The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-18

chivalric old gentleman of the an
Glen regime type who had been known
to journalism in Georgia and Texas.
Robert p. McDavid. who later was
secretary of the state of Alabama, was
at that time city editor and Mr. Brooks,
who had been associated with John
Temple Graves on the Tribune of Rome
at Rome, Ga, became business man
ager.
| After the consolidation with the Age,
Walter i. Hawley, who had been with
| the Age, became head of the local staff.
| Hawley was an exceedingly alert and
very capable news man. He later went
to the New York Sun and was for some
years city hall reporter in New York.
| recollect that Hawley one time wrote
novel, one of the pamphlet form, yell
| low back variety, with Rube Burrows.
! the Alabama outlaw. for Its hero, for
which the New York publishers sent
him a check for 500. making him the
envy of all of his associates of the
Birmingham press Hawley had charge
of the local news on The Age-Herald
| during the trying period of the Halves
riot and did the work with remarkable
energy and dispatch.
By the way, it was a special telegram
| to The Age Herald from Columbus,
Miss, announcing Hawes' second mar
I.riage there that led to the full revela-
| ton of his dreadful murders and caused
| his arrest as he came to Birmingham
| with his bride. proposing to pass
| through the city on a honeymoon tour
| to the cast.
Mr.. Chappell Cory, who had been
| for some years with the Montgomery
Advertiser and was one of the best
| known and most popular newspaper
men in Alabama, came to The Age
Herald in 1889 as managing editor and
held that position the remainder Of the
time I was there and I believe. for
several years afterward.
Lucien Julien Walker, the gentle and
lovsble Lucien, returned about that
time from abroad. He had been a Unit
ed States consul at Dumferlein, Scot
land. under the first Cleveland admin
istration and, on the accession of Ben
jamin Harrison, returned to Alabama,
| and became city editor of The Age
| Herald. When Mr.. Cleveland was a
second time President, Walker was re-
turned to the consular service and conf
missioned to Cork, ireland. He was
so we'll known in Alabama it would be
entirely superfiuous to detail the story
of his subsequent life. too soon cut off.
If the consular service had been then
reg ulated on the higher basis that now
exists he would have continued in it
indefinitely and, most likely, would
have succeeded to a diplomatic posi-
ton. He had all the qualities for the
life and would have made an ideal Sec
retary of legation.
| 1t was Lucien's chief delight to write
complimentary things about people he
liked and, for this purpose, he con-
Quoted sort of "taffy" column on the
| editorial page in addition to his local
work.
There were numerous reporters on
| the Herald and Age Herald, coming and
going, as is the reporters habit, while
l was in Birmingham. One OF the best
remembered of these was Marmaduke
| 8. Morton, later city editor of the
Louisville Courier-Journal, now and for
some years past managing editor of the
Nashville Banner. Frank O'Brien was
fond of telling story that Morton,
with fervid oratory, once persuaded a
mob at Pratt mine for whole morning
to desist from lynching negro and
| that in the afternoon when the wrath
of the riotous crowd could no longer
| be restrained, he ceased his efforts, say
ing: "All right. Go ahead. It's too late
for tho afternoon papers to get it now.
I'll have a fresh story In the morning"
Morton fiercely denies all of this story
except that he did try to save the
negro's life and I now publish 1t at
my peril, he and l being at present
associated on the same paper Morton
and l have been together so long in
newspaper work it would be like one
member Of a family prasing another
| for me to say nice things about him,
| but his we'll established reputation as
newspaper man makes that unneces-
sary.
Another reporter much out of the
ordinary was Marion Stewart Cam. He
was a native of Scranton. Penn, and
had worked on many papers. includ-
ing the Courier-J Journal, before he came
to Birmingham. Cam was unique and
very bright. but not we'll poised. I re
member that he went up in balloon
with a couple induced to make we'd
ding journey by that mode of travel
from the State Fair grounds. The ball
loon landed about Calera and Cam
wrote a gorgeous account of the voy-
age.
1t was he and Mr.. O'Brien who con-
ceived the brilliant journalistic prof.
ect of an April fool joke on the Bir-
mingham public by printing fake
story that Halves, then under sentence
of death in the Jefferson county Jail,
had made his escape.
| Mr.. Barrett, now editor OF The Age
Herald, was with the Atlanta Consti-
tuition at that time and. in the latter
paper, published an interview with
Burrows, obtained somewhere In the
mountain Businesses of north Alabama
He brought the paper containing the
interview from Atlanta to Birmingham
on special train. Again the COM
bined genius of Cam and Mr.. O'Brien
conceived a brilliant idea. A story
written by Cam and printed In The
Age Herald burlesquing Mr.. Barrett's
achievement was carried by special
train to Atlanta, passing the Constitu-
ton on the way