The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-07-13
BIRMINGHAM WANTS
 REAL ESTATE MEET
Birmingham, Jacksonville and Atlanta in 1916 Race
SIGHTS OF PITTSBURG
Smokey City Outdoing Itself in En- tertaining Visitors-Birmingham Delegation Makes Good Show
 ing at the Convention

Pittsburg, July 12.-(Special )-Birming-
 ham, Atlanta and Jacksonville will in
 all probability, fight 1t out for the 1916 changes of America It was foregone conclusion that the 1915 convention would go to the Pacific coast
 In the same way it is generally con- ceded that the 1916 convention will go to one of the southern states and the three leading cities of Alabama, Georgia and Florida have each announced that they would extend formal invitations next year.
 Birminghams inducements are that the association should visit the fastest grow ing city in America, where there are more different kinds of real estate to be seen and studied, where there are more ob- 1ects of interest to be seen, and where the delegates will receive the heartiest welcome and have the best time Atlanta's claims are based on her old, threadbare argument of "the south s leading city, while Jacksonville offers as an extra added attraction a free trip around the state to tile various orange groves and truck garden centers.
 That Pittsburg has broken all records in entertaining the National Association of Real Estate Exchanges Is admitted by every one of the 12O0 delegates who have been here since last Tuesday. Every member of the local exchange seems to have closed his office for the week, and has been looking around for opportuni- ties to show courtesies to the visitors
 "A Night in Bohemia at the leading downtown hotel; trip through the Car negie steel plant, where armor plate for the government is being made; two boat rides on the rivers, and lastly a big confetti carnival have been the princi- pal entertainment features, outside of innumerable auto rides to points of in- terest.
 The carnival was quite a novelty and was very appropriate for the Pittsburg climate. which Is about the same as Bir- minghan,s. Permission was obtained to close one block of Grant boulevard ad- joining the Schenley hotel and the park department supplied 800 benches, and the electric light company furnished all of the illuminations. The asphalt pavement was scrubbed off clean and furnished a splendid floor for the various steps of the latter day dances. It was a bril- liant spectacle.
 Speaking of dances, the old captain of the boat on which the night trip was taken, has his own ideas of propriety and impropriety in dancing, and the rule of his boat is that nothing is permitted except the waltz. two-step and fish walk, whatever that is. He had one of his men in the middle of the floor to see that the rule was carried out to the letter.
 McCrearys big department store has
 been an object of great interest this week, as they turned over everyone of their big show windows to the various real estate firms and elaborate exhibits were worked up in all of them The Birmingham delegation, consisting of James B. Drake. secretary of the Bir- mingham exchange: Hill Ferguson, MT. McCrum and Ebert Jemison. This show ing was very favorable, considering it was the first convention at which Bir- mingham has ever been represented. Att
 lanta and Jacksonville each had six men,
 and Los Angeles had only eight. Bir- mingham Is not yet entitled to any of ficers in the national association, but Mir.
 Ferguson was a member of the most i'm
 portant committee of the convention, that on nominations.
 Los Angeles broke all records in pub licity work for the 1915 convention. They
 had an old California mission reproduced in one of the hotel corridors, in which two beautiful girls, dressed as Spaniards,
 distributed oranges, packages of seeded raisins, canned cuny fish and other de- lectables from southern California by the thousands.
 The convention was held at the Schen- ley hotel. which is in the center of Pitts burgs $50,000,000 beautility center. Sur
 rounding this hotel are the University of Pittsburg, the Athletic club. the Uni versitv club, the Historical Society build ing. the Masonic temple. the Carnegie
 library Carnegie institute. a new the atre, the Catholic cathedral and last, but not least. Forbes Field. where the fans still cheer for Honus Wagner. This cen ter Is three miles out from the business district of Pittsburg.