The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-08
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS

| unknown, quantity so far as the pub lie went. Now. hays always been glad in this column to call attention to men who were doing things. It has never made any special difference what their line was just so it was helpful. I have written about preachers, lawyers, doc tors, editors, manufacturers. merchants, farmers and even politicians. I like the man who grows on you.
 There are a lot of showy fellows, who, like quarter horses. almost sweep you off your feet by the wind they make
 for short distance, but who when the long, hard pull of a mile track stretches out before them, either slow down or become absolute quitters. I may have remarked before, but it is worth repeating. and any writer, speaker, OF preacher who has never used story more than once, can call me down, but care not for those who work over their material when op- portunity arises; but I have run on so fast that I do not know how to connect up with what set out to say without making an involved sentence, and SC lrll just start anew.
 Here is what have remarked be- fore. Tom Reed, the Maine product who was always good copy for the newspaper boys, and whose sarcasm and wit was the despair of those upon whom they fell, when asked when under fire by reporter; "Czar. are you going to quit?' It was when he was the boss of the House, with one of his rare smiles and characteristic drawls answered, Young man, No.' God all mighty hates a quitter." This has made
 me in some tight places spit on my
 hands and take new hold.
 
 l fess that even though his reputation asi thinker, scholar. teacher, and preacher had preceded him, I was somewhat dis appointed when I first met and heard him speak. It was at a private dinner at the Hillman when he had been in- | vited to meet the trustes of Howard college and some of its friends. can't say just exactly what it was, but some how I did not feel that he measured | up to the place of the presidency of such an institution. I realized his scholarship and his culture, but was afraid he had been in a professors chair too long to be good executive I spoke of quarter horses. but in the modest man who came to us from North Carolina by way of Texas I had failed to take in the fact that he had a won derful amount of undeveloped power. He is not much on what we commonly call front" but my. what a backbone he has developed. I heard him speak at the college, and still I wasn't sure that he was the right man in the right place. Then one day I happened to hear him make an address at a Baptist as- sociation and he was revelation for
 his talk showed that he was not only thinker, but master of assemblies. 
 I have heard him a number of times since and he gets better and better. He may not be conscious of it. but he has grown by leaps and bounds since he came here a few months back. It shows that it pays to plant deep if you want to reap rich harvest. By degrees he is drawing on the years back at Wake Forest colleges when he was getting ready to go out into life, Then he is building on years of service in the class
 room of some of the great schools of
 the Lone Star State.
 Say what you please, there is some- thing in the very atmosphere which makes not only Texans, but adopted sons, get in habit of taking long views and attempting big things. /, first heard some of the Baptist preach CTS from the other side of the Mississip- I pi river turn loose in way startling boasters, and set down their brag to | the lack of culture. But the more heard them the more I knew that they were the kind of men who caused Max O'Rell when he was in this country to say: You Americans are the greatest braggarts in the world, but the trouble | is, you always do what you brag you can do."
 Now, pr. Williams is not of the brag- ging crowd, but he is the kind of ar in- dividual who, after looking over sit uation is ready to tackle it in spite of all the difficulties which surrounds it.. He felt his way for while and then when he was sure of his ground he be- gan to talk about a"Greater Howard" in manner which nearly gave some of the true and tried supporters heart fail ure; but instead of being the death of them they have at last realized that the 1 tonic they needed was just such pep
 and so they are entering into his plans with zest.
 confess that I had heard SO many proposals about the college that l just fused to give a patient hearing and set | it all down as a pipe dream But | what would the world be without it's dreamers? But in spite of its fascina- ! tion, dream stuff does not build buildings and therefore if one makes his castles in Spain a reality. it is nec- essary to show the man from Missouri why it is a good thing for him to put time and his money into the enterprise Now, this has been the mission of Dr. l Williams. He has convinced the friends Iof Howard that it has future and that now is the tint to cash in on it's prospects.
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