The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-10-01
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS

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 It so happened that spent the night with White. rode down the next morn- ing with Smith to Equality, and came back in the afternoon with Darden. The queer thing about it was that it was not prearranged, and 1t just so happened that I touched elbows with the trinity of senatorial applicants.
 I rode 25 miles through a poorly set tied country. The land was thin, and some of the farms lay idle on account of the 1aborers having gone to the public works or to the war. Time was when a few great land owners in ante bellum times had their great plantations with 1 scores of slaves.
 1 I passed some lovely homes. One in | particular appealed to me. It was Iz miles from the railroad and yet the lawn was kept like city lot, and around the place was well trimmed privet hedge | which showed that the mistress of the manse took pride in the looks of the place.
 
 l unkept yard was gorgeous sunflower which brought to mind Oscar Wilde and his visit to America and his ignoble end. A man of genius without moral convic- tions, he let the love of the sensuous lead him into a pit of shame and died in al hay time in jail.
 And yet the mission on which he came to this country was 8 good one, that Of preaching the gospel of beauty, for de- spise it as we may, we have yet much to learn from the old country when 1t comes to having a passion for true ful progress in many ways, and today America is reaching out for the best in all forms of loveliness. I have been used to apple orchards all my life, and I have seen many when they were ladened with green, golden or blood red fruit; but passed tree that will live in my memory, for it was so heavily loaded with balls of fire that it looked as if some one out of spirit of fun had just pinned on it barrels of the finest scarlet specimens. I passed one lone tobacco patch near a cabin home which reminded me ot many huts I used to see up in the moun- tains of east Tennessee, where the only green things about the place was the plot dedicated to Lady Nicotine, or the corner of the garden where the collards were growing. It is not often in middle Alabama that you see anyone who raises his own smoking tobacco. I drove by well-kept farm house and saw 8 service flag. Out of it had gone the brave lad who was the first from Coosa county to die for his country The war is gradually creeping further and further into the interior from the coast, and it's no longer necessary to do as much talking to arouse the people to stand be- hind the government, for when fathers and mothers, sweethearts and wives, and brothers and sisters have dear ones over there it is easy to keep the home fires burning over here.
 I got to Equality and found it to be lovely little village. It was my first visit and I greatly enjoyed talking to a splen- did audience. I spoke to one of the largest and most representative crowds
 
 I found them eager for The Age Herald to see news from the front and to get information about the cotton fixing scare.
 have been busy in covering Alabama for years, yet every now and then am amazed at something new which shows about the location of towns in the great state. I arrived at Goodwater to go to Equality, and Dave Gilliland said 'I have to run down to Montgomery in the morning and will take you and come by for you in the afternoon. I thought he was joking.
  to the capital from Goodwater that they had the choice of three routes: Going to Opelika and thence over the Western | railway, or to Sylacauga and via the Louisville and Nashville, or by way Of Birmingham. And here my friend was talking of running down to court in hls car and picking me up on the same day on his way home. I found out it was only about 50 miles through the country, but that the shortest rail trip was l2d miles.
 l kept out a watch for cattle on my way to and on the return trip from Goodwater to Equality, and was glad to see some moderately good herds. but not anything like there should be. I was gratified, however, to know that an en- terprising citizen of the former town had gotten carload of Hereford heifers from Texas and that thexrarrived in very much better condition than he had hoped for
 Everywhere I am going, where there is any chance to pasture stock, am urging the go-ahead men to get together and l bring into Alabama just as many of the Texas cattle as they can care for. am sure it's the best and quickest as well as the cheapest way for us to improve our scrub stock and hasten the day when our state will be looked upon as the great cattle raising section of the south