The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-01-20
NEW CLUB PRESIDENT
 IS MR. FRED 5. BALL

vote by which his successor was to be elected. he was interrupted. 1t was | by F. P. Chaffee. who told Mfr. Forbes of the honor and esteem Tn which ne was held by the members of the club,
 and who spoke of the best wishes tnas
 were unremittingiy accorded the retir- ling President. And at the conclusion of the tribute. there followed the ore esentation of an enormous chest os
 silver. from the club which he had
 served, to Captain A. c. Forbes.
 Grasituae ef Mir. Ferbes.
 Mir. Forbes responded. plainly over come; it was real emotion that shook | his voice: that thickened his speech. as he thanked the members of the club aJust now I can think of nothing 10 sav, later. I will think of volumes But I thank you all for this greatest present of my life" Thus he finished a most heartfelt thanks. The most generous applause of the evening came at his speech, the last that he made as president of the club.
 During his term of office the com
 merciai Club has prospered and grown
 wonderfully. taking the lead In work of development in Alabama. anu in some instances in the South. Captain Forbes has held. In addition to the oI- iflce of president of the Montgomery ICommercial Club, the head of the state Ioraanization of commercial ciups. I Three ytce-presidents wetes elected ~ the meeting. Frank F. Glass, r. | Chaffee and Alex Rice Other elections were those or oIrec.
 tors of the club. Of wnom rsrs nV q W. Jones. |. M. Kennedy, c. G. zirkie' v. | O Nelson and c. A. Thomas
 sshs nominees were selected py \ nomlnating committed. which made 1 its report through its chairman, J. Wilcox. The nominees announceo. ballot was taken. and the vose or the
 s'SY The mestinr was opened by Presl- | dent Forbes. and his report was read. l rhe report which marked the conclu- l sion of the eighteenth year Of hfe oi 1 the Commercial Club, breathed Of past success and promise of greater success | in the future. ,1 :. Captain Forbes spoke mostly Of lMontromery and of it's progress. He | fold. in a few figures. of how Mont. gomery had advanced during three years. from the 18th place in the list | of the cities of the country, to seventy l ninth place: of how it had advanced Tn rank in the number of arc lights, po- lice. building permits, paved street, ana all else that goes to make up an up- to-date city.
 Cffy's supremacy.
 Mir. Forbes. dwelling upon the club and its work, congratulated the mem berg on their zeal, and coalition. He | thanked them all, and the institutions of the city,. for the aid rendered the cause of Montgomery's progress. ssrhis club is known far and wide.
 he said, "as the most progressive ana | vet conservative organization or US 1 kind in the entire South. having had | lie practical methods its views and its iMontgomery spirit taken up by ,other cities now in the push for sue ,,nrenacy. but Montgomery can, and will. continue to lead under your wise and sagacious judgment. Following the report of the Presl, dent. the club Treasurer. Emanuel Meeyt,ef set forth in a brief summary | inc financial condition of the club. The cash received during the year was l shown as SS,45s.15. with balance at l the beginning of 1908 of sSS.2I. Thus I the money on hand amounted Co $s.- 4Ss.42, of which Se.411.sS had been paid
 out during the year. leaving balance | of $77.7s. Secretary Dave revealed his annual | report, the most important of the even | ing, perhaps, telling as it did or the 1 general work of the Commercial Club. ] MT. Dave spoke but little of his own
 work, subordinating 1t to that of the I Commercial Club. telling of how the 1 successes of 1908 were as an outgrowth l of the work done by the club In for mer years, and giving to the Commer-
 cial Club of Montgomery the greatest credit for the Southern Commercial
 As to local results for the years ] work, Mir. Dave told of the growth of Montgomery's fertilizer manufacto-
 ries during the year, stepping as ne | declared, to the second place in fhe l Union in the industry. Charleston, s. l C.. being the only greater nAnufaetur. | ing center for fertilizer. The &i,000.Oo0 l insurance company which chooses
 Montgomery as one of its bases was
 mentioned as one hesult of Montgom-
 ery's growth during the year. as was
 industries. and ths awakening of in-
 terest of the younger men of the city | to it's municipal improvement.
 With the reports of the officers con- l cluded, followed the committee reports --those of standing and special com
 mittees. The meeting being mostly one l for e summary or the years work, | much time was given over to commit | tee report reading, and to talks on the good of the order. as 1t were.
 Reports Interesting.
 Reports of more than usual interest
 were read: not only summaries of the years work, but sermons of self-help
 and suggestion. redolent of thought,
 and the study of conditions.
 One, the report of Chairman Nj. B.
 Houghton of the Committee on Agri-
 culture and Cotton Trade. revealed
 some pertinent facts in regard to the
 Southern system of agriculture; facts
 which all Southerners know. but which
 many try to dodge. Mr. Hought6n said, | in part:
 "The Southern farmer has become
 accustomed to the cratic gyrations.
 the uncertainties and mutations incl
 dent to the production and sale of the
 great staple, and they have become so
 habituated to the pleasure of produc-
 ing 1t. or trying. to the exclusion of
 other necessary products that they
 laugh when calamity comes, and re-
 solve to try again, the same old way. The land has been devoted to the pro-,