The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-02-03
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS

Capitol City as a rest cure. but last week it was a mighty busy place. On my way down the first thing in my mind was about the river. I won dered if it was still at flood tide, for it had been raining continuously for sew eral days. I found it still veritable sea, but not a peril to the Montgom- erians, as it had been a few weeks be- fore.
 Outsiders had no idea how the river had threatened Montgomery, but those who lived there realized the danger. was driven through streets near the depot, just to the north, where 1t had found it's way into warehouses, and boats had to be used to ferry people about. Birmingham wants a river mighty bad, but to have one as close as is the Alabama to our sister city is both an asset and liability.
 
 Birmingham, with the frame work Of the Roden hotel standing and Tor months brought to a standstil, was continually explaining to visitors why 1 it had not been completed, and finally put an end to such questioning by tear ing it down. Montgomery is in a simi- lar position about the old Windsor, which burned some time back, for ev- cry one on leaving the Louisville and Nashville station wants to know why it has not been rebuilt. I suppose there is a reason"
 I went on up to the Gay -Teague, the headquarters of the Southern Cattle mems Association, and found the lobby 8 veritable hive of buzzing beef breed CTS. The student of crowds soon learns to detect the differences in them. It's easy to diagnose a bunch of doctors, to get onto the members of the bar, to locate a body of preachers, to spot a bevy of drummers, or to nose out gang of politicians.
 The Gay-Teague crowd, while domi- mated by men with broad hats and breezy conversation, was yet well sprinkled with a new type of automo bile salesman, for it was also tractor week, and they were busy with their propaganda. There were quite few chicken fanciers grouped about, dis cussing the merits of the various breeds, for the poultry show was in full blast, as was evidenced by the growing cocks as one passed the exhibit hall There was still another element which lent picturesqueness to the assemblage, for the field trials were in progress and the lobby carried sprinkling of dog | fanciers garbed in hunting costumes.
 
 From the foregoing you can easily | imagine that I was in for good and busy time in Montgomery, as love dogs, am fond of chickens, am crank about pure bred cattle, and booster" | for farm diversification and conse- 1 quently interested in tractors But. after all is said, while animals and ma chimes have their attractions, in the last analysis the drawing card is always 1 the man behind the animal and the ma chine.
 
 l Some fellow wanted to know if in
 choosing the title of Men, Women and 1 Things" for the head of this column,
 I had set them down in the order of their attraction for me. I told him not exactly. but being a married man, l for prudential reasons I put men first. l This does not mean that I am a rank l feminist. but any man knows that a I "masher'' in competition with 'vamp"
 is badly handicapped, as you will easily discover by reading the articles run
 ming in this paper by Anne Jordan on The vamps in History
 It's the woman who always takes the prize in beauty show for no man with a grain of sense would enter any such contest, though I know it is an age long question in art circles as to | which is the more perfect the male or the female form. Greece gave us won l derful Apollos, but somehow the Venus de Milo. sitting in the place of honor at the Louvre or hid away in cellar | for fear of Hun bombs, holds in the worlds imagination the palm for being the most beautiful statue in existence.
 
 i got along this line because the male comes into his own in the animal king dom, for at poultry shows it's the roos-
 ter and not the hen which comes in for the largest amount of admiration. It's
 Mir. Chanticleer who captures the eyes I 1 of all. while Madame Hen sits back in l and every one knows that brother
 Turkey does the strutting in the barn.
 yard. while the Beau Brummel of the Efeathered tribe is Gentleman Peacock
 when he walks proudly in the presence
 of his train of followers. But the at i tractiveness of the male in the animal i world is too long story to be told here. I merely called attention to it in or cattledom as rule it's the great sires which bring the fanciest sums under l the hammer. For example, the prize
 | fifer brought only s1,4oo, while Wood 1 Jemison, Sr. for s10.000. It may be
 true that unless bull is top-notcher l he will be outsold by the average COW,
 as most breeders are delighted when a
 COW drops a heifer calf.
 1 haveal lwavS had vaaru;por to hny