The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-07-28

| known him always. I call him John, and
 ne calls me Pate. And that is not all.
 1 know that we have never had a man | Tn Congress to obtain moro aid from the
 federal government than the senator | He got for Birmingham years ago the
 postoffice building we are now using And just at this timei Let's see. There s
 Muscle Shoals in the Tennessee valley, | there's the Warrior river proposition (which will put Birmingham on the sea, there's Mobile booming and clustering for the first time with the hum of in ldustry. We can't get along without John 1 That's all there is to it.
 WHEN BANKHEAD STARTED | Mir. Hickman then went back into the i yesterdays. He told how the public men l of Jefferson county had elected Col. Tod Hewitt several times to membership I in Congress In all those fights John Bankhead had helped And then Colonel | Hewitt decided to run no more. Some one suggested to Bankhead that he get
 in the race.
 "John came to Birmingham" con 1 tinued "IIncle Pate,'' "and conferred
 with Colonel Hewitt. Colonel Hewitt
 told him to offer. John replied, Well,
 Colonel, I will if you will get W. A. 1 Walker, w. J Mims and Pate Hickman , to head 8 delegation to the convention.
 Colonel Hewitt agreed, and he delivered. We were chosen. Walker was a great l lawyer and parliamentarian. Mims was adrot among adroit politicians. I was strong with the Hill Bilies.' In those days, Tuscaloosa, Greene and Sumter counties were the aristocratic counties | of the district Fayette, Walker, Pick ems and others were the Hill Billy.' counties. Eli route to the convention, or while NC were on board the train, we | mapped out our campaign. In Tusca- | loosa, while waiting for the hacks in which were were to ride to Fayette, the | place of convention, I remember that 1 Col. Burrell Lewis, then president of the University of Alabama, came to inter view us He insisted that we stand strong for John and put him over.
 SPEECH BY BACKWOODSMAN "Whe1 we arrived we began to feel our way. I slipped out among the Hill Billy crowd and found a very loud talking 'backwoodsman' boosting Bankhead. l judged instantly that he was fond of talking, and that he would be flattered if invited to make confer ence speech for John. I got the crowd I together, and this fellow was put on his l feet. You should have heard him talk. ] He declared that he had known John all | his life; that John was a farmer and worker and that all farmers should stand | by him and send him to Congress. He stressed the fact that John could blow 1 two furroWs at one time, and that as he plowed he strode in trousers rolled up tc his knees It was all very funny and very effective. I noticed that many in l the crowd were wagging their heads n agreement with the praise of the orator. The speaker talked continuously. Some one, amazed at the long list of rural ac- complishments possessed by the cand:. date, asked if John could drive steers Yes, exclaimed the orator. He can drive string of them. And crack whip? Why, he can twist the hide about his head and fling it out with a crack like a peal of thunder reverberating down the valley And further, he can drive steers without cussing-that is, pro- vided the steers don't start backing This was almost too much" continued MT. Hickman. But it was very funny and everybody laughed I have never forgotten that incident. Whenever I see John I ask him if he can drive steers. He replies that he can drive them very we'll if they don't start backing. It IS strange how long a little amusing episode will abide in the brain of man. Why, that must have been nearly 40 years ago. BEGAN WORK AT ONCE
 "Wel, I've followed John ever since
  | as he landed in Congress he began work- ing for his district. He got public build ings-among them the Birmingham gov ernment building. He began the strug- gle for the Warrior river. In the begin ming, the Warrior, which is now naviga- ble the year round, was a little stream tricking down the woods. It is sad that when John asked Congress to build Lock No. l some facetious member agreed to vote for an appropriation pro vided it would be used to pave the creek. Some other member asked John regard | ing the tonnage carried on the river. He 1 replied Not a pound. But give me the I river and I will give you the tonnage. | He kept on. There are now a dozen or 1 more locks in the Warrior and it is nav l igable the year round. And the govern ment is preparing to institute line of i commercial barges to operate from the | coal fields to Mobile bay This is a be- ginning. We will see soon, as result Of l new Bankhead efforts, each lock ln- | creased in height and a new lock con l structed. Just watch John.'