The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-04-28
New Company to Establish Route Including Principal
 Cities of the South
DIRECTORS PROMINENT TN BIG HOTEL AND AUTOMOBILE CIRCLES
Movement Means Much to Community Traversed by Tourists and Will Aid
 Good Roads

The Southern Tours company. duly incorporated in Birmingham, will pro- ceed with as little delay as possible to publish routes, maps and books for the information of the public. At meeting of the directors held here last week many details were considered and the officers of the company were authorized to distribute the literature throughout the country.
 F. A. Dudley of Niagara Falls, presi- dent of the United Hotels company, op- erating a large chain of high-class hostelries including the Tutwiler, has been prime mover in the southern Tours organization. Some years ago i he organized the Empire Tours for the I state of New York. At that times the 1 Empire" state was backward in im- proved highways. but as a result or I the movement good roads are found from one end of New York to the 1 other After the success of the Empire
 Tours had been demonstrated MT. Dud- i ley organized the New England Tours, which made that section of the United States a model of first-class highways. 1 The Southern Tours enterprise is MT. 1 Dudley's third venture in this line of l endeavor, and those familiar with his l record express confidence in the suc- cessful outcome of it.
 LEADING HOTELS
 The directors of the Southern Tours | company-there are 15 of them are prominent either in hotel or autome- | bile circles. They are as follows: Lyman
 T. Hay of the Jefferson and Planters 1 hotel St. Louis; ex-United States Sena- tor Tom Taggart, French Lick; James Stacey Hill of the New Gibson house, Cincinnati; Otto Seelbach of the Seel-
 bach, Louisville; Eugene Stuart, secre- tary of the Automobile club of Louis vile, and a well known writer on auto l touring; Robert R. Meyer of Nashville 1 and Birmingham, president of the Mey- l CT hotels; F. B. Shireman, manager or l the Tutwiler, Birmingham; Leslie FairchiId of the Exchange hotel. Mont gomery; S. H. Peck of the Battle house, Mobile; Charles B. Harvie of the San Carlos, Pensacola; Alfred S. Amer of the St. Charles hotel, New Orleans; F. A. Dudley of Niagara Falls; Homer Will son of the Hermitage hotel, Nashville; 1 Judge M M Baldwin and w. B. White iof Birmingham.
 The directors elected the following officers: A. s. Amer of New Orleans president; F. A. Dudley of Niagara
 Falls, vice president; Eugene Stuart oi Louisville, secretary and treasurer; k M. Clark of New Orleans assistant sec
 retary and treasurer. Offices will be maintained at Louisville, New Orleans and Birmingham.
 The Southern Tours company has es- tablished four routes, all centering 1T
 Birmingham, to-wit: Harrisburg, Pa, Y via Washington and Virginia, knowr
 as the Shehanndoah Valley route. Il
 comes by the way of Bristol and Knox
 vile to this city. The Bluegrass route from Cincinnati by the way of Lexing ton and Chattanooga. The Louisville \ route will start from French Lick Ind, and the Tennessee River rout will be from Memphis to this city. FOUR ROUTES TO CITY Of these four routes the Shenandoah . Valley line is said to be in excellen
 condition nearly all the way to Sir
 mingham. The few gaps that nee'
 building up will be looked after a
 once The Bluegrass route is said t j i be one of the best in the south. Tn Louisville route needs improvement fo (Continued on Page Nine)