The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-12-29
Nj E N w o M E N
 AND T H N GS


 outside of my, own blood kin.
 Some of my older readers will remember the excitement occasioned
 throughout the south in 1900 when it
 was learned that there was to be total eclipse of the sun. it's path cross
 ing the United States from Texas di- agonally to Virginia and finally threading it's way across Spain. Like others I read the newspaper and magazine accounts. but little dreamed that the aristocratic little town of Washington, Ga. where I was then living, would be the center of one of the greatest of all the scientific parties organized in America to observe it.
 It is easy to imagine the excite ment caused whep the first word came that the Harvard party had settled upon it as its point of observation and that a most distinguished group of Harvard scientists would make it their headquarters for week or more get ting ready for the great event.
 With the true southern hospitality which characterizes Washington, the most typical ante -bellum town in my opinion in all the country. homes were thrown open to tha visitors, anSy parties and entertainments were f ganized in their behair, 0giving the cultured guests of Boston a chance to get a sight into the homes of the old south.
 I think, however, the thing which
 made the greatest impression on the party was an old-fashioned Georgia barbecue Wilkes county was fortunate in having at the time as one of its of ficers, Sheriff Callaway, the famous cue artist, the man with national reputation as chef, and whose barbe-, cued meats and Brunswick stews were the talk of people who knew how to appreciate his master touch. But this is not to be the story of the eclipse, but merely to lead up to the
 fact that with the party came one of
 
 papers. He was accompanied by his wife. It so happened that my wife and showed them few commonplace courtesies without any thought that they were placed under the slightest obligations. It was pleasure, and thea perfectly natural thing to do in Wash ington,
 About year after I decided to at
 tend the sociological congress at Har-
 yard university which lasted for month, bringing together the most fla nous students of social science from all parts of the land. 1 wrote to my
 would be in Boston for few weeks and that when we got settled, we
 would let them know our address as they had expressed an earnest wish for us to do so if we ever went east.
 l reported at the conference and to
 my great surprise the secretary stated
 that a very urgent letter was in his hands to be delivered to Rev. Frank
 Willis Barnett, and asked that the
 gentleman claim it at once as it was
 important. I immediately thought that someone back home was desperately i'll and that 1t was a cali for me to in Boston writing me.
 I opened the letter and to my genuine onrDriea foup1 from tha4 adifor and his wife who were with the eclipse party, stating that they had written us. asking us to be their guests, and that they had been meeting trains for sever days and had also been at the pier to meet the incoming boats from the south. We had left before their let ter arrived. The letter urged us to come at once to their home. Now we talk about southern hospi- tality and it is right that we should, but now include northern hospitality for in spite of our demurring that such a thing as taking us in for the time of the lectures was out of the question we were simply overborne with such generous insistence that We yielded to their wishes. l le back on the four weeks spent in their home as arc of I the brightest spots in my whole life. | It was joy to be driven over Boston and it's historic suburbs with cultured ! people who knew the history of every | spot
 l l had been reared to look on the l Bostonese as the worst type of Yan- | kees, who were totally out of touch with the south. and were always eager | to pounce or any chance 10 say unlSind 1 things about Dixie. l learned that one of the first things the editor in whose home I was q guest did upon his re- ! turn from Washington, Ga, was to tell | the men on the staff to lay off of their diatribes against those living below
 didn't know what they were writing about.
 | I got my eyes opened a bit as to the worth of the Bostonians. can say it with perfect sincerity that the people | in the stores. on Sie Streets. in offices
 and. in fact, wherever I was thrown with them were the politest and mos, obligng of any whom I was ever 1 thrown among in a large city. I had
 I asked my way it always seemed a