The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-03-06
Cold Weather Fails to Keep Away Visitors From
 Fine Exhibition CROWDS ENTHUSED
 OVER MANY CARS Decoration Scheme One of the Big Features-Tonight Will Be Ems ley, Bessemer and Jefferson
 County Night

| Everybody thought Birmingham was l having a little war all her own last night ] at o'clock by the courthouse timepiece, | when 22 aerial bombs were exploded in rapid succession. At least everybody thought so for just a fraction of min ute, and then the idea occurred to them that this method had been advertised as the signal for the opening of Birming- hams first automobile show
 And then the next thing everybody did was to hike themselves to Fifth avenue and Nineteenth street, where the great crowds before the entrance told that the big automobile show was well under way. Hundreds paid admission into the show last night after o'clock Henry B. Marks, manager of the show, said he hadn't had an opportunity to count the tickets yet, because he's been so busy escorting visitors around the building, but he's sure it's the largest first night s admission record ever registered at a southern automobile show.
 BIG SUCCESS ASSURED If anybody ever had an idea that Bir- 1 mingham wouldn't appreciate full grown automobile exhibit, of a first class l nature, he'd better change his mind be- fore it's changed for him. Because it has been demonstrated even this early 1 in the game that the shows going to be great big success, and that it's one of the things that Birmingham has been wanting so long,
 The show was a little late in opening, due to the fact that a few of the heavy automobile trucks weren't in place yes- terday afternoon at the scheduled time. But as MT. Marks remarked, and as sev- eral others have remarked before him, its an ill wind that blows nobody good ,'' because the opening last night was more suspicious than any opening in the aft ernoon could ever have been. Every light was burning brightly when the gates were opened at o'clock. And as the visitors wended their way in and out among the attractive exhibits the shaded lights from overhead cast an atmosphere of fes- tivity over the entire place. In the cen Ire of the building an orchestra played dance or hop or skip or something, just to show that their spirit was in tune with
 the orchestra and the occa sion.
 HAD A FINE START Ted Brownell, chairman of the automo-
 
 his associates to see that everybody got started the right way around the build ing, and that no booths were overlook ed. Not that there was any great proba ability of any being overlooked, because there S something So attractive in each booth that visitor doesn't know whether he wants to stay and look at one all the evening or to make the rounds and come back another day.
 is Ivy fo ho the most complete ever staged in the south. And they admit that there've been some pretty good shows in Dixie from time to time. But it took Birminghap. { i~put it over them all And it took MT. Marks to engineer the show to a success ful opening, they say, and it's going to take all of Birmingham to engineer it to a successful conclusion.
 1 The chilling blasts that whistled around town yesterday afternoon didn't dampen the enthusiasm of the automobile enthu- siasts. In fact, they predicted that the l cold weather would put pep" into the whole thing. And their prediction proved well founded last night, when the show 1 was officially opened and the visitors be- gan to throng through the gates. DECORATIONS A FEATURE | The show decorations are an artistic | triumph, and each individual booth is well placed, and well fitted.
 l And, of course, there are automobiles | there-just lots of them. All the latest ! makes are shown. and the prospective purchaser will get an opportunity to see I all the various models before purchasing.
 In addition, he will have pumped into his ears all the automobile lore that can be 1 pump~ Harein. and he'll find after a | visit to the osSasomobile show that an auto- mobile has parts that he'd never dreamed i of. and that the magneto and the car bureter and the tires are not the principal l features as he may or may not have sus- pected.
 l Tonight will be Ensley, Bessemer and
 Jefferson county night, and those in l charge of the show are making arrange ments to accommodate the crowds that will be present Last night was opening
 night, and Birmingham night. and Bir- | mingham individually and collectively was on hand to do honor to the occasion.