 ..Everyone is interested. everywhere it seems in this book.
 MT Musgrove of the Corona Coal company is now organizing, with Miss McArdle. the Walker county commit tee"
 Said George B. Mccormack, president of the Pratt Consolidated Coal company, ahd one of the members of the central committee:
 1 T am continuing to receive inquiries | regarding the general scope and subject | matter of the coal and iron history from | various quarters, and as to when the book will be out. Everyone all over the world has heard of the Birmingham district, and the fact that no complete and de- tailed history of this place exists has caused more or less surprise. The facts relating to the early railroad history of Alabama are of fairly remarkable na- tuTe, but for the most part they are pretty well hidden.
 | Not long since at an informal meeting of several of the prominent railroad men of the south that happened to be here in the office, the question was brought up as to which was really the first railroad in the state. One of the men was certain 1t was the old Montgomery Western, | while several of the others claimed that the Memphis and Charleston was the first the old original line in Alabama be- ing known as the Decatur and Tuscum- bia, constructed somewhere along in the early thirties, I believe. The Montgom- cry Western advocate then said the old Decatur and Tuscumbia road was nothing more than tramway with mules for mo- tive power, and never had been anything else, and the road should not be therefore 1 cassed as the first railroad of Alabama. He pulled some clipping or other out of his pocket, an article written by Maj. w. w. Screws in the Montgomery Advertiser, to back up his statement and prove the claim of his section. The matter was act ually looked up further by two of the 1 parties present. but without further re- suit so far as I know, to show that the old Decatur and Tuscumbia was anything else than a tramway These points, of course, are small but it only goes to show the interest that exists today in all these dead and gone matters, as well as recent ones, and the little that is on record about them, in any readable shape, past or present.
 "As for the record of what has been done within the past 20 or 25 years in the railroad business in this state that is a matter of more genuine importance to the most of us, and one which, together with all these minor points of half-forgotten things, should be gathered together and clearly placed.