The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-01-21

quarters for the boys at East Lake, at the Boys Industrial school, you have these girls packed into that place in manner that is a disgrace.
 Our hospitals are inadequate to take care of the poor folks and char ity patients. We have community houses that are doing a good work, but they are limited. They take care of the children of mothers who are forced to work and take care of their families following the death of their husbands. Then there is the Mercy Home, where those little orphans are cared for This institution is handi. capped in it's work also,
 Then we have dope fiends who ex- tend their hands for dime to get . bite to eat-but they want dope, not food. And there are many doctors going around with their little dope squirt guns ready to give a man a shot for anything from toothache to pain in the big toe. They are looking for the fellows with eyes like poached egg to shoot dope into in order to get few dollars. They are not real doctors, and they do not go to church
 Now, I am a southern man, born, bred and buttered in the south. and l know the southern people, but want to tell you that we are not giv- ing the proper attention to the hous. ing of our negroes. We must arrange for better housing conditions for these people. I raise my voice in behalf of these poor unfortunate people because they have no voice but mine to speak for them at this time The negroes the factory hands, the poor laborers how they have suffered during this cold weather.
 F'I haven't time to show you the whole of the city but I have given you an insight into 1t, and now what are you going to do? The commission is building their city on execution of laws-that's their speciality; that's what they were elected upon and right opposite them are the holes in the wall around the city that need mend ing. such as gambling, blind tigers and other evils.
 T like home, flowers. the beautiful daughter who plays and sings and enjoy all of that when I call on you, but right opposite your beautiful home is squallid home. And when you lay your hand to help someone, that wave that it makes is going to come back to you some day.
 You who have built pretty homes do not see these little shacks Get out ti SC thC tiu SllHS pdCOI with a streak of fat and streak of lean with the pone of corn bread; get Eack to the old ground again: it will do you good It makes your mouth water to hear me talk of that bacon l know, for you can smell it a mile, and I don't care what you say, that $ where you came from originally and you all long to get back, even for a little while.
 Some of you have built upon chil- dren, but some of you also have built upon poodle dogs and parrots Some have built upon business and when you get sick you think nothing of heaven. but of the day when you can get back to business.
 But when the battle comes you are going to have to seek your pro- lection from the wall that you have built Hygiene is also to be consid- cred I want to ask the doctors what they have done for the health of the city. What are you doing, doctors, to strengthen the wall around your home town?
 'sWe are all church members. Sup pose I get a call to come to lunch with 50 no-account Methodists to put some new life into them. Why I would fall back from the telephone. I am used to such calls from business men, for Birmingham business men believe in that here and they do things; they get together; they are 1unching to- gether every day. The trouble comes though when you tap up the lazy horse you make the pulling horse fretful.
 "The walls of our city are down let's go to work and build them up strong and impenetrable for god-lets do something"