The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-23
4 crIvE preparations

4 cTIvE preparations are being
 A made for the banquet 10 be given 4 , next Friday night at the Hotel Hillman for the travelling men of Bir- mingham. This is the second event ol its kind the first being at the Country club and a real eye opener to the great ness of this city from a travelling man viewpoint.
 At the banquet to be held Friday night 1t is expected that 200 men or perhaps more will be present. The arrangements are in the hands of Robert N. Ewing and a committee. Announcement was made yesterday by Mir. Ewing that the greatest cooperation was being given, and that plans are rapidly forming for the great banquet
 Mr. Ewing in statement yesterday said that in the rush on account of the holidays and the crowded condition of the mai, some travelling men might be over looked. He is anxious that anyone who is a travelling man for a Birmingham house write Secretary Radcliffee of the Chamber of Commerce in the event card is not received for the banquet In that way it is hoped that no one will be overlooked.
 In speaking of the general plans MT. Ewing said yesterday:
 'The response to the announcement for the travelling mems banquet to be given on the Friday after Christmas, Deeem- Der 27, at the IIillman, has been very gratifying indeed. Everyone seems 10 ap- preciate the fact that the time is short in which to get up such big thing as this, and all are cooperating splendidly, including the local officers of the travel ing mems organizations, the T. F. A. and the L. c. T. A number of the Birming- ham wholesalers and manufacturers have, without waiting for the chambers formal invitation, done the right thing and writ ten to their salesmen telling them of the affair and advising them to make their plans to be in Birmingham on the even ing of the 27th for the event.
 "Invitations with reply card attached are being mailed out by Secretary Rad cliffe of the Chamber of Commerce, to wkch immediate replies are requested so that John l.. Parker, chairman of the en- tertainment committee of the chamber, who is the experienced and able chairman of the banquet committee, may be able to make the necessary final arrangements. Each salesman travelling out of Birming- ham for Birmingham manufacturers or wholesaler or jobber is invited by the rul- ings of the invitation committee, and if owing to the crowded condition of the mails at this season of the year he does not receive an invitation he should write to Secretary Radcliffe at the chamber, giving his name, firm represented terri tory travelled and ask for the reservation of a seat.
 'The committee on |, Jgramme and music, of which Sidney Lazarus is chair man, has had a meeting and gotten up tentative programme, which will fully fill the bill, and other committees are do- ing their parts in a manner that will leave nothing to be desired,
 It is probable that glad hand com mittee, consisting of a number of well known travellers and local live wires, such as Murray Brown, Sid w. Lee, Harry Jones, O. P. Fontane, H. B. Kennedy. Will Mabry, Frank Means, A. Jax Davis, Herman Beck, Rush Simpson R. E. Col lins. Oscar Turner and others, as we'll as the board of directors of the Chamber of Commerce, who have been named as a general reception committee, will sec to it that there is ample mixing and that each fellow present gets acquainted with each other knight of the grip in q friendly face to face manner rather than in competitive way. The fact that there were apparently so many travellers pres ent last year, all from Birmingham, who didn't know each other, was commented on and the committee will find way to remedy that this year, as well as bring them more closely together with the rep resentative heads of Birmingham's entire wholesaling interests"