The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-07-15
MEN. WOMEN
 AND THINGS


 American industry. but the yare a progressive bunch of men and will worth cultivating.
 The first man I met from out of town was my friend B. L. Malone, the AL bany dealer who put one over the boys in the big cities of the state by inau- 1 gurating a spring automobile show which has attracted attention all over the country.
 But as I rounded up at the Tutwiler found so many friends from the sur rounding towns and cities that I will not attempt to name them. The iBr- mingham dealers were on hand to show the visitors good time, and there was much merrymaking and kidding going on In the Hobbies and out on the Twen tieth street side of the famous hos telry.
 Some fellow hollered out, Let's go to the fair grounds and meet tre Presi- dent, who is expected to arrive at about Il. I volunteered and out the party
 
 made their way to the landing place. as they were anxious to greet "Prexy" Barr and Pilot Johnson.
 After a while we heard the now familiar hum in the clouds, which tells our city ears trained to distinguish the various noises that an afrship was approaching. and soon it burst out from cloud in the west and hove plainly ip sight. going at a fast clip as if 1t intended to first make circle of the city.
 But those of us on mother earth were thinking of barbecue and not want ing it to get cold, rushed out into the field and waved frantically a white sheet which had been lent us as marker. Soon we were pleased to note that the pilot had caught the signal, for he soon gave evidence that he was meneuvering to light.
 have seen number of landings by heater one than was negotiated by Johnson, the nervy Montgomery dealer who proposes to make the sale of bi- planes a usual occurrence in Alabama. The plane seemed to skim the earth and touch it gently on tiptoes. It ran on it's wheels for about block and made a graceful turn and was soon alongside of us.
 We rushed up to congratulate the two daring automobilists who had come to the state meeting in an airship, no doubt setting a new mark in attend ance for so far as I have been able to | learn, it was the first time such a stunt had been pulled off anywhere Montgomery may be slow in some
 things but she set the pace in this in- stance. I knew that pilot Johnson enjoyed the flight but was not so sure about President Barr. but the minute I got sight of his face, I knew he had had a good time for it was wreathed in
 smiles, and as he got out of the car
 there was spring in his steps and a
 resonance in his voice which made it 1 appear that he was highly exhilarated 1 by experience in the air. | It seems that the atmosphere was not | the best for flying and that they had gone a bit out of their way in getting l here President Barr says he never got even plinpse of Clanton but that he saw Calera. Pilot Johnson inform ed us that he had altered his course | to get by storm which was raging ! in the west, and that fortunately he
 was able to skirt it.
 But before the airship arrived I got
 in conversation with Emmit Price who
 had proceeded the air party in an auto | mobile from Montgomery to arrange | for gasoline at Clanton in the event it | was necessary for them to alight. and I also arranged a marker for them. He 1 then sped on here I use the word ad- l visedly for when I state that he drove Haynes car from the state capitol | to the fair grounds here in hours and | 46 minutes, those who drove to Mont gomery last week will know that he was speeding. He confessed that it W as
 wild race and that it got on his nerves.
 | Now as a matter of fact I had much
 rather been a passenger in the airship l than to have been seated with him by ] the steering wheel, and whats more I | think I would have been in much less danger, and I know the riding would
 have been infinitely smoother. The 1 trouble about airship riding is it makes 1 one prefer it to an automobile. I have boosted it so that my boys are saying. | Daddy, get an airshp, and give out | buying a car.
 We came on to the Tutwiler and after awhile went out to Caldwell s 1 mill had three reasons for going. but one will suffice. I was asked to make a talk. It seems my cousin. Sid | Bowie who was down for a welcome
 address. was called out of the city, and |f was to be his substitute, but when
 it comes to getting a chance to speak,
 I never let the question of being second cho.ce, keep me from doing it.
 It was my first trip to the mill site, in fact I never saw the dam. or any l sign whatever of water save Purdy lake, which we passed on our way out. l We were halted in a shady grove by the side of a log cabin The smell of the barbecue floated out on the afr, and the long tables already set looked mighty inviting. It was ideal barbe- cue weather. just hot enough to wilt mes collar and make him shuch his coat.
 Ithink I know when a barbecue is we'll cooked. and Itake off my hat to friend Brown of the Ledger, who pre- pared it. lam not as fond of the meats