The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-03-21
President Harrison of the Southern Expresses Beau tiful Sentiment as He Honors Old Employees
34 MEN HAVE SEEN
 OVER FIFTY YEARS
 IN ROADS SERVICE
Engineer T. s. Watkins Responds for Men Who Are Recipients of Hand some Bronze Medals

A mixture of business with sentiment such as is rarely seen was exemplified
 yesterday morning at g o'clock when nearly 150 employees of the Southern rail- way gathered in the Chamber of Com hands of President Fairfax Harrison of the road medals for loyalty to the com pany for a quarter of a century and more.
 From the general superintendent down
 to the humblest laborer medals were distributed by MT. Harrison personally, and to each man as he came forward to receive his reward the president of the Southern offered his hearty congratula- tions.
 All who received medals expressed their appreciation to MT. Harrison as he placed the symbolical bit of bronze in their hands. Many of them were profuse in their thanks. One of the negro porters, lowing and scraping, said: T hopes you all will be president of every one of desc United States" Others expressed the wish that MT. Harrison would con tinue to guide the destinies of the South ern for the next 9 years of their service with the road.
 MIR. HARRISON'S ADDRESS
 Mir Harrison in his address to the gathering, said:
 My good friends, I am engaged on a mission of high sentiment. l have no hesitation in appealing to southern men on the ground of sentiment There are parts of this great country or ours Tn which sentiment might not be under stood, but that has never been true or the south Sentiment has actuated nearly everything good that southern men have done It has actuated them in statesman slip and in war. It was sentiment which drove the armies of the south when they were engaged in war. It Is a motlVe power of the highest and most potent type in industrial work.
 "Gentlemen, come to you today With an appeal to your sentiment You nave been a lifetime already in that indus try we all are engaged in and in one set of railroads you have an honorable rec ord You have achieved what many men might be proud to achieve You repre- sent and you are today the best men In the service of the Southern Railway company This is no idle compliment am not here today to flatter you. l am here to state facts You are the best men in the service of the Southern rail- way. for your records reveal it. SURVIVORS OF COMPETITION
 "Competition is the controlling force in our industry. There are survivors in this competition which you represent. The first competition to which call your attention is that of man and man. You have survived in the competition With your fellows
 '.Eyery man in our service is an amDl- tious man and if he has been in the service 25 years he has proved it, for ann bition drives men to be ready to take the job next ahead. Man treads closely on the heels of the man ahead, You nave all felt this and have seen men faH py the wayside. You have seen them fall I pay you the compliment of my respect and esteem upon your survival. There Is another competition Whlcn IS somewhat akin to that I have just men tioned. In industrial work giving serv- ice to the public discipline is just as necessary as the rails on which our trains run It Is necessary to apply dis cipline if we keep up the standard. l have seen men who have done all that could be expected of them for years and vet who failed at a crucial moment. With the best of desire to serve the men with whom we work, it is the Dart Of the management to take such men out of the service.
 s'You have survived, not by accident, but because you have demonstrated those Qual1tl0S or CndTdCLer, Ol SlIfCl0HSy WAiiSi permit men to survive under fierce dis cipline.
 SURVIVAL FROM DANGER There is another survival which the older ones of you all bear testimony. When you began railroading it was very different from what it is today. Search your hearts, gentlemen, and you will re- member that when you stated out on your
 runs in the beginning of your careers you
 did not know whether you would get home safely or not. 1t was work of hardship, of stern duty. No man can fail , to recognize that the life of a railroad man is asstern and hard one, but you men have survived the physical risks. A
 brave man will avoid no risk which it is necessary to take. One of the main fall ings of the American man is his careless neglect in appreciation of human life his own and his fellows You men here today represent survival due to greater
 care of your own lives and those of your fellow men. I salute you on that ac- i count.
 We have large system of railroads of which the Southern railway is the
 greater part, but I am talking today of the Southern railway proper In that service there are upwards of 45.000 men and women engaged. It is a large army and I am proud to be its chief. Inside of hat arr,ov is smaller a nd