The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-10-14
Bishop Kilgo of Durham, N. C.. Is Also Elected Mem-
 Der of Board
STOCKHOLDERS HOLD
 A PUBLIC MEETING
Policies of President Fairfax Harri- son Being Carried Out--Judge Gary and George Baker
 Resign

Tn furtherance of it's policy to be con- trolled by southern men, the Southern Railway company stockholders yester- day in Richmond elected Robert Jem- ison, Sr., of this city, pr. Alderman oi the University of Virginia, John Kerr Branch of Richmond, a banker and Bishop Kilgo of Durham, N C., as di- rectors.
 In many respects this is the most in teresting Southern railroad meeting that has been held in many years. Tn order to conform to public opinion about interlocking directorates the company permitted George F. Baker as well as F. H. Gary to leave the service of the company and in their stead elected a bishop of the Methodist Epis- copal church and Mir Jemison. This is the first time in American railroad his tory so far as local men are informed that a bishop of the church has been made a director of such an extensive system.
 The meeting In Richmond was un- usual in another way, which was that this Is the first time in many years that stockholders have participated person ally in the meeting. Hereto fore the Trustees or voting trust has elected the officers and the directors, but that trust, thanks to the efforts of President Fairfax Harrison, is now in process of dissolution.
 Robert Jemison, Sr., has been for sometime a director of the Alabama Great Southern and is widely known. He was for some years president of the Birmingham Railway, Light and Power company of this city. He is not actively engaged in any local business although he has extensive corporate in- terests in Tuscaloosa. He was in Rich fnond at the meeting yesterday.
 The official statement about the meeting as given out from the local executive offices follows:
 'Dr. Edwin A. Alderman, president of the University of Virginia, John Kerr Branch, banker of Richmond, pr. John C. Kilgo of Durham, N. C., bishop of the Methodist Episcopal church, south, Robert Jemison of Birmingham, and Charles Steele of New York, were to- day elected directors of the Southern Railway company, thus making ma 1ority of the board southern men and fulfilling the hope expressed by Pres ident Fairfax Harrison in his first ad- dress before a southern audience when Tt Chattanooga on January 20, he said
 "I look forward to the time when there may be more southern men sit ting on our board of directors"
 MT. Steele succeeds himsef the foui new directors filling vacancies caused by the death of Messrs. w. W. Finley and II. c. Fahnstock, the resignation of E H. Gary of New York to accept re-elec- tion. Judge Gary, who is chairman on the board of the United States Steel cor poraton, and MT. Baker who is allied with number of other corporations. are retiring from the board of directors of the Southern railway, largely in defer ence to public opinion of the present day fin regard to interlocldng directorates, de- spite the fact that both have been ac- tive and useful members of the South ern board.
 "Today's meeting of the stockholders of the Southern railway was the first at which they have had the opportunity to directly take a hand in the management of it's affairs, and the election of direc- tors the voting trust which has been in control since the organization of the com pany in 1894, now being in process of dis solution. A large number of stockholders attended the meeting in person and over