The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-05
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
True Prophets

| "ieh 1reater Birmingham an accom-
 pnshed fast, and its census population
 larger than most of us had predicted il
 would be, it may be of interest to recall the first organized movement following
 the census of 1900 for an extension of the city limits," said a member of the Cham
 per of Commerce. who was at that time
 merely locker on.
 | Tt was in the winter of 1900-'01. ". M. Drennen was mayor. and led the for
 nal movement for a Greater Birming- nam. A conference was held in the council chamber which was then tempor- arily on Twenty-first street. That con ference was made up of the mayor, sev- eral aldermen, representatives of the Commercial club (now the Chamber of Commerce), and the mayors or duly ac- credited representatives of neighboring municipalities.
 Among the representatives of the | Commercial club were MT. Jemison, then president of the Birmingham Railway, Light and Power company, and Maj. F.
 Y. Anderson. Dr. R. M. Cunningham
 was in attendance as a spokesman for | Ensley
 Mayor Drennen made a strong speech in favor of such extension of the boun- dary lines of Birmingham as would in clude all the municipalities and territory | that finally came into the Greater Bir- mingham. Dr. Cunningham delivered a Wlttye speech, in which he told of Ensley's excellent financial condition and of it's aspirations, and said that as our city as a municipality was very weak, if there was to be any annexing. Ensley should annex Birmingham, or words to | that effect
 Mayor Drennen replied to Dr. Gun | ningham in serious vein; it was no time for joking, he said He pointed out the importance of beginning the annexation movement early, so as to make sure of Birmingham getting into the census of 1910 with population of over 100000 He said that Birmingham was a city of des- tiny, and that as a municipal merger, table, the representatives of the Steel City might as well join the movement gracefully and heartily.
 MT Jemison made a statement which had a convincing effect on my mind. He said he had gone to Boston soon after our census figures were announced to ne- gotiate a loan, if possible, of s1,5OO,000 for the Birmingham Railway, Light and Pow CT company The property was In ram shackle condition, and 1t needed money to rehabilitate 1t. MT. Jemison called on the Old Colony Trust company, one of the biggest in the United States. When hn Iaf hIc l@of1 Gordon Abbott that gentleman protested that Birmingham was too small town to interest his company. MT. Jemison said: Why, we have a population-Bir- mingham and its environs-of about 1O0,- O0O.'
 Yes, but we have to go by the gov ernment census and not by estimated population said MT. Abbott and I find by looking at the census table that Bir- niinghams population is only 3S,415 It's entirely too small
 MT. Jemison stressed Birmingharn's great future and after much urging in- duced MT. Abbott to come to Birmng- ham and see for himself MT. Abbott came. He spent week here, and after he had met the people of Birmingham and had looked over the district, he said MT Jemison, you are right. We will let your company have the s1.50o, GOO That loan was made and it was after ward increased to $6,000,O0
 "Mr. Jemison. Mayor Anderson and Mayor Drennen all showed the commer- cial value of census population and large percentages of increase As we'll as I re- call it now. several Greater Birmingham conferences were held, but nothing tangi- ble was done during Drennen's admins tration. The public had not become aroused to the importance of the mat ter, and the agitation subsided. But I think 1t is but just to MT. Drennen and the others who led off in the Greater Birmingham movement as far back as 1sOo-'o1, that they receive some of the credit for what afterward became a pop ular movement and an ultimate success. The speeches made by the annexation advocates of nine years ago were singu- larly prophetic"