The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-14
By DOLLY pALRY MPLE

Mrs. Snowden Marshall, was one of the dancers and many of her admirers here who will remember her as Belle Stiles (she and Augusta Sharpe, now Mrs Will liam M Jordan, were always considered so much alike) will be pleased to snow that she is even prettier than she was then-and as gracious and loVely as III her bellehood days.
 During my visit to New York l had the pleasure of meeting many charm ing people who were in attendance at the annual convention of the Pruden- tial Life Insurance company. l guess that's what you call it-a convention. I'm almost as ignorant on that sub ject as the politicians wife who asked her husband, What are Gompers?" Anyway, everybody connected with it was referring to the "home office" (you know how life insurance" men talk about their company at Newark ana there wasn't ever man visible to the naked eye during the whole day be- cause they were all there, but when the bright lights flashed up, believe me, they were right on the job. Mir. Arthur c. Crowder of Birmingham was one of the general favorites present and with him 8 coterie of very at tractive people, including Capt. and Mrs. Walter P. Corbett of Jack sonyille, who motored from Florida to New York in their big new touring car; MT Louis c. Newman of Providence, one of the ablest and most popular of the Prudentiafs large number of represen- tatives; and MT. and Mrs. Griswold Thelen of Baltimore. Mrs Thelen is perfectly stunning; she looks like an American Beauty rose-so tall and stately and queenly. She has a won derful voice, too, and on the evening when the banquet was given at the McAlpin (the one. social feature con- nected with the Prudential meeting) she charmed everyone present by her beautiful singing. Her voice has been likened to Julia Culp's. I'm glad it is her voice and not her appetite which has been compared to the great sing CTS, because just a few days before when I was lunching at the Bankers chubby the way, one of the most at- tractive clubs in New York-with MT and Mrs. Nathan c. Kingsbury and their charming aunt Mrs Mills (you remember MT. Kingsbury who pre- sided so gracefully at the transconti- mental demonstration of the telephone company here recently; Hello, Omaha this is MT. Kingsbury speaking;" Of course you do) I had seen Julia Culp eat; I couldn't begin to tell you what 1t was like; but I casually observed that her name was misnomer; it should have been 'Gulp," instead Of Culp.
 Among the pleasantest experiences I had while in New York was meeting some of the distinguished men of letters connected with the various publishing houses; among them MT. Morrow vice president and literary editor of the frederick A. Stokes company; MT. w. R. Burlingame of Charles Scribners Sons; MT. Schwartz of G. P. Putnams s Sons, MT. Pfeiffer of D. Appleton 6 Co, and MT. William H. Briggs of Harper Brothers. Mir. U $. G. Welsh one of the cleverest men connected with the S. C. Beckwith Advertising agency CThe Age-Herald's New York repre- sentative). The young man of whom it is said "he originates advertising" ar ranged very delightful luncheon party at the Waldorf with MT. Briggs, which gave me an opportunity of knowing him and learning for myself what splendidly informed man he really is.
 MT. Briggs is newspaper man of wide experience and when I remarked upon the wonders of the Waldorf and that it was perhaps the best hotel in America, I was delighted to see that MT. Briggs showed a decided familiarity with the makeup of The Age-Herald for he instantly replied that the very principles which made the Waldorf a great hotel were the underlying ele- ments in making The Age-Herald a great newspaper, namely that MT. George c. Boldt first made it a point to run the best hotel in New York city and that he felt that MT. Barrett was doing the same thing in a newspaper way in Birmingham.
 Among the many clever stories he told of literary people, liked the nick name that he said Gertrude Atherton had been given It seems that Mrs Atherton is anything by tidy in her thewisp windblown-beauty eff feet. you know, and that some wag upon seeing her for tha-S@<st time had dubbed her Dirty Gerty''
 And speaking of stories brings me to the adored subject of my heart Viola Rodgers of the Hearst news most versatile newspaper woman in America today.
 I met Miss Rodgers-not face-to- face-but' in a newspaper way some three years or more ago by most wonderful "interview" she had with the Countess Warwick; and I followed her up. She's Tennessee girl and her mother lives in Jackson, Miss; her lovely cousin, Mrs Sidney J. Vann of Birmingham, is one of the most &C., complished musicians in town as well as one of the very prettiest women; l love her nretty Titan hair
 I met Miss Rodgers when I was in New York last year and liked her from the very first; she is an exquisite type, most exotic and different; tall, grace full, her snow white hair forms a sort of halo above her young, pretty face, and her dazzling, brilliant, brown eyes bespeaL her marvellous gift of intellect and her keen appreciation of all that is aesthetic and artistic. Miss Rodgers now does exclusive work for the Hearst Magazine, having served her term on the dailies; she