The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-04
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS


 the lovely homes and the beautiful shade trees, and bright flowers, to get on to the Vanderbilt road which led to the new. au- itomobile plant
 Evidently Harry Ford. at one time on the staff of The Age-Herald, but now advertising manager of the Preston Mo- tors Corporation, knowing my weakness, ltiTped off Vice President Driver that if he wanted to be sure of having me pres ent he could easily turn the trick by ask ing me to make a speech. He had no trouble in landing me with such bait
 
 About 1 o'clock I met Reese Adamson. just as he was going into the Southern Club, and he stopped a minute and kindly agreed that he would drop by in his Ford sedan for me at o'clock, and without realizing fully what l was doing, was foolish enough to wait until half past the hcur before I came to my senses, for any one who knows him is aware that he only keeps dates with skirts" and not t-ouser-wearing individuals.
 l A'SlilS HlI dIlueO. JuSL Wdlleu IOT OHe OL l Groom" Beatty's arks, well knowing that ] if I got to the end of it's run some one would come along and pick me up. and had hardly alighted, when oblig- ing young man, whose name is unknown to me, stopped his jaunty red racing car way to the big reception. hopped in, for it had no steps. and away we sped, and in q few minutes arrived to find that large crowd had beat us to it. l
 Will people come to an opening of a great manufacturing plant? unhesitat- | ingly say they will, if it is played up Ike Harry Ford played up the debut of the l 'Premocar. I can say for Harry that he is some little bringer out for his debutante was arrayed in the latest chas- sis, and her trim figure showed her grace | ful curves to perfection, while she was | upholstered or rather clad in most at tractive fashion, and to make the picture perfect she was painted like the real thing Her designers and builders had made her the very latest word in auto mobiledom. and no wonder she proved a belle from the start
 Sometimes on account of the cocksure way in which I make announcements through this column, I am charged with onnisicence, and so far I have never put , in disclaimer, but without any regard to my reputation I'm now going to confess my human limitation, and confess that there is something I do not know any thing about, and that is the inside of a car, or to be more particular. the works which make the old thing go I know l just little about the anatomy of an automobile as I do about the way a hu- man stomach functions, and this is why 1 | limited my observations to the visible parts of Miss "Premocar." Experts, how eyer tell me that she has all her func- 1 tions in fine working order, and that ought to satisfy any purchaser.
 Now, Just honest to goodness! weren't some of you old croakers a bit sur prised and ashamed when you reached the great plant Tuesday afternoon? I mean those of you who in the year past filled the air with your jeremiads that the builG- ing would never be erected, and with your criticisms tried to pour could water on the enterprise? We are always talking about what Birmingham needs is more indus tries to consume our wealth of raw ma terial, but let any concern with faith come here to start something, and the oIo Nearers sit around waiting to be called r as palbearers.
 I do not know anything about ma chinery, but I testify that the plant of the Preston Motors Corporation is one that any city may well be proud of, for it's the latest thing in automobile con struction, and is most attractive from every standpoint The architects did their work with an eye to beauty as we'll as to service, and I hail their efforts as setting a new mark in this district for a light and airy structure in which men can work under the best conditions. 1 was also pleased to see the landscape ef- fleets, and I am sure that when the gJass, flowers and trees come out the .seror will be as attractive as the in- terior
 I do not know who is the esthete among the officers and directors, but it's plain that one or more of them have an esthetic eye, and gave the architects full liberty in the way Of making the plant and the grounds measure up to the very latest thing in the way of beautifyina industrial plants We laughed a lot at Oscar Wilde when he came to America some years back, but this country needed his gospel of beauty and while his life ended so ignobly his message has borne fruit and today we pay more attention to beautifying our homes, our public tablishments.
 am always glad when Birmingham takes forward stride in any line which makes it a better place in which to live and do business, l rejoice in those who believe in making it beautiful Bir- ngham. just much as I hail with delight those who strive to make it busy Birmingham. The two must go together. It is out of the money gotten in the channels of trade that fortunes are piled up for the erection of beautiful homes, the building of handsome churches the rearing of commodious mercantile estab- hshments, the founding of great schools, the laying out of attractive parks.
 It's for these reasons that l commend the enterprise of the men who had the courage and the vision to put down in our midst a million or mor- as invest ment for the utilizing of our products and for the giving of employment to hundreds. I sincerely hope that the "Premocar' will be a winner from the start, and I trust that many of our citizens are going to