The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-05-10

l
 May. just after the federal census was
 taken, MT. Ezekiel made the prediction in
 two minutes speech that when tffe population of Birmingham Is announced
 it will have 12S,600 people," The people | laughed, but the next issue of the Credit
 Mems Journal out after the census was
 announced, said: 'Mr. EzelSiels prophe- convention of Credit Men was not only | ndorsed by Uncle Sam. but Uncle Sam
 went him 400O better"
 | MT Ezekiel will attend the Credit Mems
 meeting at Minneapolis next month. Min
 neapolis is the eighteenth city in the | United States. Birmingham comes next
 as nineteenth MT. Ezekiel is loading
 himself for a lively spat with Minneapo-
 lis over the race between the two towns
 and he may be depended upon to cham
 pon the cause of Birmingham with due credit.
 MT. Ezekiel Talks
 | Talking of the twenty-fourth anniver-
 sary of Loveman, Joseph x Loeb yester- | day MT. Ezekiel said:
 "The twenty-fourth anniversary of the institution of this house stirred within me thoughts of a good many incidents | of the early history and establishment or | Loveman, Joseph & Loeb that great many of the readers of The Age-He were not familiar with. Some people are | surprised that this eStaD hdS | grown to the size that it has within less | than a quarter of century. but to me | it does not seem wonderful when 1 refer | to the fact that A. B. Loveman was the | founder of the institution, and as has | been aptly said by the poet, No man is l ever any better than he wants to be- So in building for the future l think MT. | Loveman had this motto In his mind and planned an institution accordingly, and | the institution today is no better and no greater than was thought out by MT. l Loveman, when he came here from l Greensboro. Ala, and bought out Balti-
 more Smith at 1915 Second avenue and
 opened up there on May 10, 1887. just "A years ago today
 | "Whether MT Loveman can be proud | of his achievement the public in this vi- l cinty can judge. but the ways and means adopted by MT Loveman from the insti- tuition of his business career are the pest
 answer to this thought, knowing that Il needed more than one man to operate successfully what was in his mind, MT
 Loveman took a partner within 50 days
 after that and on the 1st of July the same
 year M. V. Joseph came here ana lonheu with MT Joveman. It has been saio tna' MT Joseph came here to look arter tne' collection of an, account that was que the firm in Selma, that ne was lfaVeiiis for at that time - "Anticipating the growth of their busi- ness with the growth of Birmingham, Ioveman & Joseph which was the style under which the business was cohauc'eo | until January l. 1889, sought Tor some one | of the same calibre as themselves Who | would care for the business at the pur- chasing end of theTl line as they would look after 1t at this end of the line, ln- duced them to admit MT. Loeb in the en- l terprfse with them. and on the lst or
 January, 1889, the firm became LoVeman' Joseph X Loeb. MT. Loeb taking charge | of the business in New York, while | Messrs Loveman and Joseph managed the business from this end. How well each has done his part toward creating an institution that stands in our commun- ,tv as Gibraltar in the commercial world the readers of The Age-Herald know"
 Other Incidents
 There are many interesting incidents
 related by MT. Ezekiel as history during the past 24 years. His own experience the past 24 years. his own experience go | inc. hack to within month of the estab- | lisbment of the firm of Loveman Joseph | s och when led by curiosity to see the Magic City of the south he allowed drummer to pers uade him to come into | Birmingham with him, having as much | idea of remaining in Birmingham as ne has of shouldering a musket and gong to the Philippines today. He has remained here and been part and parcel of the institution ever since. But there are others with the firm that have been loyal to the upbuilding of this firm and men like Leo and Leopold Loeb. H. B. Litten. w M. Smith and Lee Wellman all of whom have been with the firm for over iS years and with their work have helped the institution to grow. ..-
 Ioyeman, Joseph & Loeb started at the store 1913 Second avenue, but soon out grew this A very amusing incident oe- cured when they bought the property on Nineteenth street, at the corner of Sec
 ond alley. 60 feet. running back 200 feet, which old citizens will remember was used as the car sheds and for watering the mules for the old street car ines This property they bought from the JTrion Transfer company of Nashville Tenn. At the time that they made the purchase First avenue was the leading hns;ness dry goods street of Birmingham, and when the president of the Union Transfer company heard that it was I,oveman, Joseph & Loeb who had bought the property of him, he said: Gee whlz' not those little Second avenue mer- chants,, but he called upon those little Second avenue merchants" and congrat- ulated them on the purchase, He little dreamed at that time that they would not be long in adding to what was con sidered then prodigious purchase, the balance of the block.
 Mr Ezekiel continued. Everyone knows how they were the first people Tn this vicinity to pull, down a S35,000 build ing. which they did when they destroyed the handsome Elyton block In order to
 put up a s25o,OOo building adapted to their
 business purposes.
 some of Birmingham's very best mer-
 chants had their schooling in the estab-
 lishment of Loveman, Joseph & Loeb,
 1n v1a
 lips. the business man of the Burger Dry
 Goods company: G. Rothholz, the Peo-
 ple's Tailor: J. Cary Thompson, the real
 estate developer. the present assistant cashier, teller and two boollSeepers of the
 Jefferson County Savings bank. and similar number of the office force of Goodall Brown & Co.,"