The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-10-29
RAILROADS WILL
PLAY BIG PART IN
BRINGING FARMERS
City Will Probably Have
More Officials Next Week
Than Ever Before
CITIZENS COMING
FROM WHOLE STATE
Letter Received Yesterday Is an Ex-
ample of the Work Done by the
Railroads in State
Development

Evidencing the great interest being
taken in the approaching meeting of the
Alabama State Land congress in Bir-
mingham next week, November 4-6, Col.
N. F. Thompson, president of the cons
gress, received yesterday from G.. A.
Park, general immigration and industrial
agent of the Louisville and Nashville
railroad, at Louisville, KY, the follow
ing letter:
Louisville KY, October q. 1918.
my Dear Mr.. Thompson: | have been
permitted to read letter addressed to
Mr.. Milton II. Smith, president by Mr..
Thomas Brigden of Prospect, Walker
county, Alabama, which | thought you
would like to know of, not so much that
you could use II in your leaflets, but you
may wish to meet the gentleman should
he attend the land congress, as he hopes
to do, and receive from him his personal
good will and encouragement for. us to
continue in the efforts to upbuild the
great state of Alabama. He writes as
follows:
. The programme of the Alabama State
Land congress names you for "A Paper
Forty Years in Alabama
=" In 1S72 your company made a special
rate to a colony from Cleveland, o., to
Warrior Ala. | was one of the pioneer
coonists of that rate, and have witnessed
many of the changes during the past 40
years
In 1872 the site of the city of Bir-
mingham was an old sedge grass field,
with only one building In sight. 1t was
a one-story, lumber-built shack, at the
railroad crossing, called the Relay House.
4" L was in Birmingham last week, and
the change is simply amazing. l have
Travelled over lot of this old earth's
crust. but have never seen anything to
equal, 1t elsewhere and the end is far
from being in sight. The railroads have
done it all If possible ! shall be at the
land congress- but | am in my sOth year
and bad weather may prevent me from
coming
Every mail is bringing promises from
citizens from every section and locality
in Alabama to be in attendance on the
land congress- There will probably be
more private cars of railroad officials
parked in the various railroad yards of
Birmingham during Monday and Tues
day of next week than at any other pre-
vious time in the history of this city.
With six railroad presidents, with the
, heads of their immigration and indus
trial departments accompanying them,
from Chicago and New York down
through the various branch offices scat
tered throughout the south, these men
are coming. And. according to the man
agement of the land congress they will
be met in Birmingham by the most prom
inent and progressive citizens of Ala
bama.
"On November 3. 1918. the people of
the state will meet and confer with the
most powerful railroad agencies in the
south. for the purpose of perfecting a
practical plan of cooperation for secur-
ing more farmers for Alabama. The
management of the land congress state,
and they claim the statement can be
verified that this will be the first time
in the history of Alabama that such a
movement has been inaugurated, backed
and supported by those great factors of
development, in the state of Alabama.
1t will mark a new era in the progress
| of the state.