The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-06-10
VERA CRUZ COULD SUPPLY IDEAS ID TRAIN D|SPATCHERS Uncle Sam Operates His Trains With Mails by
 Wireless
BIRMINGHAM MAN
 MEETS ALABAMIANS
Mexicans Take Readily to Parcel Post and Make Constant Use of It Since Express Con-
 panies Quit

mingham or Meridian could see our train go out each day they would get some new ideas about how to save time. We are equipped with wireless and when we are ready to go all the conductor has to do is to clm in the coach and let the opera to rgive him a clearance. If anything goes wrong along the line there Is no long hike for some tired brakeman, or the hard work of pulling velocipede for all we have to do Is to touch the wire and get In immediate touch with head quarters. Our train wireless outfit will work for 50 to 100 miles and is aways certain. With us there can be no col lsons, for we know what is coming and going.
 L. Sevier and some of the big guns in the railway world could get some fine ideas on how to build a viaduct. The one they have here over the tracks makes the bridges in Birmingham look like the proverbial 30 cents. There is far less need of it, too, than in several cities that need such things back at home. Again, they have their tracks laid on rock bal last with good ties, and in all respects right up to date. In the terminal yards there runs narrow guage road and the tracks have a third rail, which seems odd to one not accustomed to narrow guage roads, We only have 10 miles of track to operate to the federal les,n as MT. Huehta pulled up about two miles of it and passengers have 10 walk that dis tance. The cars are marked "primera," which means first class; 'segunda, which means second class, while sleeping car is known "carro dormitorio," and tick cts sold on such basis, so I am told. Yesterday as the train came In and was backing down with a flat car on which several peons were riding the car jumped the track and threw small boy off the car, running over him and killing him. I was greatly pleased to see a hospital corps immediately run to the scene and attempt to aid the boy, who was already past help. In the corps was young fellow from Meridian, named Lyerly, and with whom I had a long chat yesterday.
 Meets Alabama Boy
 I met an Alabama boy in the person Of mail orderly Schwartz of the Wyoming, who haiis from Mobile, and who has a | large number of friends and relatives in | Birmingham. From him I got some fig ures as to the probable cost of war that seem staggerinf. He figures that 1t will
 require 250,0O0 men to take Mexico City and that the cost per day will run much in excess of 2,000 GOO.
 | I had the good fortune today to meet another man who says that MT. Wilson | Is right in his efforts to compose this situation and that Huerta should have never been recognized From him i learned that a great many of the mines and railways down here have conces- sions which exempt them from taxa tion for from 20 to 30 years. I un- derstand that cert tain piece of rail way property is exempt for 50 years and I do not see how, with the best of the taxable property escaped from taxation, that the United States could ever recoup the losses that would re- suit from war. It Is a pity that our | Uncle Henry" Watterson did not put his thinking cap on and figure this thing out little before he thrills us
 with his on-to- Panama editorials. The editorials are mighty fine, but they dc
 not possess the happy faculty of liqui.
 dating war debts.
 Interesting Public Library The public library here is a most in
 teresting place and I have wished fol
 time to give it a full write up. I
 contains a large number of valuable
 books and I find that they have al
 the standard authors. They seem tt
 love poetry Judging by the books tha
 are on the shelves. In this building
 are some Aztec idols that are in
 fine state of preservation. They art
 said to have been made before th'
 time of Cortez and I believe that i
 is true These idols are made appar-
 ently of sand and cement, but no mod
 ern cement maker will ever get his
 product to hold like this. of which tho
 idols are made. seems to do. They arc ugly looking things and do not begir
 to compare to the statuary that one !, sees in the plaza. By the way, these people seem to like htatuary, for ont sees it in every home he passes. This library had its windows sho
 out during the trouble, but none of tho
 books were greatly damaged. It 1! one of the few public buildings not nov
 occupied by soldiers. The military au thorities have repaired the damag
 done by the cannon of the Chester
 While they were working on it I go
 several pieces of brick and stone iron
 the upper window where the first sho
 was fired that era shed into the dome o
 the building. Today I passed 1t al old buzzard was idly stunning himsel
 on the topmost pinnacle.
 The report was current on the street
 tonight that Huerta had sent in his resig . nation to the mediators, and that Cal ranza was listening to the soothing voic
 of reason and would come into the peac
 pact The only real hope for a solutio . lies in Villa, I am told and if he ca
 hold Carranza down 1t may be possibl : for some plant to work out. All thoughtfr
 men here are a unit in the opinion tha
 the provisional government must be mad
 up of men not aligned with any factio
 now struggling for pre-eminence. Jus { how these factions can be united Is nc
 clear they say but that it will largel lie with Villa. whose prestige as mill ' tary leader puts him where he can dc tate terms.
 The feeling is very general here tia the great mass of the natives will agre
 to any plan that will give them stead '- employment. an opportunity to own lanc - and chance for their children to hay . some scholastic advantages. It seems { = be the general feeling among the bus | ness men that the time has now arrive to settle these revolutions, which ser, to so greatly upset the legitimate char nels of trade.
 II Use Parcel Post
 We have had an easy day in the offic as no boat came in or went out. W have been bending our energies to clea | ing up the bultos postales departamenti, ] or as we call 1t the parcel post W . have a large lot to list and assess dui on yet but hope to get cleaned up tn ] week. This class of work has been great benefit to me as I can go bat home with a full knowledge of how GU toms duties are laid and how all u forms must be filled out
 We have all the ordinary mail al the registers cleaned Lp and things a