The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-06-21

| Houston, Tex, June 20.-(Special,) )-As
 if to illustrate it's claim of being the biggest city in the biggest state of the union Houston overwhelms you with a showing of large objects. The feat of l ascending one of Houston's curbstones alone is an undertaking, for they are the highest have met. Some of them have an auxiliary step which enables the fee 1 ble to survive, and the fat to remain | fairly fit after pausing awhile to puff
 Then there are the hotels, the Rice seemingly built to accommodate the en- tire population of Texas, most of which stands perpetually in the lobby I should conservatively estimate the average height of Texans to be feet 8. I am in constant fear of being stepped on by one of them as I thread my pygmy way through their ranks To be sure, romance pictures the westerner as huge of stature. But I had discounted this, along with wildness and wooliness, as something that belonged chiefly fo fic- ton, or at any rate to the past. I am told they are not necessarily Hcustonians, these colossal gentlemen, but that they gather from all parts of the state and from neighboring states for cattlemen's conventions, hardware dealers conferences and growers gather ings of various kinds.
 Huge yellow badges are prevalent. let tered reception committee" or Texas Wants You" Everybody looks prosper ous, laughs a lot and has cocktails for breakfast. (No, I'm exaggerating; only saw three tables of matutinal cocktail ists).
 Yesterday in the lobby of the Rice three Indians with partly civilized clothing and many strictly modern gold teeth; two cowboys" with spurred and dusty high heeled shoes, raucous shirts, 24-inch Stet- sons and red neck handkerchiefs; man in purple satin waistcoat and a girl in short leather skirt. high boots, flannel blouse and silver trimmed sombrero, con- triDuted to the color of the scene.
 SOMETHING DOING IN HOUSTON
 Are these" I inquired of the clerk, everyday guests of the hotel?"
 He looked them over casually.
 "Ummm-well no, perhaps not" he an- swered. 'The cowmen must of rode in from somewheres. And I guess the In- dians must have come to entertain the delegates to the convention. But the girl, she belongs to show. That's her dad in the purple vest. They do roping act. We generally get a pretty good va riety of folks, though. There's a good deal goin' on here.'
 That clerk never spoke a truer word. There is a good deal going on in Hous- ton. And it goes on all day and all night and all the time.
 From my room on the ninth floor of the Rice I listened to an orchestra, a shooting gallery, highly explosive ga rage and 100000 automobiles with muf- flers cut out, until 2:3O in the morning, and when I awoke at the streets still appeared full of people, street cars and gayety.
 Besides being a town of big men, big crowds, big buildings and big noises, Houston has the biggest and best hospi- tality ever.
 The editor of the biggest newspaper jumps up from his desk to welcome you, shaking both your hands in a big, friend- ly grasp slaps on his broad felt haf with it's red, white and blue band, calls hasty instructions to the composing room, slams his door, piles you into his big motor car and before you've got your breath inau- gurates seeing Houston tour that ruins his working day, but gives you the time of your young life
 BECAME CITY IN DECADE
 You're right about Houston being big, . he shouts above the whirr of the engine as we round a corner on two wheels. We've got 125,000 population, which has grown 12 per cent in 10 years We have individual bank deposits of over s25OOo,- 900.
 More skyscrapers than any city in the