The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-02-27
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS

ham,
 Perhaps it was the hearing before the would be too simple and prosaic to lay it to the chefs at the Tutwller and at the Country club.
 don't care how many hearing you have ever attended the one stage on Satur- day afternoon by Morris Bush and his co-workers was in a class by itself.
 In the first place, Morris is some chair man, and when backed up by James Bow ron, P. G. Shook, John L. Kaul, w. H. Kettig. I. c. Beatty J. H. Doughty, E. M Alien, Thomas B. Smith, with Blanks it's case was going to be presented prop eriy ana powerfully.
 There was an absence of hot air. The perfervid orator was not casted in the drama. There was to be no star per formers. It was an all-star cast and every llayer played his part to perfec- tior1.
 Morris Bush opened with statement that was clear and comprehensive. It showed that ne h..i studied well the case and he marshaled his facts with superb If he loses it will be no fault of his. No one could have done better. I doubt if any one else would have done as we'll
 The first witness put in the box was James Bowron and if it were not so out of place I would say of the patriarch of the Birmingham district, in whose head it's secrets and it's possibilities are stored, that he knocked a home run. As he poured forth data and analysed his facts and told of Birningham's superiority over the other cities it seemed to me it nents.
 The next witness gave me one of the surprises of my life A handsome, boy ish looking young man by the name of Theodore Swann stepped forward and took a seat. I hadn't placed him as one of the strong young men in the Alabama Power l knew they had a lot of them.
 I got my first lesson in the art of mak- ing steel electrically. Now if I slip up in h nically accurate, just put it down to sheer ignorance, but before you laugh at me l beg you to stop and consider how much you know about electricity as it is ap- piled to steel making.
 I thought it was in the play and not pay stage and yet this young expert l graphically told of the marvels being done in one of the plants of the company | how it was commercially pay propo- ] sition, etc.
 Tn fact, the more he told about the 1 supremacy in coal, iron, steel, water power, etc, the more felt that he was singing swan song, the death of the hopes of the cities, for, after his testi- mony, felt that the committee would be foolish to award the plum to any but 
 I got my first sight of James Mitchell l the developer After hearing his testi- | mony no longer wondered at his ability ] to get money for his properties If he set himself to it he could make a mock | ing bird leave her young and come and sit on his shoulders and sing for him alone. Anyway, that's the way I felt about it.
 He does not possess water power alone; he has positive hypnotic power. was dead tired when he began to talk, but as the spirit of prophecy got hold of him and he visioned the Birmingham of the next 20 years, I forgot my weariness and was setting wide-eyed and open cared listening to his Arabian Nights stories of what the future held for Birmingham.
 The way he caught me up in his fancy and carried me forward in his commer- cial dreams of splendor was positively un- canny Solomon was right, Where there is no vision, the people perish" Let's catch the vision and follow the gleam. We need here in Birmingham more men of vision.
 J. H. Doughty, the next witness, was type of the hustling transportation man ager AS he told of Birmingham's strategic position as railroad center. 1t made me feel that while I wanted an adjustment of freight rates still I wasn't going to be unmindful of what the railroads had done, for (and some may add to) Birmingham. His bringing out the question of land grant railroads put new phase on the ability to get low freight rates.
 The next man to testify was T. A. Weller, Bessemer's premier optimist and booster. He had all kinds of sites. hind sight as well as foresight. or his com pany wouldn't have been able to of fer so many advantageous sites to the board on such easy terms The map he filed as an exhibit was a 'sockdologer." believe it's going to have lot to do with the location of the plant.
 Judge B. M. Allen was put up to tell about the Warrior and river transporta- ton. At lunch he caught the admiral's
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