The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-05-14
Commissioner Exum and
Harding Welcome Dele
gates to Birmingham
BURROW PLEADS FOR
ONE CENT POSTAGE
John Sparrow Will Address Meeting
Today and Meeker VIII Give H.
lustrated Lecture-TO Hear
Reports This Morning

|
the convention of the Alabama Retail
Hardware Dealers association got down
to business and two important and
very interesting sessions were held in
the morning and yesterday afternoon.
There are over 100 visiting delegates
from different parts of the state and
nearly as many more hardware sales
men and agents representing jobbing
houses and manufacturing concerns.
The morning session in the City Hall
armory to begin at ESQ o'clock this
morning will be given over largely to
reports. This afternoons session begins
at o'clock and two important address
viii be heard. The first will be by
President John Sparrow of the Bir-
mingham Ad club on advertising as
it Relates to Hardware" and will be
| given at the armory. The second ad-
dress viii be an illustrated lecture on
steel and wire making by ]. w. Meeker
! of Chicago, a representative of the
American Steel and Wire company. and
will be given in the Odeon theatre No .,
on Second avenue between Nineteenth
and Twentieth streets. The delegates
will go to the theatre from the armory
| in a body.
Banquet Tonight
! Tonight a o'clock at the Hotel HILL
man. the delegates will quit talking
profits and gross receipts, credits and
advertising, competition and price cut
| ting and will revel in delicate, dainty
and delightful foods when they attend
a banquet as the guests of the Bir-
mingham jobbers and retailers. This
Is the only social feature of the three
days convention, which will adjourn
tomorrow after election OF officers.
The features of the first day yes
| terday was the welcoming addresses by
Culpepper Exum, president of the city
commission, and w. p. G. Harding,
president of the Birmingham Chamber
| of Commerce; the speech on one cent
postage by President H. B. Burrows
of the National One Cent Letter Pos
tage association, and F. G. Gibson of the
| National Retail Hardware Dealers as
ISOLATION, who stressed the Importance
of the jobber
| The afternoon session yesterday was
devoted to the presidents address by
President B. II. Matthews of Camden,
|
G. Smith of Ensley and free-for-a all
discussion in the question box, which is
proving one of the most valuable and
| interesting features of the convention.
Z, The convention was opened yesterday
morning by the singing of America"
| There was an invocation by the Rev.
j. w. Johnson, and President Exum of
the city commission made short ad-
dress of welcome, in which he stated
that the officials of Birmingham con-
sidered 1t "one of their supreme duties
\ to entertain such men as you in the
very best way We know how and well
come you to the best we have" Mr..
| Harding spoke a few words indorsing
what Mr.. EXum said and stated that
| Alabama was facing prosperous year
| with the farmers, which meant also a
prosperous year for the hardware deal
| ers. President Harding was to have
4 delivered an address at the banquet to-
night, but on account of previous en-
gagement will be unable to attend. No
arrangements have been made so far
toward filling his place. A response to
| the addresses of welcome was made
| by NJ. Bowling.
BurrOw Speaks
| Mr.. Burrows was introduced and
made a very eloquent plea for / cent
postage on first class matter He pep
| pered his talk throughout with statis-
| ties which drove home what he said
| with an effect that was appreciable
Mr.. Burrows sharply scored what he
called 'the iniquitious system by which
| the federal government is discriminat-
| ing between first and second class mail
matter, which in the main consist or
| letters for the first class and periodi-
calls and newspapers for the second"
In the last nine years, Mr.. Burrows
said the total revenues from first class
own figures had been $1,292. Il 20 900 and
the second class had been only s71,s99,-
! 900. And to make matters worse Mr..
| Burrows stated that the second class
weighed almost five times as much as
class matter handled from 1903 to 1912
class matter as 7,750,O00,O0o pounds.
| According to different estimates, the
| speaker declared that 1t cost the gov
ernment anywhere from to 12 cents to
deliver mail for which it received
cent. Mr.. Burrows declared that these
| Figures showed that one fifth as much
first class matter mad produced in these
nine years IS times as much revenue,
or in other words that the patrons of
the first class mail We're financing the
postal service of the government. His
| plea was for decrease in first class
matter and an increase in second class
| matter to equalize things. He declared
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