The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-06-16
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS
John Refs.


 This is the name of a quiet man who was here with the steel magnates.
 
 He received little notice from either the newspapers or the public and yet he has 1t within his power to do Birmingham a great service.
 Some of my friends have been good naturedly joshing me for knowing so many men of prominence and they have guyed me for not being able to say that l had known Judge Gary or Messrs. Prick, Perkins or Baker
 For once they said the joke was on me, and l thought it was; but here is where l score, and I do 1t through my old friend John Refs, who Is now vice president of the United States Steel corporation. At the dinner given by Mr. George Cor don Crawford at the Country club to Judge Gary and party, as I was walking down the receiving line, when I came to the end I saw Ross Smith standing by a gentleman and spoke to him and passed on
 He laughed and called me back and said to the gentleman by his side: Don't you remember Frank Barnett?" Sure" said he, as he held out his hand, and then I saw it was John Refs, the same old unaf- fected fellow that he was in the old days when we used to run together
 
 Some of you who read this will no doubt remember him as superintendent of the Alice furnace. At that time he wore a beard and we used to call him grand pa" as he had rather slow way of talk ing.
 "The old town has changed" said he, since the days when we used to have to pack a gun every time we visited our sweethearts out on the South Highlands and go in pairs for self-protection. could hardly believe was in dear old Birming ham as rode over the district
 
 I said, "John, there were a fine lot of fellows here in the late SOS" Yes" he replied it takes true men to be pioneers and we were all pioneering, but now Bir- mingham has come into her own.'' It was hard for me to realize that John Refs had climbed to the top of the ladder in the steel industry. And yet I needn't have been surprised, for quarter of century ago he was spoken of as a com ing man in the iron industry.
 I was talking to Gentry Hillman about him and he said and he ought to know. for he used to work under him and has kept in close touch with his career: "John Refs, who is today in charge Of the operations of the United States Steel corporation, is one of, it not the great est authority, in his line in America"
 
 I was sorry to learn from John that Ed, his younger brother who was here with him during his experimenting of the Alice plant, lost his life in an acci- dent in one of the great furnaces in the east. Ed was a happy hearted, royal fellow.
 I said: John, do you remember my stealing your horse and buggy one night and going for ride and making you mt IL pack 10 town on a dummy! Frank" he replied you played me so many scurvy tricks that can't spe- cially remember any special one"
 
 We had good time talking over the old days, but I'm not writing this solely to let it be known that did find friend among the multmillonaires who paid us not only visit, but paid the district the compliment of putting $11 ,000,- GOO to follow the $32, 600 already spent but to prophecy that a great deal more is to follow
 Now, John Refs, like all truly big men, has the heart of a boy. This came out at the McAdoo lunch. saw him walk up behind w. H. Hassinger and putting his hands over his eyes, said Guess who is here?" It was but little thing, yet it showed the boy in him. It did me good to watch the two old cronies' faces as they revived old mem- ories.
 And what is the reason of my confi- dence? Shall I give the grounds Of my faith? It's because my friend, John Refs, who spent three years in Birming- ham, knows the district, and sitting in the inner councils of the Steel corpora tiop there in New York he is able and willing to back up George Gordon Craw- ford, who is our friend, and believes in us and has plans and dreams which he hopes to see realized