The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1919-07-16

| would arrive at some interesting ana
encouraging results Twenty-thres
years ago this summer ! passed sew
eral weeks In a small Michigan town'
| heretofore entirely unknown TO me ex-
| cept by name. But for the people !
was visiting and those whose ac-
| quaintance t. MADE nothing mucn
| thereabout interested me specially save
| q lake or two in the vicinity. In when
| were sometimes to be caught q nsn Or
two, each OF course big enough 70 pear
| up a lie or two. From this village !
| sent out a number OF newspaper let
tiers, not having a thought that any
| body In the state would be seeing
| them, indeed, was not seeing any OF
| them myself 1t had been my gooo
fortune to form personal acquaintance
with the postmaster who was pleas
ant fellow. One day, after number
of the letters had been published, ne
handed me a somewhat lengthy letter.
saying at expect you had better read
that; 1t may interest you." 1t bore
Grand Rapids markings. and started
out by saying the writer had noticed
p was %ns thsm a'y IN . paper which he
regularly read. etc. etc. My inmedi..
ate impression was that somebody had
taken exceptions to something had
said about the country and the people,
and had probably told the postmaster
was a liar, quite possibly a horse
1 Bnt the De writsr Went on 70 say ut
may interest you and the people OF
your vicinity 10 know some things
about this man, and I am glad to pc
able to furnish the information" Then
he SAILED in" and said number OF
things about me so nice and friendly
that Il made me blush to read them IN
the presence OF my postmaster friend;
and them he proceeded to give Chat
tanoga a boost that would have done
credit to the mayor OF Boostervtiie,
Booster county, away up on the head
waters OF Booster creek. The letter
was signed ~. w Mccrath" You
ant to hear from my longtime friend
and cur longtime highly esteemed
citizen In that unique way. To all IN
tents and purposes he had written me
a. delightful letter and sent 1t to the
postmaster. knowing the chances were
a thousand to one he would snow "
to me.
A. w. o. L.
II these dozen business men would
take time to-recail every man OF some
lives in some other part of the world,
the result would be large list OF
live Chattanooga boosters, absent
without leave and not on our payroils,
but boosting to beat the band" not
withstanding.
can recall Q dozen or two of them.
without help from a committee. There
and some in every considerable city OF
the country. Just at the moment my
mind Is engaged In greetings to two
of them, both important factors, who |
reside In the capital of Cuba. They
are Col. R.. E. Ulbrieht and George N.
Bradt. Col. Ulbricht IL visiting here
now. or was a few days since. and !
cashier OF Banco Nacional de Cuba.
the greatest financial Institution
boosted by our little sister republic. |
Queen of the Antilles. He was. for |
years one Of our best known business
men. and withal one OF the most pop
ular. He married one of our girls.
too. Back in the eatly eighties he
Bros. & Co., composed Of Maj. Marcus
Grant, Capt. Heman w. Grant and
Col. Ulbricht. The colonel had a
mighty winsome way about him. and
his bright eyes, ever pleasant smile.
which was the real thing; his poll
We're assets 10 him in both business
and social life. which made success a
matter of course. Before going to
Cuba he travelled extensively In the
Latin countries below us. representing
important manufacturing interests. He
speaks several foreign languages, and
folks fancied that he had a
English. 1t might be mentioned in
passing that he speaks whole lot
better English than the most of us do
who could not even be suspected OF
any foreign accent or any other for
that Once he was a witness In the
circuit court, and his testimony was
very damaging to the party OF the
,ther part. The lawyer. one OF the
Kind whom 1t would have been more
to denominate attorney at
aw," merely was trying to make Inn
preston upon the jury that Ulbricht
was a foreigner. and couldn't speak
English well. and probably didn't fully
IN 'direct examination. He repeatedly
made use of the expression, Wasn't
,ou." so and so. When he got around
o the very gently pressed suggestion.
isn't II a fact that you do not I'M
English very weli?" the Colo
,el torpedoed him with great sud
lenness without warning; left him
I know a good deal too much about
English to say Wasn't you.'"
Once Leading Citizen. +:
Capt. McCrath, as I understand, is
lot living. He was one of our leading
'usiness men for many years, and one
u the very best fellows that ever
lved here or anywhere else. The old
irm of Davidson & McCrath was an
Institution.
They carried a general line OF mer-
hapdise. gave personal attention to
opularity. They knew people so well
hat it seemed safe to extend credits
Moderately to those who needed them |
nd were not entitled according to usual
usiness standards. That is to say.
hey accommodated numbers of persons
> whom credit was practically a neces- Z
ity. upon the basis OF integrity with !
ut reference to material resources. :
hen, in quiet way. II occasion arose,
hey inculcated the doctrine. Spend l
c. A. Davidson was the senior mem I
er. and he was the father of those a
'avidsons of the present day who are 6
ell known in business. l suspect the =
tore occupied BY the Davidson Cloth
q company Is sns same same one h, which which
different system of numbering. One h
the best known clerks at the old n
lace was B. F. Dare, a substantial, u
bod looking fellow with a heavy mus q
Ioveliest village of the plain" The
st time I heard from Dare he was
wing in Oak Park, ILL.,. and seemed to s
, prosperous. over in Tannery Flats, Lp
avidson & McCrath conducted the G
oane Iron company's company store" 1,
,hn S. Stewart. popular Johnny"
as an important factor over there. a
as bookkeeper, for that was
Is vocation. Johnny was widely known
nd will be identified to a good many Il
srsons of those DAYS, as a one-eyed
an of somewhat stout huiId and |
smile. He was the kind Of |
llow that used to be described some
mes as lone of the boys"