The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-05-24
GOSSIP AMONG VISITORS TO
 GOOD ROADS CONVENTION
BY WALTER HARPER

The flower of Alabama brain and sinew is in Birmingham.
 Headers in business and the pro H
 The leaders in business and the profess sions from every corner of the state are here for the various conventions mat are being Leld in Birmingham this week.
 Tie good roads convention is of special interest. Il is democratic All men of all professions and trades are interested. Good roads are the mighty monogram of civilization.
 Tie baron of easy wealth and days with out labor m his gilded limousine appre- ciates good road. The tattered wander CT in search of the nebulous Fl Dorado of indoent peace moves with speedier joy when he hts a well rounded and graded pike.
 The doctor, the farmer, the banker, the manufacturer, the professor and the coal digger rejoices at the poetry of smooth lanes and solid avenues.
 The convention of the Mobile Basin and Tennessee River association Monday drought large number of Alabamas best citizens to Birmingham srhe Ala bama Fire Underwriters, who came Mon day, are also healthy bunch of pros peritv rooters. The good roads people be- gan to come in Monday night, and they represent all classes. The Alabama dele gates class up well with those from the other states in the union if not more so.
 That hunch of Boosters from Demopolis headed by Mayor Jesse B. Hearin and A. R. Smith, president of the Demopolis Bus mess league, got in yesterday morning. The roads were bad and they suffered much hardship on the way, some of the cal S going out of commission entirely, but the boosters were not daunted They came on to Birmingham afoot, by rail and in any ether way they could find. They came ready to talk and root for good roads and to boost "The Home of AL falfa.'
 Ore of the prominent delegates to the gocd roads convention is H. E. Blakeslee, commissioner of agriculture of Mississippi. He arrived early and is busy getting ac- quainted and talking about the great agri- cultural revival in his state.
 Ecott Maxwell of Cordova, agent for the Indian Head Cotton mills in Alabama, was an early arrival He is interested in fine trotting horses as side line, and of course this connects him with the good roads issue.
 Com missioner Ruben F. Kolb of Ala bama is on the ground with his jovial smile ana optimistic spiel about the great future in Alabama agriculture He is at the head of the biggest department in the biggest state in the union, and he has a right to be proud of it.
 Commissioner Kolb's assistant, Hector D. Lane of Lawrepce county, is also in town, pushing along the good work Of the department, talking for good roads and boosting the agrarian beauties and possibilities of the Tennessee valley, where he has one of the best farms in the state. He works at 1t, too.
 One of the notable visitors in Birming- ham is J. Paul Wilson of Mobile. MT. Wilson is secretary of the campaign com m;ttee that is conducting campaign for a. commission form of government in the Gulf City. The election will be held June 5, and MT. Wilson is certain that his city will follow the example of Birmingham in charging its form of government.
 C. c. Clay of Demopolis is among the Demopolis boosters. MT. Clay is one of the best informed men on alfalfa lands in Alabama and Mississippi. He built up one of the best alfalfa farms in the Missis- sippi prairie at Macon and made money at it. He was attracted by the advantages of the black belt section of Alabama around Demopolis at the beginning of this year, and transferred his interests to this favored section. He is developing some alfalfa lands of his own near Demopolis. and is helping otherwise in the develop meiit of the section.
 w. L. Henderson, land and immigration agent of the Mobile and Ohio railroad, whose home is at Moble,. is also in Bir- mingham mingling with the good roads people. and farmers. MT. Henderson is doing good work in establishing demon stration farms along the line of his roads in Alabama and Mississippi.
 A. D. Preston, banker and auditor of Jasper is in Brmingham He takes every opportunity to say a good word for his home town and country. Just now the people of Jasper are very much interested in the discovery of gas within one mile of the town. The gas pressure in one we'll already sunk is said to be 300 pounds to the inch. If the gas Is proven to exist In sufficient quantity it will be piped into tNwn for domestic and com merciai uses. Estl. \ Prof. W. B. Cfumpton, IT,, of Blounts-